Remington 742 woodsmaster

Dukeoflawnchair

Dukeoflawnchair

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So I'm inheriting a Remington 742 Woodsmaster of the 30.06 variety. It's got some sentimental value, so I'm going to bear with the jam-omatic reputation and see what I can do to upgrade its internals. The factory clip's already been replaced, so that one's covered. I'm also on top of the weak factory ejector spring. After some shake and bake internet research, it's been suggested that main reason for jamming is the rails inside the receiver being chewed up by the bolt.

How do I verify whether or not these rails are in decent shape? This guy kept the gun impecably well maintained and fired it very little. I'm also wondering if there's such thing as aftermarket rails that are made of a stronger metal? I figure if there's the ballpark of 1.4 million produced, someone's gotta have figured out how to fix the problem...

Anyhow, any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time and expertise folks, all the best!

-Matt
 
The rails are part of the receiver. With the bolt drawn back, take a flashlight and inspect the inside of the receiver. If you see heavily indented marks that correspond with the bolt, it may be screwed. If the marks aren't too bad, they can be polished out a bit. Unfortunately the way these rifles are made, you have to take the barrel off to get the bolt out. This makes it a little difficult to service the rifle. I have a 742 in 30-06 and the markings aren't too bad but because of what I have learrned, it doesn't get out of the vault too often. I wish you good luck on your endevours.
 
Instead of worrying about it, get it out to the range and try it. There might be a problem, there might not be. Find out.
 
Under recoil, the bolt comes back slightly skewed due to a not so precise fit in the action bars. This translates into chatter marks on the left side of the receiver and the top. As has been stated, some peening or stoning can temporarily fix this, but it will happen again if it has happened already. I have seen two receivers that have no marks at all, this is a rarity.
 
sunray said:
"...chamber cleaned and oiled..." Do not have oil in the chamber when firing.
Click to expand...

DITTO !

A chamber may be oiled for storage but make sure it is clean and dry before firing.

If you visualize how the bolt lugs rotate into a locked position, imagine they do that at the rear of the bolt throw as far back in the receiver as they can go... that is the area that eventually gets damaged by the bolt lugs slapping the groove in the receiver that guides them... I have seen it so bad that the bolt hangs up here and jams quite solidly. It is an easy area to examine if you remove the trigger group. If it is badly damaged in this area it would require welding to build it back up and machining to the correct specs.
 
Some beat up 742 in 308 I had.
See upper left marks:

455943.JPG


455947.JPG
 
Any type of light oil is better than no oil at all. The problem will not go away with lubrication. It is damage through impact rather than friction.

Nothing wrong with lubricating all parts of your rifle with the exception of the chamber/bolt face and most gas systems which operate dry. Oil does pick up dirt and debris so you should take care of your rifle like anything else that you want to keep for a long time.
 
Me and two of the people I hunt with have model 742's in 30-06. They all perform flawlessly. One of them is never maintained(he's an old trapper) even his works perfectly. Mine is from 1975 vintage, the trappers is older yet. the third is actually a model 4. A special edition model.

If the guns are maintained somewhat you can expect satisfactory performance. I have fired mine in -30deg. temps and if fired four shots off as fast as I could recover from the recoil and pull the trigger again.
 
Excellent hunting rifle

Dukeoflawnchair said:
So I'm inheriting a Remington 742 Woodsmaster of the 30.06 variety. ----- so I'm going to bear with the jam-omatic reputation
Click to expand...

Hey Matt

I can not believe that I missed this thread last week, I must have been sleeping (or at the range, shooting).:D

Forget about the jamming, not a serious issue. I have haunted with a Model 740 for 25 years and the 740 woodmaster has the same reputation as the 742. Trust me, it is not a big problem, in fact, it jammed on me only twice in all that time of hunting. I just sold the 740 to a guy who just started hunting this year and if he gets half the pleasure I got from that rifle, he'll have a great time.

Three things, first, keep your magazine and chamber cleaned and well oiled at all times. Secondly, my experience has been that when you have two in the magazine and one in the chamber, it does not jam. I do not know why that is, but it just is. And thirdly, carry an extra magazine in your pocket with three cartridges in it while you are hunting, just in case.

Regards
Robert
 
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