I would like to buy a Remington 7400 for my wife. The reason I am buying a semi auto is because, less recoil. I will also be having a muzzle break installed by a gunsmith. I know that bolt actions are more accurate, but I need to cut the recoil down as low as I can and still have a good bullet for elk and mule deer. Otherwise I would get a bolt .243. It will be chambered in .270. Does anyone know if this gun will shoot accurate enough? If it is not going to be reliable and accurate then I will do something else. Price is an issue so that is why I have came to the 7400, unless someone knows of a better semi auto for $400?

if you do a search there was a huge thread on the 7400 awhile back and opinions were very mixed on them some people said they jammed bad and some loved them i perosnally own one mines chambered in 30-06 though and i love the first 20 shots i fired through it i did have a couple jams but after that ive had no problems and used it to take a deer later this season but mines very accurate sure your not going to set any records or anything but mines shooting small groups and it was goo enough to kill a deer but if you get a good scope and keep the gun clean i think it`ll be a great gun but like i said do a search and it should bring up the post but it was a real good thread and several pages i think but good luck in your choice
sean

I would much rather have a bolt action and add a GOOD recoil pad . i don't know whether your going to feel that much difference in recoil between a semi and bolt in 270.

I would rather look at a browning a bolt with a BOSS or like i said a good recoil pad. A little more spent now will be forgotten with your pleasure in the future.
but i still say that reciol won't be that much different between them. as a matter of fact i would bet that the 7400 has more . i know my 742 in 30-06 and my ruger 77 in 30-06 are not really that different to me in recoil.

I got a 7400, and it is accurate with handloads. You got to careful with breaks. These guns are finicky as it is cycleing correctly and not jamming. Only thing I got to warn you about is, they change point of impact with the forarm screw torque. This is a pain. I sugguest a Browning BAR with a boss. They are designed for the break, and works well.

The problem with the 7400 jamming............. The bolt has rotating locking lugs. As the bolt reaches its rearward position through recoil the lugs try to keep rotating and bang themselves into the acrion rails cut into the receiver. The locking lugs are harder than the receiver so eventually they will dent up the rails inside the receiver bad enough the gun will jam up tight. And if shot enough you will eventually kill the gun. Even if you keep it perfectly clean and in otherwise great condition.

Basically the gun destroys itself through shooting it. If I were you I would look for another rifle for your wife.

Unless she is abnormally small she should be able to handle a bolt action rifle chambered in .270. My 11 year old son loves to shoot mine and has no problem with the recoil at all. A great light recoil option would be a bolt rifle chambered in either .308 or 7mm-08. Both of these will provide her with plenty enough power for elk with light recoil.

If she is recoil sensative then you can forget about the muzzle break. More people get scared to shoot guns due to the noise than the actual recoil of the rifle. Excessive muzzle blast can be a big factor in people not wanting to shoot a particular gun and they can develop a flinch from noise a lot faster than through recoil.

Rather than spending the money for the break and the labor cost involved, get that gunsmith of yours to fit a bolt action rifle to her corectly and this will provide a much more enjoyable shooting experience than any muzzle brake ever will. A good break will run you between $75.00 and $125.00 and the labor will cost about $100.00 so you are going to add another $200 to the cost of the rifle. This money would be much better spent fitting the rifle to your wife.

A good recoil pad will also do wonders at reducing felt recoil. I removed the solid rubber pad on my fathers 7mm mag and fitted a Pachmayr pad to it. The felt recoil went down dramaticly. It made a noticibly huge difference in the recoil of that rifle.

.270 is a good choice i wount worry about recoil at all I have a 3006 and a 270 7400 the 7400 doesnt even kick half as much as the 3006. Recoil on the 270 isnt bad at all however i would find a bolt 270 this will make it much more accurate and it wont jam my 7400 jams about every 20-30 rounds if it isnt cleaned out

I have to agree about what loads to use. I had a 7400 .270 win for along time and it would jam on all but federal red box 130gr . Then started reloading and had a hell of a time tring to find a load. 5 yrs ago it cost me my buck of a life time. Thats the last time with an auto. Mine was even picky about the clip being in a certain way. It was work trying not to jam. I wouldnt say the recoil isnt much if any different than my bolt m77 . Try a recoil pad and like was said fit the rifle to her and it will help alot. Good luck!

Thanks for your help. I guess I will need to go with a bolt.

Ben I would like to echo the suggestion Bigbulls made and toss another vote in the hat for a bolt action 7mm-08. Its based on the .308 hull just like the .243 only its just necked down to 7mm (.284cal) instead of 24 caliber like the .243. Compared to the .308 it kicks less and shoots flatter. Compared to the .243 it kicks a bit more (not much though) but gives you the ability to fire a 140gr bullet. I think the .243's heaviest bullet tops out at about 100grs or just a pinch higher. Almost any of the 140gr bullets would be fine for Mule Deer and a good premium bullet in 140 grain would be fine for Elk. I have one in a Browning A-bolt and my wife has no problem shooting it. With a good recoil pad I think your wife would actually enjoy shooting it unless she's very recoil sensitive.

Look up some ballistics for it online and for a low recoiling caliber I think you will be surprized at how flat it shoots.

Bigbulls, where did you copy that. I am not disputing it, but never have I seen this as a possible reason. I have had 7400's took apart and never seen much of a dent. Most of the ones I have seen jam, have been cleaned poorly with way too much thick oil, or have just jammed straight out of the box, which kinda knocks down that idea of destroying itself.

Just curious on which forum you got that off of. I have well over 600 rounds thru this current 270 I have. Don't see any dents on the rails. Only thing I don't like is the changing POI. But with 53gr of IMR 4350, and 130gr sierra bullet, she shoots 1.5MOA all day.