Charger clip guides in Rem. 721?

Ambrose

It's funny what you discover that you never noticed before. Yesterday, I decided to install a beautiful old Leupold Adjusto-Mount on one of my Rem. 700's. That old mount was for the Rem. 721/722. But since the 721 and the 700 receivers are identical, I didn't anticipate a problem. Wrong! When I discovered that the rear base would not set down flush on the receiver, I started checking around. The elevation asdjustment on the base bottomed out on the receiver bridge. It seems there is a notch cut out of the bridge in the 721/722's that is not there in the 700's. It looks almost as though Remington intended to set up the 721/722 for the Springfield stripper clips. (A 725 in my collection also has this cut.) My Rem. model 30's, my Winchester 54's in .270 and .30/06, and, I believe some of the Model 70's took stripper clips. My question(s) is this: Does anyone remember ever seeing a 721 or 722 that took those clips. And did the early model 700's have this cut out in the bridge. (My oldest model 700 is about 1984.)

Pauper

If I remember correctly, some of the Rem. Model 78 bolt action rifles (basically an inexpensive Model 700 type bolt action and made between 1984-89) may have had the cut out in the bridge that you are talking about. However, I can't speak to the possible as whether or not the model 78 rifles used (or could use) a stripper clip.

eastbank

hi, i have a very early 721 in 3006 made in mar. 1948, with a stripper clip guide. but i don,t know what clips it uses. my guess is the same clips used in the 1903 springfield 3006. eastbank.

Ambrose

eastbank: I thought so! That cut-back is right where it ought to be for a charger guide and, no doubt, it's for '03 clips. There's still a lot of those clips around--you should be able to borrow one to try. But your 721 is probably like mine in that there's a scope sitting right in the way.

eastbank

ambrose, my 721 is a early one that has the serial number in the bolt race way and the rear reciever ring was never tapped. i don,t use the rifle as its in ex con, but i may get a few stripper clips and see how it works. eastbank.

Ambrose

eastbank, Yeah, try that. None of my 721/2's are older than 1950 and while they all have that cut-back, none have those little grooves in the back corners that would accept the clips. The returning GI's would have been familiar with the use of stripper clips (as was Remington) and, since iron sights were the norm, I guess Remington thought they ought to set up their new rifle to take them. Interesting though, that by 1950 the grooves were gone--probably an extra machining operation. The scope was comming into use and Remington started drilling and tapping for mounts, so didn't need the clip grooves anymore. Still a handy feature for an iron sighted rifle, though. I keep a bunch of stripper clips of various types in my range bag for when I take a Swede, 98, 1903, ect. with me. I've got an old Remington model 30 that has been rebored to .35 Whelen and it looks strange to see 5 of those fat-bulleted cartridges strip out of the clip into the magazine!

Now if we can hear from some body who has a 1962 era 700 to see if they were still putting that cut-back in the early 700's.

Strange that a couple of days ago I didn't pay any attention to the difference in the bridge of a 722 vs. 700 and now I gotta know!

Ambrose

After looking through hundreds of 700's on the auction side, I found one! #123540867 that he says was made in 1963, has a couple of pictures that show that cut-back. So they DID make some 700's that way. Now maybe I can concentrate on something else!