Remington 74

AR Traveler · #1

I have a question for you gunsmiths out there. My dad passed away this summer and I inherited a Remington model 74 in 30-06. He won it in a Ducks Unlimited raffle ~20 years ago and the gun would never shoot right. With either the non-adjustable iron sights on the barrel or a scope on the reciever, it shoots about 9 inches low at 25 yards. I've been told that the 74 is basically a "Wal-mart" version of the 7400 so it has very plain wood and no frills (like adjustable sights). I would really like to get her shooting right since I think it would make a great, soft-shooting east Texas deer gun. Am I right to suspect the barrel?

txinvestigator · #2

I am not a gunsmith, but I have a 742 in .308. The scope would have to be sighted in, especially at 25 yards. It would normally shoot low at 25 yards, and I think the irons are designed for a much longer distance.

Try to find someone with a bore-sighter.

I don't know if 9 inches is correct, but if it is sighted in for a longer distance then it WILL shoot low at 25.

AR Traveler · #3

I tried all the usual tricks to sight it in. 25 yards is a quickie version of bore sighting because most rifles will at least hit a paper plate at this distance and depending upon the scope height and bullet trajectory, a 25 yard zero should be about the same as a 150 yard zero. The problem with this rifle is that it won't even get on the paper plate with the scope adjustment maxed out. I tried several different scopes from a 4x task to a leopold vari-x II with the same result. The only solution so far was to shim the scope with sections of an aluminum can! You might be a red neck if your deer gun sez Dr. Pepper on that thar lukin glas:)

Houston1944 · #4

My Exbal software tells me that my 308 load (which is vey close to 30-06 ballistics) is the same at 25 and 235. 6 inches low at 25 means you are almost hitting the dirt in front of your foot. Before I started shimming I would check the mounts to see if they are of decent quality and mounted correctly.

longtooth · #5

Houston is right. I have seen front mounts in the rear & vise verse.
Check the rings also to see if they are mates. Seen that too.

How old is the scope? Show any signs of dropped?

flintknapper · #6

You've got bases or rings that are mismatched sounds like.

Thats a very good way to damage a scope. Check it out.

AR Traveler · #7

The base is a one piece, Weaver model 93 which is the correct model for the rifle and is one of the claw type bases. I didn't think about the rings. They are also Weaver and and I couldn't tell any difference doing a visual inspection. I also tried the scope off my 10/22 and that didn't seem to matter so I don't think it's a scope issue. The back iron sight is not adjustable for elevation but the front blade can be replaced. I thought it might have been swapped for a taller one but the top of it is on the same plane as the top of the back sights with respect to the bore. The barrel seems to be screwed into the receiver correctly. Anyone ever heard of a barrel being drilled crooked? Any recommendations for a gunsmith around Austin? Thanks!

flintknapper · #8

AR Traveler wrote:The base is a one piece, Weaver model 93 which is the correct model for the rifle and is one of the claw type bases. I didn't think about the rings. They are also Weaver and and I couldn't tell any difference doing a visual inspection. I also tried the scope off my 10/22 and that didn't seem to matter so I don't think it's a scope issue. The back iron sight is not adjustable for elevation but the front blade can be replaced. I thought it might have been swapped for a taller one but the top of it is on the same plane as the top of the back sights with respect to the bore. The barrel seems to be screwed into the receiver correctly. Anyone ever heard of a barrel being drilled crooked? Any recommendations for a gunsmith around Austin? Thanks!

Take it into McBrides and see what they say.

McBRIDE'S GUNS 2915 San Gabriel Austin, Texas 512-472-3532

Ron C · #9

Is there any damage to the crown? I've heard that it doesn't take much wrong there to really throw one off.