Remington 742: Who has experience with them.

[Karnivore]

My friend/dealer has a 742 carbine in .308. It seems to be in great shape on the outside, a little dirty on the inside. I have researched the 742 on many sites and now I am really confused. Is this a good hunting rifle or a finicky rifle that shoots well only when it wants to?

I have read about rusty chambers, soft metal, wearing out in 500 rounds and numerous other problems. I have also read about a few 742’s that shoot well and go bang every time you pull the trigger. The 742 carbine feels great in my hands and shoulders well but all the joy of a new rifle will go out the window if it is a jam-o-matic.

Does anyone here have good or bad things to say or personal experience with Remington 742.

The price is $350.00 out the door.

 

[bigolddave]

How much do you plan to use it? If you are going to sight it in and hunt with it every year, using a box of cartridges a year, you will probably never have a problem with it. A least, if you do, it will show up pretty quickly. However, Remington has gone through a lot of iterations of that rifle, of which the 742 is the second; it has not been made for quite a few years, so it may have already had much of its useful life consumed. A bolt action or a lever action with decent care will last until the barrel is shot out, and keep on perking; a semi-automatic may not. The Remingtons are good rifles, but if I had to choose, I would prefer one of their pumps.

Just based on fifty years of observations, never having worn out any firearm.

 

[Crabtree]

How much do you plan to use it? If you are going to sight it in and hunt with it every year, using a box of cartridges a year, you will probably never have a problem with it. A least, if you do, it will show up pretty quickly. However, Remington has gone through a lot of iterations of that rifle, of which the 742 is the second; it has not been made for quite a few years, so it may have already had much of its useful life consumed. A bolt action or a lever action with decent care will last until the barrel is shot out, and keep on perking; a semi-automatic may not. The Remingtons are good rifles, but if I had to choose, I would prefer one of their pumps.

Just based on fifty years of observations, never having worn out any firearm.

Spot on comments.

I have an inherited M742 in 30.06 that served my grandfather many years. He sighted it and shot game only...so maybe 3 to 4 shots a year for several decades. It started jamming a couple of years ago after my brother and I put several boxes through it over a 3-4 year period. It's a sentimental gun but it's a poor design in my opinion. Accurate though. Gunsmiths will not try to fix the problem as the rails, which are the problem, are not repairable. Or so I have been told...

 

[spricks]

Yep...I have my dad's and think it's a great gun in 308. I've harvested Black Bears and many Whitetails....shoots and works great. I think you can't go wrong for the money....and don't believe all the bashers! You'll kick yourself for walking away. They ain't makin anymore.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

We had a thread on this very topic a while back. Somebody chimed in and basically said that the gun was designed to be a 800 round gun-I think it was Lee but I'm not sure-try to find the old thread-it was very enlightening.

 

[Dan M]

In 1974 I bought a Brand New 30-06 742 BDL from JC Pennies, Out of the box, from the very start, every 5th shell jammed, Took it back and changed for the pump version a 760 and never looked back, best brush gun a guy could want.

 

[Cyrano]

I chose the Remington 760 pump over the 742 so I could practice with cheap, cast bullet handloads. They usually don't work in a semi auto. That was 40 years ago; I still have the 760.

 

[OIF2]

A little thread-wander here, but I'll chime in on the 760. I bought one at the FT Bragg PX when they stopped selling guns in '73 or so. I mounted a 3X Lyman on it and shot a ton of .30-06 LC ball through it that I had from the Army. The firing pin eventually broke; I hand-delivered it to the factory in Ilion, NY. They replaced the barrel (free) because it was shot out completely when they fixed the firing pin. I still have that rifle (safety reversed for a lefty, also at the factory) and shoot it in my club's running deer shoot. An excellent rifle. No experience on the 742, but lots on a 740 (the forerunner). Accuracy and reliability issues; rifle was done after less than a 1000 rounds of GI ball. My army buddy traded it in on a 760 like mine in 7.62mm (.308).
Bob

 

[fat tom]

Buy a bolt action. As to the 742,my daddy always said if you can't say something nice,don't say nuthin' at all.
f.t.

 

[Karnivore]

The 742 carbine is sittin on my desk, I will take it to my hunt club Wed at noon to see if it runs right.

I have numerous deer and varmint rifles ranging from a .22-250 788 to my Weatherby Accumark in .280 so this would not be my goto gun. If it works correctly, I would like to take a hog or nanny with it.

I usually buy a project rifle before hunting season to tinker with. If I end up liking it, I keep it. If not I sell it. I would not feel right pawning off a rifle that I know for sure is a jammer and from what I am hearing there is not much to be done for a used up 742.

Thanks to all for your input, Gary

 

[oldman45]

I have owned several over the years. It is a good gun and I have shot deer and other large animals with one, mostly in 30/06.

That said, it is not a rifle I will take with me when going into the woods these days. I much rather have a bolt action rifle for many reasons.

I would buy another 742 if I find one at the right price but not to use but just to keep in the safe with the rest of them.

 

[windjammer]

I bought a new one 30 years ago. I've hunted with it ever since. It's a 30-06. It is accurare and has never gave me a problem of any kind.

 

[Armyphotog]

I got a new 742 free from my bank for opening a savings account a long time ago. Never shot it, sold it to a friend. He never complained. End of story.

 

[john4970]

Some of the 742 have 'soft' metal in the receivers. Open the bolt and look at the bolt slide rails machined into the closed side of the receiver. They should be parallel and straight horizontal. If you see scalloping or wavyness in the rails, that is wear and an indication that the rifle 'may' have future issues. My 742 has the beginnings of this, but it still shoots and cycles fine. It is a 5 round per year guns tops, so it should still last a while longer. There is nothing you can do about this, as the rails are machined into the receiver and the receiver has the rifle serial number. Good luck!

 

[sw44spl]

I had a 742 woodmaster 30-06 very accurate gun.my friend wanted it to go with his other one he had.because he heard from a gunsmith that a part can break in the reciver that is hard to get now.and that he should buy another one just for parts.

 

[NFrameFred]

There are thousands of them in service and thousands more on the junk pile.

They were the quintessential semi-auto equivalent to the lever action 30-30. Relatively inexpensive, accurate, produced in popular calibers and made by Remington. But they are not guns that will hold up to steady use. Most folks never shot more than a couple of hundred rounds through theirs. Remington (for a time) would take them in and refurbish the rails because it was such an issue, but they decided the design was flawed and changed it altogether. If it had been a good design to begin with it wouldn't have gone through the (at least two) other iterations and model number changes. They didn't change it because they wanted to - it didn't hold up. I've owned a couple and they were great deer guns, but not a robust design for a lot of rounds fired. There are always going to be those who get better service than others from such, but on balance they are not a gun to put much money into.

The little carbine version was always my favorite and there were significantly fewer of those made.

 

[Sebago Son]

Remington 742, 7400 and Model 4.

I've seen and shot alot of these in the shop and owned a few myself.

It's true that they can be finicky and if run dry and not cleaned they wear fast. We had several regular clients that brought in their Remington Self Loaders at the end of the season for detail maintainence... You can do yourself a big favor by removing the forend, cleaning the action under the wood, and applying a TFE based lubricant / preservative like Breakfree. If you don't lubricate the rails, you can expect the gun to fail. The reason Remington put the thin, often broken or missing plastic dust cover over the bolt handle operating cut out is to keep grit and trash out of the area where your lube should be. Sand in the lube will really tear these guns up fast. If the dust cover is missing, you should consider replacing it.

Also, we kept a box of loose magazines in the shop. For guns that would jamb intermittently, often simply changing the magazines would mysteriously "cure" the gun.

I hunted a .30-'06 Carbine for a couple of seasons, but found it to be cumbersome and heavy for it's intended purpose od brush hunting. I went back to my BLR in .358WCF and then a Marlin Marauder in .35 Remington.

 

[Karnivore]

BOOM---BOOM---BOOM---BOOM---BOOM; five shots in five seconds. I am a happy camper. Plus I got an extra magazine with it.

To clean the chamber, I came up with using a .45 cal brush and a cleaning rod with no handle. I am going to gorilla glue the threads of the cleaning rod so it will not unscrew. Then I will insert the rod in the muzzle and thread the brush on while it is in the area behind the chamber. Then I"ll pull the brush up into the chamber and spin it slowly with a drill to clean the chamber. When done, grab the brush with needle nose and un-thread it. Then, clean the barrel and rest of the gun as usual.

Has anyone ever done this? See any pitfalls?

Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate the input.