REMMINGTON MODEL 7400 30-06

[northerndirt]

how accurate do you guys think this gun is, new, synthetic, 2.5 x 10 simmons scope. had it bore sighted by two different people, both were really close. I take it out to the range and shoot, I can't hit a two x two foot square target at 25 yrds. gun shoots about a foot and a half low at 25 yrds, after bore sighting it?????? whats up with that? I know your all thinking its probably the shooter but I have been shooting rifles all my life and never ever had a gun like this. by the way I am pushing 50, maybe thats got something to do with it? I don't know what the h*** is going on but I am very disappointed in this rifle, any ideas?

[redhooks]

Maybe the stock is pressing on the barrel somewhere-would getting it glassed and bedded help??

[MO hunter]

hey northerndirt, i have the same gun, and mine is extremely ammo sensitive,cant shoot 6 inch groups at 100 yards with federal ammo but can cut that down to just under 2 inches with winchester so maybe try a different ammo, otherwise everyone that i've heard of with one likes it.
scott

[Whelen35]

If both of the people who "bore sited" the gun were close, Are you stateing that after each one did this process, that the gun would still hit in the same place target wise. When you bore site, all you are really doing is putting the crosshairs as close as you can parallel to the end of the barrel. It is not intended to be on target, only close to it. You still have to adjust the sights while useing the best rest EG, the most consistant and stable you can get to actually site in the gun to the range and load you are going to use. The 7400's can be very good guns, be shure to keep the action dry no oil when hunting in the cold, as this will at times cause the bolt to cycle slower than needed to eject the fired round, and load in the next. GEt the gun out to a good rest, make shure the ammo used is of the same make and weight that you are going to hunt with, and adjust the scope to hit point of aim at the range you feel is best. Good luck with the new gun.

[northerndirt]

to all, the ammo I have been using is remington 165 gr. don't know if this could be the cause or not. if the gun is off by a foot and a half at 25 to 30 yrds can I move the scope that much to make up for this? don't want to screw up a new scope by crankin on it to much. I don't know if I understand this correctly or not, but the scope says 1/4" at 100yrds, so does that mean if I am off by say 15" at 30yrds I would need to move the scope up 60 clicks? is this possible?or would it only be twenty cause I'm not at 100 yrds? thanks for the comments guys, keep them coming, this thing is really getting me frazzled, might be selling a new gun, I've already shot four boxes of shells thru this thing and still am not at all happy!

[This message has been edited by northerndirt (edited 09-23-2003).]

[Surface Tension]

Bore sighting is to get you close but its also used for something Else. It will tell you alot when mounting a scope. Instead of moving large amounts with the scopes adjustments you use brass shims to get it close. Then use the scopes adjustment for small adjustments. Since you didn't mount the scope yourself theres no way to know how much its been moved by the installer. Hopefully thy knew what they were doing. So in a nutshell make big adjustments with shims..........

A couple tips.

On your 7400 make sure the forearm is snug.

Copper Fouled. Use a solvent that will clean the copper thats built up in your barrel. Follow the directions on the bottle.

Put the scopes caps in your pocket.

Use a stationary surface with sand bags. The hood of your truck isn't a stationary surface.

Give yourself time and take your time.

Take one shot and let the barrel cool.

Don't move the scope more then a couple clicks at a time and expect a few shots till the scope settles in after an adjustment has been made.

[jlm]

It might also be the scope itself. It not unheard of to buy a new scope which is faulty, I would have it test. You may also have the wrong scope mounts on the gun (or rings) which can affect the performance. I also have a 7400 which is accurate but it tends to foul a lot. Keep it clean is all I can say!

[graffitigreg]

I've got a 7400 30-06 w/simmons 3x9 scope and if I REALLY take my time I can shoot five shot groups under 2" using plain old 150 grain federal classic ammo.

Are you shooting three shots at a time? If so, are you getting a nice group or is it spraying them? If you are shooting groups then you know where it's hitting so crank the adjustments down 20 and over 20 (or whatever direction you need) and fire three more. Did they go down and over? If not case it up get help) If you have a group take a look at how far 20 clicks got ya, if it moved the impact two inches and you need about four more inches you'll need to go 40 clicks the next time. Calculate approximately how many clicks up, down, or sideways you need and make the adjustments based on how far it moved onn your previous adjustment. (Tip: Write down what you did each time you adjust the scope and write it next to the group on your target. Moving oit a bunch at a time will get you close fast and then you can make final adjustments. Plus, if it doesn't work, and you can't get it to shoot right, you'll have a record of your efforts to take with you to the store or gusmith or send back to Remington.)

If you are not shooting groups check two things:

Scope tightness - Look at the bases - are they tight, look at the rings - are they tight? - Look at the scope is it seated properly on the bases? Get a screwdriver and really snug them screws down.

Barrel clearance: Take a new dollar bill and pass it between the stock and the barrel from the tip of the forend down toward the reciever. With a little effort the dollar bill should pass between the stock and barrell or it may need a little inletting so the barrel is free to whip. (I'd let a gunsmith handle this one or send it back to Remington!)

The points others made about getting a steady rest are undeniable. I think sandbags are the best! You can make your own out of some old socks and plastic bags. Grab a card table, a chair, some cushions (to adjust for height of the chair or table), and half a dozen sandbags, and head for the range. The point here is to see how the gun shoots not how you shoot. Get it sandbagged properly, so the gun almost stays on target without you touching it, then hold her steady and squeeeezzzzzeeeeee off three shots.

If you are sandbagged and take very careful aim and you don't get a decent three shot group at 25 yards put the gun back in the case! Take it to a gunsmith, back to the store, somewhere someone can find out what's wrong. Don't forget - every once in a while they make a bad scope too and that can be difficult to troubleshoot! (And... trouble to shoot!)

If you have a good shooting buddy bring him/her along - if they can't shoot it either it's the song not the singer.

Once you get it zeroed don't oil it up or it will fail in cold weather - I use the Remington Dry-Lube in the action and it works for me.

Good Luck with the gun. I love mine - it hates deer!

[graffitigreg]

Forgot.. If you are 18" low at 25 yards - have a gunsmith do the boresighting for you. You'll need to be on the paper at 25 yards before you can zero.

My guess would be if it was boresighted properly and you are 18" low at 25 yards the scope is either mounted wrong or defective.

You can walk the bullets up by moving closer to the target then firing and adjusting but it's gonna take a he** of a lot of ammo. By the time you get to shooting at 100 yards you'll be sitting in a pile of brass and you'll have the dump beat out of your shoulder and cheek!

You can also get a big piece of cardboard to mount your targets on. If it's really shooting 18" low make a dot at the top of the target with a marker and use that dot as your point of aim - if you still are not on the paper or cardboard I'd take it back or if it's used I'd see a gunsmith.

Better hury if you want it back in time for deer season!

[STILLNOFISH]

I also have one question with regards to sighting in a scope. If the shots are low and to the right, is one supposed to adjust the scope down and to the right a few clicks (follow the bullet). I have herd two stories on adjusting the scope in which one is you follow the bullet with your adjustments and the others is do the complete opposite of what the bullet does. So if the shot is down and to the right, is one supposed to click a few notches up and to the left, or the other way. Thanks for the help, this site has been extremely helpful with answering many of the dumb questions I have

[Guest]

You've gotta be on the paper first.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned using a ruler and a little math to cut down on the number of rounds needed to sight in.

Most of the scopes commonly used have what's known as "quarter minute clicks", which translates out to moving point of impact 1/4 inch at 100 yards.

I put a 3 shot group into the target, measure the distance from the group to the center of the bull (vertical and horizontal) and then make corrections. If your three shots aren't in a nice group, you've got ammo, gun or other problems that cannot be solved by adjusting the scope.

Let's say the center of my 3 shot group at 100 is 6 inches to the left and 4 1/2 inches low. I would do 24 clicks RIGHT and 18 clicks UP. I usually go a few extra clicks and back up to the desired number, just a habit, and not really necessary with most scopes.

The identical group and location at 50 yards would mean you double the number of clicks.

The identical group and location at 25 yards would mean you quadruple the clicks (but at 25 yards I would be thinking about shimming).

18 inches low at 25 yards means a crappy job of boresighting, or bad installation of the scope. In your case find a good gunsmith, bring a test target in with you, and have them shim the scope to get you a bit closer. Boresighting is just the starting point - even an excellent job by a good gunsmith can have you shooting several inches off. That's when you pull out the ruler and go to work.

When you start your final tune-up shooting, make sure you let the barrel cool down between shots. A cold barrel acts a bit differently than a hot one.

[This message has been edited by Pete Zebich (edited 09-24-2003).]

[TUMBLEWEED]

You could also remove the scope and use
the iron sights to verify a potential
scope problem(if you have iron sights).

[graffitigreg]

STILLNOFISH.

If your shots are LOW and to the RIGHT you will need to... turn your scope UP and to the LEFT.

If you turn it down and to the right you'll just get further away from the bullseye.

The follow your shots thing, rather than turning the scope the wrong way, involves aiming at your group and moving the crosshairs so they are alligned with the bullseye.

Use the targets with one inch squares. fire three good steady shots. Then locate the imaginary center of the three shot group - then count up the number of squares until you are parallel with the bull (at 100 yards you'll move the scope up 4 clicks for each inch) count the number of squares to the right of the bull (at 100 yards you'll need to move your scope left 4 clicks for each square).

At closer ranges (25 yards and 50 yards) use the number of clicks mentioned in the previous post.

If you get any long range shooting most people want to be 1.5 to 2 inches high at 100 yards which allows shooters, using stuff more powerful than a 30-30 (243, 270, 30-06, 300, 338, etc), to hold dead on out to about 350 yards and still hit a 10" circle - but that's another subject!

[Insp Gadget]

I have the same gun, just previous model. Took me a while to get settled down with it as for an .06, it bucks a bit. I think the way the auto loader bottoms when it cycles kind of times with the bullet recoil and magnifies a bit. If you are shooting lots of rounds at a sitting, you may be developing a slight flinch without knowing it. Like earlier posts have mentioned, have a good shooting friend go along and watch you to see if there are any quirks with your mechanics when you shoot.

Next, after about 10 shots in less than 5 minutes mine starts to shoot lower and lower. I believe this is because the gas port for the auto feeder is attached at the bottom and when the barrel trys to expand, it gets held back on the bottom. Went to a range once and because of the line you had to do all your shooting in 20 mins, so I hurried and by the 12th shot I was on the target below mine. Now I only shoot where I can take my time, shoot 3 and put the gun down for 5 minutes, let somebody else shoot and then go again.

Finally, if you try enough ammo when you get something to shoot well you'll find what is best. Haven't had to touch the adjustments in 12 years since I switched to Federal Premium 165gr. sierra game king boat tail soft points. (stk #3006D)Last weekend, first time out since last season my first 3 shots made a 1.5 inch group, 1 inch off at 75 yds. corrected for the wind and the next 3 were 1.75 inches, 1/2 inch off. Last 9 deer have taken 9 shells.

Good gun, be patient, like others have said, must be kept clean or you'll have trouble with the lugs not latching all the way.

Good Luck!

[Fisher Dave]

Follow Suface Tensions post.. He has stated the proper procedure to get you near what your shooting at. If you cant hit the paper at 25 yards, your not going to be able to adjust it into place by the scope settings.

Your scope is mounted improperly, or is very defective. I used to have the same rifle and could nearly drive nails at 200 yards. They are a good gun if you keep them clean.

[STILLNOFISH]

Graffitigreg,

I really appreciate the feedback. Your information was extremely helpful.

[Ozzy169]

I'd almost venture to say that the scope could be mounted backwards or something wrong with the scope mounts (i.e. 2 different sizes). Inspect scope mounts and double check the direction of the scope.? Things to try

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