Tell me about the Remington 660 and the 350 Magnum cartridge

[Badkarma 1]

Hi guys, today I went up to the gun shop in Highland Il. to look into a Winchester m-54 and 94 in 30/30. Unfortunatly both were gone!
However there hiding amongst a couple of old Mausers and a FN-49 was this little Remington. The tag said it's a model 660 and chambered for the 350 Rem. Magnum. So what is it and what is it good for? And the price was $1200! Is that a good deal? Many thanks Dale

 

[ColbyBruce]

They kick, really hard, and the laminated stocks tend to seperate with age.

$1,200.00 will buy a nice, new rifle chambered in a common caliber.

 

[cp1969]

Here's what I know, from shooting one: There will be no doubt in your mind as to when it went off.

$1200 seems high. It's a light, compact rifle with huge amount of knock down power in .350 Rem Mag. It is not a good gun for someone who is recoil sensitive. The .350 Mag was supposed to be the short-action equivalent of the .35 Whelen.

 

[29aholic]

Yep

Here's what I know, from shooting one: There will be no doubt in your mind as to when it went off.

$1200 seems high. It's a light, compact rifle with huge amount of knock down power in .350 Rem Mag. It is not a good gun for someone who is recoil sensitive. The .350 Mag was supposed to be the short-action equivalent of the .35 Whelen.

cp pretty much nailed it. They made one in 6.5 Magnum as well. Cool guns but not $1200 cool.

 

[Badkarma 1]

Thanks fellas! I wanted to get the skinny on this rifle before I bought it. I definetly came to the right place! Dale

 

[rburg]

I'm not so sure the gun is over priced. Its got a cult following these days. Its a great brush buster, and for a while was favored by Alaskan guides. Its a close range cartridge, but it sure is a powerful little thing. Since ammo is fairly hard to obtain, its a handloaders rifle. But you can tailor your loads to whatever you want. I'd think it would be great for anything on this continent, if range were short. You could easily pop a moose or either flavor of bear, or an elk in close cover.

I'd guess the stock separation may be related to the recoil, and if the stock wasn't showing signs of problems, you might be getting a good one.

I just wonder if some negotiating might not get the price down a bit.

 

[gregintenn]

They're expensive, ugly, and not real common. I kinda like them.

 

[ColbyBruce]

If you just want to play with a .350 Remington Magnum gun, the Remington 700 Classic was made in this caliber in 1985. I imagine it would be a lot nicer rifle, cheaper rifle, and easier on the shoulder.

 

[olypenn222]

Pick one up last week on a trade, my first Remington 600, rifle started out in life as a .308, was rebored and barrel stamped a .350 Magnum. is a nice tight rifle with a great bore. Has its standard 600 wooden stock, not a liminate, showing no cracks. Is barrel code stamp dated Sept of 1965. Came with 10 rounds of ammo, shot them up.

Recoil ?, kind of like a 12 ga 3 inch, with no butt pad. But don't think you would give it a though if a hungry polar bear was chewing on you foot.

Shoot in a 50 yard sand pit, rifle set a new record for size of sand splash. Still have not found the tin cans I hit. Rifle is very compact and light, about 5 lbs with scope, is 38" long with its buttpad. It is a real little bad boy.

Live next to the Puget Sound, have always been concerned about beach hunting killer whales, am also close to the RR tracks, have been concerned about a circus train crash with lions, tigers and elephants running through the yard, figure I now have it covered.

 

[redlevel]

I don't know about the .350 Mag, but I owned one briefly in .308 in the early 80s. The only way to describe the muzzle blast is "horrendous."

Then, there is always this:

Safety Modification Program - Shotgun Safety Modification - Rifle Safety Modification

My brother shot a hole through three walls of the house he was renting in the early seventies. They were bad about "going off" when you closed the bolt on a live round.

 

[Badkarma 1]

If you just want to play with a .350 Remington Magnum gun, the Remington 700 Classic was made in this caliber in 1985. I imagine it would be a lot nicer rifle, cheaper rifle, and easier on the shoulder.

Actually I'm a fan or short, light, compact rifles that really pack a wallop! Which is why I already own a Marlin Guide Gun in .45/70.

 

[cp1969]

Then you are no stranger to recoil. The 660 would be a great addition to your fleet if you can get it for a reasonable price, and I am of no use to you in that area. All I know is my friend bought his about 15 years ago for something like $250. If they're $1200 now, that's a pretty good rate of appreciation.

 

[redlevel]

Then you are no stranger to recoil. The 660 would be a great addition to your fleet if you can get it for a reasonable price, and I am of no use to you in that area. All I know is my friend bought his about 15 years ago for something like $250. If they're $1200 now, that's a pretty good rate of appreciation.

Fifteen years ago one could buy all the Model 28 S&Ws he wanted for $125.

 

[Raider]

I believe that Jeff Cooper had a .350 Rem 660 that he nicknamed "Fireplug". It was the beginnings of his Scout Rifle idea.

Charlie

 

[sasu]

I have a Remington Model Seven 350 Magnum. I love it, the caliber has lots of character. I have not taken it hunting yet, but will. Recoil is not severe at all, so maybe the 660s are lighter than the Model Seven to earn their reputation as hard kickers?

Here the Model Seven is next to a Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan 375 Ruger, another compact thumper.

 

[mtheo]

During my high school years a group of us would with some frequency walk to a bridge on the outskirts of town and plink with our .22's. Occasionally passerbyes would stop their cars, get out and watch. One particularly evil individual in our group would stand around with his 660 equipped w/ a 9 power scope. After he picked out his "mark" offer to let them shoot. I only witnessed this three times. The "mark" was generally some wisenheimer telling us what lousy shots we were. The "evil one" would offer "here bet ya can't miss with this." This always resulted in blood trickling down the side of their face.

 

[Badkarma 1]

I wanna thank you guys for all the info stated here! I do remember reading a story on how Jeff Cooper rather liked the 350 R Mag and the "Fireplug" story. It was one of the driving factors behind my curiosity on the rifle and cartridge.
It wouldn't be something I'd shoot a lot, but it would be nice to have a rifle that could stop a runaway Bonneville! Dale

 

[n4zov]

I am not sure Remington is still making .350 Magnum ammunition but they are producing brass. It is one of those round that, if not already out of production, is very likely to be unavailable in the near future. Remington didn't make many rifles chambered in that caliber and there can't be much demand for ammo. Besides, that $1200 price is ridiculous!

 

[buckeyeshooter1]

I got a pair of the 700 classics in 350 mag. They are are very light for a 700!! I also gave a 600 but its in .308 winchester. Its a great gun for a tree stand, behind the seat of the truck or for those of us who don't climb hills like we used to.

 

[rburg]

Live next to the Puget Sound, have always been concerned about beach hunting killer whales, am also close to the RR tracks, have been concerned about a circus train crash with lions, tigers and elephants running through the yard, figure I now have it covered.

Caution, Thread hijack:

Your reasoning is similar to mine for buying and feeding my .458 M70. At the old house, I had a fat chick for a neighbor. She said she was a dancer, but I'm thinking she was too ugly to be watched. I bought the big elephant gun because I was always worried about that neighbor rampaging thru my garden. I've seen photos of African Elephants doing that and making a real mess of the tomato's.

So the next time you have to give a reason for buying a big caliber, feel free to use the fat chick in the garden thing! I don't have it copyrighted.