Inherited a Remington 742 Woodsmaster

[FergusonTO35]

I recently inherited a Remington 742 Woodsmaster in .30'06 from my grandfather. He had this rifle for decades and didn't shoot it much as he was mostly a rabbit hunter. According to the serial number it is a late production gun from 1975-1978. I have read that if you shoot the 742 enough you can actually wear out the receiver; I know Papaw didn't shoot it enough to do that and I doubt I ever would. I suspect the 742 was overgassed like alot of older auto rifle designs including the Mini 14. The 7400 was supposed to have had some design changes to correct that. In any event, I bet this rifle has had less than 100 rounds through it. When I opened the case the mag was out of the rifle and still had three rounds in it. They had probably been loaded since the last time Papaw took it hunting.

Anybody have experience with these rifles? My plan is to put a Williams WGRS receiver sight on it and cobble up some low pressure heavyweight rounds for it, something like a 180 grain at 2300-2400 fps. Make it a real Woodsmaster, so to speak. I figure these loads will be easy on the receiver and my shoulder and still kill anything that needs killing in the Bluegrass.10 round mags are now available for the 742, if I like shooting it enough I'll get one. If anybody has a WGRS they would like to sell give me a holler.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Yup--as a gunsmith I had a lot of experience(s) with them. Worked on several, and just as you learned in your readings, they wear their receivers out. They have a bolt design where by the front half of the bolt which has the multiple locking lugs telescopes back into the rear portion, and the two parts are connected with a cross pin through slots. It takes a lot of shooting, but these parts eventually wear and the part with the locking lugs turns past the position where it should stop and begins to cut matching slots in the left wall of the receiver (as viewed from the rear). The lugs are harder than the receiver and the violent turning motion acts much like a machine tool cutting slots. Eventually the problem becomes so bad that the gun will jam open after every shot and it usually has to be disassembled to get the bolt unlocked from the rear. This is a well know problem in the gunsmithing world and was acknowledged as such by Remington who for many years had a compensation program where if you sent in the bad receiver they would give you a substantial discount on the 7400 model. That program has been over for years now, and if your gun goes bad you have no recourse other than to try to find an unworn receiver. That's a very difficult proposition because if used enough eventually they will all have the problem. The good news though is that if your granddad's rifle saw little actual use and you just intend to shoot a box or two of cartridges through it per year it will likely last the rest of your lifetime.

[Mk42gunner]

One thing I would do is hunt up the disassembly instructions on the net, take the rifle apart and make very sure the chamber is clean and unpitted. My uncle had one for years and I don't think that gun ever got taken apart, as far as I know, it is still working okay.

You may be right on it being overgassed, from what I have read the locking lugs beat themselves to death in as few as 4-500 rounds. Maybe Garand level loads or less would be a good idea????

Good luck with it,

Robert

[pietro]

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IMO, that rifle's a very nice remembrance of your Grandfather, and your plans for it are sound.

Please realize a couple of things...............................

Once upon a time, I was the rangemaster @ my gunclub (10 years), and at every year's public sighting-in day, the fella's that had the most trouble zeroing their rifles were the those with the Remington 742's - so be sure to recheck the zero after every time you transport the rifle to a hunting destination.

Also, realize that, while the WGRS is an excellent set-n-forget hunting peep sight, installing it will raise the rifle's line-of-sight much higher than the issue open sight's lne-of-sight, thus requiring a new front sight blade that's about 1/10" taller then the issue front sight blade (swapping it out is E-Z-Peazy), in order to zero the rifle.

Switching out the front sight is an excellent opportunity to install a different style front sight bead (Ivory, Gold, fiber-optic) that you may find better than the issue blackened brass front sight.

Also, Best Practice, for a clean sight picture through the peep, indicates that the rear open sight be removed from the barrel.

Remington ramped rear sight bases unscrew, & the receiver top filler screws removed to mount the WGRS can be used to fill the rear sight ramp holes in the barrel; rear sights mounted directly in a barrel dovetail can be replaced with a slot filler blank, bought (commercially-made) or filed up from the male dovetail section of just about any old real longleaf rear open sight.

FWIW, my very best DRT deer smackdown rifle was a .30-06 Remington Model 7400 with 180gr Core-Lokt RN slugs.


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[FergusonTO35]

Thanks for the good advice everybody. This rifle has the later style sights which are pretty tall and screwed on to the barrel front and rear. I've been using Williams receiver sights for a long time and will probably upgrade the front as well. The rear sight holes can just be plugged with set screws. I printed the original instruction manual off the Remington website which includes disassembly instructions. Remington states quite plainly that this manual is the full extent of parts and service they offer for this rifle. First order of business will be a careful disassembly and cleaning, afterward I may shoot it some with the issue sights and some factory ammo I have sitting around to see just how well it does in stock form. Evidently, alot of these rifles have been junked over the years because there are tons of used parts on Fleabay and GB.

[koger]

AS note above about the receiver issues, spot on. Also, if you don't keep the chamber clean and dry, brass will stick and rip out the extractor. I fixed 29 different rifles, all 742's one fall and winter here in KY. I saw one, that the receiver was worn out by the guy who bought it new, had exactly 212 rounds. It was taken great care of, had the basket weave checkering, but the guide rail in the receiver was soft.

[Moonie]

My oldest son has one of these rifles. He keeps it well lubed and we shoot 170gr lee boolits with 35gr of h4895. Nice light shooting and they do function and lock back when empty. This helps the longevity

[NyFirefighter357]

Someone gave me one of these because after the first shot the bolt got jammed, 2 gunsmiths couldn't figure it out. It tore the action apart. I found the problem, someone tapped it for a scope and the screws were too long, the gas was strong enough to force the bolt back past the screws but the spring wasn't strong enough to push it forward again. Removing the screws fixed the bolt, but the action isn't in the best shape.

[izzyjoe]

I would do a strip down clean, and make sure the chamber is very clean. You will be ok with medium loads. I've always loved the looks of them, just didn't like the bad rep they have!

[FergusonTO35]

Ooh, I like the sound of that 35 grains 4895/170grain Lee slug. I was thinking something like 37 grains IMR 4895 or 4064 and a 180 grain j-word to start with, then try boolits depending on how well that works.

[pietro]

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FWIW, gas-operated autoloading rifles don't respond well to the use of plain lead (un-jacketed) boolits, as the gas ports/system will become quickly clogged with lead, necessitating a full gas system teardown & cleaning - or a single-shot rifle will result.


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[FergusonTO35]

I have no experience with boolits in gas guns personally, but my reading on this site indicates that some of them do just fine. If my rifle doesn't like them no big deal, I'll just use plated or j-words.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`m sure that someone can name the ammo company that makes low recoiling ammo for the `06. I know Hornady makes ammo specifically for the Garand`s operation, wonder if those would be of help?Robert

[OnHoPr]

That is a concern about the guns operation with enough power to function. That's an 06, you can get shooting a little harder than that 30-30 load. With its weight and gas operation something a little stouter would be about the same recoil as the 30-30 load in a 94. For an idea why not a HP 210 gr or a bit heavier @ about 1900 fps or so, good mushroom, deep drivin with wind bucking. If you shoot one of jcoat bullets why don't you go to ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase and read up on the 300 Savage for a bullit that would go good with that velocity. If it is too stout of jword it will not be very effective. If you can get that semi to shoot into a couple of inches @ 100 yds then maybe the Speer 180 BT would work good for those velocities, buck the wind and be a good performer out to a couple of hundred yards. Don't hit a deer with them less than 100 yds doing 3000 fps.

[w5pv]

Keep the chamber clean and I shot many rounds through mine,My favorite load was 41 grains of 4831 under a 200 grain speer bullet.I have had the rim of the round to break out a small portion until I learned to clean the chamber often and after then no problems.


Vote Trump

[Earlwb]

I remember when I was young that most guys didn't shoot their deer rifles all that much. A box of 20 rounds would be good for several years. So I can see where a rifle could be quite old and have very little actual shooting use. Now it might get carried around a lot, etc. But not shot much. Heck I think I used my deer rifles a lot more that most of the other guys, as I would shoot them a lot more, to make sure I had it down pretty good about where the point of aim, etc would be. But most everyone else would use three to five rounds to make sure their rifle was sighted in good. Then they would use one possibly two rounds to shoot a deer every year, or none if they had bad luck and didn't see any. Then the rifle would get cleaned and oil and put back up until next year.

[FergusonTO35]

I am probably the first person on either side of my family lineage that actually embraces shooting and reloading as a stand alone hobby, not just something you do to make things go dead. I come from a long line of hunters for whom guns are just tools, if they are reasonably sure that they can put the bullet in a lethal spot then no need for practice. The more experienced I become as a shooter the more I realize how grossly overconfident we can be, myself included.

[upnorthwis]

Every person I knew who bought one of these back in the 70's bought it new. They had a couple of names for them: Jam-master and Jam-omatic. They tried all sorts of black magic to get them to work. Eventually all of them were sold.

[Mk42gunner]

I am probably the first person on either side of my family lineage that actually embraces shooting and reloading as a stand alone hobby, not just something you do to make things go dead. I come from a long line of hunters for whom guns are just tools, if they are reasonably sure that they can put the bullet in a lethal spot then no need for practice. The more experienced I become as a shooter the more I realize how grossly overconfident we can be, myself included.

This paragraph also applies to me. Well stated Sir.

Robert

[Mauser48]

Hornady and ppu make garand safe ammo. The load I use for my garand is a 150 grain hornady fmj on 46 grains of imr 4064. That might be a good load. If your going to hunt with it then you can sub the fmj for a sierra soft point or something.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks for the compliment, Mk42gunner. I'm happy to say that I have also got my best friend hooked on hunting and reloading.

For this rifle, my plan is to come up with something that is around .300 Savage/hot .30-30 performance wise. I am fully set up to reload and cast so I won't be buying any factory ammo unless it's a really good deal. In any event, the 742 will be in a holding pattern while I get my muzzleloader and lever actions ready for the upcoming seasons.

[Lead Fred]

Ive worked on several. You can load full power loads. It will take anything a bolt gun will (within reason).
Also buy SMALL BASED RCBS dies. The 742 has a very tight tolerance.

[buckwheatpaul]

FergusonTO35, I have two of them....one in .308 and the other in '06. Both are great guns even though the .308 looks like it has been through several world wars. The biggest problem I have is making sure the chamber has no rust in it. I bought the take down tool from Midway so that I can disassemble both and a thorough cleaning is the secret....I have known many people that owned them and I have never seen one shot to pieces....I know it happens...but deer hunters in reality do not usually shoot thousands of rounds through them....so good luck and hunting with it will establish that bond between you and your grandfather. IMHO Paul

[turtlezx]

??????? did the 740 also suffer from the same problems ??

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Years back, my Neighbor had his 742 (30-06) self-destruct. Bolt locked open. Yep, he only used it for Deer and he would site it in every year. He probably had about 200 rds through it, I don't think he ever cleaned the action, only the bore (through the muzzle). He had a gunsmith make it into a Pump action, but it didn't cycle very reliably, so he sold it.

[Moonie]

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FWIW, gas-operated autoloading rifles don't respond well to the use of plain lead (un-jacketed) boolits, as the gas ports/system will become quickly clogged with lead, necessitating a full gas system teardown & cleaning - or a single-shot rifle will result.


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This has not been my experience nor does it reflect the experience of many on this forum. But then I only shoot cast in 5 gas operated rifles... And that does include the above mentioned 742.

[tazman]

I was at a gun shop a few years ago looking at a used 742 in 30-06. I pulled the bolt back and looked inside. The bolt locking lugs had eaten the inside rails so bad the bolt would not close without some alignment help. I put that one back in the rack.
I own a 760 in 30-06 and love it. Until this year, it wore a peep sight. Now my eyesight has deteriorated so it wears a scope. Still shoots great though.

[snoopy]

I always wanted a 742, and a couple of years ago, a friend gave me a call and said his wife wanted to sell hers. 75 vintage I believe, with almost a full box of shells they had purchased with the gun, I bought it. It also came with an aftermarket 10 or 15 round box magazine. The barrel gets pretty warm after 3 rounds, I wonder how many in succession before irreparable harm. Not that I shoot that way, just curious.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

snoopy--I think they will last a lifetime if you are the average hunter who goes through a box of shells or less a year. You know, the guy who takes his rifle to the range to sight it in before deer season and shoots 5-10 rounds, then uses another 5-10 rounds during the season, cleans it up and stores it away until next year. But if you're into shooting a box every weekend, say 100 rounds per month, you'll be encountering trouble in just a couple of years. There are still a lot of them around that haven't been used to destruction, and because they are such a streamlined easy handling rifle they still have a fan club. The hot barrel is from the gas system. They need to be disassembled and have a good cleaning every so often.

[AggieEE]

I had a 742 in 06 for a while. Shot great if I let the barrel get stone cold between shots. If I shot, looked at the target, lined up again and shot ( maybe 10 to 15 secs) I would hit somewhere within 6" at a 100. Stone cold I could connect the bullet holes. No idea what was wrong but finally gave up and traded it.

[Drm50]

When I was a kid I started off deer hunting with a #8 Rem 35. All the older guys had 742s/30-06.
I couldn't wait to get a 742. Me and another young guy in the crew went to gunsmith to buy our
742s. We both bought Weaver K4s too. Both of us were disappointed with accuracy, 6" was about
average. But eastern mountain deer are shot under a 100yds in most cases, so they were good
"meat" guns. This was in middle 60s, no one was having any mechanical troubles with their 742s.
A few years later, in early 70s the new crop of young guys in the crew were buying 742s. These
guns were terrible, they had all kind of trouble with them. Several had to be sent back to Rem.
If you took one of these apart, there was night and day on the running gears. You could cut
your self on burred edges on the parts. This is when bolt shroud was changed to plastic. The first
part to go. Over the years fooling with them I found a lot of them were short stroking due to
gunk build up in buffer. I got rid of mine after a couple seasons and got a Win 100 in 308. Was
a lot more accurate and dependable. After coming home from Army never had any use for self
loaders in hunting rifles. I did end up with them on trades from time to time and found the Brn
BAR to be the best in auto loaders.