Bought a Remington 7400 would like an opinion

[whatnickname]

Read an article a short time ago about the "Other rifles"...pump and semi-autos and the fact that their accuracy can be very good. I've shot bolt rifles for years. Been reloading for better than 40 years. My bolt rifles shoot very accurately. Anyway was on the GB site the other night and found a nearly mint Remington 7400 in .270 Winchester. Placed a maximum bid of $300 figuring I would surely get outbid...(and yes I've read all the horror stories about the Remington 740, 742 etc)...Figured I'd roll the dice. Well I got the thing so now what?...Bought some Speer 130 grain flat base bullets and went about working up a load using IMR4350 and Winchester large rifle primers. My other .270 rifles generally like IMR 4350 and IMR4831. I used small base dies. I'm aware of all the back and forth over this issue. Been shooting ARs for a while and have seen several that wouldn't run without the aid of a small base die. I may or may not have actually needed this die in the 7400 but it just makes me feel better so that's what I did. Just got back from the range. Not the best trigger on the 7400 and very windy today. Three of my five loads produced five shot groups of 1" or less! Dang!!! Sure didn't expect that! 53.0, 54.0 and 55.0 grain loads all shot an inch or less. Now for the interesting stuff. When the barrel gets hot the point of impact moves two to three inches at 100 yards. It did not scatter the shots if I did my part...just started grouping under an inch in a different spot. Not really a problem for a hunting rifle as I'll just sight it in on a cold barrel. That said here's the question: Is there any fix for this? About a million years ago as a teenager I read just about everything I could get my hands on about guns and gunsmithing. I recall an add for an "accuracy block" for the Remington 740 that was touted as the end all fix all for accuracy problems with the Remington 740. I think this was made by the Williams Company but that has been better than 40 years ago. Does anyone remember this or know what technical issues it was suppose to fix?

 

[ants]

The accuracy block went in the forend, it was pretty specific to the 740/742. I've actually never heard of one for a 7400. Might be one, I just never heard of one. I surely would like to learn about it, if one is available. I believe it held the wood forearm away from the receiver.

If everything is in good order (barrel nut tight, clean bore, no rust in the chamber) you're going to get as good accuracy as the 7400 can give. Since it has a two piece stock, it is not possible to 'free float' the barrel like a bolt action rifle. So heat does play its little trick, as you found.

My 7400 is 30-06. It's not a match grade rifle, but it shoots surprisingly well. I suspect yours is good also.

Pay little heed to those who dislike Rem autoloaders. And there are plenty of those guys out there. The gun will hunt any game you want. Just keep it clean, clear out the gas system occasionally, watch for the plastic dust cover to break or come loose. (Dust cover over the ejection port.) New one is only about 7 bucks from Remington. Install it yourself, and keep shooting.

My 30-06 needs full power loads to cycle. Starting loads and youth loads don't cycle the action.

 

[whatnickname]

Thanks ANTS...another question for you

I've read the disassembly protocol in JB Wood's book. The tube that supports the op rod and spring from the gas housing back to the receiver seems pretty fragile. Mr. Wood warns several times to guard against damaging the tube. Taking the gas system apart seems to me like something that should be kept to a minimum. With this in mind, how would you recommend I go about occasionally cleaning the gas system? Hose out with gun scrubber? ( I prefer automotive carb cleaner)

 

[hdbiker]

I own a Rem. 7600 in 30-06 that does the same thing,starts walking to the left after 3 shots,and the barrell gets hot.the Rifle prints 1 1/2 inch or better with a cool barrell at 100 yds. biker