AndyJ
Member
I keep a good centerfire and a 12 gauge behind the seat of my Suburban just like I keep a set of jumper cables, a flashlight and a few quarts of oil in the back. They are tools to get a job done and I expect them to do the job assigned.
The shotgun right now is an 18" barreled Ithaca 37. It is loaded with #4 buck and the grab pouch next to it has a variety of other shells in it. The last time I used it was slugs to punch 2 holes in a 10' culvert so we could bridle it and pull it in place on a road project. Just seemed to be less hassle than getting the cutting torch out. The time before that it was a big old rattlesnake in the road that lost out to a blast of birdshot. You get the idea... tools not toys.
The first center fire I had way back in the day was a Remington .243 ADL with a big old scope on it. I found out its' use was limited as I did not have the need for many shots out past 100 yds. My boy in the Air Force convinced me to try out the .223 and I got an AR. Just never felt good and it was replaced with a Mini 14. You know, that gun felt good but didn't shoot for squat. I traded and got another Mini 14 that had a gizmo that covered the barrel and made it deadly accurate but at the cost of weight and comfort level. Just never did feel right with that barrel thingy on it.
I have used the Remington 870s since way back and I like 'em - I just do. Last year's truck 12 gauge was a short barreled 870 with a +2 extension and walnut furniture. I had no complaints. Sometime in late 2008 I picked up a Remington 7615 and immediately felt like I had found the right gun for me.
It was the Ranch Carbine with an 18.5" barrel and walnut furniture. I picked up a Bushnell Trophy T dot scope and felt like I was ready to go.
The gun was short and handy. It pointed great and the pump action was second nature to me. I picked up some 20 and 30 round magazines and settled in for business.
Over the course of the last 18 months, a few things have become apparent.
The illuminated and unmagnified T dot sight was good out to about 75 yards. It was deadly in fast and furious up close encounters like jumping a sounder of hogs or a coyote running flat out across a field. Maybe my eyes have gotten worse over the last year or so, I ain't getting any younger for sure, or maybe it was the fact that the scope was mounted just a tad high and made it difficult for me to get my cheek planted firmly on the stock. At any rate, I started to miss some easy shots. I am updating the optics and discuss it in this thread. I just need a little magnification to make up for my failings. The gun shot better than my current abilities and I think a low power scope will make me measure up a bit better.
I have found I prefer the magazines with fewer rounds. The 30 round magazines look extry cool but all that weight hanging down below the gun sucks and they get in the way. The 20 round mag is OK but the gun feels best with the factory 10 rounder. With that said, I usually put it away with a 20 round mag in place.
Remington seems to be all over the place with the 7615. I think they started production feeling the market was going to be alot stronger than it was. I checked the Remington website recently and could not even find the gun listed anymore. Maybe it has been discontinued. The Ranch Carbine was advertises initially with a blued finish. Now I see it advertised with a parkerized finish. Mine has the parkerized finish except for the fore -end tube which is glossy blue. More on that finish shortly. The Ranch Carbine also comes with no iron sights which I find disappointing. A good set of iron sights would make it all the more desirable as a good brush gun if you ask me.
I don't buy this finish as being a true parkerized finish. I can scratch it with my fingernail; it is just that soft. After 18 months of banging and beating utility duty, it was scratched up shamefully bad and I don't take all the blame for that. I had completed some 870 Duracoat projects and decided I needed to do something with this 7615. Just as one final test to make sure I really wanted to paint it, I decided to test it with some MEK.
I use MEK to degrease the project guns. I picked a spot out of the way under the barrel of the 7615 and gave it a good swipe with an MEK soaked rag. The rag came away black. Made up my mind for me.
Another strike for Remington -- I do not think they intend the end user to break this gun down any farther that removing the trigger group. Breaking it down any farther is a real chore.
I have taken scores of 870s apart and I did not anticipate what I found when I took the 7615 down. Granted, most of the 870s are old school; 20-30-40 years old and of acknowledged higher quality than current construction; but there was no excuse for what I found inside my 7615.
The internals were liberally coated with a heavy grease. I know you are supposed to clean new guns and I followed the procedure in the Owner's manual before I fired the first shot. All you are told to do is remove the trigger group - and to clean the chamber. The bolt was covered with grease as was the carrier and stripper mechanism. Heavy, nasty dirty grease.
Everywhere I looked there were tool marks, rough edges and sloppy machine work. The bolt and threaded hole that retain the magazine insert looked like they had been drilled out with a Black and Decker hand drill and tapped by some blind 4 year old. The action bars were a mess. The edges were actually jagged and sharp. When I checked the guide channels for them in the receiver, I as appalled at how rough they were as well.
This is the only 7615 I have ever shouldered and I really thought the stiff, sorta gritty action was the way it was supposed to be. Even after about 1000 rounds over the past months, it is still nowhere near as smooth as any of my 870s -- even the Express models.
I degreased everything thoroughly. I left the bolt assembly in place on the action bars because I was not confident I could get it back together with no instructions.
So I got out the steel wool and the india stones and the 600 grit paper and started looking at the obvious wear marks and the sharp edges and the ragged steel. I spent hours folks, this was no small undertaking. Shame on you Remington! The MSRP on this rifle was $932. Looks like you could have been a little more artful in your manufacture and assembly.
Then it was time for the Duracoat.
I used my custom blue-black mix and went for a traditional look.
I had been thinking earlier I would really like another 7615, maybe a Police Carbine with a 16.5" barrel and synthetic furniture but now I am not that sure. The gun is WAY slicker now. No more gritty, rough action but Christ, I spent 8 hours going through it to get to this point.
I was going to rant on Remington a little bit more but what is the point? I have the option of where I spend my money I guess. Problem is you don't see many 7615s for sale used and when you do, they go for almost new prices.
The new scope is on its' way and I will update the thread when I get it mounted and out in the woods.
The shotgun right now is an 18" barreled Ithaca 37. It is loaded with #4 buck and the grab pouch next to it has a variety of other shells in it. The last time I used it was slugs to punch 2 holes in a 10' culvert so we could bridle it and pull it in place on a road project. Just seemed to be less hassle than getting the cutting torch out. The time before that it was a big old rattlesnake in the road that lost out to a blast of birdshot. You get the idea... tools not toys.
The first center fire I had way back in the day was a Remington .243 ADL with a big old scope on it. I found out its' use was limited as I did not have the need for many shots out past 100 yds. My boy in the Air Force convinced me to try out the .223 and I got an AR. Just never felt good and it was replaced with a Mini 14. You know, that gun felt good but didn't shoot for squat. I traded and got another Mini 14 that had a gizmo that covered the barrel and made it deadly accurate but at the cost of weight and comfort level. Just never did feel right with that barrel thingy on it.
I have used the Remington 870s since way back and I like 'em - I just do. Last year's truck 12 gauge was a short barreled 870 with a +2 extension and walnut furniture. I had no complaints. Sometime in late 2008 I picked up a Remington 7615 and immediately felt like I had found the right gun for me.
It was the Ranch Carbine with an 18.5" barrel and walnut furniture. I picked up a Bushnell Trophy T dot scope and felt like I was ready to go.
The gun was short and handy. It pointed great and the pump action was second nature to me. I picked up some 20 and 30 round magazines and settled in for business.
Over the course of the last 18 months, a few things have become apparent.
The illuminated and unmagnified T dot sight was good out to about 75 yards. It was deadly in fast and furious up close encounters like jumping a sounder of hogs or a coyote running flat out across a field. Maybe my eyes have gotten worse over the last year or so, I ain't getting any younger for sure, or maybe it was the fact that the scope was mounted just a tad high and made it difficult for me to get my cheek planted firmly on the stock. At any rate, I started to miss some easy shots. I am updating the optics and discuss it in this thread. I just need a little magnification to make up for my failings. The gun shot better than my current abilities and I think a low power scope will make me measure up a bit better.
I have found I prefer the magazines with fewer rounds. The 30 round magazines look extry cool but all that weight hanging down below the gun sucks and they get in the way. The 20 round mag is OK but the gun feels best with the factory 10 rounder. With that said, I usually put it away with a 20 round mag in place.
Remington seems to be all over the place with the 7615. I think they started production feeling the market was going to be alot stronger than it was. I checked the Remington website recently and could not even find the gun listed anymore. Maybe it has been discontinued. The Ranch Carbine was advertises initially with a blued finish. Now I see it advertised with a parkerized finish. Mine has the parkerized finish except for the fore -end tube which is glossy blue. More on that finish shortly. The Ranch Carbine also comes with no iron sights which I find disappointing. A good set of iron sights would make it all the more desirable as a good brush gun if you ask me.
I don't buy this finish as being a true parkerized finish. I can scratch it with my fingernail; it is just that soft. After 18 months of banging and beating utility duty, it was scratched up shamefully bad and I don't take all the blame for that. I had completed some 870 Duracoat projects and decided I needed to do something with this 7615. Just as one final test to make sure I really wanted to paint it, I decided to test it with some MEK.
I use MEK to degrease the project guns. I picked a spot out of the way under the barrel of the 7615 and gave it a good swipe with an MEK soaked rag. The rag came away black. Made up my mind for me.
Another strike for Remington -- I do not think they intend the end user to break this gun down any farther that removing the trigger group. Breaking it down any farther is a real chore.
I have taken scores of 870s apart and I did not anticipate what I found when I took the 7615 down. Granted, most of the 870s are old school; 20-30-40 years old and of acknowledged higher quality than current construction; but there was no excuse for what I found inside my 7615.
The internals were liberally coated with a heavy grease. I know you are supposed to clean new guns and I followed the procedure in the Owner's manual before I fired the first shot. All you are told to do is remove the trigger group - and to clean the chamber. The bolt was covered with grease as was the carrier and stripper mechanism. Heavy, nasty dirty grease.
Everywhere I looked there were tool marks, rough edges and sloppy machine work. The bolt and threaded hole that retain the magazine insert looked like they had been drilled out with a Black and Decker hand drill and tapped by some blind 4 year old. The action bars were a mess. The edges were actually jagged and sharp. When I checked the guide channels for them in the receiver, I as appalled at how rough they were as well.
This is the only 7615 I have ever shouldered and I really thought the stiff, sorta gritty action was the way it was supposed to be. Even after about 1000 rounds over the past months, it is still nowhere near as smooth as any of my 870s -- even the Express models.
I degreased everything thoroughly. I left the bolt assembly in place on the action bars because I was not confident I could get it back together with no instructions.
So I got out the steel wool and the india stones and the 600 grit paper and started looking at the obvious wear marks and the sharp edges and the ragged steel. I spent hours folks, this was no small undertaking. Shame on you Remington! The MSRP on this rifle was $932. Looks like you could have been a little more artful in your manufacture and assembly.
Then it was time for the Duracoat.
I used my custom blue-black mix and went for a traditional look.
I had been thinking earlier I would really like another 7615, maybe a Police Carbine with a 16.5" barrel and synthetic furniture but now I am not that sure. The gun is WAY slicker now. No more gritty, rough action but Christ, I spent 8 hours going through it to get to this point.
I was going to rant on Remington a little bit more but what is the point? I have the option of where I spend my money I guess. Problem is you don't see many 7615s for sale used and when you do, they go for almost new prices.
The new scope is on its' way and I will update the thread when I get it mounted and out in the woods.
