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how reliable is the remington 742?

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10 comments

  • hatchettman
    99.99999% of all rem 742 jam--even remington refuses to work on them anymore, i rather have the box they come in than the firearm, at least the box is useful !!!!!
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  • allen griggs
    I had one in 30-06. That cartridge being a little longer than .308, the 30-06 is probably more prone to jam.
    I killed 8 or 10 deer with it. On one memorable doe day, I shot 2 does and a buck in about 4 seconds with that gun.
    The next season, I shot a buck and dropped him in his tracks. Then I looked down and the Remington had jammed.
    I didn't need a second shot that day, good thing.
    I sold the Remington and bought a bolt action.
    ps Now you got me thinking about it, the second year I had that gun the firing pin broke and the gunsmith had a hard time fixing it.
    Never had a jam or broken pin with the Mauser, and I have killed 35 deer with it.
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  • perry shooter
    This gun has given many gunsmiths full time employment for years but very few will work on them now not even REMINGTON.Bolts are harder than receiver / barrel this causes chatter type wear resulting in unuseable rifle.Buy anything else
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  • bobski
    mine jammed 4 times. i sold it within one week of owning it. it spent 5 of those days on my gunsmiths bench. i sold it to a guy at a gun show and ran.[xx(]
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  • JWB
    I must have a rare Remington
    I have a 740 woodmaster auto in .308
    It has never jammed,ever.
    I clean it,don't over oil and shoot
    3 clips in a row. (at the targets anyway)
    It was made in 1957.
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  • eastwood44mag
    Never had a 742 jam. Had no problems yet.

    O Lord,
    grant me the Serenity
    to accept the things
    I cannot change
    the courage to change the things I can,
    and the supreme firepower to make the difference.
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  • Crawdog
    I've had one since 1974, and have never had a jamb. I always keep a clean gun, and shoot them dry in the field.
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  • BigBarn
    I had a customer that brought his 742, 30.06, to me for scope mounting, and to modify the stock, ie, shorten it a little bit. I did all of that, and lazered the scope mount to get it close, then took it out to my range to dial it in. After three shots, I had it zeroed, cleaned it up and gave it back to the customer. From that time on, he could not keep that damned thing zeroed in a 12 inch circle, so of course we thought, something wrong with the scope. Turns out that the recoil was so erratic, and he could not hold the rifle tight enough on his shoulder, that it would knock the scope out of alignment, every time he shot it! He wound up selling it, and buying as good bolt rifle, and has never looked back.
    Just too many things that can go wrong with an auto, that you just never have to think about with a bolt. I would never own one!
    Just my 2 cents!

    BigBarn[:o)]

    "Respect the land, and it will respect you"
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  • grdad45
    Bought one new in '83 or '84 (742 BDL Left Hand.308). Never had a jam. 742's are maintenance hogs. If kept clean and lubed with Breakfree, most of them will give years of good service. A friend had a '06 that jammed on every shot, after looking at it, I tried another friend's magazine and the gun shot every round as fast as I could squeeze them off. The original magazine's lips were bent in on one end. He swore he had not dropped it, but after straightening the lips, it worked fine.
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  • Warbirds
    I have owned a 742 in 30-06 for eleven years now, I like others keep it clean, I can't say I've ever had any problems with mine that I can recall. But I do know this, it's alot easier to buy a bolt gun that is much more likely to never have a problem than to buy a gun that many have had problems with. I wouldn't sell mine, I can't complain about it's reliablity or accuracy, but I have bolt guns that I take with me when it matters. I do have lots of good memories with that rifle though.

    R/

    Dave
    th_bigclay.bmp
    How different the world would be if we could consult the veteran instead of the politician. - Henry Miller
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