Remington 742 Woodmaster advice sought

Ebola

Ebola

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Was just handed a Remingon 742 Woodmaster in .243 recently. Hunting rifles aren't my thing. As such my knowledge is limited on them. Can anyone give me a quick comment about this rifle? Is it a good rifle? Bad rifle? Accurate ect ect....?

It appears to be in ok condition overall. Mid 70ies rifle was what I was told. Couple of dings on the stock. It comes with a Bushnell banner scope 9X. No magazine. Can anyone provide me a rough estimate of value of the rifle and scope and possibly a location to pick up a mag? Called both my local shops for one and I'm out of luck so far in my search. Thanks in advance for and info.
 
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Id give you 300 for it.... if in good shape.... with no mag I would have to source one... ( not that hard but still my effort and about 65 bucks).....

Nice wolf rifle but us wolf hunters are few and far between...
 
FWIW, before buying ANY 742, open the action and inspect the locking lugs in the top of the receiver. If they are burred, don't walk - RUN from that gun.

The 742 is essentially a disposable gun. With higher round counts comes burred and smeared locking lugs on the receiver - this can't be fixed. The gun will start to jam regularly until it no longer locks up at all. Then it's a wall hanger.

They fixed that one issue when the 7400 replaced the 742.

If you MUST have a semi-auto in this class of rifle, consider looking at the Browning BAR.
 
Im not looking to sell this rifle. Im just looking for info on it. Thanks Claven for the heads up. This rifle was a deer rifle so I imagine the round count is faily low on it. But I will definitely check the lugs.

Out of curiosity since I am lacking a mag and I forgot to ask, I am assuming it holds 3 rounds. Is that correct?
 
I have owned three 742 rifles still have a .30/06 carbine 1960 manufacture. I have had great luck with all three no jamming, decent accuracy(2 in. groups with almost any ammo) and great handling. Not a rifle to buy if you want to bang away 100's of rounds at the range though due to what Claven said. The 742 was designed for the once a year deer hunter and has filled the bill admirably over the years. Some will bad mouth them but they usually have never owned one. My 2 cents.
 
Out of curiousity, is there a fix for the locking lugs? Not that I have one or am interested in fixing one, but could a fella polish the surfaces for the lugs, and then send it out for cryo treatment to harden them or similar?
 
Mike Webb said:
.....Some will bad mouth them but they usually have never owned one. My 2 cents.
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How about the opinions of folks who have worked on them as gunsmiths?

When the action slams open all the way, the multiple interrupted threads on the bolt hammer divots into the receiver. This causes serious malfunctioning. The displaced metal can be tapped back to a certain extent, and smoothed over, but it is only a matter of time before the receiver is unserviceable.
742s were taken out of production years ago, and replaced with a revised model that did away with the interrupted thread bolt. Parts availability is spotty.
If a 742 is working, fine. Use it and enjoy it. Some provide excellent service for years. But Remington didn't drop them without reason.
 
I have one in 30-06. I love it but it has magazine issues. The original mag has some wear issues and the aftermarket mag I bought doesn't like to seat fully. I've had some stovepipes and jams. What should I be looking for?
I'm by no means a gunsmith but I am mechanically inclined.
 
The magazine catches were available in different lengths. Maybe the mag. catch is where the solution lies.
By aftermarket do you mean a Remington made replacement magazine?

Sometimes it is necessary to fiddle with magazines, adjusting them for best performance.

Incidentally, the problems which occur with the 742 do not seem to carry over to the 760.
 
tiriaq said:
How about the opinions of folks who have worked on them as gunsmiths?

When the action slams open all the way, the multiple interrupted threads on the bolt hammer divots into the receiver. This causes serious malfunctioning. The displaced metal can be tapped back to a certain extent, and smoothed over, but it is only a matter of time before the receiver is unserviceable.
742s were taken out of production years ago, and replaced with a revised model that did away with the interrupted thread bolt. Parts availability is spotty.
If a 742 is working, fine. Use it and enjoy it. Some provide excellent service for years. But Remington didn't drop them without reason.
Click to expand...

I am well aware of the lug issue and with a lot of shooting the 742 will become unserviceable sometimes not always. They produced over one million 742 rifles and they were and still are pretty popular. If it works good and there is no damage to the lugs you are good to go for some time maybe a lifetime of hunting use. The most common reason for FTF/FTE in the 742 is magazine problems in my experience. The original steel Remington mags are the most reliable and can still be had fairly reasonable. I have had seen more jams etc. in the model 7400/4 than in the old 742 rifles. The design changes were made due to cheaper manufacture of the model 4 as well as mechanical issues. Given a choice I would buy a good working 742 first.
 
cody c said:
Out of curiousity, is there a fix for the locking lugs? Not that I have one or am interested in fixing one, but could a fella polish the surfaces for the lugs, and then send it out for cryo treatment to harden them or similar?
Click to expand...

The bolthead is hardened (and tested) from the factory. The 742 in particular had a variety of updates to them over the years. The big issue in most peoples minds is the early over-rotation, and the galling on the receiver and potentially the bolt head locking lugs. I say 'in their minds' because if you mention a 742 this gem gets thrown up every single time, like Ross rifles and the 'deadly bolt of doom'. In reality most 742s run fine even if there is over rotation, and in most cases cycling issues are down to the gas piston/nozzle/port area, and pressure curves of the load used. I have seen very few 742s that had much in the way of real over rotation issues, but the legend is stronger than reality. Add to that paranoia of the legend, and any small over rotation marks in the receiver and galling of the lugs, and it takes on an Ebola like hysteria.
The reality is on later 742s the upgrades to the bolthead over-rotation latch pretty much nullified the problem, and even that can be improved on with an increase in spring tension. For a deer gun they run fine, if the owner does their part, which 99% of owners don't.
 
I hunted with one during the later half of my youth, years later I borrowed it from my dad to go do some shooting out in the pits, on the second shot the bolt locked back and would not go forward. I broke the gun down and the only way I could get the bolt to go forward was to oil the #### out of it and tap it with a hammer.

After a good cleaning I brought it out to test and on the first shot the bolt locked up again. There are locking lug shaped burrs in the receiver and that's where the bolt has been cutting into the receiver for years.

Ill try to post some pics if I can.
 
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