Rem 760 Gamemaster. Value?

[Tillerwm2014]

I've got a Remington Model 760 Gamemaster with a Serial number of 147'027.  It's made a good impression on this forum so far, and at the range.  The first Mfg Block in 1951 goes from 1000 to 500'000 on the SN.  It's in pretty good condition, and I'm planning on refinishing the stock and pump handle, as well as rebluing it this summer.  It is not drilled or tapped on the Receiver for a scope, and it has the original iron sights.  It's in great working order, and has the original aluminum floorplate.  Any idea what it's worth?
Chris.
I'll post a pic soon.

[Rick Teal]

The gun should have a 2 or 3 letter code on the left side of the barrel - just ahead of the receiver.  You can establish the age of the gun from that.
 
Unless the gun is an unusual chambering or a special design, it's unlikely that it would have any real collectoe value, and if you refinish it, any collector value will likey be gone.  These are excellent hunting rifles, but I doubt its of any great value.  Used ones go between $400 and $600 here in Canada.  Check your local market if you're in the U.S., as I understand there can be wide discrepancies in values depending on locale.

[Tillerwm2014]

Duly noted on the finish.  And if I had it done as a professional restoration?  Also, the Barrel code is ZZ.

[Rick Teal]

I'm not a collector so I can't really help you there.  I just know that those guys turn up their noses at refinished guns.
 
I have a YY and it was made in 1952, so your ZZ was a 1953 model.  If you can make out a third letter near the ZZ, you can determine the month of manufacture as well.  The month letters were BLACKPOWDERX each letter representing the month with B being January and X being december.

[Tillerwm2014]

Aah I See.  Cool!  Yeah, it is an x, so a late 1953 Model.  Thanks!

[shot1]

As to the worth of your Rem 760. If someone that is not in the know you might be able to sale it. For those in the know, meaning there are NO REPLACEMENT PARTS FOR THESE RIFLES OR THE 742 ANYMORE  most would not give you very much at all for it of even consider purchasing it. Just keep it and baby it because if a part breaks the only way to fix it is to find another junker rifle and hope that the piece that you need is not broken on it.

[oneoldsap]

                  There are enough 760 parts around to be able to nurse one through another half century , you just need to know where to look !

[spooked]

I guess I've led a sheltered life, first shot a 760   ought six at the age of 12 in 1960...Got my first 760 three, four years ago...Seen a lot of 'em belonging to friends...havn't seen a broke one yet!

[oneoldsap]

They are tough as nails , for sure . But foolproof they aren't ! Most breakage is caused by neglect or abuse ! I kind of specialize in working on them and the bastard cousin , the 742 . We rebarrel a bunch of 760s to calibers that Rem never offered  . Lightening them is pretty popular in my area too .

[rebAL]

They are tough as nails , for sure . But foolproof they aren't ! Most breakage is caused by neglect or abuse ! I kind of specialize in working on them and the bastard cousin , the 742 . We rebarrel a bunch of 760s to calibers that Rem never offered  . Lightening them is pretty popular in my area too .

  I accidentally abused my 760 by using wd-40 on action.  It caused it to get stiffer & stiffer until 1 of the slide rails broke.  Took it to factory in Ilion and they fixed it and cleaned all the old wd-40 gunk out of it.  It's worked out fine since then.  They advised me to use a dupont spray cleaner but I never could find it.  Still not sure what to use.

[oneoldsap]

              So you didn't lubricate it , but you kept it rust free . I've never seen an action bar broken in that manner . I use either Fluid Film or TriFlo on the slides and hoppes oil on the bolt cams and raceways . Like any firearm they need a thorough cleaning now and then , other than the bore ! WD-40 is not a lubricant , although they have introduced two new lubricants under their label .