Custom Rem 7600 or 760

I would never do that to my 760. The wood is much to nice on it. Even if i found a rescue. I would restore it back to original. I lever action would be good for a drive id think.

I purchased my M7600 chambered to .30-06 in 1983. I immediately sent it off to be rebored to .338-06, reworked the trigger and mounted a Burris 2x7 scope in the lowest mount I could find. I used the rifle on deer and caribou when I lived in Alaska, and deer and hog in Texas. Along the way I installed a Boyd’s laminated thumbhole stock, and solved the rattling forend problem so often lamented by owners of these rifles. No reason not to modify one to your own desires. Life’s too short to shoot a factory-stock rifle.





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I really like the 338 cartridges on paper. Unfortunately the majority of the bullets in that caliber are intended more for the bigger (some much bigger) magnum cartridges and work less than spectacularly at the lower velocities involved.

I'd look into 35 Whelen or 358 Winchester personally. Better selection of bullets (some you may already have if you reload 350RM) and even better short range thump than the 338's.

I belive the 35/358 were both factory offerings, which might simplify your build as well.

But if that's what you want, I'm sure you can make a 338 work for you.

Chuck R. said:

Good point on the .338 Vs. 358 bullets! I'd think that with the .338 Federal they'd have more options for that velocity range, but it turned out to be a flash in the pan..

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Plus, with the 35cal's you can use bullets designed for pistol velocity for varminting...
...provided you're not interested in what's left of the pelt.

They'd work well for plinking on a budget at least.

IF I could find a 7600 in .34W

Whats a .34W?

Scooter22 said:

IF I could find a 7600 in .34W

Whats a .34W?

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It’s a 35 Whelen that’s a typo.

As to custom 7600, I support this decision in any guise and cartridge.

I have my 7615 ready for a 450 BM conversion once the stars get to the right alignment. Yeah it’s uncommon and collectible but I don’t care….everyone else seems to though.

Ahhh, Thanks. I was thinking something Winchester. IIRC they did offer one of the pump models in .35W for a limited run around the 80/90s

I'm not saying, "don't do it". Just saying go into it with realistic expectations. There are reasons why pump action centerfire rifles aren't popular. And there are reasons why the 33 and 35 caliber cartridges have never been popular.

I've been tempted to do something similar in the past with both a 7600 or a Browning BLR. The current Henry Long Ranger would be another option. But after careful consideration and looking at everything from a practical perspective I never did. I have owned bolt rifles in 35 Whelen and 338-06 in the past and my brother had a 7600 in 35 Whelen that I had a chance to use some. I do have some personal perspective on the rifles and cartridges.

Of course, not every decision has to be for practical reasons. If you just want to do it, then go for it. You'll have something unique and versatile enough to cover a lot of bases. But I think you already have a better option in the model 7 you have.

For some reason people either forget, or never realized, but you can handload heavies for both 308 and 30-06. A 200 gr bullet fired from either will match or beat the performance you can get from a 225 fired from a 338 Fed or 338-06. There just isn't enough difference in diameter to matter. And a 220 gr bullet fired from a 30-06 will do basically anything you can do with a 250 gr for 35 Whelen. If you start shooting the heavier 35 caliber bullets then I think you do start to see some advantage.

When I started looking at the kind of performance I could get from 308 and 30-06 by handloading I lost all interest in the 33's and 35's. IMO the next logical step up from 30-06 is 9.3X62 which typically shoots 280-300 gr bullets. And if intent on doing this project I'd consider this round.

Pump rifles can be fast to shoot, and the 7600's have a reputation rivaling a good bolt gun for accuracy. But they aren't in the same league as bolt rifles when reliability is needed. I wouldn't want to hunt something that could hunt me with one. Especially in harsh weather conditions involving mud, snow, ice, etc.

Don't overlook the OEM .30 cals in these models. It would leave you lots of room for other work and not get you into any unexpected magazine/feed ramp/ COL issues. There is very little a 180 Norma Alaska won't push through and leave a big hole from .300 Savage to 30-06. They're a nice old timey woodsy looking RN profile.

Can't agree with your taste on synthetics, but I can see the practicality. Still to me these rifles just seem right with oil finished walnut. I AM considering parkerizing or cerra-parking my 760 in .300 Sav as the metal finish has seen better days.

If you can find a low power variable with a 30mm (prefered) or 1" tube and a 3P4 reticle for under 4 bills let me know, I'm a shopper for that also!

Edit to add...I am becoming more and more at one with my recently acquired 760 in .300 Savage. I really like shooting this rifle just for fun, which is a good start to having "one of THOSE" rifles in the deer woods, like the one I've named "The Death Ray." I may shop for another one in .308 or .30-06 and download it to .300 Sav ballistics just to have one I can shoot more in a caliber easier to find brass for.

Chuck R. said:

Ever since this thread:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/why-not-more-pump-action-rifles-historically.897370/

I can't get building a custom 760 or 7600 out of my head. I've been scouring Gunbroker for a used .308 or 30-06 that I can have re-bored to either .338 Federal or .338-06 for woods hunting, specifically deer drives. IF I could find a 7600 in .35W I'd let it stand. I'd swap the wood for synthetic, cut the barrel down to 20", have it Cerakoted, and add a low power variable, maybe even an RDS.

Walla! My idea of the perfect deer drive carbine.

I've already got a Rem M7 MS from the custom shop in .350RM that I use as my woods gun. It has Swarovski 1.25-4x and a Leupold 2.5-8x scopes in Warne QD mounts. I've got a manners stock on order for it to shave some weight. I was perfectly happy using it in that role. The .350RM kills chit with authority.

I used it on a couple of drives this year on KS WIHAs. The drives were partially successful, but more importantly were FUN. I could have taken a decent buck, but only had a doe tag left. No sitting idly waiting. I hadn't been on a deer drive since leaving for the army in 78. Did multiple as a teenager in upstate NY, mixed success, but it was FUN!

Then this thread happened: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/why-not-more-pump-action-rifles-historically.897370/

and I realized that I had a 'deer drive rifle' gap in my arsenal!

Anybody have or done similar to a 760 or 7600???

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Done?....not yet, havent found a decently abused 7600......When i do tho I think im going to go 375Raptor to have access to the .375 winchesters softer bullets, as well as the harder stuff from the larger .375s.

In terms of the doing....well, I cant see any reason NOT to build a hunting gun on any action that catches one's interest.

…I really like the 338 cartridges on paper. Unfortunately the majority of the bullets in that caliber are intended more for the bigger (some much bigger) magnum cartridges and work less than spectacularly at the lower velocities involved...

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Based on actual experience rather what I read on someone else’s blog, this isn’t entirely accurate at all. As handgun hunters who use .338-caliber cartridges will attest, many .338 bullets work splendidly on medium game at non-magnum speeds. I have had considerable experience with three bullets in my .338-06, the Speer 200 SP and the Hornady 200 and 225 SSTs. All have taken deer and hogs with excellent expansion when launched at just 2400 fps, although my normal load with the Speer is closer to 2650 fps. I also took one caribou with the Nosler 210 Partition at 2700 fps. All bullets gave good expansion and penetration, all one could want. So not only are many .338 bullets good on paper, they also perform very well in the field.




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25-20 WCF said:

Based on actual experience rather what I read on someone else’s blog, this isn’t entirely accurate at all. As handgun hunters who use .338-caliber cartridges will attest, many .338 bullets work splendidly on medium game at non-magnum speeds. I have had considerable experience with three bullets in my .338-06, the Speer 200 SP and the Hornady 200 and 225 SSTs. All have taken deer and hogs with excellent expansion when launched at just 2400 fps, although my normal load with the Speer is closer to 2650 fps. I also took one caribou with the Nosler 210 Partition at 2700 fps. All bullets gave good expansion and penetration, all one could want. So not only are many .338 bullets good on paper, they also perform very well in the field.




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That's excellent news.

I don't have any experience with the 338 hands on. I'm very glad to be wrong in this instance.

I'd heard it parroted before, and know it was an issue with the smaller 35cals (357rem/max). Certainly there's some bullets that work well at their velocity range (Hornady 180gr XTP, 200gr SSP, Rem Cor-Lokt's) there wasn't a whole lot of other choices. Although that may be changing too with the 350L in the scene now.

I'm glad that there's plenty of good options for the 338's as I always though a 338Fed sounded like a good time.

My approach was to build a relatively lightweight (sub-10lb with optic, empty mag, and sling) LR308 pattern rifle chambered in 358 Winchester, but I can certainly see the appeal of the 7600 as well. One of the reasons that I went with a large format AR is that I could bolt it together and refine it myself over time.

And then I bought an AR15 chambered in 450 Bushmaster, and got completely sidetracked.

Chuck R. said:

I can't get building a custom 760 or 7600 out of my head.

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I think its a swell idea, and wish you the best. I am always interested in short quick pointing brush guns.
I hope you find your donor!
(And post lots of pics of your project)

I have a 760 30-06 with a Weaver K6W. It has put up a lot of deer over the years and has done everything I have ask of it so far. I like it just as it is and would put it up against any bolt gun that I have ever owned, don't think I could stand to watch it be butchered.

In the FWIW category, I had a 7400 semi Auto in .35 Whelen. Bought it for a real decent price. Had a friend that kept bugging me to sell it to him. After I did, he sold it a couple months later.

Sounds like a fun project. The only .30 cal rifle I really miss was a 760 Carbine in .308. It was fast and accurate. They never made the carbine in .243 or 7mm-08, more’s the pity. If I found a decent 760 or 7600 in one of those cartridges, I’d consider cutting it down to carbine length.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/919497214

Ready to go in 35w with Leopold glass

Not a custom but the factory engraved .30-06 "deluxe" carbine REALLY appeals to me. I looked at one at the LL Bean mothership store in Maine but brought home a Winchester .375 instead. I still think about it and can definitely see the appeal of one in .338-06 or .35Whelen.

jmr40 said:

For some reason people either forget, or never realized, but you can handload heavies for both 308 and 30-06. A 200 gr bullet fired from either will match or beat the performance you can get from a 225 fired from a 338 Fed or 338-06.

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Or they just don't buy into that theory. I certainly don't.