The Worst Hunting Rifles of All Time

There were plenty others I would have loved to have taken home, and there were several you couldn’t have paid me to take. In a world of sub-MOA obsession, it actually requires a lot less to make a good hunting rifle. Unfortunately, the same goes for bad ones. Sporadic groups, failures, and misfires aren’t something you want in a hunting rifle, but there are some guns that deliver those tangibles reliably.

While compiling this list, I consulted with a few old coworkers, now good buddies, from that gunshop. These are the rifles we all agreed earned a reputation for being some of the worst hunting rifles of all time. You might own one of these dreaded firearms or even have one that functions and shoots properly. Just remember, there are always exceptions to the rule.

If we had awarded a prize at that gun shop for the hunting rifle sold most when labeled “as-is,” the 742 “jam-o-matic” would have won unanimously. It doesn’t matter whether you own the 742, 740, 7400, Model Four, or 750, they’re all basically the same rifle in a lineage of unreliable autoloaders. They’re kind of like the villain in a slasher movie franchise that just won’t die.

To be fair, the Remington autoloaders I saw come through those shop doors hardly showed signs of routine maintenance, if any at all. Those gas-operated guns didn’t require much to slow them down. The chambers were rust-prone, and the actions were notorious for failing under the slightest powder fouling. It didn’t help that they spent all of deer season in the cabs of deer-dog hunters’ pickups.

Excuses aside, they aren’t exactly the easiest rifles to clean. For better or worse, they’re always compared to the highly coveted and reliable 760/7600, Remington’s famous slide or pump-action rifle. Whereas the 760/7600 always functioned, the 740/742 failed reliably.

It pains me to include this rifle for sentimental reasons alone. My grandfather bought a Savage 170 in .30-30 from one of his hunting buddies, which he gifted to me when I turned 13. It was my first deer rifle, and I killed my first deer with it later that year.

In fact, I dropped that deer, thanks to a rogue shot that severed that basket rack’s spine. My father chalked it up to my nervousness, but a follow-up session at the range and several boxes of ammo revealed the rifle’s inability to group consistently. So much so that my father loaned me a Marlin 336 and told me to forget about the 170.

Offered only in .30-30 Win. and .35 Rem., the Savage 170 offered a more affordable alternative to the Remington 760. In fact, Savage used the same footprint from their model 67 shotgun to keep costs down, and that same breech system limited the cartridge offerings. Unfortunately, the 170 failed to deliver the same performance and cartridge offerings as the 760 and earned a reputation for jamming, something never associated with the Remington 760.

The trigger is long and mushy, and the single, as opposed to a double, slide action bar gives the forend its classic rattle. That’s also why it doesn’t feel nearly as tight as the 760. There’s a reason its run lasted just over a decade. Still, it’s a cool conversation piece and a quietly (albeit deservedly) forgotten rifle.

Under its prior ownership, Remington rolled out the economy line Model 770 as a cheaper alternative to the 700 (which had plenty of problems of its own during this time). Beyond the price, there was nothing remotely likeable about these guns. The cheap and obnoxiously plastic stocks, finicky box magazines, and sticky bolts made it one of the worst-handling and shooting rifles. The long-action 770s were notorious for feeding issues or failing to eject a spent casing.

Compared to Savage’s Axis, then Remington-owned Marlin XT (how ironic), and soon to follow Ruger American line of rifles, it flopped at the time. Every time someone walked through the shop doors looking to sell or trade a 770, my coworkers and I let out a collective sigh. Eventually, we stopped accepting them, especially after a pile of them in .300 Win. Mag. or 7mm Rem. Mag. occupied most of the used rack.

As someone who owned a decently accurate Remington 710, predecessor to the 770, I can attest that not all of them are complete boat paddles. It’s likely that you’ll come across forums where 770 owners staunchly defend their beloved rifles. Then again, you’ll come across more of the rifles themselves, collecting dust on some used gun rack.

It’s a shame that this rifle landed here, given its one-piece stock design, detachable box magazine, and overall sleek design.

Like the Remington 742/740, Winchester’s Model 100 earned a reputation for jamming, something its biggest fans will readily admit. It also had serious firing pin issues that often led to accidental discharges, which forced Winchester to launch a recall in 1990.

I saw a few Model 100s come through the shop during my time there, and they certainly had a niche clientele, mostly collectors. While the stocks are streamlined, they’re beefy. If you thought the 740/742 had plenty of creep, the Model 100 gave you ample time to flinch or rethink your purchase.

This isn’t a Remington hate article. For every gun listed on here, I can give you another Remington rifle that I adore. The Remington 760/7600, Model Seven, 700, and Nylon 66 are some of the best hunting rifles, but that doesn’t mean big green didn’t get it wrong a few times. And boy did they with the 597 .22 LR.

Released to compete with the Ruger 10/22, the 597 never came close. Feed, magazine, and jamming issues doomed this rifle. In college, I received a 597 in a trade. My buddy wanted to sweeten the deal, and that should have been a dead giveaway.

It produced wildly sporadic groups when you could find ammo that it would actually cycle. Sometimes the magazine would just fall out. Like my buddy, I tried to throw this rifle in a couple of trades. I think it’s dying a slow death in the corner of my dad’s closet.