Remington 200th Anniversary 7600 In .30-06

I don't normally buy on impulse, especially when it comes to guns. But a while back when we were still living in Phoenix, I made a rare exception. I took a quick trip to Sportsman's Warehouse near me to pick up some patches and other gun cleaning supplies I was running low on. As I was browsing the gun rack I saw this beautiful Remington Model 7600 Pump Action 200th Anniversary Edition in .30-06 sitting there. I asked to see it. The nice young kid behind the counter handed it to me, and the rifle was absolutely gorgeous!

The Walnut was some of the best I've ever seen on ANY rifle at any cost. Both the butt stock, as well as the forend had what seemed to be endless figure and contrast, coupled with a beautiful high gloss finish. The bluing was very well done, with a very high luster and polish throughout. The gold inlays showed very nice detail on both sides of the receiver, as well as on the pistol grip cap. There is a nice gold inlayed barrel band at the muzzle. The fit and finish of all the wood and metal was as good as it could be.

I had seen several of these 200th Anniversary Edition Remington's at Cabela's over the last year and a half. And I almost sprung for a 7600 they had. But I just couldn't justify the price, ($1,595.00), they were asking. It's not that the gun wasn't worth it. It was. But it's a lot for a gun that's a safe queen, and you're basically buying to admire, and not to run up a high round count on. So when I asked this kid how much, I just about fell over when he told me $899.00! I said are you sure? He double checked, and came back with the manager and said yes, they were on a special clearance. I couldn't say, "I'll TAKE IT", fast enough! For that price there is just no way I was going to leave without it.

When my wife saw it, the first thing she said was, "That's a pretty big box of cleaning patches!" Then after she saw the gun she was impressed as well. It's just a beautiful rifle. Remington sure did a nice job on it, I'll say that. This is just a quick and dirty phone pic.

The top photo is the 200th Anniversary Edition 1100. They are beautiful as well. In fact they all are. These guns have dropped in price over the last couple of years. Remington made 2016 Anniversary guns of each model. 870's, 1100's, 7600's, 700's, and the R-1, 1911 pistols. There are enough of them out there to where I don't think you will hurt the value by shooting them.

This was the case with many of the Winchester Model 94 Commemorative Models that were produced in the 70's. A few went up in value like the John Wayne Commemorative Models. But many others could be had for not much more than the standard 94's were going for at the time. Because Winchester produced so many of them, they were everywhere.

I don't ever remember going to a gun show back then, and not seeing them for sale. It's very hard to judge the market for these type of guns. If they over produce them, the value will stagnate. And the prices will even drop over time.

Some of these 200th Anniversary guns have come down over 50% in price from when they were first introduced. Both the 7600 like mine, and the 1911 I've seen for sale as low as $799.00. They were $1,600.00 guns when Remington first introduced them. I will more than likely shoot mine at some point. But I'll be careful with it so as not to put any scratches or "handling marks" on it. Not at all difficult to do at the range if you're careful. Besides, it's always fun to shoot nice guns.