I’ve shot a good number of .30-06 Springfield chambered guns, from the M1 to modern sporting firearms. Each had it’s own personality, and this certainly is the case with the Remington Model 750. Interesting form geometry. The gun feels larger than it is, not in terms of clumsy handling or lack of balance, but rather just hand filling and steady while the gun has a nominal weight of only 7.5 lbs. Recoil is particularly soft for a .30-06. I’d guess this is due to a combination of gas dampened operation, the degree of stock drop and Remington’s soft recoil pad.
| Mfg. | Type | Grains | Length |
| Hornady | Interlock | 150 | 1.100 |
| Sierra | SPBT | 165 | 1.175 |
| Barnes | TTSX | 168 | 1.415 |
| Sierra | SP | 180 | 1.206 |
| Nosler | AccuBond | 200 | 1.506 |
Handloading was done with conventional die sets, not small base dies, which seemed to work well with both new brass and once/twice reloaded brass. During the reloading exercise, Hornady, Lee and RCBS die sets were used for full length sizing and bullet seating. I ran cases crimped, without crimp, trimmed and untrimmed, but always within case and overall cartridge length dimensional specification, without any problems developing. No loads were assembled with bottom of the range chamber pressure as this would be inappropriate for a gun that relies on adequate kinetic energy and uniform gas pressure for actuation.
Shot from a rest, the gun cycled reliably and accuracy was good…not just for a semi auto firearm, but in comparison to other firearm types. Accuracy was well inside any practical shot placement requirements for hunting and for recreational target shooting.
Sierra 165 grain loads produced the best repeatable accuracy with a 1¼” three shot 100 yard groups. Sierra 180 grain bullets shot within 1½”. Barnes and Hornady were inside 1¾, probably closer to 1½”. Nosler’s shot under 2″… which is probably more indicative of the brief time I spent working with them when developing handloads rather than the bullet’s potential.
Honestly, huffing and puffing up a hill in the woods during deer season, or trying to maintain a hold in a gusting and perpendicular 10 knot crosswind, gives me approximately 4-6 MOA standing position accuracy, so not the rifle or ANY of the ammunition loaded here would be responsible for a miss. I also feel there is a lot more in the gun for anyone who is willing to spend a handful of days carefully developing optimized handloads.
And, of course, the inevitable table…
|
Bullet Type |
Bullet Weight |
Net Water Capacity |
COL |
Powder Type |
Powder Charge |
Muzzle Velocity |
Muzzle Energy | Group Size |
| Hornady BTSP | 150 | 62.8 | 3.230 | H414 | 58.8 | 2870 | 2744 | 1.5 |
| BL-C2 | 57.5 | 2897 | 2796 | 1.7 | ||||
| H4350 | 60.5 | 2864 | 2733 | 1.5 | ||||
| Sierra SPBT | 165 | 59.3 | 3.165 | Re19 | 56.0 | 2790 | 2853 | 1.2 |
| IMR 4350 | 56.0 | 2877 | 3033 | 1.6 | ||||
| Barnes TTSXBT | 168 | 58.5 | 3.380 | BL-C2 | 51.0 | 2783 | 2890 | 1.7 |
| H414 | 55.0 | 2802 | 2930 | 1.7 | ||||
| H4350 | 56.0 | 2791 | 2907 | 1.6 | ||||
| Sierra SPT | 180 | 60.7 | 3.300 | Re19 | 57.5 | 2740 | 3001 | 1.3 |
| IMR 4350 | 55.5 | 2769 | 3065 | 1.5 | ||||
| Nosler AccuBond | 200 | 56.1 | 3.330 | H414 | 52.5 | 2568 | 2929 | 1.8 |
| H4350 | 55.5 | 2605 | 3014 | 1.9 | ||||
|
All |
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Shooting characteristics…
The Remington Model 750 with 22″ barrel is fast handling. I suspect the 18.5″ barrel is fast handling also. What does that mean? Right… It means the Model 750 can be brought to the shoulder quickly and it intuitively falls into a shooting position with the sights and muzzle generally on the intended target. The gun is light recoiling, even with 200 grain loads, and follow up shots that land very near the first shots are common place. The gun’s adjustable metallic sights are useful and practical for bush hunting…although I don’t know why anyone would want to hunt brush, and a scope is useful and practical, even in Maine where there is only one state designated clearing in the woods.
Accuracy is fine for a big game, big varmint applications. The gun may not pop crows at 400 yards, but if the hunter is up to the task, deer at 200 – 250 yards is not a scenario that lives only between the covers of a product brochure.
The gun is durable. Few moving parts, modular in construction. The synthetic stock would probably be a good choice if you are adverse to dragging a nice walnut stock through never ending thickets or sometimes use your gun to chop firewood. No stainless option. I don’t know why and I probably don’t care. I don’t think it would look good and, after all, isn’t that mostly how we select firearms? Ten years ago I was whining about the use of semi-reflective stainless steel in the construction of modern sporting rifles so maybe this is a sign of the world coming around to my perspectives. Scary.
Trigger. Yes, the gun has one and thanks to its modular construction cleaning maintenance is easy. Pull isn’t bad at 5 lbs and a little change, however, it does have some creep and it does not have the precise feel of a Model 700. The trigger is not consumer adjustable, however, people do some wonderful, or at least interesting things with this rifle that improve the trigger situation.
Loading up the rifle is fast, however, care must be taken to make sure the magazine is fully seated to assure proper cartridge feed and it takes a little practice for a shooter to get use to loading the gun’s chamber ahead of loading the gun’s magazine. Of course, the process becomes second nature very quickly. Overall, good looking gun, good value and an excellent big game hunting firearm.
Remington’s Model 750 – Part I
Remington’s Model 750 – Part II
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