Anybody had any luck with a Rem 742?

R

RdKill

New member
First of all, I know what a horrible design it is and that it is a festering sore spot on the reputation of Remington. I've had one (742 Woodsmaster .30-06) since the mid 80s. I learned very early on the importance of scrubbing every little spec out of it after shooting it. Looking back...overall it's really been probably the most reliable rifle I'll never trust. I jammed it up a few times in the early years when I thought cleaning a rifle just meant cleaning the barrel with a cleaning rod and WD40 :eek: It gummed up and jammed/wouldn't chamber a round...I tore it apart, saw what was so gummed up and why it wouldn't work ...and never had the problem again. I would never drive 200 miles to go hunting and that be my only rifle in the truck...No freaking way. But...over the years, once I learned how to properly clean a rifle, and after hearing all the problems that particular model had (twisting gear head looking bolt eating away the soft aluminum inside), I kept mine spotless and lubricated. Even today, inside and out, I'd say it's 99%...probably because I never hunted with it. Other than one little speck /bright mark on the receiver, it looks close to new. The serial number dates it to late 60s-early 70s. It was given to me in '85 by a family member. All I can say is, it's not a rifle that can take any abuse but if kept clean and lubed, seems to be as reliable as any other...I still don't trust it though :)
 
My brother-in-law has one and I have shot it a few times with him and its never jammed when we were shooting it. Im not big on semi auto 30-06's but his seemed reliable and accurate enough. Would I trust it hunting? Sure, I know I will at the very least get one shot off. Most of the time thats enough.
 
I have a 742 BDL in 30-06. I have hunted bear and deer with it for 7 or 8 years in the sun, rain and snow on occasion. No problems No malfunctions and it is the only rifle I can put 4 rounds on target in 5 seconds! ( it has a muzzle brake and it makes fast accurate shots without recoil easy) Like you said keep it clean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I got a 742...30 aught 6......It is the carbine version.....
I put a realtree synthetic stock and a realtree scope on it.......
I think this is gonna be my new hog gun.........I kinda like it......
 
I had one I bought used.Accurate as all get-out.Jammed about once in 25 shots.Couldn't trust it.Traded it in to buy a Fed Ord M14.That I can trust.
 
My brother-in-law had one that he deer hunted with, but I think he got rid of it. It started giving problems due to what you mentioned. I once owned a 7400 in 30.06, which was probably an improvement over the 742. I sold it and bought a Browning Mark II Safari in 30.06 and never looked back.
 
I bought a 742K in like-new condition. 1.5 MOA with a K4. I didn't shoot it all that much, but never a problem. My only real gripe was that it seemed heavier than I really liked. I figure for "just" a hunting rifle that doesn't get shot all that often, it would work okay.
 
First high powered rifle i ever owned. It was the worst gun i have ever owned after firing the shell would get stuck in the chamber and rip the rim off. Tried to get it to work i couldnt. Took it to my local gun smith asked him what to do he said get rid of it. He wouldnt even try and fix it for me. I sold it for 40 dollars and still felt bad. To this day my brother still picks on me about how much i use to clean that gun. I was just a kid back then. If i had it now maby i could figure out what the problem was. It was the 742 woodsmaster. It got called the jamsmaster. It was fairly accurate tho.
 
Seems like some are good and some are bad. Like they have an extreme range of personalities. I have seen some that would work for a little while if spotless and have seen others with very close serial numbers shoot anything, anytime.
 
publious........I have always heard this........I once had one in 308........It was a really good gun........I think probably the short rounds have less problems.........
 
It's always just been a "look pretty" on my gun rack...I keep it clean and seldom shoot it..I guess if I keep doing that, it'll last me the rest of my life :)
 
I had three different ones. Had jamming issues eventually with all three. I went to a BAR and would never go back to the 742. The BAR operates flawlessly after 15 years and has now claimed about 25 deer. I find it easier to operate too. Has that nice swingout box magazine. Check out the Browning at your local Gunshop. I think most would agree it is far superior.
 
I had two, my second and third deer rifles.....first was a 243, second was a 30-06. I don't recall either ever jamming. It's a deer rifle not an AR, they were never made to run 1000's of rounds. I shot them on average of 8 or 10 times a year.

I really wish I still had the 06...it shot pretty good I sold it for 350 in 1993.


I've used a 270 BAR since 91....It's heavy but shoots like a champ.
 
I have one and have had it since the mid 70's. Mine is in 30-06. I have never had a jam and it has killed several deer.

It was never designed to be an assault type weapon where you see how fast you can empty the magazine.

Mine shoots great groups until the barrel starts warming up and I always know because it will start to throw "high-right".

Someone mentioned the weight........ Well heft the Remington and then heft a BAR.......... now you really know what weight is.:D

I had to put a ramline synthetic camo stock and forend on mine when it came out of a tree stand a couple years back and the stock broke. Now it is lighter and really looks neat........
 
The local prison had them and sold the whole arsenal full when they got sick of them not working. They lived in gun towers their whole life and never got cleaned and worked like crap. The guns all got sold locally and I see tgem for repairs after every hunting season.
 
I owned one of those things back in the 70’s or 80’s. Around here they were called “Click-clicks”. After 3 or 4 shots they were too dirty to shoot and just clicked. They only liked factory ammo, being a reloader I wasn’t too pleased with that either. The damned thing shot a group as big as a dinner plate on top of all it’s other faults. Worst rifle I have ever owned.

Nobody around here wanted one, so they were hard to get rid of. I just kept it as a loaner. Luckily I worked with a guy from Alabama who turkey hunted there and borrowed it for a hunt. He managed to kill a turkey with it, how I’ll never know, and thought it was great. Asked what I’d take for it. Almost as a joke I told him to get me a new 760 and it was his. He did, and it was.

Best deal I ever made. The 760 was a tack driver and digested any ammo.
 
My brother has one of the old M740 Carbines in .30-06. An uncle bought it new in the early 60's I believe. When he died my brother inherited it. He absolutely loves it. But, like any semi, it's imperative that it be kept reasonably clean. It has never ever had a problem or malfunction. And our Uncle, knowing the kind of guy he was in taking care of a weapon (non-existant) the first thing my brother did was give it to a gunsmith for a complete teardown and cleaning. LOL, it was kinda gunky inside. But even with that, the rifle never malfunctioned. It was also the rifle of choice for a couple of guide/pilots we used in Canada. Personally, I've never heard of a 740 series needing much in the way of repairs. Perhaps we've just been lucky.
 
My father has been hunting with a 742 30-06 for 35 years and it has been flawless gun...until the mag springs wore out recently and he couldnt get it to shoot more than a coup;e rounds thru it at a time...well i told him to buy a couple new mags and wellah it shoots like a new gun again!
 
I own ONE big game rifle- a 742 in 30/06. Having used the 740/742/7400/74 platform since the early 60s, I have complete confidence in it. It has but ONE job; put meat in the larder. I handload for it, keep it spotless, and have only had it balk ONCE since I've owned it. That was at the range using nickle plated brass and a starting charge of powder that I'd never used before. It went off, but the bolt didn't eject the case because it didn't go all the way back. I upped the charge in the rest of the ammo by 2 full grains (RL 21) and the rifle was happy.
I wouldn't go to Alaska without a bolt rifle for a backup, but the old Remi Semi would go too. It sports an old Redfield 2x7 in Weaver mounts, and I'm quite comfortable shooting it. IIRC, the late great Jack O'Connor's wife used one to bring down an elephant in Africa years ago. Eleanor shot the jumbo and brained him with one shot. SHE had complete confidence in her old slushbox, and that's good enough for me.
 
I have a beautiful 742 30-06 carbine and have a love/hate relationship with it. When I first purchased it I was a rookie at handloading and had a lot of trouble with it jamming because I used the slower burn rate powders. I put it away and it became a safe queen until about three years ago. I loaded up some 180 grain PSP Core-Lokt's, middle of the road load of IMR 4064 and it now shoots reliably. The accuracy isn't what I would call great but adequate for most whitetail hunting in the east if you are not in need of a beanfield rifle. I did take a mule deer out west with it, one of my best shots to this day. I jumped the buck and he started doing the pogo thing broadside and I dropped him at about 150 yards with one shot. I've made longer shots, but not at a running deer. If that shot came up for me today I think I would pass. These days I like them standing still or at most a slow walk.
 
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