Remington 7600 pump

[GeoffB]

A buddy of mine hunted pigs with a 18.5" short barreled Rem 7600 in .308.
The muzzle blast was quite stout.
After the rest of us were complaining about the blast in the lignum swamps he had our local gunsmith turn up a blast tube and screw it onto the end of the muzzle.
This is like a muzzle brake without the side holes.
But it had a straight 12.7mm ( 1/2") diameter hole through it back to the threaded section that screwed to the end of the barrel.
The unit was about 50mm (2") long and screwed onto the end of the barrel like a muzzle brake.
The idea was to direct the blast forward each time the gun was fired.
It seemed to work changing the muzzle blast from a boom to a crack. Of course this is totally subjective.
It did not seem to be as loud as before but we used hearing protection or stayed away from him when he fired most of the time anyway.
That might be a cheaper option than finding a barrel extension and fitting a new barrel.

 

[PaulT]

Wow, lots of useful, hard-won knowledge and experience provided here, I am very grateful to all of you,
thank-you.

I am still undecided, but will follow up with a call to my gunsmith to see what he can do.
I am told there is a steady demand for second-hand new carbine barrels in 35 Whelan amongst the hound hunting fraternity therefore the changeover to full length wont be dramatic in cost, but it may be a finicky job for the smith.

Another fact I omitted from my opening post is that I ruined my previous dog with one single wayward shot when shooting at a doe.

The doe was directly in front at about 90yds and my dog was way off to my left (at least 6 - 8 meters) and I genuinely thought that the shot was clear to take.

At the shot the dog tore off not to be seen until I had well and truly finished dressing out the doe. Patch never hunted again and was totally petrefied of anything that even resembled a gun. I accept full responsibility for this stupid act and wish to avoid making the same mistake with Penny.

I guess you could say i'm a bit gun-shy myself, despite my penchant for short barrels.

Thanks again to all of you that have provided me with valuable advice.

 

[PaulT]

A man and his hunting dog is a requirement for the man’s soul to be complete.

 

[Bsto270]

Having grown up in Pennsylvania, the Remington 760 and 7600 series is definitely a familiar one. I own one that I inherited from my grandfather in 30-06. Have not yet hunted with it but it is a nice rifle. My other grandfather hunts with one in 30-06 to this day, and growing up in an area where the first day of deer season was a school holiday, you got to know a bunch of guys who hunted with them. I hear few complaints, other than as some have said here check case length on reloads. Caliber wise, have seen them in 35 whelen, 30-06 (most common), .270, .308 and even a few odd ones like a special edition in .25-06 and 7mm-08 (a friend of mine has the latter and swears by the rifle).

 

[Shootist43]

PaulT, I have two 35 Whelens but they are bolt actions one with a 24" barrel the other with a 22" barrel. The caliber is fantastic for deer and larger (midsized) game. What kind of velocity are you expecting out of an
18 & 1/2 " barrel? I recently picked up an old Remington 760 in 30-06 that looks relatively unfired for $275.00. Has Penny helped you find deer in the past?

 

[bruce moulds]

as an aside, browning has been noted as producing a pump rifle in 9.3x62.
would probably have to special order in oz.
ideal for sambar, especially if you already have dies.
bruce.

 

[leslie hetrick]

I have a rem 7600 in .260 rem(factory engraved deer on the right side and a bear engraved on the left side) with 22" barrel, it was a grice gun shop special and very few were made. I shoot a 120 gr nosler BT at close to 2900 fps.

 

[PaulT]

The caliber is fantastic for deer and larger (midsized) game. What kind of velocity are you expecting out of an
18 & 1/2 " barrel?

I have no idea how much the velocity loss would be from such a short barrel but it really is not my main concern as generally I actually prefer short barrels, but in this particular scenario my main issue is avoiding muzzle blasting my dog in to being gun shy. Most shots in this type of hunting are under 100yds.

The actual platform of the rifle itself, being extremely slim, compact, light-weight makes it very attractive in terms of portability especially when on steep hills and other scenarios where I need to get the dog back on the leash for control.
Slipping through thick un-even terrain with a slick pumpy will no doubt resonate with those of you who already own and use them.

 

[leslie hetrick]

fps loss is there, but I still run 165 gr nosler BT bullets at 2700 fps out of the 18.5" barrel, out of my rem 700 with a 22" barrel right on 2900 fps.

 

[Shootist43]

Paul T, I'm having some trouble wrapping my arms around this. Are you thinking that because the barrel is shorter that there is perceptively less muzzle blast? There is no doubt about the carbine being handier in thick brush.

 

[bruce moulds]

if you can use an 18.5" barrel but not a 22" barrel, the brush is getting very thick!
bruce.

 

[PaulT]

Paul T, I'm having some trouble wrapping my arms around this. Are you thinking that because the barrel is shorter that there is perceptively less muzzle blast? There is no doubt about the carbine being handier in thick brush.

Not sure how you arrived at that but anyway, my concern is that the carbine barrel will produce MORE muzzle blast than a full length 22" barrel thereby potentially sending my dog gun-shy should a shot be fired whilst she is at my side.

if you can use an 18.5" barrel but not a 22" barrel, the brush is getting very thick!
bruce.

Bruce, the length of the barrel is of little consequence in navigating the bush.
My only concern is the potential of muzzle blast on my nearby gundog.

 

[PaulT]

Leslie, that's a beautiful .260 you have there. Congrats.

Unfortunately, I am what we locally refer to as a bogun when it comes to guns.

Engraving. for me, is like attaching an ash-tray to a motor bike.

My intent is purely for a tool. A tool that is light and handy to carry, shoots fast in an adequate calibre and something that can take my rough usage in poor weather and rough terrain. The 7600 carries the freight and carries it well.

 

[bruce moulds]

paul,
I am with you.
if a 22" barrel is too long to swing in bush, I don't want to be there.
what about guys that hunt pigs with full sized shotguns?
I see no gain in super short barrels.
bruce.

 

[leslie hetrick]

the Remington 7600 enhanced(engraved) rifles were factory with no increase in price, my 3006 carbing has the same engraving as the .260. i don,t mind a short barrel if it shoots, it is nice getting in and out of transport and while hunting off of my ATV,s. as you can see in the second photo, it pretty thick and shots are pretty close and quick in that area of the farm.

 

[Shootist43]

Paul T, sorry, I had this all wrong. I went back to your first post and saw that your concern was the increased muzzle blast from the short barrel. I am now on the same page as you. In deference to Penny's ears the longer barrel is your best bet. The 35 Whelen would be an excellent non magnum caliber for the Sambar deer you wish to hunt. I prefer using a 225 Gr. bullet because it shoots well is more powerful out of my rifles. My son's rifle shoots the 250 Gr. bullets better so he uses those. Have you talked to your gunsmith about the barrel swap?

 

[PaulT]

Spoke to my gunsmith yesterday.

Says that re-barrelling a pumpy is not as straight forward a job for him as a bolt gun but it can be done.
I also proposed the idea of a blast tube as suggested above by GeoffB and he said he has actually done this before for other customers and it is an effective, cheap and easy solution to minimising blast from short barrels.

A big thanks to GeoffB for coming up with that beauty

Unfortunately my smith is currently battling health complications and so this project will go on hold until he has recouperated.

Thanks again to all for your help.

 

[spike.t]

Paul I thought you had a sako 9.3x62.....why not use that?

 

[PaulT]

Paul I thought you had a sako 9.3x62.....why not use that?

Spike, yes I have a black-bear 9.3x62.
I also have a 1909 Mauser 9.3x64 which I have a lot more invested in to and much more sentiment towards, which I prefer to keep.

Due to my weakening eye-sight I can no longer read headstamps without my glasses on and I recently nearly fired a 62mm case in my Mauser 64mm.
Not sure what would happen if you do that but I do not want the confusion.

The black-bear has been a great gun accounting for around 8 deer, very light, handy and short but I simply don't want the confusion of two 9.3's in the house.

A 35 Whelan is physically recognisable from the 64mm and as I load the 64mm exclusively with TSX's and the Whelan with soft points it will make recognition a simpler matter for a blind old fool like me.

 

[Ray B]

One option to reduce muzzle blast without going to a longer barrel would be to handload the ammunition. Faster powders will be more entirely consumed when the bullet clears the muzzle so the blast will be less than the slower powders. My first rifle was a M700 308 that had a 20" barrel. The ammo companies at the time used powders such as 4350 in their ammo and the blast was very noticeable. Handloading with 4064 and such sonly slightly reduced the velocity of the bullet but greatly decreased the blast.