Remington 7400 shtf capable?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Remington 7400 shtf capable?

Posted: 12/9/2005 4:45:47 AM EDT

I just recently fell into a large stockpile of 30-06 ammo. It came from a family member and probably amounts to 3-4000 rounds.

I currently have a G-3 clone in 308 for my large caliber rifle along with several AR's and a couple of AK's. I am now thinking about getting a Remington carbine to take advantage of this ammo. I have looked at a 7400 with the 18 1/2 barrel and synthetic furniture. New, they are running about $650, but I have found several used models in the $400 range.

I have no experience with this rifle. Are they well made? Does anyone make higher capacity aftermarket mags for them? If scoped, are they anywhere close in accuracy to a bolt gun?
Reliable?

Thanks for the help.....

Posted: 12/9/2005 5:21:47 AM EDT

[#1]

I would recomend a Garand before a semiauto Remington. Just on principal.

Posted: 12/9/2005 5:24:31 AM EDT

[#2]

IMHO not durable or reliable enough to be depended on for shtf.I would look into getting a garand,or maybe a 1903 springfield.I have a friend that uses a 7400 in 30-06 for dear hunting,he never believed me that a semiauto rifle could fire two mags in a row with out cleaning and not jamming untill he shot my ar and ak.

Posted: 12/9/2005 5:29:07 AM EDT

[#3]

Definitely get a Garand before you get the Remington.

I had one (I understand you were asking about the 7400) as well as my dad, both were 742 models.

They worked OK, but are nowhere the rifle that the Garand is.

Parts for Garands are plentiful and there are a lot of people that can work on them.

You can probably do just about any work yourself and there are many on-line forums with many knowledgeable people with lots of info.

Besides, the historical value of a Garand, they are working guns that are DEAD SEXY!!

Posted: 12/9/2005 6:25:05 AM EDT

[#4]

What type of ammo is it? Many commercially loaded rounds can cause damage to a Garand. It's a timing issue related to powder burn rate, bullet weight and bullet velocity down the barrel. The Garand action is very strong, but the rifle relies upon timing to function properly.

If it is M2 ball spec ammo than get the Garand. I would also look for an 03A3 Springfield. The Savage line of rifles is also a possibility. Relatively inexpensive and quite accurate. Big disadvantage of sporting rifles is that they can't be loaded using stripper clips. Not good when the zombies are swarming.

If you get the Garand, you will need clips. The most enjoyable way is to get Korean ammo already loaded on stripper clips and shoot it off. You can also get clips off eBay. I have never found a bad clip. I actually think it a superier design over a magazine. Simple, inexpensive and reliable. Once you fire 8 rounds of 30-06 down range in 1 1/2 seconds, you'll be hooked for sure. For those days when you feel mellow, the 03A3 Springfield will fit the bill nicely. There are no concerns with commercial ammo in these.

If is a Springfield with a serial number above 800,000 or any of the other makes it will be safe to shoot. Low serial number Springfields had some receivers that were not properly heat treated. No one has a way to tell if they were or were not hardened properly.

Posted: 12/9/2005 8:37:55 AM EDT

[#5]

BAR

Dead reliable, better design than the 7400 IMO.

Posted: 12/9/2005 10:28:52 AM EDT

[#6]

Check Gunbroker.com

You can get a NIB Remington 7400 for under $450.00

I have one only it's 270 win not 30-06, great rifle never a problem.

Posted: 12/9/2005 11:22:34 AM EDT

[#7]

bunk i tell ya....borderline blasphemy...

real world....

we have 4 remington auto rifles.. in the family. they have lived hard lives..NO SAFE QUEENS..

scars..worn bluing...hard core hunting rifles..that are carried weekly..in the woods.

3 - 742
1- 7400

all 30-06

hundreds, if not thousands of rounds..thru them and i recall only 1 series of malfunctions which was no an issue with the rifle, but a bad batch of ammo..that the rim was brittle and breaking off. that was 12-14 years ago.

my 742 is a 1 MOA rifle...in possession for over 23 years.

only reliable with 4 round magazines..factory stuff.

having said that...
1 thing..if i wanted a remington auto..buy a used 742.

#2 if i was going to have it for a true SHFT rifle...for a boatload of -06 ammo..

i would get a M1...

with the 8 round mag.
weight is another issue..

an m1 will allow to repeat your shots quicker..on target.

it was made for SHTF...

Posted: 12/9/2005 2:12:42 PM EDT

[#8]

having said that...
1 thing..if i wanted a remington auto..buy a used 742.

that is one rifle i would never buy used. the bolt locks to receiver shell and can get beat to hell from improper loads/ maintenance. when the lug recess wears out the gun go kaboom in your face. that is why remington took it off the market and replaced it with the 7400. the bolt locks to a barrel ext. similar to the AR15.

Posted: 12/9/2005 3:35:20 PM EDT

[#9]

Remington 7400 for SHTF you have to be kidding

Remington semi auto rifles are decent at best....and never should be used for SHTF. Granted any gun is better than no gun, but too many problems with Remington make me think twice about their rifles.
I still own a 742, but never shoot it. There are aftermarket 10 round mags, but they are junk. I had FTE with them.

Here are a few quality 30'06 rifles that I would use for SHTF

M1 Garand
HK 940 (uses10 round mags)
HK SLB2000 (10 round mags)
1918 semi auto BAR (20 round mags)
Benelli R1
Browning BAR (fine gun but does not use detach mags

)

Posted: 12/9/2005 3:50:38 PM EDT

[#10]

The 7400 sucks. Especially in .30-06. True, there are examples where this gun is trusty and reliable. But I've owned the carbine and currently own the high-gloss 7400 in .30-06, and they both have feeding and extraction problems.

I'm determined to play with the gun more . . . maybe it needs more breaking in . . . but I'm expecting nothing but sporadic reliability and barely acceptable accuracy.

Range report soon . . .

If I were you, I'd go with the Garand for combat purposes.

Or, you could try the Browning BAR or the Benelli R1. They're much more expensive, but I think they're built better.

If you ever take a look at the 7400, you'll see that it seems to have some flimsy construction. The receiver walls are very thin and remind me of a tin can, the charging handle isn't big enough and kinda hurts when you pull it back, and you can't field strip the thing down to it's separate parts without a special tool.

There's this little pin in the bolt that seems impossible to remove, and you can look inside the receiver and literally watch the crud and fouling slowly build up on the bolt over time. The bolt assembly practically screams "CLEAN ME! CLEAN ME!", but alas, you will just have to sit there and shake your head in frustration, because from my experience, it's a pain in the ass to disassemble.

To be honest, the gun probably won't last the 3-4000 rounds you've got. I'm so pessimistic with that thing. I definitely wouldn't trust my life with it. Hell, the gun has jammed on me so many times that I wouldn't hunt with it either.

Piece of shit gun.

Posted: 12/9/2005 4:10:12 PM EDT

[#11]

Remington 74Xx series rifles are junk. BTDT.

Posted: 12/9/2005 4:42:13 PM EDT

[#12]

Remington 760/7600 pump action!

The 742s are junk.

I have the Remington 760 (discontinued) and it is a reliable accurate weapon.

Don't let the pump action deter you. In bad weather it works.

It can feed military or commercial ammo too.

The 760 30/06 carbine should be a good rifle.

CRC

Posted: 12/9/2005 5:33:55 PM EDT

[#13]

I had a Remington 7400 in .270 and shot one box through it. Barrel is too thin and heats up too quickly. It is truly a hunting rifle, meaning that reliability is good with the factory four round mag and nothing more.

Posted: 12/9/2005 5:34:08 PM EDT

[#14]

Look for a Garand first.

Then a BAR or a Benelli R1.

Then the Remington.

Posted: 12/9/2005 5:49:26 PM EDT

[#15]

Since you already have a .308 MBR, do you have a scoped bolt-action rifle for long range work? Even if I didn't already have a .30 caliber MBR, I'd strongly consider an accurate bolt action for .30-06 before a .30 MBR.

Posted: 12/10/2005 7:25:14 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Since you already have a .308 MBR, do you have a scoped bolt-action rifle for long range work? Even if I didn't already have a .30 caliber MBR, I'd strongly consider an accurate bolt action for .30-06 before a .30 MBR.

Could always sell the ammo on EE. A pain to ship, but you might find someone in your AO to buy it and pick it up.

Put the money towards your other SHTF guns.

Another possibility is getting a bolt gun and accurizing it for that long range role.

Buy a single shot break open gun and use it as a training weapon. Once the ammo has been burned up, sell the gun.

Posted: 12/10/2005 9:35:40 AM EDT

[#17]

Thanks for all the info. The ammo is Lake City surplus form the 60's. I dohave 2 30-06 bolt guns that I shoot quite often. Just looking for a semi-auto. May have to look for a Garand.

Thanks.....

Posted: 12/10/2005 11:55:00 AM EDT

[#18]

GARAND

Posted: 12/21/2005 4:15:17 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
The 7400 sucks. Especially in .30-06. True, there are examples where this gun is trusty and reliable. But I've owned the carbine and currently own the high-gloss 7400 in .30-06, and they both have feeding and extraction problems.

I'm determined to play with the gun more . . . maybe it needs more breaking in . . . but I'm expecting nothing but sporadic reliability and barely acceptable accuracy.

Range report soon . . .

If I were you, I'd go with the Garand for combat purposes.

Or, you could try the Browning BAR or the Benelli R1. They're much more expensive, but I think they're built better.

If you ever take a look at the 7400, you'll see that it seems to have some flimsy construction. The receiver walls are very thin and remind me of a tin can, the charging handle isn't big enough and kinda hurts when you pull it back, and you can't field strip the thing down to it's separate parts without a special tool.

There's this little pin in the bolt that seems impossible to remove, and you can look inside the receiver and literally watch the crud and fouling slowly build up on the bolt over time. The bolt assembly practically screams "CLEAN ME! CLEAN ME!", but alas, you will just have to sit there and shake your head in frustration, because from my experience, it's a pain in the ass to disassemble.

To be honest, the gun probably won't last the 3-4000 rounds you've got. I'm so pessimistic with that thing. I definitely wouldn't trust my life with it. Hell, the gun has jammed on me so many times that I wouldn't hunt with it either.

Piece of shit gun.

+1

I only trust it for the first round. Killed a deer this year with it, but the follow up shot never happened...

Posted: 12/21/2005 7:40:30 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Quoted:
The 7400 sucks. Especially in .30-06. True, there are examples where this gun is trusty and reliable. But I've owned the carbine and currently own the high-gloss 7400 in .30-06, and they both have feeding and extraction problems.

I'm determined to play with the gun more . . . maybe it needs more breaking in . . . but I'm expecting nothing but sporadic reliability and barely acceptable accuracy.

Range report soon . . .

If I were you, I'd go with the Garand for combat purposes.

Or, you could try the Browning BAR or the Benelli R1. They're much more expensive, but I think they're built better.

If you ever take a look at the 7400, you'll see that it seems to have some flimsy construction. The receiver walls are very thin and remind me of a tin can, the charging handle isn't big enough and kinda hurts when you pull it back, and you can't field strip the thing down to it's separate parts without a special tool.

There's this little pin in the bolt that seems impossible to remove, and you can look inside the receiver and literally watch the crud and fouling slowly build up on the bolt over time. The bolt assembly practically screams "CLEAN ME! CLEAN ME!", but alas, you will just have to sit there and shake your head in frustration, because from my experience, it's a pain in the ass to disassemble.

To be honest, the gun probably won't last the 3-4000 rounds you've got. I'm so pessimistic with that thing. I definitely wouldn't trust my life with it. Hell, the gun has jammed on me so many times that I wouldn't hunt with it either.

Piece of shit gun.

+1

I only trust it for the first round. Killed a deer this year with it, but the follow up shot never happened...

+2 for myself +another for my hunting buddy. Mine was a 7400 in -06, his in a .270. Both had extractors fail. I sent mine back twice to have the extractor and tension spring replaced/repaired. The third time I sent it back I got a new bolt assembly. The fourth time it happened, I never gave it another chance and traded it in missing extractor and all. My buddy got rid of his immediately after the first time.

For SHTF? No way. Not even close.

Posted: 12/22/2005 1:27:00 PM EDT

[#21]

What part of NC are you in? I will trade you some good surplus 308 for some of the 06 if you want to. I have some Port, Hirt. RG and SA 308 ammo.

Posted: 12/23/2005 5:25:59 AM EDT

[#22]

www.odcmp.com/Services/Rifles/m1garand.htm

Posted: 12/23/2005 6:14:57 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
www.odcmp.com/Services/Rifles/m1garand.htm

Bingo!

The Garand would be much better. As mentioned by many others the Rem 7400s suck. If you shoot a small amount of rounds through it and clean it well it may work for a while. Notorious for rusty chambers and extraction/ejection problems. They do shoot pretty well when they work though.

Posted: 12/23/2005 6:59:24 PM EDT

[#24]

Why in God's name is Remington still selling that damn thing???

When I had my 7400 carbine, the stock cheekpiece was even too high for the iron sights. You couldn't squeeze your face down far enough to get the front and rear sights to line up properly.

The recoil was horrible, too, so you'd have a large bruise on your face after a day's shooting.

It's so weird though. I've got 1000 rounds of Federal American Eagle .30-06 ammo, and I want to run every round throught the gun, just to see what will happen.

Maybe after Christmas. Happy holidays guys.

Posted: 12/23/2005 7:09:22 PM EDT

[#25]

I adore the 7400 carbine. I've had that club dragged through mud, ice, brush, dirt, rain, sun, you name it. It shoots every single time without a hiccup. It's a perfect truck gun to leave in the trunk and forget about it. You can also buy 10 round mags for it.

For the price, size, and overall reliability, the 7400 is most certainly SHTF capable....recoil is nill too.

The cheek weld is tight for the irons....but it depends where you have it zeroed too. At 100 yards I found the elevation on the rear sight made for a comfortable cheek weld. Worst case you buy rings and mount a cheap 1-4 scope.

Posted: 12/23/2005 10:37:16 PM EDT

[#26]

Check out these guys
Accuracy Systems

Interesting, but to pricey.

Posted: 12/24/2005 11:50:15 PM EDT

[#27]

If you haven't had a Remington Auto Rifle screw up on you yet...just wait...it will!

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:58:42 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
Check out these guys
Accuracy Systems

Interesting, but to pricey.

Ugly, and too pricey.

Posted: 12/25/2005 6:05:05 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
I adore the 7400 carbine. I've had that club dragged through mud, ice, brush, dirt, rain, sun, you name it. It shoots every single time without a hiccup. It's a perfect truck gun to leave in the trunk and forget about it. You can also buy 10 round mags for it.

For the price, size, and overall reliability, the 7400 is most certainly SHTF capable....recoil is nill too.

The cheek weld is tight for the irons....but it depends where you have it zeroed too. At 100 yards I found the elevation on the rear sight made for a comfortable cheek weld. Worst case you buy rings and mount a cheap 1-4 scope.

And how many times have you shot it? Be conservative. Everyone shoots their guns more than they really do.

Recoil NIL????? What caliber are you shooting? .243?? Or are your shoulders the size of basketballs??

The 10 round mags are shit. I bought an Amerian Eagle or some shit off Cheaper Than Dirt. I had to take it to a gunsmith to get it removed.

Are you being sarcastic????

Posted: 12/26/2005 4:54:32 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
Quoted:
I adore the 7400 carbine. I've had that club dragged through mud, ice, brush, dirt, rain, sun, you name it. It shoots every single time without a hiccup. It's a perfect truck gun to leave in the trunk and forget about it. You can also buy 10 round mags for it.

For the price, size, and overall reliability, the 7400 is most certainly SHTF capable....recoil is nill too.

The cheek weld is tight for the irons....but it depends where you have it zeroed too. At 100 yards I found the elevation on the rear sight made for a comfortable cheek weld. Worst case you buy rings and mount a cheap 1-4 scope.

And how many times have you shot it? Be conservative. Everyone shoots their guns more than they really do.

Recoil NIL????? What caliber are you shooting? .243?? Or are your shoulders the size of basketballs??

The 10 round mags are shit. I bought an Amerian Eagle or some shit off Cheaper Than Dirt. I had to take it to a gunsmith to get it removed.

Are you being sarcastic????

Let's see....

1) 7 years, 30-06 carbine, shot it .... probably about 100 times or so...I've probably put 1,000 rounds through it over the years. Lots of backyard shooting. I don't have an exact count on how many times I've shot cause I never thought someone would call me out on a hunting rifle.

2) Recoil IS nill...what are you, 100 lbs? Afraid of bruising your shoulder? Christ if I based my arsenal on shooting comfort I'd be shooting wads of wet paper through a straw. A 300 win mag....that's recoil that has no business in a semi auto gun. I guess the FAL, M1A, and AR10 must be way out of your league too then.

3) The three 10 round mags I have work great. They don't hold the bolt open after the last round though...which sucks. My one complaint. For a budget minded, politically correct firearm to keep in the back of the trunk....it's a great choice.

It's a 7400 semi auto carbine. For what it's designed for it's more than adequate. Remington wouldn't have sold so many if it wasn't. I'm not saying it's the gun I'd go for if SHTF, but I wouldn't feel that my balls were hangin' in the air if that's all I had. I could always rely on that gun to put the bullet in a 6" circle year after year.

But I'll concede, you evidently know something about the Remington 7400 that thousands of Americans don't.

Posted: 12/26/2005 7:15:31 PM EDT

[#31]

Let's see....

1) 7 years, 30-06 carbine, shot it .... probably about 100 times or so...I've probably put 1,000 rounds through it over the years. Lots of backyard shooting. I don't have an exact count on how many times I've shot cause I never thought someone would call me out on a hunting rifle.

No FTF, FTE, double-feeds, or misfires. None at all?? Do you know someone at Remington? Are you a Remington salesman?

2) Recoil IS nill...what are you, 100 lbs? Afraid of bruising your shoulder? Christ if I based my arsenal on shooting comfort I'd be shooting wads of wet paper through a straw. A 300 win mag....that's recoil that has no business in a semi auto gun. I guess the FAL, M1A, and AR10 must be way out of your league too then.

FAL weight = 8.75 lbs.
M1A weight = 9.2 lbs.
AR10 weight = 9.8 lbs.
M1 Garand weight = 9.5 lbs.

Remington 7400 weight = 7.5 lbs.

Recoil sucks on this gun, dude. You're weird.

3) The three 10 round mags I have work great. They don't hold the bolt open after the last round though...which sucks. My one complaint. For a budget minded, politically correct firearm to keep in the back of the trunk....it's a great choice.

It's a 7400 semi auto carbine. For what it's designed for it's more than adequate. Remington wouldn't have sold so many if it wasn't. I'm not saying it's the gun I'd go for if SHTF, but I wouldn't feel that my balls were hangin' in the air if that's all I had. I could always rely on that gun to put the bullet in a 6" circle year after year.

But I'll concede, you evidently know something about the Remington 7400 that thousands of Americans don't.

Thanks!

OK, well it was great talking to you, but unfortunately I've gotta go. My neighbor wants to show me his Pontiac Aztek.

Take care.

Posted: 12/27/2005 4:13:32 AM EDT

[#32]

Happy New Year!

Posted: 12/27/2005 5:06:46 AM EDT

[#33]

I am fifty / fifty on the Remington AutoLoaders...I have shot a few that were pretty capable but I have seen others with issues. Either way, the 74XX series guns have one VERY weak link....that crappy, tin foil extractor.....as in the bolt actions this is a component that is just waiting to fail on you at the very worst time.

Since you ARE using LC '06, I'd stick with a Garand.....if you look you can still find nice Garands on the market for under a big bill....OR you can go the CMP route and pay around 5 small bills and end up with a ncie, capable rifle.