Remington 7400 Reloads

[Luke Duke]

Found Grandpa's 7400 BDL at a gun shop here in Grand Junction, CO.
Brand New. Was sighted in with a decent Simmons 44 Mag scope. Has a Remington lockable travel case, two sets of rings , Peep sight, Paper work. Beautiful. Unfortunately he passed and never had a chance to shoot it; and it has sat on their shelf for two years. Got it for $400 out the door.
Ive shot enough LC 69 Mil Spec ammo through it to get brass, and have ONLY loaded M1 Garand loads through it.
I don't get the whole 7400 bashing. That LC 69 shot 3 shots touching at just under a 100yards with peep sights! Took scope off. My reloads range from good to UGH. The only powder Im using is IMR 4895-4064, Bullets 150 Hornady SP and 165 Sierra BT. Seems too like 150 gr best. But free hand, sitting; with included sling I can hit every rock I shoot at ridiculously long ranges. I'm trying to be reserved and only shooting 3 shot strings, with light as possible loads. I feel like this gun could last a lifetime. What do you guys think?

 

[rich5674]

Great Gun

I had one for deer hunting. Never had a problem with factory ammo or full length sized reloads. Accurate enough for the hunting I did (under 100yds). I’d buy one in a second if I returned to hunting for deer, boar and black bear. Mine was in 308. Two of my hunting companions had 30-06s. When reloading for them and me my go to powder was 4895.
PS. For bigger animals (bear and hog) I’d use old school Remington or hand load equivalent 180gn round nose bullets. I knocked down a 160 lb hog with one shot with a 165gn rn

 

[mauser9]

Been lucky with my Model Four which is about the same. Guess the action was an improvement over the Model 742. Mine is in .270 Win. and have good luck with 130-150 factory ammo of different brands. Have gotten groups of 1 1/2 at 100 yards. Bought it new back in 81. Pretty sure they listed for $450 but paid $400 for mine back then.

 

[rich5674]

Yes I believe the 7400 was a improvement over the 742. My buds guns were 742s. Being old school retired NYPD, they kept their rifles clean and lubed.
There was a famous Adirondack deer hunter, Benoit I think. Wrote books on hunting. 742 was his go to rifle. It was mine because it handled and carried easy, and fast second shot if necessary (never was for me). Where I hunted in the Catskills (NYS) the terrain was swamp and other hunters nearby made a quick DRT important

 

[andy52]

Back when I was a young man in the late 60s and early 70s the model 742 was the go to gun if someone wanted a semi-auto deer rifle.
I knew several people that had them and all of them seemed to work fine. I personally didn't own one because my father had bought me a Winchester model 100 in .308 for my 16th birthday.

 

[DWalt]

I have a Rem 7400 also, but in .270 Win. No complaints here. It shoots as well as any factory bolt action rifle and functions reliably with factory ammo or reloads. It seems to group especially well with light bullets, would even make a good varmint rifle if I were a varmint hunter. I also have an old Rem 740 in .308 Win. It also functions very reliably, but grouping is not much to brag about, despite my attempts to improve its grouping performance (2-3 MOA). But that's still plenty good enough for deer hunting out to 200 yards.

 

[growr]

One of the problems I am aware of is that the barrel heats up very rapidly causing the impacts to be all over the paper....which is not a problem if you limit things to no more than two shots.

On my grandfathers 742 chambered for .308 I learned that to get it properly dialed in I had to shoot one round and wait for the barrel to be totally cold before firing another.

Upon learning that about this rifle I have no problems with it, just need to correct for a cold barrel. This rifle seems much happier with 150 grain bullets....165-180's not so much.

Randy

 

[azhobo]

Re: 7400

I've had a 740 in '06 for many years, it's done very well by me. On muley's and javelina here in the desert, longer shots are the norm. As growr says, letting the barrel cool a bit is a main key to hitting where you aim. I mostly use my own loads, and find that the 150 & 165 gr bullets do best. My choice of powder is 3031, which I can use in all my rifle loads.
Regards to all, and Merry Christmas.
Bob

 

[Nevada Ed]

My father had a 30-06 auto that was a great rifle for the hunting conditions in Nevada.

However, as mentioned, with three fast shots, the 4th bullet was not so inclined to hit where you were aiming.................

and don't loose or damage the magazine........
they are a high dollar item, in these times.

Good shooting.

 

[mauser9]

My father had a 30-06 auto that was a great rifle for the hunting conditions in Nevada.

However, as mentioned, with three fast shots, the 4th bullet was not so inclined to hit where you were aiming.................

and don't loose or damage the magazine........
they are a high dollar item, in these times.

Good shooting.

Yeah so I heard. And some won't fit correctly or feed reliably. Gotta get the 1 solid piece ones. Should look into a spare for myself before I need it.

 

[rg1]

I've had a Rem 742 Woodmaster since the early 70's. The reports of them failing isn't fiction. Evidence is that the 742 had a life expectancy of 500 rounds. The rotating bolt would batter the guide rails to cause failures and to also cause an increase in headspace. For a strictly hunting rifle where only a few rounds per year are fired it will last a long time. So many damaged rifles that Remington long ago will not repair or service them. Mine has considerable battering of the feed rails but still functions. On it's last legs though. Main problem is using slow powders for 30-06 rifles. As a new reloader I used IMR 4350 and IMR 4831 which caused extra damage. I would recommend using faster to medium powders loading for Rem 742's or 7400's such as IMR 4895 or 4064. M1 Garand equivalent loads would be fine. Don't buy a used one unless closely checked for guide rail damage. My Rem 742 will shoot as well as most standard bolt rifles with 150-165 grain bullets. Love the rifle but it won't hold up long used as a range plinking gun.

 

[federali]

Agree with RG-1

A good hunting buddy had a Rem. 742. Upon returning the rifle to Remington following a failure, he was advised that the rifle had exceeded its useful life, was beyond repair, and they offered him credit on a future purchase. He too had been told the the 742 was only good for 1000 rounds at most.

Hopefully, the Remington semi-autos that followed have had rail wear issues addressed.

 

[mauser9]

I've had a Rem 742 Woodmaster since the early 70's. The reports of them failing isn't fiction. Evidence is that the 742 had a life expectancy of 500 rounds. The rotating bolt would batter the guide rails to cause failures and to also cause an increase in headspace. For a strictly hunting rifle where only a few rounds per year are fired it will last a long time. So many damaged rifles that Remington long ago will not repair or service them. Mine has considerable battering of the feed rails but still functions. On it's last legs though. Main problem is using slow powders for 30-06 rifles. As a new reloader I used IMR 4350 and IMR 4831 which caused extra damage. I would recommend using faster to medium powders loading for Rem 742's or 7400's such as IMR 4895 or 4064. M1 Garand equivalent loads would be fine. Don't buy a used one unless closely checked for guide rail damage. My Rem 742 will shoot as well as most standard bolt rifles with 150-165 grain bullets. Love the rifle but it won't hold up long used as a range plinking gun.

Pretty disheartening RG but I have heard similar reports in the past of the guard rails and the receiver cuts in the rifle. Wish I could give an accurate review of my Model Four but it does not get much use as I have to travel out of state to legally hunt with it. Had I been more aware of the issues way back I may have reconsidered the purchase. Ashame cause the Model Four/7400 is a nice looking gun. Different design than the 742 but I can detect the guide rails up top on mine. Thanks for your post.

 

[Luke Duke]

7400

Mine will shoot 3 on the money. The 4th will produce a flyer,not horrible though. After 3 the barrel isn't so hot that you cant grab it. Ive had Bolt guns that didn't shoot real good until you floated the barrel and did a lot of work to them. Im going to be nice to this gun and keep my loads light and trust on bullet construction. Ive found a few loads to be to low and are barley moving the action. Need to find a happy medium. According to my Lyman 49th edition their bottom loads are only 35-36,000 CUP;I cant imagine that beating up any gun. Ive gone a grain or to below start loads and working up.