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Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 6:53 am
by willism
I recently purchased a 750 in .308, synthetic furniture with 22" barrel. After giving it a cleaning and before putting a round through it I took it to my favorite gun shop to have a scope installed. These guys are highly experienced and have all the right tools, including two different optical collimators, to make the job fast and easy. They've done both my other scoped rifles, one being a Remington 7400 carbine in .30-06.

They didn't have any success with the new 750 however. They finally told me there was something not quite right and that I should send the rifle back to Remington. I took the gun home and compared it to my 7400 carbine. Sure enough it appears the barrel of the 750 sits at a different angle, pointing slightly more downward. I checked the web and came up with a couple posts featuring scope mounts on 750s with similar issues. Everyone simply shimmed the rear mount up the 5/32" necessary to get the tube close. The problem is even shimming that much they're still at the edge in terms of adjustability so that's a path I'd prefer not to take.

I called Remington and succeeded in getting a call tag with which to send the rifle back. Included was a print-out of all the relevant facts including a description of what was done and what was found. It's due in at their Ilion, NY facility on August 13th. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Michael

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 10:55 am
by SHOOTER13
Best of luck with that Mike...we look forward to a quick resolution !

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 5:11 pm
by willism
I received the rifle back today. The work order said the barrel had been realigned. I rough mounted the riflescope, then took it to the shop where I'd purchased it so they could properly align it with their optical collimator. This time was successful so the scope and the bore are pointing in the same direction.

Then the shocker. The shop owner, a gunsmith, came by and after learning the scope had been mounted, looked down the barrel. He then pulled the hand guard for a closer examination and told me the "realignment" had been accomplished by bending the barrel and handed me the gun, sans, hand guard so I could take a look. Sure enough there was an obvious bend in the forward portion. He said this is quite common with shotgun barrels but only rarely used with a rifle. He further said it is quite likely the rifle will shoot ok and the only way to know was to give it a try.

So what does this say about Remington's quality control that they can produce a rifle so poorly machined that they have to resort to bending the barrel to even get it close? :-(

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 3:21 pm
by SHOOTER13
That is kinda strange...let us know how it shoots at the range willism !!

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:58 pm
by willism
It'll be a while. The rear-most scope mount screw hole was so sloppy both myself and the tech at the gun shop were concerned it'd strip. I decided to err on the side of caution and took it to a local smith to have fixed. It won't be that much more than the cost to ship it back and the chances of it staying fixed are 100%. I'll get it back much sooner with less paperwork too.

I do have concerns that if the barrel becomes overly warm it'll begin to straighten so when I can fire it I'll keep the rate extremely low (2 minutes +) with breaks after five rounds.

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 2:33 pm
by SHOOTER13
OK...let us know how you make out.

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:32 am
by willism
The smith turned the rifle around overnight. I was able to pick it up the next day and headed to the range. Though the scope had been zeroed using an optical collimator the initial string of 5 rounds was 8” low perhaps due to the loose screw. It took about 20 rounds to begin finding the bullseye. After that I mounted a fresh target and shot a 1-1/2” group at 100 yards. Considering the trigger is really stiff that wasn’t too bad. So, bending the barrel seems to have worked in this case but I’ll be certain to keep the rate of fire very low to avoid the possibility of the barrel straightening again.

Still, for a rifle to be manufactured with the receiver machined so far out of spec as to require the barrel to be bent to get the bore parallel again is simply outrageous. Someone working at Remington screwed up badly and there were obviously no quality checks to ensure that error was corrected so the finished product didn’t ship in that sorry state. I hope the situation improves with Remington’s move to their new home in Alabama. If not the once proud Remington name may as well be changed to Lemington.

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:19 pm
by JAC
Wow hopefully no one else gets a bad product like that again. I'm sure there will be better products at their new facility.

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 8:15 am
by willism
I know mine was not an isolated incident as I've found posts on other sites describing the same issue with the 750, i.e. having to shim the rear scope mount 5/32" to get it close.

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 8:28 pm
by remingtontoter
Wow, that's a new one on me. I have never heard of "bending" a rifle barrel to make it work with a scope. I don't see how the bullet flies correctly, once it comes out of the business end of the gun. :shock:

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 9:49 am
by willism
I had the same thought. I could see using the technique on guns that fire ball projectiles but thought it would distort a longer bullet and produce fliers. That doesn't seem to be the case however. Either the bend is shallow enough the bullet isn't affected or it has time to return to its original shape prior to leaving the muzzle. On the other hand maybe there isn't that much of the bullet actually in contact with the rifling. Regardless they'll always be a burr under my saddle with regards to this rifle. It might work but it ain't right.

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 9:46 pm
by willism
Back on September 30th I mailed off a letter to Remington describing my 750, the issue and the 'fix'. In my experience with the corporate world it is not uncommon for production problems such as this to never be brought to management's attention. I received no response.

I read Remington has been laying off more workers at their Ilion, NY plant. On top of the 105 employees let go in August they announced another 126 in mid-November.

MW

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 5:01 pm
by willism
There's another leg to the original scope mounting problem. I couldn't get the rear screw on the bracket to tighten and had to take the rifle to a gunsmith. He said the original threads were probably cut with an overly dull tap and were so poorly defined as to be useless. He re-tapped all four with the next oversize to get a firm hold. I'll probably just use the scope on another rifle as I doubt this will see the light very often. Sad.

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:39 pm
by remingtontoter
willism wrote:There's another leg to the original scope mounting problem. I couldn't get the rear screw on the bracket to tighten and had to take the rifle to a gunsmith. He said the original threads were probably cut with an overly dull tap and were so poorly defined as to be useless. He re-tapped all four with the next oversize to get a firm hold. I'll probably just use the scope on another rifle as I doubt this will see the light very often. Sad.

He could have drilled and tapped it for a helicoil. At least that way if it would ever strip out again, you could just install another helicoil.

Re: Scope mounting problems

PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2015 3:52 pm
by tcrusan
Had same exact problem with my 750 autoloader in .270 Winchester calibre.

Noted during Vortex Hoghunter Scope installation boresight that the scope adjustability was way, way, way too far off in elevation to be adjusted.

Measured centerline (bore) of barrel and top of receiver alignment and noted the downward projection of the laser beam. Mine measured about 3/16th inch off.

Promptly called Remington for RMA and shipped the rifle back. Got rifle back within 3 weeks and it had a new receiver installed. The receiver swap out corrected the issue. If you look at the illustrated parts list you will see that the new 750's have a bolt which hold the receiver to the barrel. This bolt faces forward (head toward rear stock). If this is not installed correctly or the barrel mounting tang is not aligned, well you get these kind of conditions.

My problem is that there are way too many complaints about his for me not to mention "quality control" problems, especially on a firearm.

All in all my 750 shoots well, carries easy and Remington did repair it without charge (including two shipping). It is also noteworthy that this is the first of eight Remington's I own that ever had any problems (other than the Factory trigger recall on my Rem 600).

The forum research revealed problems from mis-feeds, poor ejection and magazines either falling out or not locking properly during insertion. The 750 autoloader should be tweaked by all who own it. I took care of all my problems (yes, all those mentioned) with a small pair of needle nose pliers, a little TLC, good cleaning and light oiling. This gun definitely need to have a few boxes of ammo put through it prior to that long awaited hunt in order to identify any issues that need correction.

Make sure you periodically clean the orifice into the barrel w/ small tubular nylon brush or pipe cleaner. Nothing is mentioned in the owners manual however on the bottom of the barrel there is a gas system block that has a set screw. Remove setscrew and steel ball, clean orifice and reassemble.

My final comments are about adding shims. Burris makes a fine set of scope rings (Signature Series) that come with matching shims (.001 and .002) for minor changes for both weaver and picatinny mounting rail styles. Anything that is 3/16th or 5/32nd of an inch off is not right to begin with. Shimming is not the answer. RMA is the proper route. Let the manufacturer confirm and correct the issue.