Had my 7400 rem autoloader out to the range on the weekend. It wasn't cycling properly so I went back to the drawing board. So I went with the new load data from the Hodgdon reloading centre, and boy, what a difference! The 154 grain Hornady rn load was 51.5 gr IMR 4350, while the 175 grain Hornady sp load was 49 grains IMR 4350. I checked my load data on file and noticed that these loads were lighter than had been published in the past, but the velocities were still right where they should be
These loads functioned flawlessly in the Rem, without ANY jams. Ejected brass looked great! I cleaned the chamber after 10 shots to keep it humming. Accuracy was good too. The 154 grains would shoot 1.5" or less for a joke, and the 175 grainers were even better. Surprisingly, no flyers. Nice moderate accurate loads which would be very effective on game. The recoil on the 175 grain was predictably higher but very manageable off the bench.
My Bushnell Elite 3200 scope passed the test as well, surviving the slamming of the autoloading bolt while preserving point of aim precisely.
I also tried 3 quick offhand shots at a piece of brown cardboard simulating the killzone of a deer at 100 m. Two hit less than an inch apart about 3.5" high, while the third hit about 4" to the right. Rifle was sighted 3.5" high at 100 m. I was pleased with this shooting as all shots would have been killers on a deer. I plan to carry this rifle for deer when I still-hunt this fall. The sound of that action flinging brass and slamming home the next round was music to my ears
Paying attention to tuning the load, and keeping the rifle THOROUGHLY clean really paid off. My neighbour showed me how to properly clean a 7400,including lube prior to storage and removing lube prior to use; His family have been running 740's 742's and 7400's for 3 generations now, and the horns on the wall don't lie. But they are very fussy about maintaining them, and that attention to detail seems to serve them well because I never hear about their guns jamming.
These loads functioned flawlessly in the Rem, without ANY jams. Ejected brass looked great! I cleaned the chamber after 10 shots to keep it humming. Accuracy was good too. The 154 grains would shoot 1.5" or less for a joke, and the 175 grainers were even better. Surprisingly, no flyers. Nice moderate accurate loads which would be very effective on game. The recoil on the 175 grain was predictably higher but very manageable off the bench.
My Bushnell Elite 3200 scope passed the test as well, surviving the slamming of the autoloading bolt while preserving point of aim precisely.
I also tried 3 quick offhand shots at a piece of brown cardboard simulating the killzone of a deer at 100 m. Two hit less than an inch apart about 3.5" high, while the third hit about 4" to the right. Rifle was sighted 3.5" high at 100 m. I was pleased with this shooting as all shots would have been killers on a deer. I plan to carry this rifle for deer when I still-hunt this fall. The sound of that action flinging brass and slamming home the next round was music to my ears
Paying attention to tuning the load, and keeping the rifle THOROUGHLY clean really paid off. My neighbour showed me how to properly clean a 7400,including lube prior to storage and removing lube prior to use; His family have been running 740's 742's and 7400's for 3 generations now, and the horns on the wall don't lie. But they are very fussy about maintaining them, and that attention to detail seems to serve them well because I never hear about their guns jamming.
