as already mentioned,it depends on what you are going to do with it.i shot many deer with the rem 742 and it was great for hunting in the woods and shots out to 150-200 yds.it did jam as mentioned.the factor that caused me to go strictly to my bolt actions was sighting both in at 200 yds then shooting them at 300 and seeing the unbelieveable bullet drop difference between the two.i hunt pipelines and have no need for an auto anymore.if i did,i would buy a BAR.