Barel life of the 7600?

[cccombo]

Hello everyone  great forum!

I know there a few 7600 and 760 owners here and im interested in purchasing one.  

My question is do they have the same barrel life as an ordinary bolt action?
Ive heard unconfirmed reports that they burn out quick,

How many rounds can i expect to get from a 7600 in .308?

thanks
-apm rm

[old06]

No they don't burn out any quicker than a bolt action. Tell us about your shooting habits. Do you plan to shoot 5000 rounds out of it in the next few weeks. Or are you going to site in a scope in with a box or so and then hunt with it and may not shoot two boxs in a year.

[targshooter]

APM RM,
There's barrel life and there's barrel life. Peak accuracy may start to go in a high intensity cartridge barrel in under 3,000 rounds, as with the .220 Swift. I've known users of this cartridge that swapped barrels at 2,000 rounds or so, as the bore to case capacity is very high and the barrels erode quickly. With a .308 I would expect around 5,000 to 7,000 before peak accuracy failed, depending on the barrel steel and type of rifling as well as the loads used and the type of fire the rifle was subjected to. Then there is usable accuracy, as most military surplus shooters know. This means that 1 MOA or thereabouts may not be attainable, but deer accuracy to 200 yards is still a reasonable expectation (call it 2-3 MOA). From inquiries to the various manufacturers in the past, when I did a lot of NRA "High Power" and "Military Match" shooting, the usable barrel life for a .308/.30-06 was considered around 7,000 to 10,000 rounds. I was told that chrome plated bores and various barrel alloys could extend this to 15,000 or so in a .308 type cartridge. I once owned a 7x57mm surplus rifle that had only a hint of rifling in the barrel when I got it. It shot a consistent 3 MOA for about 1,000 rounds, and then it just started keyholing and groups opened to scattergun like affairs.

[Siskiyou]

I think your main concern with maintaining accuracy is proper cleaning.  Your cleaning rod needs to be lined up because the barrel is cleaned from the muzzle.  I normally use a solid cleaning rod.

[Dave in WV]

My son "High Brass" has the 760 30-06 I bought in '77. It's still as accurate now as it was then and it's had several hundred rounds fired through it. Properly maintained and operated thay are as fool proof and reliable as it gets.

[cccombo]

Thanks for your answers

Im just planing to do a bit of range shooting and hunting,

what about 4 fast shots in a row? would the groups open up if tried that ?

[Dave in WV]

"what about 4 fast shots in a row? would the groups open up if tried that ?"

Many rifles will open up as the barrel heats up. Using proper technique and taking your time will always give better accuracy results. That said, a 760/7600 is the bee's knees for fast handling.  

[BULLMASTIFF]

All hunting based rifles have a light to medium barrel contour.  They are made that way so you are not humping heavy rifles out through God's country.  I would not pick a 760/7600 for range shooting, where you sit at a bench all day.  They can and do put up nice groups, but after several quick shots, say 4-8, depending on caliber and cartridge, your groups will open up, if you don't allow the barrel to cool down.  But in my opinion, you will not find a better hunting rifle.  And if you do your part, you'll keep your freezer full, I know mine is. :grin:

[Siskiyou]

Dave is right.

First off rapid fire by difinition will open up a group.  Back in the 60's the US Army Rifle Team used 760s in 222 caliber in the Running Boer competition.  They had special competition barrels.

A brother and I both had 760s in 270 Win. as teenagers.  Every September and October we competed against each other in the Running Blacktail, or running Mule Deer compatition.  While we liked to take our deer standing or in bed we did not pass up a running deer.  If we did most likely we would go home empty handed.  Normally we did not require more then one or two shots.  Factors other then the barrel complicate the accuracy picture, like a running, jumping deer, and vegetation getting the way.  The most shots fired was by little brother using a Savage M99 carbine.  Five shots from the .300 Savage sounded like an autoloader.  He had five hits.  Three good center of mass, and two front legs.  Not bad for a 12-year old but the shots to the legs become a discussiion item at the table.  

Most of my rapid fire practice has been on jack rabbits.  At times I would kick two or three out of the brush at the sametime.  The same number of shots would take them out.  So the rifle stayed at least one-minute of a jack rabbit.  If you over heat the barrel of any rifle while out deer hunting the problem is not with the rifle.

I have done some standing four shot practice.  I prefer to call this timed fire rather then rapid fire.  Just standing up and taking an aimed shot decreases my accuracy.  I then work the action, acquire the bulls eye and fire again until the rifle is empty.  This is not bad at fifty yards.  After four shots I let the rifle cool down.  I do not abuse it.

At times I wish I had a pump .22 rimfire.  I do most the my off hand practice with a .22 rimfire bolt action a 25 yards.  It is cheaper.  My M760 is around 49 seasons old.  In the first ten years according to my records I fired over 600 rounds from it.  In the following years I have fired a bunch of rounds from it but the average has dropped because of more toys, not that anything is wrong with the rifle.

  Cool sight alignment is the answer, not spray-and-pray.

P.S.  I just remembered a rapid shooting day.  Four 4x4 bucks came running downhill at me.(10-pt Eastern count.)  I was standing in a cedar thicket.  I swung on the first buck and blew Cedar chips all over the place.  I rolled the second buck, and missed the largest and last buck because I was not cool.  I then pulled the mag. and replaced it with a full one.  I then went down the gulch and found the deer I had rolled standing with it's head down.  At about 25 yards I broke it's neck.  The M760 did it's job.  I failed on the last buck not the rifle.  It was a large deer and I had to cut it in half to carry it out of the canyon.  I grabbed my pack frame out of the 4-wheel drive to carry out the second half.  

Afterwards I was happy and disappointed at the sametime that I did not fill my second tag.  It would have killed me off carrying another large deer out of the canyon.  But I failed not the rifle.

[grousehunter]

just remember make the 1st shot count and there will not be many more needed, RAPID FIRE or not!

[McLernon]

Unless otherwise specified Remington barrels are made of mild steel. Barrel life in mild steel will be much less than chrome-moly low alloy steel barrels found on more expensive rifles. Mild steel will not tolerate much heat before it erodes but if you avoid getting the barrel hot, barrel life on a 7400/750 will be as good as that of the action. As I understand it the Remmy's design life is about 2000 rounds.

McLernon