Nitriding a Remington 740 receiver?

[engineer40]

Hello all... Looking for some opinions on this from those of you who are more edified in metallurgy than myself.

I have been given my grandfather's old Remington 740. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the infamous 740's and 742's; they were well known for the receiver's being too soft. After a relatively low round count, the actions would just eat themselves up and you no longer have a repeating rifle.

For that reason, these rifles don't hold their resale value and are actually pretty cheap to buy used. But this specific 740 has sentimental value for me. It still shoots fine and has not developed the "chatter" marks in the top inside of the receiver yet. But it has been shot VERY little since the 1950's.

I did a lot of research on these rifles about a year ago. No body really has come up with a way to make them last longer (except converting them to a pump action 760).

Although today while researching nitriding a rifle barrel for a different potential project, it just hit me... Why not nitride my 740 receiver? It will make the metal harder and give it lubricating properties.

Would this help increasing the life of the rifle or would I be wasting my energy? Thanks!

 

[azsugarbear]

Nitriding only changes the first couple thousandths of an inch of the metal surface. I don't think it would impart any relative strength to the metal/receiver itself - just the finish or surface.

 

[shortgrass]

Hello all... Looking for some opinions on this from those of you who are more edified in metallurgy than myself.

I have been given my grandfather's old Remington 740. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the infamous 740's and 742's; they were well known for the receiver's being too soft. After a relatively low round count, the actions would just eat themselves up and you no longer have a repeating rifle.

For that reason, these rifles don't hold their resale value and are actually pretty cheap to buy used. But this specific 740 has sentimental value for me. It still shoots fine and has not developed the "chatter" marks in the top inside of the receiver yet. But it has been shot VERY little since the 1950's.

I did a lot of research on these rifles about a year ago. No body really has come up with a way to make them last longer (except converting them to a pump action 760).

Although today while researching nitriding a rifle barrel for a different potential project, it just hit me... Why not nitride my 740 receiver? It will make the metal harder and give it lubricating properties.

Would this help increasing the life of the rifle or would I be wasting my energy? Thanks!

Spend the 'energy' tearing the action down and give it a good cleaning. Use a good quality gun grease on the bolt carrier before reassembly. Keep it clean, it's the dirt and fowling that wears 'um out. Acts just like sand paper when left in the action. Few get a proper cleaning 'till they quit working. Then, many times, it's too late!

 

[engineer40]

Spend the 'energy' tearing the action down and give it a good cleaning. Use a good quality gun grease on the bolt carrier before reassembly. Keep it clean, it's the dirt and fowling that wears 'um out. Acts just like sand paper when left in the action. Few get a proper cleaning 'till they quit working. Then, many times, it's too late!

I agree that they don't get cleaned enough! Oh, if only every semi auto rifle was as easy to tear down as an AR...