Remington Model 7 accuracy

Originally Posted By: Houser in NCOriginally Posted By: cmatera I had a Model 7 SS in .260 Remington that shot patterns, not groups. The newer Remingtons shoot great after you put on a new barrel, new stock, and new trigger. Sold it and lost a bunch of $$. Too many inexpensive guns that shoot great to waste time on them.

After more experimenting, that's the way I'm beginning to think. I could have it glass bedded but that wouldn't guarantee accuracy. I'm at the point to where it would be cheaper to put it back in the safe and pick up a 243 Ruger American Predator and reloading dies.


I can agree with this but yet I would encourage you to try just a little longer or more in the powders. I bought one of the first 260s with 18" barrel in like 1995 or 96 and it was a $350.00 gun. I worked and worked for several months to develop a load. I was not working constant as I would go off on a job and come back to this. But With the scope ( 6X Weaver) at 100 yds I now get 3 shots in one hole with RE 19 and 140gr Nosler Partitions. I get a group that I can cover with a dime in the 120gr at 100 ( 3 shot) Now like several of you I went through the frustrations and I heard many Horror stories about how these Sevens were junk. NO arguments. Before I finally stumbled upon my load that gun shot patterns at 14-16" big. I DID NOT do anything to the bedding or trigger or any other work to it since it was supposed to be a "truck gun" I want to emphasize that I could only get three shot groups. AS soon as I shot that 4th or 5th It started opening up. AM I Suggesting that these things are worth it? NO you have to ask yourself that question. But for my purposes it worked out. IN my case if I see a Hog or Coyote and want to shoot it then I can get three shots before I have to let it completely cool down or clean it. I am not happy or excited about this portion of my experience and I would not ever buy one again. On the 260 the twist would have been better at 1-8 instead of the 1-9 . Oil Well,, as we say in Texas,,,
 
Oh forgot to add, that I did try all the match stuff,,, Fed primers match bullets etc weighing sorting brass. Didn't make any difference with me and the results. Decided to go with what I would hunt with and try to make that work. In my case since the 260 was new to the public market, I made several calls to Hodgdon, Sierra, Speer, trying to find best bullets, loads, etc. I feel your pain.
Heck the only reason I went with the 260 in the first place was that I was familiar with the 6.5-08 in High power competition. And this was supposed to be a truck gun. Small handy pkg. Not to bash but I felt that Remington had let the public down especially in the mod 7.
 
I have a 260 m7 and share the same accuracy woes! I wish I had spent the money I spent on reloading for an accurate group on a new rifle, I got decent groups with Barnes TSX 120gr (they are long for wt and that helped.) great for deer. When I got a suppressor and wanted a threaded barrel, I salvaged the action and stock!!
Saved money in getting a custom build rifle that is VERY accurate, but unless you want a custom rifle ($$$), put it in safe or sell...
 
I have a factory stainless synthetic stocked Model 7 in 260 Rem that all I have ever done to it is put a good scope on it and load and shoot. It likes both factory ammo and hand loads. I actually haven't found a single thing yet that it doesn't shoot extremely well.
 
I had a 7 in lam. Stock ss barrel in 22 250. I couldn't get it too shoot a good group. I tried factory reloads still one luck. I traded I bought it new. I tried everything.
 
I had the same problem with an inherited model 70 243. It would shoot good one time and no freaking clue where it'd go the next. I messed with it off and on for quite sometime and didn't really want to mutilate a family gun. I finally checked the lug area with the kids silly putty and found the clearances to he HUGE from the wood stock shrinking and swelling throughout the years. With my very amateur and crude gunsmith skills and probably not the right tools it now shoots pretty darn good and didn't turn out too bad neither. The other guys are way smarter than me but bedding the recoil lug solved my varying accuracy problem.
 
Model 7's have been a love/hate affair along with some ruger ultra lights.

One day I was at the range and noticed a small little girl that was shooting a model 7 in 7/08 and she was shooting tiny groups. I got to talking to her dad and he had instinctively added a Gentry muzzle break that throws some of the noise forward. He said all of his rifles had the Gentry on them.

So, I took the Model 7 in 308 that I had that driven me crazy, twice, and added a Gentry muzzle break. Like Magic, the darn thing started shooting 1/2" groups. Then went to the 7/08 and 243 with Gentry brakes...same thing, small groups.

Upon reflection, it is obvious that the muzzle of the gun is flying around a lot while the gun is still under recoil. Reduce that recoil, groups get a lot better.

I wear Peltor tac 6 ear muffs, so the noise does not bother me.

I also had these in 222 and 223 years ago, they drove me crazy, wish I still had them.

The Model 7 seems to be a lesson in Physics, light weight rifles are going to have the bullet exit the muzzle in a different place on every shot, thus patterns are the result.

I finally shot the barrel out of the 7/08, put a #5 taper barrel on it,6.5 Creed, with a Bell and Carlson stock, Gentry muzzle break of course. This Rifle is a shoot'en mamma jamma with Barnes LR 127g at 3030 fps.
 
The shooter knowing how to properly shoot a light weight rifle cures a lot of Model 7 and Kimber, etc. light weight rifle problems. Light weights require consistent hand control on the stock fore end (not by grasping the barrel) to minimize/eliminate erratic muzzle jump from bags or rests.

A heavier rifle will tend to "ride" bags consistently, hence generally good accuracy. A light weight one won't, especially with improvised or cheap front rests. Hence the rifle gets blamed for being inaccurate when it may not be.
 
I'm the OP and just remembered that I left this thread hanging without any updates on my Model 7.

I had put the rifle back in the safe and said the heck with it since I really don't "need" to shoot it. After more than a few months, the thought of it not shooting like it should kept gnawing at me. As a last resort and a lot of research I decided to remove the original wooden youth stock and put a B&C Alaskan stock on it.

The stock looks well to be made, solid, the green w/black spiderweb finish looks great and no flex that I can tell. The barreled action dropped into the new stock just fine but did require a little of the aluminum material to be removed to allow the Timney trigger's safety to move freely. The action sat in the stock with very little movement so I torqued it down. The barrel is fully free floated from the lug to the end. This was checked with a business card instead of a dollar bill.

The first few shots allowed me to get it on paper before getting serious about groups. I loaded 3 rounds of 85gr. Sierra HPBT, WLRP and H4350 at 45.0, 45.5 and 46.0grs. Shot those, waiting about a minute between shots.
Wow! Those three shots were grouped nicely at a little over 1" of each other. So I loaded more at 46.0grs and gave them a try. Chronographed velocity of the 46.0 gr load puts them at an average of 3015 fps.

I loaded more and got the little Model 7 dialed in at 100 yards. It was a miracle! Groups had shrunk to less than 1".

To say that I'm thrilled with the difference that the B&C Alaskan stock made would be an understatement. It has turned the little 6mm Model 7 into a shooter. I can now go out on the deck at any given time and hit a steel groundhog target 135 yards away, dead center. I've tried a few 200 yard shots, under less than ideal conditions, with results a little over MOA but deer or coyote capable at that range. When the weather improves I'll be able to see what it's capable of at longer ranges using sand bags.

First shot consistency was what I was after all along and less than 1" groups is icing on the cake.
 
Glad it worked out for you. As I indicated in my earlier response all of mine have laminated stocks free floated. The factory stock is the culprit when it comes to accuracy.
 
Im glad it worked out.

I have a Model 7 SS...and a Ruger American or two....and I would pay for a barrel for the 7 long before I went the American route. Luckily, you dont have to.
 
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