What to do with a Remington 742?

I have several rifles that must be cleaned from the muzzle. I cut the base off of a .243 case to use as a muzzle guide for the rod. Also makes a funnel for adding more solvent in the case of heavy copper fouling.

The 742 is a bit of a pain to clean. I've gone through a few owned by friends when they got so gummed up so as not to cycle anymore. Rule of thumb with these, keep the bore cleaned and lightly lubed with a penetrating oil such as JB 80 or Liquid wrench. Same for the action. Do not perform a full strip and clean unless it is starting to miss cycles. If it slides grease it, if it moves oil it. I use a Moly based lube sparingly on sliding parts on my semi-autos, it's a Zep product I get from work.

2" would probably be par for these rifles, but some will do better. They prefer 150-165 bullets with powder in the 4895-4064 burn range near max. You'll run into cycling issues with slower or faster powders. You could certainly try M1 Garand loads. If they cycle and shoot well, go with them, you're basically turning it into a .300 Savage and that round has killed a lot of deer. That's what I shoot in my 30-06 rifles, including the M1 and an M17 sporter. 47 gr IMR 4064 in HXP military brass and various 150 grain bullets. Mild shooting and accurate, even to 600 yards with the 155CC. I'm away from my Hornady book right now, but I believe H4895 is in that same weight range. The 150 Sierra PH is a deer hammer at these speeds. These rifles tend to be hard on brass, I would source some LC or HXP military brass. It is a little stouter than most commercial brass out there. I've never felt the need for small base dies, just a good full leverage crush on the FL die with a couple of seconds to set the resize, and I shoot several semi-autos with tight match chambers.

I had two friends who also used the Mod 742 30-06. One used nothing but Remington 220 Corlokt factory ammo! He killed deer/hogs. all under 100yds but man did he get exits! ha The next one wanted me to mount a scope (Weaver 3x9) for him and zero it with Remington factory ammo. I tried 150s, didn't like them at all. I then just went staright to the old 180 round nose Corlokt and it stacked them like a match rifle! He killed a nice buck in Georgia with it, around 80yds, could "eat right up to the bullet hole:. So don't be afraid to try round nose loads either. I believe someone out there makes trigger replacement/parts for a better trigger pull too! Have a ball Pard!

Sorry about the passing.

2 things Remington recommends about these rifles

1. Buy a brass chamber brush for the rifle. They look like bent test tube brushes. Give the chamber a good brushing before and after firing. Any gunk in the chamber will affect case extraction and the rifle will jam. With a clean chamber, they run well.

2. Use full pressure loads. Light loads or light weight bullets are more likely to not cycle the bolt as well. The gas action reduces the recoil.

The triggers can be OK or bad. For some models, a Rem 870 trigger kit can be used to tune up the trigger. Check with Midway for the kit and what models it fits.

Cheers

I got a used 742 .30-06 for my ninth birthday, just over 39 years ago. Put a Bushnell sportview on it and used it through my adolescence. Through gradeschool , highschool, and college, i killed every deer i shot at. Many many many deer. Started out with 180gr round nose CoreLokts but switched to 180gr Bronze Point CoreLokts, then 165gr nosler PTs as my primary loads. At that time i mixed and matched ammo and its a miracle i ever hit anything. I had no idea different bullets would fly differently. I just used the ammo box as my ballistics chart. Lol. I never got better than a 2 inch group at 50 yards on paper. Im embarrassed to admit i often would just shoot a beer can on the Friday afternoon before opening morning and call it good. Anyway, it was an effective killer. Never properly cleaned it. Memories.


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Sorry for your loss. I reload for one as my Father has a 742. 30-06 I have loaded using 125gr Nosler BT for him for Antelope and they shot just under 2 inch groups. For what it's worth I should of just loaded 150gr BT for him. I use RCBS small base dies.
On YouTube. There is a great video of the Remington 700, Remington Auto and Pump shooting from the old days and they all shot about the same. Cool Video.

I ended up with dads 30-06 740 WoodsMaster when he passed..I've read all sorts of horror stories about them jamming and not being accurate, but his always did really well, but he was meticulous about cleaning it...Like yours, I doubt it had more than 4-5 boxes of shells shot through it..Funny story, mom bought it for him when she was pregnant with my older brother..She said she was walking down the sidewalk carrying by the barrel with her big pregnant belly leading the way, and some man passed her and said "There's either a real lucky or real unlucky man somewhere"
:lol:

I have a 760(Pump) and owned a 740. Several friends have 742 rifles. Get the bent chamber brush and use it.
The trigger can often be really bad but they are very easy to fix. I have done about 30 of them for people for the 742 or 760. Once the trigger is better all of the rifles have shot very well with very small groups. I also suggest using a small base dies for best functioning. I have used(also friends) SP bullets(and HP) and not the round nose with no trouble and I do not crimp mine. I have used the Nosler PAR bullet for years in several with excellent results. Some have used plastic tipped bullets also.

I would still hunt with mine but they are getting heavy to haul around as I get older. Shot many deer and a pronghorn with mine.

Lot's of good advice here. I had one decades ago and shot it over 2500 rounds, I had 25 empty bullet boxes, the total does not include the early factory rounds shot for brass.
I'm repeating others but some things are worth mentioning.
Get that chamber brush! You can also get a brush used for cleaning coffee pots. It must have bristles on the end with a flexible handle. This will put a stop to those jams.
Do regularly drop the receiver group and remove front handgrip for cleaning and lube.
The trigger can be improved slightly. I did it but don't remember how except I dropped the receiver group.
Get small base dies.
Keep your loads at medium and under.
You can clean the barrel tube from the muzzle if you drop the receiver group first. This allows you to clean the crud left there by barrel cleaning.
My rifle averaged around 1.5" with the right load. I used mostly IMR 4320 and IMR 4350. 150 or 165 grain bullets.

For what its worth, I just saw an old episode of the X Files and young "Cancer Man" used a Mod 742 to assassinate President Kennedy and Martin Luther King! It was a surprise to me.....

Thanks for all the replies.

Made it to the range the other day, and took the 742 along. Fired 3 rounds of the Remington 168 bonded core-locs that came with the rifle. They all loaded, fired, and ejected just fine. The group was a tad over 6" at 200 yards- all vertical spread, horizontal was maybe 1", and about ~9" low/2" left with the Bushnell Sportview that's been on the rifle forever. Velocity was 2775 fps. Probably adjust the scope, fire one more 3-shot group to check zero, and have a dozen rounds left for any time I feel like sentimentally walking through the woods with it down at the old farm.

Still need to find a chamber brush and give it a decent cleaning, though...

That's terrific grouping at 200yds! No flies on that combo, I'm glad for you Pard!