Remington 742 ?
 

I have a remington 742 woodsmaster 30-06 in good shape and i have some questions. I been talking to some people and they tell me all it is , is a pie plate gun is this true? I use to shoot and i could put 6 shots in a quater at 75 yards. My biggest problem is i dont like semi auto the gun always chams , i need somethings i can count on. Should i dump the gun or is there a fix for it i have it all apart now and going to clean it but what would make it do this? Whats the pros and cons of this gun should iget rid of it an get a nice bolt gun?

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

Yes. Then you'll never have to worry (practically never anyway) about function. Those remington pumps are decent functioning rifles too.I'd go with the bolt though for a single all around rifle.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

buck....I think Remington sold 46 Billion of those guns, seems all of my buddies either own one or have owned one in 30-06...Some group quite well and some don't...Those that don't are worn out, literally one of them has metal shavings in the chamber after shooting....

They can be very accurate, one of my buddies has one that will group 125 Ballistic tip handloads as well as I can hold....Funny thing is, they all own one, and have had it for years, only one ever uses his anymore, and his is his "backup gun"....Four of these guys now own Remington 700s in .243...

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

I have a 742(30-06) that i bought new in 1974. It was my only deer rifle until i purchased a browning a-bolt(30-06) in 1995. My 742 is nowmy back up riflebut during those 20 years it was my only rifle. It grouped about 1.5 inches at 100 yards and it never jammed on me. The reason i bought the a-bolt was because i went to saskatchewan in 1995 and everyone said I needed a bolt action for the frigid weather in canada. i will admit that my a-bolt groups around .75-1 inch at 100 yards and weighs about 1/2 lb less than my remington. If you feel confident with your 742 then you should use it as your primary weapon until you find a sufficient reason to replace it.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

The Rem SA's for some reason are not nearly as good as the pumps they make which are essentially the same as the SA's, but w/o the gas system. For example, the 760's are very reliable and usually quite accurate. But I'd "retire" the 742 and get something that works better. Like you said, a good bolt-action............

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

Ridgerunner-yer confused-you just talked about cleaning gas port-which is correct,THEN you state it is recoil operated?????? You know they are gas operated.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

I had one years ago and it was my first real deer gun. It shot pretty accurately but had a history of jamming so I got rid of it.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

Ridgerunner-I ain't trying to argue with ya but yer wrong-remington 740,742,7400 all are conventional gas operated system-I've worked on dozens of them. They ain't recoil operated. As many years as I've been a gunsmith,I orta know. Even gas operated guns have spring.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

I have used my Remington model 742 30-06 for over 30 years now,it jammed up 1 time,I cleaned and oiled it and it has done fine ever since.A friend of mine at work has the same model gun and his jammed up on him several times,the last time he had to take it to a gun smith to get it un-jammed and worked on.The gun smith told him the gun was pretty well shot and worn out so I'm suppose to buy it for spare parts for my Remington. ;)

I finally bought me2 nice gun's to hunt with...a Browning Bolt Action A-bolt Hunter in the .243 and I have a Browning .270 WSMin the Bolt Action.The old Remington 30-06 will be stored away for use as back-up gun. ;)

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

I hope those a-bolts make you as happy as they do me. browning a-bolt is my favorite bolt action centerfire.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

Uh, no! No more so than any other gas-operated rifle......

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

As for your question, you already answered with your statement of six shots in a quarter, why would you listen to an idiot say its a pie-plate gun? As for the jamming isue, it is a rather easy fix for a gunsmith if he understands how the action works, two main reasons for the jamming is the barrel is loose in the action or the bolt has beat the inside of the action creatting friction enough to slow the bolt down and not let the bolt shove the round in the chamber. Chamber issues can also cause the jam, rust deposits is the main culprit which can be cured sometimes with a good cleaning or by lapping the chamber, also easy fixes for a gunsmith. If it is short-cycling, not even ejecting the fired case then its a gas problem, and yes the gasses is what makes this rifle operate, just like the M1 Garand, M-14, M16, and so on, a recoil operated firearm is like your Browning A-5 shotgun,just a little different is the blowback operated firearms like the Russian Makorov.If you still are unsure of your rifle I will give you 100.00 for it, I can always fix it and resell it.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

Some of these function nicely but a lot of them deserve the title "jamamatic"

Some shoot good groups and some are pie plate shooters.

Personally trade it for something reliable.....may I suggest a Remington 700 in the same caliber.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

LOL Or sell it to me...;) I had to sell my last 742 2 years ago...gonna buy another one of these days.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

I have an old 742 in 30-06 and use it every deer season. It will shoot an 1 1/2", 3 shot group if I let the barrell cool down between shots. My BIL has an old 740 in 308 that will shoot three inch groups (3 shot) at 300 yards.

With all that being said, I personally wouldn't take a shot over 200 yards with mine.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

My dad has an old 742 in '06 that will consistantly shoot a 3.5" group at 100 yards with remington factory ammo. I have a newer 7400 in .270 that will easily shoot a 1" group with my handloads (150 gr. SST). In my oppinion, remington makes the best auto out there. I have shot brownings and winchesters, and neither seems up to par with the remington.

RE: Remington 742 ?
 

To the original poster, there may be an option foryou. There is a company that is listed on Remington's website thatwill convert a 742 into a pump action. I read about it on another forum and the person who had it done was very happy with the results. Just a possible option for those who may have a 742 sitting in a safe somewhere they no longer use due to some of the jamming problems.

I have a 742 that was passed down to me from my Dad. It has taken many deer and I took my first deer with it. I hope my son can take his first with it as well. It is not"prairie dog" accurate but it has always been more than accurate enough for deer inside 200 yards. The 742 has never jammed with me and as far as I knownever jammed with Dad either.

I would do this to mine but it is operating fine for now. If it starts to have problems I will probably have this conversion done in the future. I know my Dad would much rather have had the gun operational as opposed to sitting in a safe collecting dust.

Here is the link: http://www.ahlmans.com/