Remington Model Seven

August 2016

A friend of mine decided to sell a few of his rifles that were not being used. Two were model Seven's, one of which was in one of my favorite calibers, the 243. So we worked out a trade and I made it my own.

This will seem strange to some but others will be able to relate. I fell in love with the Model Seven when it was introduced in 1983 and decided at that point in time I would own one someday. The journey to this end has been many many years in the making but you have to understand the Seven was never a priority, just a goal that I intended to achieve.

A few years back, I put one on a wish list at one of my vendors. It took a while but it finally showed up as "in stock". However it was synthetic, not walnut and not nearly as pretty. I was probably in the middle of 40 other things at the time so I let it slide.

When my friend decided to turn lose of the real McCoy in walnut it became a must have. It belonged to a friend and I will always think of him as I enjoy the gun for years to come. The little rifle even came with a few stories, doesn't get much better than that.

I was telling the wife that it had arrived at the shop late in the day and I had not brought it home yet. And as I described it to her (and I pretended that she was interested) I told her that in my collection of magazines and catalogs there was actually a 1983 Remington catalog introducing the Model Seven. I proceeded to the basement to retrieve it which was a simple task of pulling the box labeled Remington from the shelf.

The box contained several Remington catalogs and of course the one I was looking for. And there it was, right on the front cover.



Just inside the catalog was the introduction.

In 1983 I wasn't even completely sure why I was so drawn to it except I really liked the Schnabel forend tip and the walnut. In fact at that point in my life I was 10 years from owning my first 243. I think another thing that got my attention was the fact that it was not available in the shoulder busting 30-06.

The stock on this rifle is walnut but it is not in original condition. The stock was shortened and a recoil pad was installed . A second sling swivel stud had been added to the forearm to accommodate a bi-pod. Not the end of the world but if I stumbled upon an original/unaltered stock I would probably obtain it.

So I puttered around Gun Broker and ebay to no avail but in the process discovered a 1983 issue of my favorite rag, Shooting Times, listed that detailed the Model 7. Also listed was a 2015 issue that I should have a copy of. I have yet to find either copy in my mass of reading material.

Of course this picture doesn't include the stacks of magazines that have yet to be boxed and labeled so I haven't given up hope.

I did locate my copy of July 1983 Guns & Ammo that had an article by the late Bob Milek about the then New Model Seven.

True to form, it was a great article that didn't pull any punches. The article discussed some factory loads that were tested as well as reloads. Also included was a picture of his son, Bob Jr, coyote hunting with the model Seven. Ironically I prairie dog hunted with him in South Dakota in June of 2000. Hell of a nice guy and an amazing shot with both rifles and handguns. A story I've told many times, I was acting as spotter for him and watched him kill a prairie dog at 750 yards with a TC handgun in 22-250. My range finder would not reach the dead dog so we ranged as far as we could and then walked to that point and ranged the dog. I would have been skeptical if I had not watched him do it. On our trek to range the dog we took turns blasting PD's with my Savage 342 in 22 Hornet. Quite a trip.

I disassembled the model Seven and cleaned it all up. The only thing that really needed a thorough cleaning was the bore. Plenty of copper had accumulated but it cleaned up just fine. I am anxious to get to the range with it.

If you are not familiar with the Model Seven it is basically a small version of the Remington 700. Offered in short action only and today is available in 18 or 20 inch barrels. Current stock options include walnut in CDL but no Schnabel tip, synthetic or laminate. Weighing in at 6.25 pounds they are a great carry gun and accuracy should be top notch. The little barrels will heat up quickly but if you do your job right should only need 1 shot in the field.

I suppose somewhere along the way I could have found a Model Seven but I had become a Rugerholic and was enthralled with their compact rifles. They are shorter and lighter yet than the Seven but not quite as pretty. At a glance, they lack the jeweled bolt and have the Mauser controlled round feed and extractor which in my opinion just doesn't have the finess of the Remington system.

Bill

August 12, 2016