740 at the Range!

Spent part of the afternoon helping a young fellow get squared away with his grandfather's .30-06, Remington 740, with a 4x Leupold and Federal 180 grain soft points. It's a big deal to him, to use this rifle for a few years. His father took a couple of mule deer and his grandfather took deer and a few elk with it. He just wants to carry on the family tradition, before selecting a different rifle.

I was pleased. His first shots were fairly high at 100 yards, with about 3" of vertical dispersion, but only an inch horizontal spread. Not bad for a young fellow who has rarely shot with a scope, off a rather crude rest, and factory ammo in a nearly 60 year old semi-auto!

We took a few pokes at a 300 yard gong, he made a marginal hit once, the others were near misses. We'll be back at it later this week. Lots of fun. He's a good "kid" - I think I've known him for 15+ years... More than half his life.

Bring 'em along. Guy

Good stuff Guy.
I used to have a M742 carbine in 30-06 and it would shoot sub MOA.

JD338

JD338 - I told him the rifles were known to be accurate, so it was up to him! :grin:

That old 4x Leupold sure is clear & crisp!

His dad told him that it wouldn't cycle reliably with 150's, but that 180's and 165's worked well. He also has some ancient 220 gr Winchester Silvertip ammo! We only shot the Federal 180's yesterday, and they did well.

I noticed however that even on that factory ammo, the primers were FLAT and even backed out a tiny bit after firing. This disturbs me a bit. The rifle is in excellent condition, but that ammo looked like it was running hot/high pressure. On the other hand it was about 98 degrees when we were shooting... Just something to keep an eye on I'd guess. Input please?

If he wants to start handloading for it, think he'll need "small base" dies? I've never loaded for a semi-auto .30-06, and am inclined to let him just use my standard dies, and see what happens.

Regards, Guy

Good on you, Guy, for helping this gentleman. Federal ammunition can tend to be "hot." I've had several batches when testing new rifles that locked up the bolt! Federal tends to be accurate (consistent), but "warm." The observation of the condition of the primers is not that unusual with the pump and semi-auto rifles in higher pressure ammunition. You are correct in surmising that small base dies will help in making good ammunition.

Seems like it is shooting well. My old man runs a Browning BAR 30-06 and it seems to shoot everything he has ver put through it.

I'm sure if he shoots those and either hand loads or tries some different factory ammo he will find something acceptable. Neat old rifle.

My dad bought me a new 742 30-06 when I turned 12. Killed LOTS of deer with the rifle and it has always shot remington 180 core-lokts sub moa. Poor old rifle has never had the barrel cleaned, could probably mine the barrel for copper. :lol:

That rifle looks familiar, my Gramps had one in 30 06 and the old .244, both were pump actions. The .244 was the 12 twist and they changed the .244 to 6 mm and 1 in 9 twist in 1963. I was only able to stabilize the 80 grain or lighter bullets with the .244 but it was an old rifle from the late 50's or early 60's.

Guy,

I bet the primers backing out is due to the temperature conditions you were shooting in.
Try putting the ammo in a cooler and shoot them cold.
As I recall, my loads for both 150 gr and 180 gr bullets was a MAX load of IMR4350.

JD338

I like that idea JD338 - the high temps kind of crept up on us, and while we enjoyed shooting in such warm temps, the ammo may not have been as thrilled.

It sure is a neat old rifle, and I like his attitude about wanting to use "Grandpa's Rifle."

Guy

I have had a couple 7400s mostly in 35 Whelen

When I got the first one, I call Remington because of all the internet chatter about the rifles being jamming machines. The Remington gunsmith recommended two things: Heavy for caliber bullets to fully cycle the action a d most importantly, was a brass chamber brush. Scrub the chamber before and after shooting.

His experience was that a dirty chamber caused just enough resistance to cause failures to eject. I never had an issue when I was cleaning well.

I'll second Orchemo. I had a 742 in 30-'06 a few decades back. I loaded IMR 4350 a tad under max. The rifle would shoot moa with the right loads.
You got to keep that chamber clean. I used coffee pot brushes I used to buy at the grocery store. These were stiff nylon brushes with a flexible wire handle. After every range session, and sometimes during the session, that chamber got a good cleaning.
It's possible a dirty chamber will prevent the brass from expanding and cause higher pressures.

Growing up, my best friends Dad had a 740, also in 30-06. he used iron sights only and back then we ran deer with hounds. He was really good on running deer, at times he would shoot a full magazine before he connected, at other times he would get two or three bucks in one mag! His longest shot was a runner right at 350yds down an oilfield road, and that buck was running full out! He never had an issue with consistent jamming, etc. Sure, every now and then it would, but he just cleared it and kept shooting, ha. Even then, he probably never shot over a box a year, so most of those kinds of rifles are still good shooters.

Great day at the range! I will second JDs thoughts about keeping the ammo out of direct sunlight on a hot day. It doesn't need to be on ice just out of the sun will help.
This article was brought up in another thread and I found it very helpful

http://www.primalrights.com/articles/un ... g-pressure

My dad had three centerfire rifles in his entire lifetime.
A Savage 99 in 300 Savage. Being left handed he couldn't work the safety on the lever so he sold it.
Next up was a 740 in .280 Remington that he bought around 1960 and shot until he retired it in 1990 due to a mechanical problem with the action bars and a rivet that holds them together.
He had a 'smith make parts to get it running but replaced it with an A-Bolt in '06.
Loaded with 145 Speers and IMR4350 it would shoot under an inch all week long.

The biggest buck he ever killed was standing broadside behind a mesquite tree at about 75 yards.
Dad said he could see his nose, his left hindquarter and the upper one third of his l/h shoulder blade through a fork in the tree trunk.
He dropped him right where he stood with the high shoulder shot.

No telling how many deer and antelope that rifle accounted for over 30 years.
He even shot prairie dogs with it one afternoon in Wyoming.

I've still got the old girl tucked away in a safe.
Get her out once a year and give her a new coat of oil.
Take a roadtrip down memory lane