Remington 7600 jams, stiff action

[Grumpy]

Remington 7600 jams, stiff action by mr texaco
I,ve seen some questions about the 7600. I have one in 35 Whelen, here is what I found:
Stiff action, jamming . . . The action bar assembly part no #91560 is held in battery by the action bar lock lever part no #91432. This lever is released from the lock position when the trigger is pulled. This lever is also used to release the action from battery manually without pulling the trigger. The action bar lock bears on the left side slide rail and rides along the underside of the slide rail when the action is pumped. It returns to the lock position when the slide is moved forward, and the gun goes into battery. The "stiff" action or jamming occurs when the lock lever slips off of the slide rail and becomes trapped between the slide rail and the frame. This causes the slide action to bind up when moving rearward. The fix . . . (do not try this unless you are competent). Remove magazine and make safe. With the slide forward and trigger cocked, look into the magazine well and observe the slide rail where it meets the lock lever. Rock the slide side-to-side and observe the gap between the frame and the slide rail. It should be less than 1/2 the thickness of the lock lever. Observe the position of the lock lever. The forward lock lever surface should be slightly away from the frame guide slot as it bears on the center of slide rail edge. In my case, the lock lever was up against the frame, and there was a significant gap between the slide rail and the frame, large enough to allow the lock lever to slip off the slide rail and jam the gun. This is what I did. (refer the problem to a competent gunsmith if you cannot perform this work . . . My fix may not be the only way to address this problem)
Dissasemble the gun, soft vice the action bar assembly and spread the rear portion of the left slide rail in small increments until it rides in the slot with only a small gap between it and the the frame. Soft vice the lock lever and bend the front 1/3 gently until it no longer bears against the frame. Be careful! Use only a slight bending motion. Reassemble the gun and check for proper operation. The lock lever should ride on the center of the slide rail edge.

Difficulty going into battery. 1.) If you are crimping the brass into the cannelure of your hand loads, make sure that the crimping force does not bell the brass. 2.) Clean the bolt lugs thoroughly and scrub with a bronze brush. Lubricate the bolt lugs with a light coat of lithium based (white) grease. The lugs will "polish in" the more you shoot the gun. Insert a nonmarring cleaning rod into the barrel from the muzzle end. When it clears the chamber insert a 45 cal brush and screw it onto the rod. Use a slow speed drill to slowly rotate the brush while pulling it into the chamber. Brush the chamber with gun solvent. Do not pull the brush into the bore. Remove the brush, then remove the cleaning rod. Rinse the chamber and barrel. Clean and reassemble the gun.
Hi All,
I read a post about a 7600 that would not go into batery or took excessive force to get it into battery when chambering a round. This may help. The 7600 uses a "circular" half moon extractor ring inside the bolt face. When the bolt is worked forward, the shell is chambered and the cartridge rim expands the ectractor ring which allows the cartridge rim to recess into the bolt face while going into battery. If the cartridge rim hangs up on the extractor ring and it does not expand, the gun will not go into battery. On inspection, I found that the rounds were hanging on the edge of the extractor ring. The fix:: Order a new extractor ring from Brownells. (The extractor ring should not be reused once removed) Carefully break the edge of the new extractor in the area of the ectractor claw. I used a diamond dremmel and then Flitz polish to smooth this area. Install new extractor ring. This significantly eased the force needed to put the gun in battery. As always, do not attempt unless you are competent.

My Remington 7600 35 Whelen now functions flawlessly.
Attached Thumbnails

several members of my group own these remington, 7600 /whelen rifles
the 7600 in caliber 35 whelen is very popular and well respected in my group of elk hunters,
especially when loaded with the speer 250 grain bullet and several common powders,
55 grains imr 4320 powder,and a 215 fed primer is preferred by many guys.
55 grains ,imr 4064 powder of powder and a 215 fed primers, is a marginally a bit slower
but also accurate

 

[Grumpy]

(Note: These are near maximum loads, you should use 10% less to start.)
(See note on Powders below or read all about various Powders.)
Bullet is .358" diameter. Due to different barrel lengths,
type of bullet, seating depth, primer type and other factors,
you may not get near the FPS charted.
It is just a guide and the reason you should start under these charges and work up.

-----------------------------------------
158 grain JHP (.357 Pistol Bullet)
2400 31.0 gr. 1,546 FPS
-----------------------------------------
180 grain JFN
IMR 4895 63.0 gr. 2,918 FPS
IMR 3031 60.0 gr. 2,983
IMR 4064 63.5 gr. 2,867
IMR 4320 63.0 gr. 2,876
AA2230 63.0 gr. 2,951
RX7 53.0 gr. 2,845
-----------------------------------------
200 grain JRN
H335 55.0 gr. 2,684 FPS
H332 56.0 gr. 2,691
H4895 57.0 gr. 2,689
H380 61.0 gr. 2,602
VARGET 57.0 gr. 2,653
RX12 63.7 gr. 2,796
IMR 3031 57.9 gr. 2,831
IMR 4064 63.0 gr. 2,839
IMR 4895 61.0 gr. 2,791
IMR 4320 61.5 gr. 2,744
AA2230 61.0 gr. 2,768
BL-C(2) 63.0 gr. 2,807
-----------------------------------------
225 grain JSP
H335 55.8 gr. 2,637 FPS
RX12 61.5 gr. 2,722
IMR 3031 54.4 gr. 2,617
IMR 4064 60.0 gr. 2,689
IMR 4895 58.0 gr. 2,648

http://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/the-35-whelen-a-practical-powerhouse/99508

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/ammunition_rs_35whelen_200804/84372

https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/35-whelen/

IMR 4320 59.7 gr. 2,693
AA2460 55.2 gr. 2,563
RX12 61.5 gr. 2,722
-----------------------------------------
250 grain JSP
H335 55.7 gr. 2,514 FPS
H380 59.0 gr. 2,416
VARGET 55.0 gr. 2,486
BL-C(2) 59.0 gr. 2,503
H332 52.0 gr. 2,398
H4895 53.0 gr. 2,455
AA2460 56.0 gr. 2,520
RX12 58.2 gr. 2,578
IMR 3031 51.3 gr. 2,485
IMR 4064 56.7 gr. 2,529
IMR 4895 55.3 gr. 2,511
IMR 4320 56.0 gr. 2,501
-----------------------------------------
280 grain #358009 cast bullet
SR 4759 31.6 gr. 1,968 FPS
IMR 3031 48.5 gr. 2,349
IMR 4227 28.0 gr. 1,825
IMR 4895 60.0 gr. 2,445
IMR 4198 40.0 gr. 2,154
-----------------------------------------
Discussion: The 35 Whelen was originally a wildcat round developed in 1922. If a rifleman wanted more punch but wanted to avoid the short lived cases of belted magnums, the 35 Whelen is the only cartridge between 30'06 and the hard kicking 416 Rigsby. This is one of the reasons why the 35 Whelen was one of the few of the wildcats to survive WWII. There were no SAAMI standards for the 35 Whelen prior to its domestication by Remington in 1987.
Therefore this data is not for use by custom wildcat chambered rifles.
A 250 grain boat tail spitzer will deliver a ton of energy at 300 yards ,
when launched at 2,500 fps.
A 250 grain boattail spitzer can have a point blank range of 300 yards on elk,
by zeroing 3 inches high at 100 yards.

 

[Grumpy]

originally Posted by Oldgunner1969
I’ve seen over a hundred of these discussions over the last year or two and a hundred more in the last five years. Mostly young hunters and some older hunters who are wanting to use their grandfathers or in some cases great grandfathers 742s and 740s. The issues are almost always the same and the fixes in most cases are simple. The issue is usually failure to cycle properly which is normally either FTE or FTF. These rifles were built for one purpose, to hunt in densely wooded areas where quick follow-up shots are essential, Hence the model name WOODSMASTER. They are not military grade rifles designed for high volume shooting at a high rate of speed. If you inherit or buy a solid second hand Remmy autoloader you can realistically destroy it in one afternoon of mag dumping at the range, so please stop. Now for the two most common issues that I’ve encountered. FTE or Failure to eject is almost always caused by one thing, a dirty chamber. To clean it you need to wrap a 1/4” thick red 3M abrasive pad to a 17cal bore brush. Attach this to a cordless drill and work it in and out of the chamber for at least 30 to 40 seconds. After that attach a piece of #4 steel wool to the same bore brush and work it until the chamber is shiny clean. Even if it looks clean, if the brass is sticking in the chamber trust me, it’s dirty. Doing this will fix failure to eject 99.9% of the time. If the stuck brass has caused extractor damage, you can order a new one and the river to attach it from Numrich gun parts (in fact, you can order most anything you need for these rifles from Numrich) don’t be afraid to tear these rifles down, you can’t hurt them and they’re no more complicated than an 1100 or 11-87, in fact the trigger group is almost identical. Failure to feed is almost always an aftermarket magazine or a factory magazine with a worn follower. Replace your factory follower (also available from Numrich) and/or throw your aftermarket mag in the garbage. Other issues include what’s called chinking, which looks like serated wear marks on the inside top rail section of the receiver. This usually happens after prolonged high speed shooting. If bad enough it can mean the end of your rifle but I’ve found that I can usually Dremel it out and hone it smooth. If you do this and apply a thin layer of grease, not oil where all parts meet up steel to steel inside the receiver, you can get another 500 or so rounds out of your 742 or 740. Just a note, my 742 is almost almost 50 years old and probably hasn’t had 500 rounds total through it. These are really neat little rifles and will account for lots of conversation at the deer camp. I love my 742 in 30-06 and use it to take more deer that either of my bolt guns. The last two deer I shot during special doe and spike season here in Tx were taken with My 742.

just an opinion, based on owning two different 742 rifles and watching the results others have had owing them,
the reliability issues you mention are far too common, and they are well known.
I have no idea why the Remington 760 and 7600 slide action rifles which are almost a CLONE
,too the 740-742,in a manually actuated action,version have and maintain a far higher reputation for durability and accuracy.
but they certainly do,the slide actions have a very good reputation for durability and accuracy,
but its almost indisputable among everyone I've talked too for decades,
that the 7600, in 30/06 and 35 whelen have,almost a loyal cult like following,
but the 740-742 remington rifles are avoided like the plague.
I have owned two 742 rifles briefly, both rifles , taken in on trades,
I doubt either one had 100 rounds shot through them before they were traded off.
while the 7600 in 35 whelen and to a lesser extent the 30/06 have developed a loyal following,
among the people I hunt with, you generally get advised to upgrade to a browning BAR,
if you want a semi-auto, and in my opinion thats darn good advise.
obviously maintenance and cleaning and lubrication are critical and mandatory,
but the BAR, has a long history of having far fewer durability issues.

btw I picked up a BAR in caliber 270 win a few years ago , its one of the most accurate rifles Ive ever handled with 150 grain speer bullets,
54 grains of h4831 and a 215 fed primer
consistently under 1" off a good rest at 100 yards
https://www.speer-ammo.com/products/bullets/rifle-bullets/hot-cor-rifle-bullet/1605