30.06, Rem 770

[sdkid]

I'm looking at the Remington 770 in 30.06. What is the general opinion of the rifle? I hope to draw someday, SD draws can take forever. Also looking for suggestions for an elk load.
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[jon lynn]

I touched one once, and didn’t like the feel, or look of it. I never met anyone who shot one, the friends I have who went to check one out had the same feeling as I did. They are just dressed up 710’s. Should you ever wear out the barrel (doubtful), or you want to change the caliber with a new barrel, you can’t.

If you do not hunt much, then maybe it will suit your needs. One of the gurus here (Dom) wrote once, (Para parsing): “If you don’t golf much, you can get by with a bag of cheapies, but if you are an avid golfer, then you can justify the cost of name brand clubs.

Since money is tight in the USA right now, I would save a wee bit more and get a used Remington 700 or a Savage (unfortunately non-accu trigger). To be honest, I hated the feel AND DORKY BOLT of the770 so much, if I had to choose between a 770 (& 710) and a NEF/H&R single shot, I would take the single shot.

Consider getting a British .303, and have a smith put a scope mount on it

Just plan to get a good scope. Even if you decide on a 770, toss the Bushnell. I think they put the Sportsman on the 710 & 770’s………not good.

Just my opinion

[sdkid]

The Rem 700 sounds good and was mentioned elsewhere too. I was also recommended a Rem 721 and Savage 14. Is the accutrigger a bad thing? I have never shot one.
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[jon lynn]

Oh, the Accu-Trigger is awesome. But a used Savage for a decent price would be the older pre Accu-Trigger model.

[sdkid]

I was in town today and held a 700. I do like it. $620 is a little more than I was wanting to spend, but I'd rather spend more and be happy, than less and disappointed. Gonna check to gun shop for a used one.
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[spike1]

You know I would not pick a 770 or a 710 as the rifle of my dreams. I have shot both and they both work well enough to take deer to 300yrds (even with the crappy scope that may come bore sighted).

In your arsenal, collection, stash, cashe or whatever you call it you will have working guns that go bang and do the job. These rifles bring no tears to your eyes if you drop them. If they end up behind your truck seat and a piece of log chain finds the barrel causing that medieval look, you may say a few bad words but it will not ruin your day. Sometimes you become attached to these beaters.

So I say if that’s what you can afford now get it. It’s not perfect but it will work.

;)

[sdkid]

Good food for thought Spike. I only own 6 long guns and 2 pistols. 2 long guns are 12ga. One of my rifles have been new, the rest just new too me. All of them are shooters, no show guns in my house. What you say makes sense, so I will have to decide what to do.
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[Gil Martin]

I would shop the used gun racks and see what is available, seems to fit and you can afford. There are a lot of real bargains out there waiting for a new home. All the best...
Gil

[gd357]

sdkid,

Several other options to think about...

Savage makes a Stevens model 200 which you should be able to get for around $300 or so brand new. I've never heard anything bad about them yet, and I'm considering one at the moment. Also, Marlin makes a bargain-priced bolt action rifle with a trigger similar to Savage's accutrigger (if you must have one...). The XL7 runs about $300 depending on local prices.

If this is strictly a hunting rifle, I'd avoid the accu-trigger or knockoffs. It's a great target trigger, but I had one fail to fire on me once (got the trigger in the crook of my finger and failed to properly depress the trigger safety). I'll never have one on a hunting rifle. I know, I made the mistake. But that was target shooting - no problem. If it ever cost me a shot at a big buck, I'd never forgive myself for not taking the lesson to heart. Just get the standard trigger adjusted by a 'smith, and you'll have a great hunting rifle. JMHO

gd

[Mike Moss]

sdkid,

I don't recommend the Remington rifles for hunting. Most of them that I am familar with do not have a correct safety in that it is neither three position nor does it lock the firing pin.

Some designs that do have superior three position safeties are the M70 Winchester and the Kimber of NY rifles.

The Remington also has a tiny cheap spring for an extractor, lacks control round feeding and its bolt handle is just brazed on and can break off.

Look at other rifles.

[Larryjk]

Mike Moss, I agree with you about the potential problems with a Remington action. I have Mausers, Win Pre-64 70s, Post 64 70s and various Remingtons (600,700,7880. Fortunately, none of them have ever failed me. I have repaired a lot of Remingtons that have suffered extractor failure, mostly due to heavy loading. I have put a lot of Sako type of extractors in those bolts. The safety problem is solved by remembering to never trust any safety. My son has Win model 70 style shrouds put on his big game rifles just so they all work the same. I have seen two bolts that have had the handles come off of new rifles and I have returned those rifles to Remington with a suggestion they give the soddering shop guys a little more hands on training. Remingtons have received a lot of deserved criticism and some not deserved. The trigger-safety lawsuits they have endured are by mostly folks who screwed up and are looking for someone to blame. Their triggers should be cleaned every few years and are also treated to an oil bath by people that don't know better. Oil turns to varnish when it dries out. Decent care eliminates most of their problems.

[8X56MS]

While the 770 might not appeal to the gun nut sort, its a well made, accurate, dependable rifle.
For the sometime hunter, its not a bad choice at all.

[Larryjk]

sdkid, I have not had any personal experience with the Rem 770. I had a 710 in for repair that had the rear tang broken off and it cost about $70 to replace the unit. I saw another that lost the bolt because the bolt release got turned while hunting. They are an inexpensive tool that will work fine if they are taken care of. Dont let sand get into that action!

[GoodOlBoy]

I am glad to see you looking into a 30-06 it is a greatly undervalued round these days. I like the remmy 700, not so much on the other remmy model rifles. Also consider why you want a bolt action. If you are scoping the gun anyway check out the H&R single shot rifles in 30-06. You will spend alot less, and I don't think you will be dissapointed.

GoodOlBoy

[Larryjk]

GoodOlBoy, A long time ago(when the Ruger No.1 first cme on the scene) a famous Wyoming elk guide said he didn't have a problem with the single shot but wasn't sure he would recommend it to an inexperienced hunter/shooter. He felt in the event of the first shot wounding the animal a quick follow-up was mandatory and a rifle with a magazine was a better option in that circumstance.
I don't disagree with that logic.

[GoodOlBoy]

I do, but then again I was raised with the school of one shot one kill. If you are talking about the current trend in not using enough gun for the critter you are hunting, and add sloppy shooting on it then yes I agree a bolt gun (or even belt fed) would be better.

The flip side is I own several single shot firearms and I can reload them faster than most can rechamber a bolt gun. But then I grew up single shot squirrel hunting.

GoodOlBoy

[GoodOlBoy]

Well and now I hafta pull my suggestion since H&R no longer chambers in 30-06. Darnit

GoodOlBoy

[Larryjk]

GoodOlBoy, I also shoot a bunch of single shots, but I wasn't speaking of those of us who have learned to make one shot kills. I don't believe I can reload a single shot as fast as I can a bolt action. I have shot moose with one shot and I shot one that took 3 shots to put him down; all three shots coverable with one hand about 1/3 of the was up behind the front leg on quartering shots. That was with a .35 Whelan, and I consider that to be an adequate cartridge for moose. There are times, when in spite of good marksmanship and bullet placement, the outcome isn't what we expect. We must be prepared to remedy those circumstances. The less experienced the shooter, the more likely those type of circumstances will occur.

[GoodOlBoy]

Try hunting a few seasons with a single shot 20 guage using 2 3/4 #6 cheap remington shells and hunt cat squirrels en masse. You will learn to outreload just about any mechanical reloading system. In my younger days I put the boys using 1897 winchester pumps to shame with my single shot, and I brought home at least one squirrel per trigger pull. I could empty a tree faster than a cat could lick its behind.

Also if you need rapid follow up shots to be THAT fast then I dont care what anybody says you are doing something VERY wrong. I have see two deer taken that needed a follow up shot that was legitimate, and in both cases it was 2-4 seconds AFTER rechambering before the second shot was taken. Anything faster and you are spraying ammo, NOT aiming. Considering that a badly shot animal is runing pointing a gun and firing as fast as you can chamber is a STUPID thing to do. You wounded it once, now why not take the time and do it right? Otherwise by a belt fed machine gun and go for it, because you have already ceased trying to take the game cleanly.

The only follow up shot I personally can remember taking in the last fifteen years was from my little spike buck a couple years ago. I shot him with a shotgun and he hit the ground like a sack of potatos without moving. When I got to him he was still breathing (but not moving) so I pulled my 45 and ended it rather than let him die naturally. In that schenarior haveing a full auto, belt fed, bolt action, pump, levergun would have done almost nothing for me since I didn't KNOW he was still breathing until I got to poking distance. I could have (and probably should have) just cut his throat instead, but I didn't want a last minute thrash to catch me inside the reach of his hooves.

Does that mean I am such a better shot than all these millions of other hunters who take four or five follow up shots a year? No it means I am more patient, and I ONLY take shots I believe in 100%. I have let a trophy go more than once on a shot in a heavy crosswind where I KNEW I would probably need a second shot, and I would do it again. If the wind is that heavy I am either letting him go or stalking him to point blank range.

As for the less experienced shooters it is their responsibility to be sure that they CAN kill cleanly, not just load more ammo in a gun. I refused to take a buddy of mine who was just geting started hunting two seasons in a row because he couldn't prove to me he could hit the kill zone on paper consistantly. Season three he had it down, and he took a good deer with ONE shot. If he had taken the time season 1 to practice I would have taken him THEN.

Back on topic, check into the mosseberg as well, I had read alot of great reviews on them, but I don't know what their pricing looks like comparitavely.

GoodOlBoy

[bulletpusher]

Well I was going to make a few comments but whats to be said after GoodOlBoy's last post. Well let me think.

He is correct in everything that he said. If you need to shoot at something, anything that many times, that fast, then you need an semi-auto or a full auto firearm.

Even a guy, like me, who shot bolt action firearms for the military, the fast follow up shot is a great thing, "BUT IT SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE TAKEN ANYWAY IF THE FIRST SHOT IS AN AIMED SHOT", and just remember by aimed shot I'm talking about making sure that the bead, blade or cross hair is on the target in the first DAMN place.

But then if you take the time to aim at it within a reasonable range for the shot to be taken, then you will never need to spray bullets down range any way.

Just think about where all of those extra bullets that your missing with are going, have you thought about what those things are doing? A 150 grn or 180 grn .30-06 bullet will go through an 10" to 12" dia tree like crap though a goose. And if they don't blow a tree, extra moose, deer or other hunters in half with the first follow up shot then go ahead and shoot again, maybe you will hit a couple of more with the extra bullets that your wasting.

I learned at the age of five that if you aim at what your shooting at you hit it (thats the way I took my first deer at the age of seven). If you can take the time to miss it with the first shot then taking the time to miss it with the follow up shots is such a waste.

If you shot it with the first shot and it runs off then you didn't do the job in the first place, and should not have taken the shot.

Well I guess that I did have a few more things to say.

[Larryjk]

bulletpusher, I don't disagree with most of what you have stated, but. Needing more than one shot may not be because of missing or putting the bullet in the wrong place. The moose I referred to had a heart that was mush because of more than one bullet passing through it. Should have I stopped shooting so I could say I killed him with one shot as I tried to get his carcass out of the beaver pond he was headed for? I didn't want him to get there and forgot the advice of an older moose hunter that said that even a .375 Mag. may not put a bull down instantly. He told me that they may take up to 5 minutes to discover they are dead. I also had to shoot a cow elk more than once to keep her from falling into a canyon I wanted to avoid bringing her carcass out of.
If I only hunted deer or antelope, I could say I have never had to use more than one shot; or if I had let the moose get into the beaver pond, or the cow elk fall off the rim into the canyon. But there were more serious considerations than making the kill with one shot. Understand that I am not advocating a "spray and pray" method of hunting, but one shot isn't always the ideal solution.

[bulletpusher]

Larryjk,

Think about something for me, some one who goes hunting will hopefully go to the range to shoot in their new rifle and at least see if it will hit paper from 25 yrds out to at least 100 yrds. "Yea, I know if you can't hit it at 1,000 yrds then it aint no good anyway, right". Hopefully this will make the shooter a little more knowledgable about how the firearm functions, I.E. how to load it, how the trigger feels and when it will release when pulled, and how to reload the dang thing after its been fired. Any person who takes the time to learn these things will get better and better as long as they keep up their regiment of practice.

Now a bolt action rifle is a beautiful weapon, but it is not any more accurate than a single shot rifle. Can you rechamber a new round fast with a bolt action rifle, sure aboslutly possitively right you can and you can rechamber a new round in a single shot rifle fast as well.

Would you like to go up against an adversary who is using a single shot rifle against your bolt action and try to live on the differance of who can reload faster. Been there and done that, and I would do it again, but I would not go in happy about it.

A single shot rifle can be loaded by anyone, as fast or faster than a bolt gun, when the person using it is familar with thier rifle, just like I hope your familar with your bolt gun.

It dose not matter if it is a Ruger No. 1, H&R 1871, Tompson Center ProHunter, Browning 1885, Sharps, etc., etc., etc. If you practice with what ya brung you can get good with it.

The brake open H&R or Tompson Center are so fast to reload it's scary and the .30-06 cartridge is the No. 1 cartridge in the world taking any kind of game, even the most dangerous game in the world. (And I'm not talking about 4 legged critters).

You like your bolt guns better than your single shots, good for you. If someone else likes single shots better, good for them. It is the same for every kind of action in the world, bolt, single shot, pump, semi-auto or lever gun. Its run with what ya brung.

If I was limited to one rifle action and could not afford to get anything for more than a couple of hunderd dollars a single shot rifle would certainly fill the bill rather rapidly and nicely, untill down the road I could afford something better. Of course by that time you may not want anything else.

Just my thoughts

[Larryjk]

All of this from a simple question as to whether a Remington Model 770 in 30-06 would be an adequate cartridge is S.D. I still think it is!

[sdkid]

Still deciding between the 700 and the 770. I've heard some great debate w/o alot of bs. Great info from all involved. BTW a handi rifle is on my list of wants for rifles.
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[GoodOlBoy]

sdkid there are a LOAD of different caliber handi rifles out there. Seems like every year H&R adds some calibers and drops others. That had one in 45 colt, and one in 357 mag I wanted, but never could afford when they were in production (Early in my marriage when my wife and I were both in college and worked minimum wage jobs). You can still find some of the non-listed calibers, you just have to dig ALOT at pawn shops and gun shows.

GoodOlBoy

[GoodOlBoy]

And now H&R shows the 30-06 under their Handi rifle again, either that or my eyes missed it the first time (don't think so, but heck I don't know)

30/06 Sprg. (SB2-306)

Looks like it averages $250 on gunbroker.

GoodOlBoy

[Brithunter]

Still deciding between the 700 and the 770. I've heard some great debate w/o alot of bs. Great info from all involved. BTW a handi rifle is on my list of wants for rifles.



First of all Hi All,

Sheesh it's been a while :o

I think those who remember me will recall that I personally don't like the Rem 700, they just feel wrong to me, however I would never give a 710 or 770 house room not even as a gift. I honestly think they're rubbish and Remington should be ashamed of producing such a firearm.

For the money you can get a much better rifle even it it may be used. However when it comes down to it in the end it's your money and your choice so may I wish you good luck with whatever you decide to spend your money on :D.

Oh the advice to get a good scope is well worth heeding ;). Please let us know what you get!