Remington721 - I think
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mynorac
Remington721 - I think
I tried to post this the other day but when I came back I could not find my post so I'm trying it again. Last week I purchased what I think is an older remington 721. .270 caliber. The barrel is marked R UU and appears to be nice and clean with no pitting. The stock was cracked at the grip but I did not discover this until I had the rifle apart. I had a similar crack on a 1903 remingtion and was able to repair it so I am hopefull that I can do the same with this stock. I actually bought this rifle because it came with a nice Griffin & Howe mount and a Kollmorgen scope. I have this same Griffin a Howe mount on my 1903 Remington and thought this would be a great way of sharing scope between the two rifles. The mount on the 721 is very good but the screws are starting to strip. Do you think this rifle is worth a trip to a gun smith?
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mynorac
Re: Remington721 - I think
Daniel, thank you for the information. I was pretty sure that the model number is under the mount. My problem is that I can't remove the mount without damaging the screw heads more than they allready are. It appears that someone in the past tried to remove this mount and buggered up the heads of all three mounting screws. The mount is an early Griffin & Howe and is quite nice except for the screw heads. My 1st intention for buying this rifle was to take off the mount and use it as a spare for my Remington 1903 that has the exact same mount and an early Lyman scope. Having an extra mount would mean that I could use a more modern scope if I wanted to and then reinstall the Lyman scope to keep the Rem. 1903 a little more authentic for its time period.
However after taking the 721 apart it looks to me like a keeper, even with the broken stock. I have fixed this sort of crack before using long setting epoxy, compressed air and vacuum with success. At least the repaired stock has not broken open again & I've shot about twenty rounds through the rifle (30-06).
Sorry for being so verbose but that is the history of the model 721. My question is: Is this rifle worth a trip to a gun smith to remove the Griffin & Howe mount? I will also have the Smith check the head spacing and fix anything that looks wrong. I'm not a Smith but there seem something not quite right about the trigger action. I'm guessing that the local Smith will charge me about $125 bucks to check, clean and do small repairs to the action. I have $400 into this rifle already which is about what the Griffin & Howe and the Kollmorgen scope are worth.
I'm pretty sure that I can remove the mount myself but not without further damage to the screws, mounting plate and most likely the outer portions of the breech area on the barrel. Does anyone have any thoughts? It's Ok to tell me that I made a mistake and should have passed on this one - Thanks Norac
However after taking the 721 apart it looks to me like a keeper, even with the broken stock. I have fixed this sort of crack before using long setting epoxy, compressed air and vacuum with success. At least the repaired stock has not broken open again & I've shot about twenty rounds through the rifle (30-06).
Sorry for being so verbose but that is the history of the model 721. My question is: Is this rifle worth a trip to a gun smith to remove the Griffin & Howe mount? I will also have the Smith check the head spacing and fix anything that looks wrong. I'm not a Smith but there seem something not quite right about the trigger action. I'm guessing that the local Smith will charge me about $125 bucks to check, clean and do small repairs to the action. I have $400 into this rifle already which is about what the Griffin & Howe and the Kollmorgen scope are worth.
I'm pretty sure that I can remove the mount myself but not without further damage to the screws, mounting plate and most likely the outer portions of the breech area on the barrel. Does anyone have any thoughts? It's Ok to tell me that I made a mistake and should have passed on this one - Thanks Norac
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mynorac
Re: Remington721 - I think
It is not the first time I paid too much for a gun and it will probably happen again but I am trying to keep that to a minimum. Thanks for the information but I did take the barrel down to a gun smith and hopefully he will be able to remove the screws. It was the Griffin & Howe mount that I really wanted and then after some research I wanted the scope. Not too many Kollmorgens around anymore. I have already repaired the stock and hopefully it will hold together. Again thanks for your help.
Re: Remington721 - I think
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Den
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Depending on the condition, I doubt that you paid too much for it. About twenty or so years ago, the ones I was seeing in shops out here in Wyoming were in the $200 - $300 price range and more if they were in .300 H & H or .264 Win. Mag. I haven't seen any for quite some time, but like everything else, they've gone up in price. "Vintage" firearms are pretty hard to find in shops around here these days. Most people are hoarding what they havemynorac wrote:It is not the first time I paid too much for a gun and it will probably happen again but I am trying to keep that to a minimum. Thanks for the information but I did take the barrel down to a gun smith and hopefully he will be able to remove the screws. It was the Griffin & Howe mount that I really wanted and then after some research I wanted the scope. Not too many Kollmorgens around anymore. I have already repaired the stock and hopefully it will hold together. Again thanks for your help.
Den
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mynorac
Re: Remington721 - I think
True but I wouldn't have the 1932 Griffin & Howe scope mounts or rings. It was the mount & rings that I was after in the first place. I figure I got the rifle and the Kollmorgen scope that was made around 1950 for free. Since most of my gun collection is pre 1950 the whole package make a nice fit.