Remington 742

blackbear

Senior Member
I need tips from the 742 experts on running the Remington 742 and getting reliable feeding performance.
Should I put only 1 round in the clip and let the action loose hard and fast for good seating of the action as far forward as it will go,then removing the magazine to make sure it has chambered the one round,load up the magazine with 4 rounds and seat it back in on the closed chamber,should I hear a click or hit it with my hand to seat good that way I know it will not "fall out"?
Will it matter if I shoot pointed bullets or will I be better off for reliable feeding using round nose softs?
Do these rifles need the foreend taken apart and cleaned everytime its been shot or only after say 20 rounds?
I have read so much about these rifles rails wearing out after 500 rounds or so and becoming constant "jammers "so bad they can't be repaired,is this true?Does anyone have a 742 with over 500 rounds fired?
Will the rifle action need to be run wet with oil or should it be oiled good and then wiped off?
Recommend CLP ?
Will I need to "grease" any parts?
Do you guys recommend the Remington 180gr. cor-lok pointed soft in 30-06 for these rifles or any ammo brands to stay away from?
I do know some of the best Deer Hunters use 742 rifles!
I think they only sold 2 million.:cool::yeah:
Thanks for any help or tips on using one of these fine Deer Hammers!:flag:
 

snuffy

Senior Member
I bought a used 742 back about 1971 or so and used it for years. Only time I had a problem was when I tried to close the bolt quietly. Cost me a deer. From then I racked the bolt back and let it slam shut. I cleaned an used oil sparingly. I haven't used it in years, but still have it. I have hear horror stories about these guns, but in the 70's there were a LOT of them out there. Good guns in my opinion.

I shot practically everything in mine from 200 to 150 grain. Pointed and round nose. The 180 grain pointed work fine. I used the 180 round nose Cor lokt. in mine most of the time.
 

shane256

Senior Member
I had a 742 way back when... had the extractor problem (there was a recall) so that it was effectively a single-shot rifle that you could reload fairly quickly... it stove-piped the brass almost every shot... just had to open the bolt, shake the other brass out, and let it slam closed with a new round when that happened. Rarely was it bad enough to have to work the brass out with a knife or anything.

The only thing I used in it was 180gr Core-Lokt SP (Round Nose).

Overall, except for the extractor problem, it was a good gun. I ended up giving it away (it was given to me) and buying myself a new 7600 in .30-06 but that was all 30 years ago.
 

Laman

Senior Member
I have a 742 bought in 1969 that probably has at least 2500 rounds through it and many of them some pretty hot handloads(done back in my younger days. It is still being used by my brother in La. but now using only 165 gr. factory ammo for best reliability. Keep it clean, not swimming in grease or oil, and scrub the chamber occasionally. I always practiced and setup load prior to the season, hunted the season and then cleaned it. In my opinion you don't need to restrict to roundnose bullets, my gun has lived on various pointed bullets. Most effective for me has always been to load the clip than let the bolt slam.
Keep it clean and make sure the barrel nut does not loosen up and it can be a good deer-killer
 

TrailBlazinMan

Senior Member
The problem that I have noticed with these rifles is there is no way to get a rob from the chamber forward to the muzzle. Since most people are lazy, they then clean from the muzzle back, knocking all the crud and corruption out of the bore into the chamber. The chamber itself never gets cleaned. The horror stories of these rifles being terrible, jamming, causing earthquakes, etc stem from unclean chambers corroding.

The 742 can be a great rifle as long as it is maintained. They will feed soft points, hollow points, and FMJs reliably. They can be accurate.

I recommend a good detailed cleaning, particularly of the gas system, action spring (polish the guide rod), action bars, and bolt. I use grease on parts that are not exposed (action spring, action bars, left side bolt cam pin, etc) and oil on parts that are exposed. CLP is a great solvent, but on heavily fouled bores use Sweet's instead. If you see rust forming in the chamber that you cannot remove, take it to a reputable 'smith to have the chamber polished.
 

Laman

Senior Member
The problem that I have noticed with these rifles is there is no way to get a rob from the chamber forward to the muzzle. Since most people are lazy, they then clean from the muzzle back, knocking all the crud and corruption out of the bore into the chamber. The chamber itself never gets cleaned. The horror stories of these rifles being terrible, jamming, causing earthquakes, etc stem from unclean chambers corroding.

The 742 can be a great rifle as long as it is maintained. They will feed soft points, hollow points, and FMJs reliably. They can be accurate.

I recommend a good detailed cleaning, particularly of the gas system, action spring (polish the guide rod), action bars, and bolt. I use grease on parts that are not exposed (action spring, action bars, left side bolt cam pin, etc) and oil on parts that are exposed. CLP is a great solvent, but on heavily fouled bores use Sweet's instead. If you see rust forming in the chamber that you cannot remove, take it to a reputable 'smith to have the chamber polished.

Great post. For chamber cleaning for years I have used the military style ratchet brush below.

http://www.brownells.com/gun-cleani...14-m1a-m1-ratchet-chamber-brush-prod1242.aspx
 

7Mag Hunter

Senior Member
I have a 742 wood stock BDL i bought in 1970 and it is used
for hunting only and has less than 300 rounds
thru it......I hand load for it (30 yrs), clean it
very well, and have NEVER HAD A JAM......
If this is a new rifle for you, i would strip
it and give it a good clean....Even the gas
system.....If you are not comfortable or
competent enough to do the above, find
a good gun smith to clean/inspect the rifle
for you......If you decide to sell it, PM me.
 
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Headshot

Senior Member
My dad used a 742. To my knowledge, his only issues came from the chamber getting dirty. He used a brass brush with a flexible wire handle (9mm pistol brush, I think) to keep the chamber clean. A niece's husband bought a used 742 six or seven years ago. It would tear the rim from the bottom of the brass when ejecting. We cleaned the gas system, the rods, etc. (all under the forearm). After that cleaning, the 742 has performed flawlessly.
 

jglenn

Senior Member
just cleaned up a friends 742. it had the dust cover replaced by a smith who didn't clean the receiver...... the bolt would stick back and not continue forward. jessssss, he had the trigger group out so why not clean everything..

anyway a simple cleaning of the receiver, chamber and parts fixed it... grease on anything that slides and you're done

the 742s work fine for around 800 rounds then are simply worn out. if you only hunt with it they will last for years.

not the easiest firearm to clean but it needs it more than most.


blackbear, one thing you should do with it is to Always feed rounds from the magazine.. also check the firing pin return spring for function... easy to do if you pull the trigger group out( two pins)
 

woods&water

Senior Member
I've had a 308 carbine since 1976. It has between 2 and 3 thousand rounds thru it and has NEVER given me any kind of trouble. It is a deer, hog, yote, etc killing machine. It has 100's of kills to it's credit. It will feed any weight and shape bullet from 125gr to 200gr (I load my own with small base dies)
Keep it clean especially the chamber. Take the trigger mechanism out and clean it occasionally to. I use CLP sparingly on mine on all the moving parts. When I load it I drop a round in the chamber and let the bolt fall about the last inch or so and bump the bolt with the heel of my hand ,then stick the clip in it. I have had a ton of rifles in my lifetime and I trust this 742 jammamatic more than any of them including several BAR's. Take it to the woods, feed it ammo, and it will do the rest.
 

bevills1

Senior Member
Most feed problems in any semi-auto are caused by either ammo or magazine problems, assuming regular cleaning and lubrication is done as I do in all my guns whether semi-auto, bolt, or other.

Once I traded a Winchester model 70 for a 742 knowing it had a magazine problem, but I recognized the problem and fixed it myself. A few years ago I bought a new 750 Woodmaster that had the same magazine issue which I also fixed. Neither of these semi-autos have malfunctioned since fixed years ago.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
A good friend of mine has an ancient one that has always run flawlessly. No tricks, just load it and shoot it. His likes 150 Winchester Powerpoints. My son actually killed his first deer with it.
 

Fishin & Hunting

Senior Member
I bought one 8 years ago. It was made in 1980. After a year I started to have problems with it feeding the second bullet. Bought a new clip for it and the problem went away for good. Has not jammed since.

I have retired it now since I like the accuracy of a bolt action A-bolt.
 

bevills1

Senior Member
I bought one 8 years ago. It was made in 1980. After a year I started to have problems with it feeding the second bullet. Bought a new clip for it and the problem went away for good. Has not jammed since.

I have retired it now since I like the accuracy of a bolt action A-bolt.
Did you have a problem with that clip feeding the fourth bullet too? That is the problem I had with the 742 and 750 mentioned in my previous post, i.e. there were feed problems from only one side of the clip. I realized the reason for this was the clip was trying to feed the round at too steep of an angle causing the jam. I used pliers, with cloth between pliers and clip to keep from scratching it, to bend the magazine on the problematic side until the proper feed angle is achieved. Note it's not necessary to test by firing until proper feed angle is achieved; it may be determined by simply manually cycling rounds through the rifle.

Some semi-autos are quite accurate versus others. For instance that 742 from my earlier post would barely group 5 inches at 100 yards while the 750 in that same post shoots just over 1 inch 100 yard groups.
 

jimmy.444

Senior Member
ive got an old 742 in 30-06 that I would guess is from the 1960's.
It was one of my uncles old rifles and I have no way of knowing how many rounds have been fired through it.
the issue I have with it is primer strike. when I load a round into the chamber then unload the round from the chamber that round will have a firing pin indentation on the primer. I have had this rifle taken apart and cleaned, but still it has a primer strike issue.
I will say that after it was disassembled and cleaned the primer strike is not as bad but is still there.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
 

density1

Senior Member
I would check the "Firing pin retention" spring in the bolt. If it is going bad, you could have a slam fire coming. Read the "old" thread link I posted two posts above. It will give you an idea of what to check for.
 
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