Remington 742 questions...please answer

M

mooseisloose

CGN Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 96.7%
29   1   0
Ok fellas I was left a Remington 742 woodsmaster in a will recently and my son wants to use the rifle. Upon shooting the rifle it jams...alot....no surprise. I would like to know what is the proper procedure for cleaning this rifle?????/ What I mean is what do I have to take apart to get at the action to clean it. Also....are the magazines for these rifles all the same?? I know the newer versions the magazines are pretty much the same...like a .270 and .30-06 and .308 are the same magazine. The magazine that came with the rifle is a 7MM EXP. Rem. Which I would assume is the now known 7mm rem mag. Anyways answers to these questions or suggestions about how to stop the jamming would be appreciated.

Sincerely,
mike
 
What calibre is the rifle in. It is quite possible, you have the wrong mag for it, or the mag is causing your jams...if after cleaning & confirming the mag matchesthe calibre of the rifle...., you still find it jams a lot, try replacing the mag....
 
ipb-remington-740a.jpg


from
http://stevespages.com/ipb-remington-740.html
 
The 7mm Remington Express is now known as the 280 Remington....the Remmy semi-autos were never made in magnum cartridges.

Get a 243/308 magazine........the 30-06 mag box is probably the culprit.
 
I have an older 742 in 30-06 and the biggest problem is that according to the Gun Digest firearms assembly/disassembly manual, you need to remove the barrel in order to remove the bolt. I have never done this although I would really like to in order to clean and assess wear.

To remove the trigger group for cleaning; remove mag, cycle action, safety to on. Drift out 2 pins on either side of Woodsmaster logo from left of receiver. Move the trigger group forward then take it off downward. Inspect. Mine was damaged - the front cross pin sleeve was crushed and the disconnector spring badly damaged. This didn't help cycling. After taking the trigger group out, I also found a small handful of cedar leaves in it and the receiver.

To clean the gas system; remove screw in forend cap and take action out of the stock. Drift out cross pin in gas tube housing. Draw bolt back and move the action tube support bracket back off the gas tube housing. Tip action tube downward and slide toward the front when it has cleared the edge of the gas tube housing. Release bolt very slowly as the action tube is withdrawn. I don't need to remind you to have a very firm grip while you are doing all this as the assembly has tension on it.

The mags I have are either marked 30-06 or 35 Whelen. I believe the .270/.308 mags are different. I looked in my Lyman Reloading book and the 7mm EXP. Rem. is the 7mm Express Rem. or known now as 280 Rem. The basic brass dimentions are the same as 30-06. The 7mm Rem. magnum is actually .05" - .06" bigger in dia. You may have a problem with this mag.

All in all, I feel that my firearms are an investment so I bought these books to help me take better care of same investments. The Gun Digest book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly Part IV: Centerfire Rifles has more than 50 different rifles and then variants as well and is an excellent resource.

Good luck with your rifle, you may find that disassembly is a bit of a hassle so some people just jam the cleaning rod down the muzzle and call it a day. Other people just get rid of the rifle. Not many people seem to like them.

Ripstop
 
yea, the 308/243 mags have a spacer and a shorter follower- the gas system is self-cleaning and will normaly not need to be touched, and get yourself a CHAMBER brush to do the bolt face and chamber( you get them through remington) these are almost indispensable for cleaning- i've had mine about 25 years in 308 and it hasn't failed me yet- just drift out the 2 pins for cleaning the triger assy, clean' oil, and put it back in- i'm also pretty sure the mag for a 7400/model 4 will also fit- with the mag out you can get at the bolt face , so there's no need to take the barrel off- the mag you've got is the 7mm express, so it's the wrong mag
 
The 308/243 mags made for the 7400 have a spacer block at the back. Most of the 742 and 760 original mags did not have this spacer for the short cartridges.
As for the jamming, clean it and see if that helps. If not, I suspect that the bolt has cut a mirror image of itself in the receiver. Check by flipping the rifle over after you pull out the trigger group. Look along the bolt ways to see if there are a series of 5 cuts. It may also show at the top of the receiver. If this is the case, take it to someone that has experience with these rifles. Normally, if it's not too bad, the metal can be peened back down and smoothed with stones.
These rifles are very popular in my neck of the woods and I have repaired quite a few.
 
I bought a used one for my Dad about 20 year's ago, and it had the same jamming problem.
Take the fore end off,remove the set screw in the front the gas block and chance's are the little ball bearing is corroded.Replace it and the coil spring with a new one, reassemble.
Doesn't hurt to clean the chamber either.
 
I have a genuine Remington Chamber brush if you're interested.
These look like a bottle brush with two 45 degree bends in the wire handle, and the brass/ bronze (whatever) bristles are sized to fit the chamber so you can clean it through the action.
Like senior says, dirty, pitted chambers are a big failing with this action type.
 
The Remington 742/7400 Magazines/followers are designed around the "parent" cartridge case ... i.e., - 243, 308, 358 and derivitives, all based on the .308 "parent case" - 25-06, 270, 280, 30-06, 35 Whelen, all based on the 30-06 "parent case. Correct re: 7mm Exp.being the .280. Remington never chambered the 742/7400 for any of the belted magnum cases so far as I know.

A CLEAN, shiny, smooth chamber wthout bumps, burrs, nicks and dings is an absolute must, and you'll need to keep the rest of the mechanism clean, with only a bare minimum of lubrication. Over-oiling is a no-no. I just cringe when I see some guys aim the nozzle of a can of WD-40 into the action and soak everything down, letting it "drip dry" UGH !!! I've also seen a couple of 742/7400's in November so "frozen" from over-lubrication that when the trigger was pulled, the hammer wouldn't fall !

Taking the magazine and smartly rapping it into place with the palm of your
hand will also enevitably bend the magazine lips to the point where feeding will become a problem ( "jamming" ) ... it's only neccessary to gently push the magazine into place until you haer it "click". Leaving the magazine full of cartridges in the off-season keeps the spring under considerable compression.
It will eventually become so lazy that feeding problems will ensue as well. Pocket
lint, sand, dirt, dried leaves and other assorted crud needs be cleaned out of the magazine as well. Ask someone at camp for their spare clip and depress it a few times ... you wouldn't beleive the crunchy scratchy noises they can generate !

Although not a fan of the " Jam-o'-matics ", the one and only 742 I had in .308 never skipped a beat. Fed it ONLY Remington .308 - 180 soft points ( not pointed soft points ) ... and kept it clean ! Trusted it about as much as a Chippendale arounbd my best girl though - so eventually moved it for a 7600 in 35 Whelan. The subsequent owner ( an associate from work) has had it for some 15 years now, uses it every year in deer season. Reports it has never let him down either, so I'm still a good guy in his books !
 

It is a very difficult rifle for a novice to disassemble.

The biggest cause of jamming on these old semi-autos that have been used a lot, is that the locking lugs and recesses become quite burred and cause a lot of friction. That and dried oil and dirt around the bolt combined with a dirty or pitted chamber will give you headaches all the time.

The older ones that have been used a lot, and have problem after problem, I consider worn out.

I would suggest cleaning it as best you can and make sure the chamber is as clean as you can make it, and try it with factory ammo. It is easy to remove the trigger assembly and wash everything out well with varsol.
 
Not sure exactly what kind of 'jamming' you are having but, as mentioned, the rifles are really fussy as far as the chamber is concerned. Keeping this clean is an absolute 'must'.

The other problem, as mentioned by GUNRUNNER100, is the peaning caused by the bolt threads as they 'slap' the receiver on recoil. A number of these have come to me over the years where the 'slap' has caused the bolt latch to spring loose. As the bolt returns to battery the bolt latch (this part is not shown on the above schematic - but it IS there on the rifle) pops out all the way and jams the bolt lugs closed thus completely locking up the action. The fix is also as mentioned (peaning the 'mirror' threads that have been formed into the receiver). This, however, is a temporary fix and the problem will re-occur. It's a design fault in the rifle and as far as I know there is no permanent fix.

I have repaired a number of these but I've also run across several that are just too far gone and need to be retired (as GUNTECH said). The good part is that when 'retirement' comes a fair amount of money can be realized when the rifle is parted out. The last one I did was 1 1/2 years ago and I managed 425.00 for all the parts (less the receiver - I destroyed that). Sold the whole lot on EBAY down into the USA...although, with all the rule changes, I don't know if that could be done now. :cry:

The 742 is a great little rifle and is enjoyed by many shooters........but, most of them (the rifles :lol: ) will eventually suffer from the 'built in' problems and have to be repaired or retired.

Best regards - Gus
 
chamber

Start with a pen light. Meaning shine it inside your chamber. If you see anything that looks like rust, even the color of rust, then that's a huge cause for Remington autos to jam. Srub it all out for the full chamber length. If there is pitting, then you have to take it to a gunsmith (a good one) to have the chamber polished. DO NOT TRY DOING THAT YOURSELF. You can screw-up your chamber if you polish it the wrong way which is about 9 out of the 10 ways!
 
I inherited two 742's from my dad. One works like clockwork but the other
kicks the magazine out every 2nd or so shot. Holding the two together it looks like it is part 71 that is slightly bent on the faulty rifle. I guess that piece holds the magazine in and needs to be tweaked or replaced. Is that an easy repair or should I start to source a replacement if possible?
 
Take the trigger group out and check to see if the rails where the bolt travels has marks on it. As the bolt slams back the bolt head rotates and and the lugs gouge up the rails, (5 distinct marks) this then causes the bolt to stick and jam in the back position. These chatter marks can sometimes be smoothed out but they will continue to cause problems. If the chatter marks are real bad the gun can be made into a pump action. "The new 7400 have been redesigned to solve this problem.
 
I took the trigger group out and there are marks but no noticable undulation or gouge at all. It was dirty though and there was at least one pine needle and some guck. I cleaned it all out. The old man bragged about his guns, liked to take a walk with them .... but didn't shoot them a heck of alot ... so they should be good to go. On the other hand part 71 looks bent and/or skewed on the non-working gun when compared to the working 742. Does this hold/lock the magazine in the rifle? ... it appears that it does. Won't be able to get it to the range till the weekend.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom