I bought a new Remington 7400 in 1982. I remember paying a small fortune at the time: $300 or thereabouts. It is still the fanciest gun in the family after Uncle Paul's 1963 Winchester Goldie... which is fun to shoot, but a little too gaudy for my tastes. Nicely checkered, .30-06 Springfield. God's Preferred Caliber. $200 Bushnell scope on oval Weaver witness rings in case of fog (grew up hunting iron sights). Never malfunctioned. Not once. Field or range. 150 gr or 168 gr Core Lokt, mostly (whatever was available and cheapest), and she is a little heavy offhand. I'm not a big guy. But accurate, flat and fast. Easy rifle to clean. Not AR easy, but still pretty easy. I enjoy cleaning firearms. I never had an issue running this rifle in wet and snowy conditions. Hot and dry. At the range. Never fired at a buck and missed with this rifle. Never wounded (and then had to track) a buck with this rifle. This rifle kills deer. The buck always takes no more than a couple few steps before dropping to his knees with gravity and them just bleeding out. I don't care about MOA, but this rifle shoots 3" groups at 300 yards with precision. My buddy has a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor that performs about the same. No better. His RPR cost $1600 and looks like RoboCop's dick. My Remington 7400 was $300 and looks like a scoped big game shotgun. I care about bullet speed and dropping power because I may see one buck a season and I may need to hike 3,000 yards, changing 1000 feet in elevation, as the result of a 300 yard shot from one ridge crest to another. I need the animal to fall immediately and within view. I don't want my equipment dictating whether a shot I take is effective and humane. Also, this is the best damn gun ever made for harvesting feral hogs humanely. They just fall over.
When I was in HS (mid 90s) I wanted a 7400 in the worst way. At the time, the receivers came fully engraved from the factory. I umpired baseball all summer and had finally saved enough money to buy one. I stopped in to my athletic director’s office with my Remington catalog, and I let him talk me into a 700 BDL instead. I loved that rifle, but I could never let go of not getting the 7400. As luck would have it, I was Christmas shopping in 2007 and there on the used shelf in Gander Mountain was a 7400 with engraved receiver in .30-06 for $450. It was in near perfect condition, so it was a no brainer. Even better, I found the matching 7600 just a few months later. I shoot them from time to time, but don’t really hunt with them. My 7400 is typically 1.5-2” at 100 with some old Winchester XP3 ammo. I also have a BAR in .300 Win and it too is pretty much a safe queen, but I do get better groups with it. Every year, I say that I should take these rifles out to actually get a deer with them, but I never actually do. Maybe someday!😂
Remington may have took it for granted that the people in the 1950's knew to lubricate mechanical devices. Unlike today, back then the suspension components on cars required regular lubrication. Electric motors, etc. had ports to oil the bearings before sealed bearings came in to common usage. Great video.
My grandfather left me a 742 with a ripped-to-shreds receiver from hot ammunition (he handloaded, and it was HOT). Rifle doesn't have any rust issues, so he cleaned it often enough to avoid that. Despite the weakness, he must've liked the rifle, because he also bought and left me a 7400. Action is in much better shape and the rifle runs well. As you said, soft shooting (as far as 30-06 goes anyways) and somewhat more complicated to take apart and clean. However, it's the first thing I did when I got the rifle and as a complete novice with nothing but a manual and general mechanical knowledge, I had it apart, cleaned, reassembled and firing again in no-time with no issues. The 7400 is rock solid. The 742 is a wall hanger.
I recently got a 1997 Remington 7400 (the updated version of your rifle) and went through the same thing you did. I bought a service manual and completely disassembled the gun, for cleaning and replaced the action spring. Yes the gun was very dirty and it took me hours to clean it. But after reassembling the gun it shot great with no issues. In my opinion this is a good gun and look forward to using it for years to come.
I bought a 7400 in 30-06 from my neighbor a few years back. I guess I'll be taking it apart and checking it. This video has brought this into the forefront of my firearm project list. Thanks!
Thanks for this video, I care about this rifle. Prior to his passing about a month after my first birthday, my dad had a 740 in .30-06 which is now mine. 24 years later and I'm doing my part in taking care of it externally, but now I feel a bit more confident in servicing it internally as well. I'll definitely be doing more research. It's clear that my dad took good care of his and I'd like to continue the upkeep and keep this rifle alive. It's really fun to shoot, I haven't taken it out too often, but I will be doing so more now that I understand the mechanism a little better. It's probably the most sentimental rifle in my collection, I'm grateful that you took the time to do the research and upload this video. It's motivated me to give this rifle some more attention.
I have a model 7400 in .30-06. My wife bought it for me in the early 90s. At first, it had trouble ejecting the shells. It would literally tear chunks out of the case head. I was using Remington ammunition. I discovered, though that it would fire military ball ammunition just fine. So I reasoned it had to be the ammunition and not the rifle. I discovered that it likes Winchester super X and cycles those just fine. I think the gun was designed to be used as a hunting rifle, where a Hunter would take it out of the safe, sight the rifle in and take it hunting. Then it would go back into the safe. It was not designed for shooting a lot of ammunition like a military style rifle. The accuracy is OK. At 100 yards I get about a 2 inch group which is fine for me. I keep the rifle, clean and lubed and it’s been a fine rifle. Excellent video.
My dad, a Marine bought a 742 for me as my first deer rifle in the mid 70's, he was the one to take care of it though and I never had an issue with it of any kind, zeroed it at 100 yards and never missed a target, I remember it shot well but don't remember ever measuring anything, if it would have shot bad we'd have bought something else that's for damned sure.
My dad traded a 30-30 he owned for a Model 742 way back in September 1973. He passed it down to my older brother. It is one of my favorite guns ever made when it comes to design. So I eventually bought a 7400 that was made in March 1984. So don’t feel bad for being young and learning so much about them because I did the same thing when looking for one lol(I’m 36 btw). So my dad’s 742 did jam quite often and the last time my brother shot it , it jammed. So after gaining knowledge on it I took it completely apart to clean it. It was dusty and bone dry on the inside. Lubed it pretty good and it needed a new magazine since the old one didn’t properly seat inside so I just got it a new magazine. She should be good to go when my brother gets it back.
The new measurement standard of "minute of dirt clod" cracked me up more than it should have. Though the video contained some good information, that statement alone earned my sub. Have a good one.
*My Dad had a 742 .243 forever. I helped him pick it out way back in 1974 at Bender's Sporting Goods in Oelwein, Iowa. This was before Iowa became a slug only state. Deep checkering, deep bluing...Beautiful Firearm. Topped it with a Tasco 3-9x 32 mm Scope..Tasco actually made good scops back then... He only ever fired Remington & Winchester Ammo in it. It was bar none the most inaccurate rifle I've ever seen. A true POS. You could throw rocks more accurately than that rifle shot bullets. I don't know how many deer he wounded with it over the years, but it was a bunch...(I was usually the one that tracked down and finished them off)...Dad passed away in 2011, his infamous 742 lives with my Brother In Law...Right where it belongs*
I remember not too long ago I took one of these apart for a customer and he wanted me to strip it down completely and clean it. I do remember the reassembly process was frustrating, but I was pretty fond of it by the time I got it all back together. Remington rifles and parts in my experience can be either great and work like a sewing machine, or nearly junk and parts are almost impossible to acquire.
Wrongo! We (The U.S.A.) NEVER got out of Korea. We (The 2nd Infantry Division) and a wing of the U.S.A.F. have been there since the 1953 "Ceasefire" agreement was signed. The norks (Commies above the 38th Parallel have often broken the "Ceasefire" over the decades.
Yup definitely right, I was an MP and almost was posted in South Korea this was in ‘83 and we were still trading the occasional shots across the border.
I had a first year 740 in 30-06, as a novice gun owner at the time I had a lot of issues with the magazine so I sold it. It was really ahead of it's time in 1955, fist gas operated semi auto designed for civilan use. Now I wish I had just gotten a new mag for it. I currently have two 742's, I keep them clean and lubed, they run well and both shoot around 2 moa. Good enough for what they were designed for.
We live in wisconsin and my version of the 740 is the 760 or 7600s. Our hunting group had 9 guys in it... 8 of which had the 760, one guy with a 740. All in 3006. Right now between me and my dad we have 5 or 6. plus one broken parts gun. The rem 760 brings back so much nostalgia and even today in the northern wisconsin deer woods in november i see more remington 7600s than anything else. EVERYONE i see always has several in their group. Maybe check out that gun next. They are accurate guns, but they warm up quick, and you pretty much cant take them apart unless youve got the wrench. Loved this videoso much. Please check out the 7600 in 3006 sometime. They are the pump action version of the 740. I have a soft spot in my heart for them.
I'm a Wisconsinite and a 760 guy, too! Remington autoloaders and pumps are still going strong in my deer camp. Every malfunction I've ever seen in one of those old autoloaders was due to neglect. They don't deserve their jam-o- matic reputation.
If you hunted the Adirondack's back in the 70's you carried a Remington 742 or 760. You got your deer every year and if you were lucky maybe a black bear. If you pulled into student parking in your pickup and had a 742 in the rear window gunrack you were considered cool.
I remember those Remington's back in their heyday of the late 50's, 60's and 70's. I always thought they were really slick pieces of machinery. Too bad disassembly is so difficult. Kinda spoils what could have been a great rifle.
Remington makes these receivers from the same extruded blank as their 20 gauge shotgun receivers. I believe there's some good design choices here, but they reused a lot of tooling. If it was a more bespoke design, it might have had concessions for an easier disassembly.
You haven’t mentioned that the trigger group can be removed by drifting out the two retaining pins and then you can flush out the receiver. Can also lube from there. Also not all of them were drilled and tapped. Got one.
I went on a Bear hunt in the late 1980's in Canada and had a long ride out with the guide that was showing me the location for the first time. So of course we talked guns along the way. The Guide (a retired Conservation Officer) told me that the 740 & 760 Remington series in 308 or 30-06 accounted for about half the guns brought into camp.
The Rem. 760-7600 is hugely popular in the North East woods. It's a good rifle and easy to operate for those familiar with the 870 shotgun. The trigger is a bit heavy and spongy just like the 870 but it is OK once you get used to it. It's faster for follow up shots than a lever action. The 30-06 and 308 were the most popular chambering. I hope Remington starts making it again.
I bought mine some 30 years ago, the guy said his brother said it didn't shoot. I stripped it down, cleaned, lubed, It then sat for years, A few years ago, I got scope rings, a 3x9, Burris, sighted at 100 yds, and got 3-4 inch groups, acceptable to me for a hundred yard gun.
There was a time when the term cleaning should ALWAYS include lubricating of parts. I was raised to clean my guns after every range day or hunt. Lubrication was the end of cleaning. No one and no manual ever said how much, you just learn, when your gun was a little rough shooting, from either too much or not enough lube. There are 2 reasons why we have detailed instructions and warning labels. 1) most of us can extrapolate from incomplete data
Just Inherited a 1956 740 from my father in law so your video is very timely thank you! I have been going down a similar rabbit hole learning about it and I think that I read in the Remington manual that it recommends not tearing it down which is pretty funny.
I have 3 45-70 handi rifles. Saying you’d rather shoot one of those rifles for recoil is a hilarious statement. Forums always deliver. Really appreciate the video, great style and content!
Up here in Canada there was a company called "Globe Firearms" that in the 1950/60 time period converted 7.62x54R Tokarev rifles to shoot .303 British. While that sounds today like a stupid idea back then it made sense to take a heavy long rifle that shot ammo that you could not get and convert it to a shorter, lighter rifle that shot common ammo. One of the problems was that there was a lot of corrosive army surplus ammo around and lots of these rifles were basically destroyed by not being cleaned properly after using this ammo. This was not helped by the redesign of the gas system that made it harder to clean. So, similar issues to the 740, but with some other complications on top of that.
the way my grandpa taught me way back when he was still kicking was repetitive, but I always had the cleanest weapons in my platoon, so I still use it. break down, soak parts with cleaning agents of choice, scrub, soak again, scrub again, lube parts, scrub again, wipe down, lube again, reassemble, ensure everything works and got some lube. everything is done when there is an even coating of oil on every bit of metal. only thing that was different was muzzle loaders, they got a bath part way through and gun grease.
My Grandfather gave up his Marlin 336 built in 1955 for a Remington 740 in .308. He was an M1 Grand WW2 veteran so the gun felt light for him and shot well. He killed so many deer with that rifle that my Dad went and bought one in the 1970’s. They found handloads of 180g Nosler Partition shot very well out of the rifle, never had feed issues. They lugged them rifles all over the woods shooting running deer, bear, and even shooting the heads off grouse. They mounted low power Leupold scopes on them. They ran them rifles season after season with only a few shots taken to sight them in and a at the end of season was a big Hoppes #9 bath. On or about the early 90’s my Dad took his to a local gunsmith to have the firing pin fixed. The gunsmith hated this rifle and convinced him to retire it for a Browning BLR. Gramps never gave his up to the end with no issues. I use his Marin 336, I’ve also shot a deer with the Remington 740 and it still works well, I’ve though of getting them both out of retirement and back in the woods. Gramps would rechamber the same bullet time after time if unfired and the firing pin would kiss the primer when the bolt slammed shut, he had a discharge on one trip when he closed the bolt on a rechambered round.
In the south, gunsmiths and pawn shops stopped dealing with them. A steady diet of bubba's pissin' hot handloads and not a ton of maintenance led to a bunch of these things in a sad state. There's definitely issues with the design, but the overall package is very nice.
People bought this gun and didnt clean it thoroughly. Trigger group drops out like any remington repeating shotgun. But you need to grease the bolt and bolt guide rails or you can chip pieces out of the bolt or guide rails. The guide rails are built into the reciever....Once chipped the bolt and or reciever has to be replaced. Running one dry will ruin it.
I traded and got a Remington 742 Woodsmaster rifle .30-06 Springfield years ago. I did some research, and my old NRA Firearms Disassembly Manual has lots of info and great instructions. It needed a serious clean and new magazine. I had the perfect scope for it, a Lyman All American 4X wire crosshair target dot. Using the same ammo, I reload for my M1 Garand gave one-inch groups at 100 yards. It's my backup hunting rifle to a Rem 721 .30-06
Great video, context is everything. When properly cleaned, it's a great deer/black bear rifle. It wasn't meant to be anything else. I still use one today, and it shoots a minute of whitetail. Btw, any jams I've had with this rifle were dirt or magazine related.
Honestly great video and narrative discussion about the Remington 740 model hunting rifle. Your account about individuals not properly cleaning a weapon after use is factual. I was an 11 Bravo Drill Sargent and later became an Ordinance Warrant Officer. Whenever we did the annual record fire for individual qualification. Or when doing a Field Training Exercise (FTX) Individuals just hate cleaning a weapon period. I'm talking the easiest weapon in the world to clean. M-16 or even a Beretta M-9 people are naturally lazy about maintaining a weapon. They hated when i was the one performing inspection during turn in to the vault. Some individuals have no idea how having and cleaned and lubricated weapon affects accuracy. Again didn't mean to get on a peach crate and preach about weapons maintenance. Thoroughly enjoyed your video and would enjoy seeing more. You have a great narrative style. Sincerely CWO SHOOK US Army Retired
I ve got an old one. Long barrel. And i ve had every trype after that all the way up to the synthetic mat finish 7400 stock angled for a scope. Had 06 with the engraving and checkered stock. They are ALL hit n miss on accuracy and reliability .you re right they are their OWN catergory. Almost like a fogotten branch... I love them!!! Some of them handle and shoot like a 22 rifle with the down range power of kill everything The 10 round mags never work. I wish they would come with them again but SLIM VERSION not bulky w pic rails all over it. Light weight!!
Had 2 of them. Parts are not being made for these rifles.A worn magazine will cause a good rifle to jam. Good magazines are almost impossible to find. Both mine were very accurate with 150 grain bullets...but ..semiauto rifles will evidently break parts that you can't find...sold both and bought a nice bolt action
ive got 2 of the remington 742s in 308 win one that my wife uses deer hunting her gun loves the federal 150 grain bullets and puts them in at just under a inch at 100 yards and in my 308 i run the remington 165 gr bullets at 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards and yes they are a pain in the butt to tear down and give a good cleaning but i do enjoy doing that kind of stuff in the winter months when the deer hunting season is over some times you just have to try different brands and bullet weights to find what your gun really likes and when you find the stuff your gun likes go out and buy as much of that stuff you can afford and a quick shot of rem lube after its cleaned doesent hurt a thing but we keep our shots at deer to 250 yards or less if im going to be hunting fields that could give me longer shots i take my 7mm rem mag mod 700 with hand loads or my winchester mod 70 30-06with hand loads
A semi auto based on a pump action that has way to many wear points and rarely work if found used. I see them all the time in pawn shops and gun stores for under 300 with a scope. If your lucky enough to have one that functions well and you run stock lower pressure ammo you are good. I've not seen an issue with accuracy the big issue is the lockup lugs wear, break, and jam. The action has a number of parts that will then break if they get stuck
Bought a 742 Carbine in 78 . Shot the snot out of it , I did clean it often and lubed with Teflon tho , froze it in a deep freeze overnight to make sure it would work , it did . Now I do know if you got a good one , you kept it and some were junk , kind of the luck of the draw at the store .
A note on used Remington 740-742- and so on, look inside the receiver to check for galling before putting cash out, there is NO fix for that problem that I am aware of.
Yup, I bought one with this problem. It would not turn the bolt lugs far enough to chamber a cartridge. Took it back and the store owner would only give me store credit. Took a Smith and Wesson 19 home.
These rifles were what kept gunsmiths in business, feed issues, impossible for most owners to clean and people could not bring themselves to pay, what we the people who knew how to take them apart,keep them from rusting solid,or how to find the multitude of parts to fail. WD 40 baths killed a lot of them combined with surplus ammo. I’ve had them with receivers so ripped up by factory ammo with the gun lubed with 3 drops of three in one oil.
I’ve had two gifted to me. One fancy 742 woodsmaster that holds a steady 6 inch group at 100yrds and later a plain Jane 7400 that shoots amazing. Literally 1 MOA and willing to show it.
I've had both a 742, and a 7400. Both shot great with the 18" barrels, and I never had any kind of issues at all. I also did not shoot more than a box of ammo at a time, and probably less than 500 for either guns life so far(I still own the 7400). It does shoot minute of angle at 100, with 180 core lokts. My 760 shoots clover leafs at 100 with the same ammo. These guns have great recoil, and shooting more than 20 at a sitting is borderline torture. Gun Scrubber is made for this gun, along with the Rem oil spray.
Thanks for an informative and entertaining video! Remington seems to have had a clue about matching their ammo to their rifles. I have a mid-60's vintage 760, the pump rifle released at the same time as the 740. It likes regular old "green box" Core-Lokt 168s, and will put four rounds into 1 1/4" At 100 yards if I'm having a good day. The barrel profiles of the 760 and 740 are identical, as is the rate of twist between the two rifles, so it doesn't surprise me to hear the auto shoots them well. .06 MOA, though... hmm. I need to see the targets. That said, I've never seen the auto version outshoot the pump, just like a 760 will never outshoot an M700. If you run your test, you owe it to yourself, science, and the rifle to include a box of Core-Lokt 168 in the ammo selection.
I too have heard both sides of this argument, but I've also noticed a pattern. 1. People who don't like them cite damage, malfunctions, poor quality magazines, poor reliability, poor accuracy, complicated disassembly which prevents routine maintenance. 2. People who like them tend to have extremely low round counts on the gun and personally. Most are hunters who fall into the category we'd call "fudds", and fire three rounds a year and have most of the first box of ammunition they bought with the gun 32 years ago at Sports Authority. The first bullet they shoot each year is about a month before deer season. THey set up on a bench at an unknown distance, usually about 25-50 yards, and shoot at a paper plate with a dot drawn in the middle. If they hit then they wipe down the outside of the gun, put it in its Mossy Oak fabric case from Menard's, then take it to their deer stand for the season weekend. They fire one shot, miss, fire a second shot, miss again, blame the ammo, and get a hit the next day with their buddy's spare gun which is usually a sporterized Mauser 98 in .308 or a budget oriented R700 clone in .270 which the owner didn't want to shoot because recoil was too harsh for him. 3. People often flip from #2 to #1 for dumb reasons, such as using crappy Chinese made magazines or lubricating the rifle by opening the chamber and dumping a scoop of moly anti-seize compound up inside the magazine well from the bottom, running the action a few times, declaring that it "feels smooth" and "doesn't rattle anymore" and deciding that because they like it, that can't possibly be why the gun is now malfunctioning.
Remember shooting Dad's 30-06 BAR at 6. So my dumb self ask for a lightweight youth model savage for my adolescent hunting rifle. Bruised the hell out of my shoulder for years.
Well well. Interesting to find you. I am impressed. Very fair review and an accurate representation of the circumstances around this firearm. You are spot on. There are many components to the history of this gun. I wish I had room to include everything in this comment, but it will take a book. LOL. Accuracy as you suspect is not what the internet comments indicate, in my experience. More like 5 shots in a paper plate all day long so long as you never shoot more than 100 yards. I had a 742 from 1974 well into the 1990's before I got tired of working on it to improve grouping and function. Mine suffered from military ammunition use, or abuse, along the way. The 740's were superior to the 742's from a field perspective. Much more reliable. A 1.5x5 Leopold scope made it near perfect for shooting running game. Good or not, it remains an important part of my life experience. You learned a lot from your investment. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
I think the biggest factor for the manual not instructing you to lube the rifle, was that in the 1950s, virtually every man out there was a Veteran of WWII. We are talking men who had 'clean and lube your rifle" drilled into their heads from the word go. Also everyone was a grease monkey. Back in the day everything was made from Steel. From guns, to cars, Boats, household appliances, etc, needed to be regularly lubricated. So it was probably taken for granted that everyone knew to lube their rifles. Then comes the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s, and all these kids inhereit their dad's old 740, and dont bother with regular cleaning and lubricating, and just throw whatever ammo they find through it.
In 1972 or 73 a NYC candy store (an old no longer existing NYC thing) owner in the Bronx offered me his (registered because it was NYC) 742 .30-06 carbine for sale for $100. Such a good sale price I declined and instead went up to the GW Bridge area and bought a Marlin 336 (which turned out to be not all that) at a gun shop near the bridge. Someone else I knew bought the candy store owner's carbine. In a few days he was complaining the inside was all rusty and cleaning it was a pain. He had to put into a gun smith for repair and I don't think he was happy about that. In the early 80s there were a few sources in 'Shotgun News' for extended magazines for the 742 and 760s. In that era a 742 or a 760 was still cheaper than an M1A and everyone was into what gun to use after the A bomb mushroom clouds settled and the Soviet paratroopers started dropping all around. Those extended magazines were very popular with the folks who thought a Red Dawn was arriving soon. It didn't happen but the guy making those magazines probably got pretty rich. Now if the candy store owner had been offering a 760 instead, I probably would have bought it. I would probably still have it. Years later I acquired a different much better Remington Model 81 Woodsmaster made before WW2 (serial #185XX) in .35 Remington. I don't know what Corporate silliness led to discontinuing the Model 81 to bring out the 740 instead. As a consumer I would have much preferred a carbine version of a Model 81. Sigh, Remington never listened to it's customers. I don't know the MOA of my 81, but can attest the 3 stacked 3" wooden log ends (center left screen) I obliterate shoulder firing at 6:40 to about 6:55 in my own video at ruclips.net/video/7VQbGpi2hq8/видео.html are about 60 yards away. That's more than good enough in these woods.
I’ve had all the Remington semi autos the 8,81,742,4 which was a fancy 7400. They were all good if cleaned and oiled. The biggest problem with the 742 was the extractor breaking and Remington stopped making parts in the late 90s.
Had one in the mid 80's. I didn't know shit and even I figured out it was a POS. After a rained out hunting trip it was a rust bucket. 3 MOA? you got a really good one.
so i did get an opportunity to shoot a 742 years ago and i do remember it being surprisingly accurate but not .5 moa and more like 1.5-2moa with a fixed 4 power optic basic 150gr psp ammo. it functioned fine through a couple boxes and i do remember it being a pain to reassemble and get a good function check
I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the 7400 forever. Love the package and handling. Loved the reliability. Always lubricated, occasionally took down completely. (Mine is a 270, by the way). Hate the accuracy. I always was a bolt gun man and went way out of my way to get minute groups. Best I could do with this was 2” at 100 with Federal blue box 130 grains. Loaded 100’s of rounds trying to do better, never could. Like I say, hate. But the style of hunting we did always had opportunities for running game. And at that it was deadly, racked up a lot of success even on coyotes out to 320 yards. A few years ago it went sour, it’s now about a four minute gun. I’ve shot one of these that held minute of angle, and a buddy has one that does the same. Wish mine was still at least 2”, wouldn’t be happy but would still be the one I reached for in deer season.
I've just picked up some 168 grain ELD-M and will be doing a fairly comprehensive accuracy check soon. 2" groups is actually very decent for this design and barrel profile.
If memory serves me correctly, you should insure the bolt to barrel fit . The guns have a history of bolt lug problems. Insure that all lugs are engaging properly.
I have a 1963 742 in .30-06; lovely rifle, no issues. I am also a 60 year old farmer. As a farmer of a certain age, you understand that virtually everything in your life requires lubrication. Grease is your friend...
@@terrell48 I've got 3 aftermarket magazines. None of them run well. The spring tension is too high against the bolt carrier. I'll be doing work on them this winter to see if I can make them more reliable.
I have shot this one at the range (borrowed rifle) and the accuracy was so-so at 100 yards. The owner of the rifle did not get better groups either. It's definitely a close range woods rifle. A better choice and more popular in the North East is the Remington 760-7600 pump action rifle. It is a bit more accurate once you get used to the trigger, which is similar to the 870 pump shotgun. They also feed more reliably. Thanks for the video.
Mine has a a pistol grip ajustable length stock ( AR style )and 10 round mag / 3- 9 ×30 scope / high mount scope rings / look under the scope for iron sights / ancient clip on barrel M-16 bypod ! Hit near center a paper plate @ 300 yds ,easy ( don't know what MOA that is ,but the deer would be in the freezer ) ! Great rifle ! I wanted one for years and years sense the early 80s ( I near 70 now ) , finally got one 2010 (?) For like $150.00 !742 woodsmaster ! My knife is the M-tech 151 trail master / kydex sheath ( cost 2x as much as the knife ) ! They stopped making this rifle way way way before the internet !
LOL. Man. Memories. Dad had a 742 carbine in 30-06 (and yeah, they used to hunt with dogs). I only shot it a few times as a kid. I hated shooting that damn thing, with it's solid butt plate and weighing like 7lbs shooting full house Winchester Silvertips. Kicked like a mule on PCP, but I'm sure that memory is affected by the fact that I was like 14 at the time. It wasn't super well taken care of, and I think it's rusted up sitting in my brother's safe now. His brother (my uncle) had the pump action version. What a weird gun that was. I will grant those guns their appearance though. They have a very cool aesthetic with the fancy fleur de lis checkering and the black grip and nose caps.
I will never forget the time my grandfather gave me his 30-06 BAR, sat down in a deer stand with me, and after about 10 minutes he had me shooting at the smallest fawn you've ever seen. I even asked, "Shouldn't we wait for his dad?" "Hell no, I'm cold." was his response.
The 3 rings of steel... Between this model and the pump version. Extremely popular in its day. Carry the 1100 and it, bird hunt and deer hunt in the same day. Not bad to disassemble just need to know the tricks of it. Problem, the bolt would develop a spur.. very fast cycle rate. Fix it once, fix it twice. It's done. Can't repair it anymore. Problem is it was not designed to be shot a lot... but people would. So it shot itself to death. Currently, parts are very difficult to come by. Buy the pump version and own it happily for life. Want to learn more about this rifle. Attend Colorado School of Trades Gunsmith course.
Gun forums aka Fudd forums. 😂 My better half's father has one of these. It's definitely quite the chore cleaning one of these. The key is keeping the things clean. The 740/742 does have the potential to be reliable and reasonably accurate. If you run across and purchase Hornady 168gr M1 Garand vintage match the 740/742 likes that ammo. It was designed for the Garand. You definitely told the truth about the 740/742
My Dad used a Model 70 sporter with a "semi heavy" barrel. His best buddy used a Remington 740. Dad shot 180gr Remington Core-loc - his buddy used whatever junk came along.. Every season he had to take his to the gunsmith for a cleaning after deer season whether he shot at any deer or not. The Smith was a buddy of my Dad's and he griped to Dad that Remingtonade a great rifle - but your friend is going to beat the damn thing to death with that garbage he is running through it.. Eventually he traded it for a 7600 pump - still in .30-06.. Dad stuck with the bolt gun till he died..
Loud. Shot mine yesterday alongside a DPMS G2 and a K&M M17, all .308, and the 740 was LOUD! It surprised me. This is first and foremost, to my way of thinking, an offhand rifle. It shoulders very well. Amen.
theres also the 760 and 7600 that look almost the same but are pump action rifles. my dad and both grandfathers had one all in 30-06. and my dad got the 7400 later
Had to ream the chamber of a couple corroded 30-06 chambers to 30-06 Ackley Improved to clean up the chamber and restore function. Still couldn't hit the inside of a barn with it, but it would empty the magazine reliably. So,... while there's one in the safe, I shoot a Garand, an M1A, a BAR, and a couple of model 100 Winchester's. Come time to go to the timber, or out on the desert to fill tags, I still reach first for my Model 70, 270 Win.
The part where you read forum posts is my favorite. I grew up reading Arfcom, Snipershide, TheHighRoad etc and being a teenager, I always just assumed that these old timers knew what they were talking about because they had experience. As I got older, and after several decades of firearms experience including working in a gun store, Ive realized that many of these boomers had no idea what they were talking about. Like the info you presented, many boomers will just lie about stuff that they have never done or tried before. If a boomer doesnt know the answer to a question, he will never say "I dont know" he will almost always make something up. Over half of the "gunsmithing tricks" Ive learned from boomers just totally dont work and they made them up in their diabetes rattled brains
Sub MOA with any production rifle from that era is essentially unheard of, especially for actual 10 round groups. And that's fine, a rifle is still usable without being 1 MOA.
@@Deanosaurous Absolutely, I'd figure they were probably just at best choosing their best low round count group or just not good at doing the measuring. Men and animals are big, a foot at a 100 yards will still hit.
I had a 740 and have a 742, my youngest daughter wanted the 740, so she has it. As to both guns they are as accurate as can be expected given their design, somewhere around 2"- 2 1/2" MOA. While 2" moa dont seem great it is acceptable for deer hunting, And with handloading they will shrink the groupsize to (my 742) about 1.5-1.75". both guns I have/had were very reliable, provided they are cleaned and lubed(I use 90wt gear lube on the bolt as it is a high pressure lube).
A pretty good vid I had a 740 in 308 and the gas slide rods in the forearm kept breaking got rid of it and bought a 742 in 06 and love it it shoots around 2moa.But the only problem I had is it wouldn't cycle my reloads to good so I shoot factory ammo in it and never had a problem.If you reload shells see if you have a problem maybe I was doing somthing wrong
I had a 742 in 30/06. Tried to sight it in when I got it and it was all over the place and then discovered that the barrel nut was loose. I tightened it and it settled down, but I never really shot it enough to see what it could really do. I eventually sold it and bought a 760. That one I do really like.
I had the exact same issue with mine, after I applied lock tight and tightening the nut it shoots 1.75" groups at 100 yards with factory loads from Walmart, I haven't tried any premium ammo. Good enough for deer. I also have a 760, I like both.
Funny I just got this video after cleaning a 740. Second time it’s been apart in 45 years. No rust. Never had a malfunction shooting. Accurate as any other “off the shelf gun” Again I’ve always lubed it wet. It is a giant PITA to disassemble.
I have shot the semi auto version and it was a tack driver with magazine issues. If i found another one cheap enough, i would go for it. They are asically shotguns made into rifles.
I researched these rifles quite a bit when looking for a semiautomatic deer rifle. Couldn’t find one at an attractive price, but found a deal on a BAR. Now folks are saying that the Benelli rifle is the best semi. Lots of opinions.
Reading old guys claiming crazy sub MOA accuracy online. before people knew better, is a guilty pleasure of mine 😂 please tell me more about how much your gun loves Winchester White box!
Feel like this happens a lot with Remington, maybe not exactly the same stuff you described, but the 1100 for example is either looked at as still one of the best semi auto shotguns ever made. Or completely eclipsed by basically anything on the market today lol
1955 and "Woodsmaster" says everything you need to know. This replaced the highly regarded Model 81 in the catalog after a couple of years, and that was too good an act to follow.
I bought a new Remington 7400 in 1982. I remember paying a small fortune at the time: $300 or thereabouts.
It is still the fanciest gun in the family after Uncle Paul's 1963 Winchester Goldie... which is fun to shoot, but a little too gaudy for my tastes.
Nicely checkered, .30-06 Springfield. God's Preferred Caliber.
$200 Bushnell scope on oval Weaver witness rings in case of fog (grew up hunting iron sights).
Never malfunctioned. Not once. Field or range. 150 gr or 168 gr Core Lokt, mostly (whatever was available and cheapest), and she is a little heavy offhand. I'm not a big guy. But accurate, flat and fast.
Easy rifle to clean. Not AR easy, but still pretty easy. I enjoy cleaning firearms.
I never had an issue running this rifle in wet and snowy conditions. Hot and dry. At the range.
Never fired at a buck and missed with this rifle. Never wounded (and then had to track) a buck with this rifle.
This rifle kills deer. The buck always takes no more than a couple few steps before dropping to his knees with gravity and them just bleeding out.
I don't care about MOA, but this rifle shoots 3" groups at 300 yards with precision. My buddy has a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor that performs about the same. No better.
His RPR cost $1600 and looks like RoboCop's dick.
My Remington 7400 was $300 and looks like a scoped big game shotgun.
I care about bullet speed and dropping power because I may see one buck a season and I may need to hike 3,000 yards, changing 1000 feet in elevation, as the result of a 300 yard shot from one ridge crest to another.
I need the animal to fall immediately and within view. I don't want my equipment dictating whether a shot I take is effective and humane.
Also, this is the best damn gun ever made for harvesting feral hogs humanely. They just fall over.
When I was in HS (mid 90s) I wanted a 7400 in the worst way. At the time, the receivers came fully engraved from the factory. I umpired baseball all summer and had finally saved enough money to buy one. I stopped in to my athletic director’s office with my Remington catalog, and I let him talk me into a 700 BDL instead. I loved that rifle, but I could never let go of not getting the 7400. As luck would have it, I was Christmas shopping in 2007 and there on the used shelf in Gander Mountain was a 7400 with engraved receiver in .30-06 for $450. It was in near perfect condition, so it was a no brainer. Even better, I found the matching 7600 just a few months later. I shoot them from time to time, but don’t really hunt with them. My 7400 is typically 1.5-2” at 100 with some old Winchester XP3 ammo. I also have a BAR in .300 Win and it too is pretty much a safe queen, but I do get better groups with it. Every year, I say that I should take these rifles out to actually get a deer with them, but I never actually do. Maybe someday!😂
Remington may have took it for granted that the people in the 1950's knew to lubricate mechanical devices. Unlike today, back then the suspension components on cars required regular lubrication. Electric motors, etc. had ports to oil the bearings before sealed bearings came in to common usage. Great video.
Go point, like caution coffee may be hot !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My grandfather left me a 742 with a ripped-to-shreds receiver from hot ammunition (he handloaded, and it was HOT). Rifle doesn't have any rust issues, so he cleaned it often enough to avoid that. Despite the weakness, he must've liked the rifle, because he also bought and left me a 7400. Action is in much better shape and the rifle runs well. As you said, soft shooting (as far as 30-06 goes anyways) and somewhat more complicated to take apart and clean. However, it's the first thing I did when I got the rifle and as a complete novice with nothing but a manual and general mechanical knowledge, I had it apart, cleaned, reassembled and firing again in no-time with no issues. The 7400 is rock solid. The 742 is a wall hanger.
Bubba's pissin' hot handloads strike again!
I recently got a 1997 Remington 7400 (the updated version of your rifle) and went through the same thing you did. I bought a service manual and completely disassembled the gun, for cleaning and replaced the action spring. Yes the gun was very dirty and it took me hours to clean it. But after reassembling the gun it shot great with no issues. In my opinion this is a good gun and look forward to using it for years to come.
I bought a 7400 in 30-06 from my neighbor a few years back. I guess I'll be taking it apart and checking it. This video has brought this into the forefront of my firearm project list. Thanks!
Thanks for this video, I care about this rifle. Prior to his passing about a month after my first birthday, my dad had a 740 in .30-06 which is now mine. 24 years later and I'm doing my part in taking care of it externally, but now I feel a bit more confident in servicing it internally as well. I'll definitely be doing more research. It's clear that my dad took good care of his and I'd like to continue the upkeep and keep this rifle alive. It's really fun to shoot, I haven't taken it out too often, but I will be doing so more now that I understand the mechanism a little better. It's probably the most sentimental rifle in my collection, I'm grateful that you took the time to do the research and upload this video. It's motivated me to give this rifle some more attention.
I have a model 7400 in .30-06. My wife bought it for me in the early 90s. At first, it had trouble ejecting the shells. It would literally tear chunks out of the case head. I was using Remington ammunition. I discovered, though that it would fire military ball ammunition just fine. So I reasoned it had to be the ammunition and not the rifle. I discovered that it likes Winchester super X and cycles those just fine. I think the gun was designed to be used as a hunting rifle, where a Hunter would take it out of the safe, sight the rifle in and take it hunting. Then it would go back into the safe. It was not designed for shooting a lot of ammunition like a military style rifle. The accuracy is OK. At 100 yards I get about a 2 inch group which is fine for me. I keep the rifle, clean and lubed and it’s been a fine rifle. Excellent video.
My dad, a Marine bought a 742 for me as my first deer rifle in the mid 70's, he was the one to take care of it though and I never had an issue with it of any kind, zeroed it at 100 yards and never missed a target, I remember it shot well but don't remember ever measuring anything, if it would have shot bad we'd have bought something else that's for damned sure.
My dad traded a 30-30 he owned for a Model 742 way back in September 1973. He passed it down to my older brother. It is one of my favorite guns ever made when it comes to design. So I eventually bought a 7400 that was made in March 1984. So don’t feel bad for being young and learning so much about them because I did the same thing when looking for one lol(I’m 36 btw). So my dad’s 742 did jam quite often and the last time my brother shot it , it jammed. So after gaining knowledge on it I took it completely apart to clean it. It was dusty and bone dry on the inside. Lubed it pretty good and it needed a new magazine since the old one didn’t properly seat inside so I just got it a new magazine. She should be good to go when my brother gets it back.
I had a 742 in .243, but that 3.5 MOA wasn't what I was expecting in a tack driving caliber.
The new measurement standard of "minute of dirt clod" cracked me up more than it should have. Though the video contained some good information, that statement alone earned my sub. Have a good one.
*My Dad had a 742 .243 forever. I helped him pick it out way back in 1974 at Bender's Sporting Goods in Oelwein, Iowa. This was before Iowa became a slug only state. Deep checkering, deep bluing...Beautiful Firearm. Topped it with a Tasco 3-9x 32 mm Scope..Tasco actually made good scops back then... He only ever fired Remington & Winchester Ammo in it. It was bar none the most inaccurate rifle I've ever seen. A true POS. You could throw rocks more accurately than that rifle shot bullets. I don't know how many deer he wounded with it over the years, but it was a bunch...(I was usually the one that tracked down and finished them off)...Dad passed away in 2011, his infamous 742 lives with my Brother In Law...Right where it belongs*
I remember not too long ago I took one of these apart for a customer and he wanted me to strip it down completely and clean it. I do remember the reassembly process was frustrating, but I was pretty fond of it by the time I got it all back together. Remington rifles and parts in my experience can be either great and work like a sewing machine, or nearly junk and parts are almost impossible to acquire.
Wrongo! We (The U.S.A.) NEVER got out of Korea. We (The 2nd Infantry Division) and a wing of the U.S.A.F. have been there since the 1953 "Ceasefire" agreement was signed. The norks (Commies above the 38th Parallel have often broken the "Ceasefire" over the decades.
You are so right. My son was there for a year on the 38th parallel.
Great. Now buy his book.
Yup definitely right, I was an MP and almost was posted in South Korea this was in ‘83 and we were still trading the occasional shots across the border.
I had a first year 740 in 30-06, as a novice gun owner at the time I had a lot of issues with the magazine so I sold it. It was really ahead of it's time in 1955, fist gas operated semi auto designed for civilan use. Now I wish I had just gotten a new mag for it. I currently have two 742's, I keep them clean and lubed, they run well and both shoot around 2 moa. Good enough for what they were designed for.
We live in wisconsin and my version of the 740 is the 760 or 7600s. Our hunting group had 9 guys in it... 8 of which had the 760, one guy with a 740. All in 3006. Right now between me and my dad we have 5 or 6. plus one broken parts gun. The rem 760 brings back so much nostalgia and even today in the northern wisconsin deer woods in november i see more remington 7600s than anything else. EVERYONE i see always has several in their group. Maybe check out that gun next. They are accurate guns, but they warm up quick, and you pretty much cant take them apart unless youve got the wrench. Loved this videoso much. Please check out the 7600 in 3006 sometime. They are the pump action version of the 740. I have a soft spot in my heart for them.
I'm a Wisconsinite and a 760 guy, too! Remington autoloaders and pumps are still going strong in my deer camp. Every malfunction I've ever seen in one of those old autoloaders was due to neglect. They don't deserve their jam-o- matic reputation.
I’m from Antigo Wisconsin and I got a 7600 in 30-06 as my first deer rifle from my dad
I inherited my paps 7600 270 I used it every year I love that thing
They are tack drivers.
I've always thought these rifles were really cool, but I didn't know anything about them. That's badass you write books.
If you hunted the Adirondack's back in the 70's you carried a Remington 742 or 760. You got your deer every year and if you were lucky maybe a black bear. If you pulled into student parking in your pickup and had a 742 in the rear window gunrack you were considered cool.
Wish I had been born back then. I hear my dad's stories and get jealous. We are from the Adirondacks
I remember those Remington's back in their heyday of the late 50's, 60's and 70's. I always thought they were really slick pieces of machinery. Too bad disassembly is so difficult. Kinda spoils what could have been a great rifle.
Remington makes these receivers from the same extruded blank as their 20 gauge shotgun receivers. I believe there's some good design choices here, but they reused a lot of tooling. If it was a more bespoke design, it might have had concessions for an easier disassembly.
You haven’t mentioned that the trigger group can be removed by drifting out the two retaining pins and then you can flush out the receiver. Can also lube from there. Also not all of them were drilled and tapped. Got one.
Yeah, pretty easy to just drop out the trigger group and go in that way. No need to remove the barrel.
I went on a Bear hunt in the late 1980's in Canada and had a long ride out with the guide that was showing me the location for the first time. So of course we talked guns along the way. The Guide (a retired Conservation Officer) told me that the 740 & 760 Remington series in 308 or 30-06 accounted for about half the guns brought into camp.
The Rem. 760-7600 is hugely popular in the North East woods. It's a good rifle and easy to operate for those familiar with the 870 shotgun. The trigger is a bit heavy and spongy just like the 870 but it is OK once you get used to it. It's faster for follow up shots than a lever action. The 30-06 and 308 were the most popular chambering. I hope Remington starts making it again.
@@PassivePortfolios and they came with the optional short 18" barrels.
I bought mine some 30 years ago, the guy said his brother said it didn't shoot. I stripped it down, cleaned, lubed, It then sat for years, A few years ago, I got scope rings, a 3x9, Burris, sighted at 100 yds, and got 3-4 inch groups, acceptable to me for a hundred yard gun.
great video. thanks for sharing your info. never owned one, never even shot one. it is a classic and your experience provided an interesting video.
There was a time when the term cleaning should ALWAYS include lubricating of parts.
I was raised to clean my guns after every range day or hunt. Lubrication was the end of cleaning. No one and no manual ever said how much, you just learn, when your gun was a little rough shooting, from either too much or not enough lube.
There are 2 reasons why we have detailed instructions and warning labels. 1) most of us can extrapolate from incomplete data
Just Inherited a 1956 740 from my father in law so your video is very timely thank you! I have been going down a similar rabbit hole learning about it and I think that I read in the Remington manual that it recommends not tearing it down which is pretty funny.
I have 3 45-70 handi rifles. Saying you’d rather shoot one of those rifles for recoil is a hilarious statement. Forums always deliver. Really appreciate the video, great style and content!
Up here in Canada there was a company called "Globe Firearms" that in the 1950/60 time period converted 7.62x54R Tokarev rifles to shoot .303 British. While that sounds today like a stupid idea back then it made sense to take a heavy long rifle that shot ammo that you could not get and convert it to a shorter, lighter rifle that shot common ammo. One of the problems was that there was a lot of corrosive army surplus ammo around and lots of these rifles were basically destroyed by not being cleaned properly after using this ammo. This was not helped by the redesign of the gas system that made it harder to clean. So, similar issues to the 740, but with some other complications on top of that.
Back in the day, us young'uns were taught that lubrication was the final step of cleaning...ALWAYS.
the way my grandpa taught me way back when he was still kicking was repetitive, but I always had the cleanest weapons in my platoon,
so I still use it.
break down,
soak parts with cleaning agents of choice,
scrub,
soak again,
scrub again,
lube parts,
scrub again,
wipe down,
lube again,
reassemble,
ensure everything works and got some lube.
everything is done when there is an even coating of oil on every bit of metal.
only thing that was different was muzzle loaders, they got a bath part way through and gun grease.
My Grandfather gave up his Marlin 336 built in 1955 for a Remington 740 in .308. He was an M1 Grand WW2 veteran so the gun felt light for him and shot well. He killed so many deer with that rifle that my Dad went and bought one in the 1970’s. They found handloads of 180g Nosler Partition shot very well out of the rifle, never had feed issues. They lugged them rifles all over the woods shooting running deer, bear, and even shooting the heads off grouse. They mounted low power Leupold scopes on them. They ran them rifles season after season with only a few shots taken to sight them in and a at the end of season was a big Hoppes #9 bath. On or about the early 90’s my Dad took his to a local gunsmith to have the firing pin fixed. The gunsmith hated this rifle and convinced him to retire it for a Browning BLR. Gramps never gave his up to the end with no issues. I use his Marin 336, I’ve also shot a deer with the Remington 740 and it still works well, I’ve though of getting them both out of retirement and back in the woods. Gramps would rechamber the same bullet time after time if unfired and the firing pin would kiss the primer when the bolt slammed shut, he had a discharge on one trip when he closed the bolt on a rechambered round.
In the south, gunsmiths and pawn shops stopped dealing with them. A steady diet of bubba's pissin' hot handloads and not a ton of maintenance led to a bunch of these things in a sad state. There's definitely issues with the design, but the overall package is very nice.
People bought this gun and didnt clean it thoroughly. Trigger group drops out like any remington repeating shotgun. But you need to grease the bolt and bolt guide rails or you can chip pieces out of the bolt or guide rails. The guide rails are built into the reciever....Once chipped the bolt and or reciever has to be replaced. Running one dry will ruin it.
@@Deanosaurousyeah I've seen too many in that condition unfortunately.
I traded and got a Remington 742 Woodsmaster rifle .30-06 Springfield years ago. I did some research, and my old NRA Firearms Disassembly Manual has lots of info and great instructions. It needed a serious clean and new magazine. I had the perfect scope for it, a Lyman All American 4X wire crosshair target dot. Using the same ammo, I reload for my M1 Garand gave one-inch groups at 100 yards. It's my backup hunting rifle to a Rem 721 .30-06
Great video, context is everything. When properly cleaned, it's a great deer/black bear rifle. It wasn't meant to be anything else. I still use one today, and it shoots a minute of whitetail. Btw, any jams I've had with this rifle were dirt or magazine related.
Honestly great video and narrative discussion about the Remington 740 model hunting rifle.
Your account about individuals not properly cleaning a weapon after use is factual. I was an 11 Bravo Drill Sargent and later became an Ordinance Warrant Officer. Whenever we did the annual record fire for individual qualification. Or when doing a Field Training Exercise (FTX) Individuals just hate cleaning a weapon period. I'm talking the easiest weapon in the world to clean. M-16 or even a Beretta M-9 people are naturally lazy about maintaining a weapon. They hated when i was the one performing inspection during turn in to the vault. Some individuals have no idea how having and cleaned and lubricated weapon affects accuracy. Again didn't mean to get on a peach crate and preach about weapons maintenance. Thoroughly enjoyed your video and would enjoy seeing more. You have a great narrative style.
Sincerely
CWO SHOOK
US Army Retired
Thoroughly enjoyed the video. Thanks man.
I ve got an old one. Long barrel. And i ve had every trype after that all the way up to the synthetic mat finish 7400 stock angled for a scope.
Had 06 with the engraving and checkered stock.
They are ALL hit n miss on accuracy and reliability .you re right they are their OWN catergory. Almost like a fogotten branch...
I love them!!! Some of them handle and shoot like a 22 rifle with the down range power of kill everything
The 10 round mags never work.
I wish they would come with them again but SLIM VERSION not bulky w pic rails all over it.
Light weight!!
Had 2 of them. Parts are not being made for these rifles.A worn magazine will cause a good rifle to jam. Good magazines are almost impossible to find. Both mine were very accurate with 150 grain bullets...but ..semiauto rifles will evidently break parts that you can't find...sold both and bought a nice bolt action
ive got 2 of the remington 742s in 308 win one that my wife uses deer hunting her gun loves the federal 150 grain bullets and puts them in at just under a inch at 100 yards and in my 308 i run the remington 165 gr bullets at 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards and yes they are a pain in the butt to tear down and give a good cleaning but i do enjoy doing that kind of stuff in the winter months when the deer hunting season is over some times you just have to try different brands and bullet weights to find what your gun really likes and when you find the stuff your gun likes go out and buy as much of that stuff you can afford and a quick shot of rem lube after its cleaned doesent hurt a thing but we keep our shots at deer to 250 yards or less if im going to be hunting fields that could give me longer shots i take my 7mm rem mag mod 700 with hand loads or my winchester mod 70 30-06with hand loads
I have had a 740 for about 50 years, never had a problem with it, and surprisingly accurate for a semi- auto!
the 740 and a lot of great hunting memories is what my dad left me, still have it today have to keep it well lubed but fairly accurate rifle.
A semi auto based on a pump action that has way to many wear points and rarely work if found used. I see them all the time in pawn shops and gun stores for under 300 with a scope. If your lucky enough to have one that functions well and you run stock lower pressure ammo you are good. I've not seen an issue with accuracy the big issue is the lockup lugs wear, break, and jam. The action has a number of parts that will then break if they get stuck
Bought a 742 Carbine in 78 . Shot the snot out of it , I did clean it often and lubed with Teflon tho , froze it in a deep freeze overnight to make sure it would work , it did . Now I do know if you got a good one , you kept it and some were junk , kind of the luck of the draw at the store .
A note on used Remington 740-742- and so on, look inside the receiver to check for galling before putting cash out, there is NO fix for that problem that I am aware of.
Yup, I bought one with this problem. It would not turn the bolt lugs far enough to chamber a cartridge. Took it back and the store owner would only give me store credit. Took a Smith and Wesson 19 home.
Not a bad trade! @@gunsnwater2668
@@gunsnwater2668 GOOD trade dude.
@@gunsnwater2668 l'd consider that a great trade. You did good. 👍
These rifles were what kept gunsmiths in business, feed issues, impossible for most owners to clean and people could not bring themselves to pay, what we the people who knew how to take them apart,keep them from rusting solid,or how to find the multitude of parts to fail. WD 40 baths killed a lot of them combined with surplus ammo. I’ve had them with receivers so ripped up by factory ammo with the gun lubed with 3 drops of three in one oil.
I enjoyed your video. Very well presented. 7400 was my first deer rifle and was very happy with it. Good day.
I’ve had two gifted to me. One fancy 742 woodsmaster that holds a steady 6 inch group at 100yrds and later a plain Jane 7400 that shoots amazing. Literally 1 MOA and willing to show it.
Never seen you before. Very informative and well spoken thank you sir. You get a subscriber.
I've had both a 742, and a 7400. Both shot great with the 18" barrels, and I never had any kind of issues at all. I also did not shoot more than a box of ammo at a time, and probably less than 500 for either guns life so far(I still own the 7400). It does shoot minute of angle at 100, with 180 core lokts. My 760 shoots clover leafs at 100 with the same ammo. These guns have great recoil, and shooting more than 20 at a sitting is borderline torture. Gun Scrubber is made for this gun, along with the Rem oil spray.
Thanks for an informative and entertaining video! Remington seems to have had a clue about matching their ammo to their rifles. I have a mid-60's vintage 760, the pump rifle released at the same time as the 740. It likes regular old "green box" Core-Lokt 168s, and will put four rounds into 1 1/4" At 100 yards if I'm having a good day. The barrel profiles of the 760 and 740 are identical, as is the rate of twist between the two rifles, so it doesn't surprise me to hear the auto shoots them well. .06 MOA, though... hmm. I need to see the targets.
That said, I've never seen the auto version outshoot the pump, just like a 760 will never outshoot an M700. If you run your test, you owe it to yourself, science, and the rifle to include a box of Core-Lokt 168 in the ammo selection.
I too have heard both sides of this argument, but I've also noticed a pattern.
1. People who don't like them cite damage, malfunctions, poor quality magazines, poor reliability, poor accuracy, complicated disassembly which prevents routine maintenance.
2. People who like them tend to have extremely low round counts on the gun and personally. Most are hunters who fall into the category we'd call "fudds", and fire three rounds a year and have most of the first box of ammunition they bought with the gun 32 years ago at Sports Authority. The first bullet they shoot each year is about a month before deer season. THey set up on a bench at an unknown distance, usually about 25-50 yards, and shoot at a paper plate with a dot drawn in the middle. If they hit then they wipe down the outside of the gun, put it in its Mossy Oak fabric case from Menard's, then take it to their deer stand for the season weekend. They fire one shot, miss, fire a second shot, miss again, blame the ammo, and get a hit the next day with their buddy's spare gun which is usually a sporterized Mauser 98 in .308 or a budget oriented R700 clone in .270 which the owner didn't want to shoot because recoil was too harsh for him.
3. People often flip from #2 to #1 for dumb reasons, such as using crappy Chinese made magazines or lubricating the rifle by opening the chamber and dumping a scoop of moly anti-seize compound up inside the magazine well from the bottom, running the action a few times, declaring that it "feels smooth" and "doesn't rattle anymore" and deciding that because they like it, that can't possibly be why the gun is now malfunctioning.
I'm glad you are getting into such detail over an old rifle - which means I don't have to. Maybe the 760 would have been a better choice?
Remember shooting Dad's 30-06 BAR at 6. So my dumb self ask for a lightweight youth model savage for my adolescent hunting rifle. Bruised the hell out of my shoulder for years.
Well well. Interesting to find you. I am impressed. Very fair review and an accurate representation of the circumstances around this firearm. You are spot on. There are many components to the history of this gun. I wish I had room to include everything in this comment, but it will take a book. LOL. Accuracy as you suspect is not what the internet comments indicate, in my experience. More like 5 shots in a paper plate all day long so long as you never shoot more than 100 yards. I had a 742 from 1974 well into the 1990's before I got tired of working on it to improve grouping and function. Mine suffered from military ammunition use, or abuse, along the way. The 740's were superior to the 742's from a field perspective. Much more reliable. A 1.5x5 Leopold scope made it near perfect for shooting running game. Good or not, it remains an important part of my life experience. You learned a lot from your investment. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
I think the biggest factor for the manual not instructing you to lube the rifle, was that in the 1950s, virtually every man out there was a Veteran of WWII. We are talking men who had 'clean and lube your rifle" drilled into their heads from the word go.
Also everyone was a grease monkey. Back in the day everything was made from Steel.
From guns, to cars, Boats, household appliances, etc, needed to be regularly lubricated.
So it was probably taken for granted that everyone knew to lube their rifles. Then comes the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s, and all these kids inhereit their dad's old 740, and dont bother with regular cleaning and lubricating, and just throw whatever ammo they find through it.
In 1972 or 73 a NYC candy store (an old no longer existing NYC thing) owner in the Bronx offered me his (registered because it was NYC) 742 .30-06 carbine for sale for $100. Such a good sale price I declined and instead went up to the GW Bridge area and bought a Marlin 336 (which turned out to be not all that) at a gun shop near the bridge. Someone else I knew bought the candy store owner's carbine. In a few days he was complaining the inside was all rusty and cleaning it was a pain. He had to put into a gun smith for repair and I don't think he was happy about that. In the early 80s there were a few sources in 'Shotgun News' for extended magazines for the 742 and 760s. In that era a 742 or a 760 was still cheaper than an M1A and everyone was into what gun to use after the A bomb mushroom clouds settled and the Soviet paratroopers started dropping all around. Those extended magazines were very popular with the folks who thought a Red Dawn was arriving soon. It didn't happen but the guy making those magazines probably got pretty rich. Now if the candy store owner had been offering a 760 instead, I probably would have bought it. I would probably still have it. Years later I acquired a different much better Remington Model 81 Woodsmaster made before WW2 (serial #185XX) in .35 Remington. I don't know what Corporate silliness led to discontinuing the Model 81 to bring out the 740 instead. As a consumer I would have much preferred a carbine version of a Model 81. Sigh, Remington never listened to it's customers. I don't know the MOA of my 81, but can attest the 3 stacked 3" wooden log ends (center left screen) I obliterate shoulder firing at 6:40 to about 6:55 in my own video at ruclips.net/video/7VQbGpi2hq8/видео.html are about 60 yards away. That's more than good enough in these woods.
I’ve had all the Remington semi autos the 8,81,742,4 which was a fancy 7400. They were all good if cleaned and oiled. The biggest problem with the 742 was the extractor breaking and Remington stopped making parts in the late 90s.
I don't take certain guns hunting in the rain because they are difficult to clean. My Remington 760 and Winchester 94
Had one in the mid 80's. I didn't know shit and even I figured out it was a POS. After a rained out hunting trip it was a rust bucket. 3 MOA? you got a really good one.
Excellent review. Worked on that design over 30 years, never owned one, they make great wall hangers. 😂
Just put a 7400 in 270 win on layaway at a pawn shop with a 3-9 ×40 leupold for $470....modern but looks great
so i did get an opportunity to shoot a 742 years ago and i do remember it being surprisingly accurate but not .5 moa and more like 1.5-2moa with a fixed 4 power optic basic 150gr psp ammo. it functioned fine through a couple boxes and i do remember it being a pain to reassemble and get a good function check
I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the 7400 forever. Love the package and handling. Loved the reliability. Always lubricated, occasionally took down completely. (Mine is a 270, by the way). Hate the accuracy. I always was a bolt gun man and went way out of my way to get minute groups. Best I could do with this was 2” at 100 with Federal blue box 130 grains. Loaded 100’s of rounds trying to do better, never could. Like I say, hate. But the style of hunting we did always had opportunities for running game. And at that it was deadly, racked up a lot of success even on coyotes out to 320 yards.
A few years ago it went sour, it’s now about a four minute gun.
I’ve shot one of these that held minute of angle, and a buddy has one that does the same.
Wish mine was still at least 2”, wouldn’t be happy but would still be the one I reached for in deer season.
I've just picked up some 168 grain ELD-M and will be doing a fairly comprehensive accuracy check soon. 2" groups is actually very decent for this design and barrel profile.
If memory serves me correctly, you should insure the bolt to barrel fit . The guns have a history of bolt lug problems. Insure that all lugs are engaging properly.
Indeed. That's why the bolt lug pattern was changed slightly between the 740 and 742.
I have a 1963 742 in .30-06; lovely rifle, no issues. I am also a 60 year old farmer. As a farmer of a certain age, you understand that virtually everything in your life requires lubrication. Grease is your friend...
They used to make 10 round mags for these so in essence an early high capacity assault rifle. A great home defense gun where black rifles are a nono
@@terrell48 I've got 3 aftermarket magazines. None of them run well. The spring tension is too high against the bolt carrier. I'll be doing work on them this winter to see if I can make them more reliable.
I have a 15 round mag for mine that works well if I load less than ten rounds
I have shot this one at the range (borrowed rifle) and the accuracy was so-so at 100 yards. The owner of the rifle did not get better groups either. It's definitely a close range woods rifle. A better choice and more popular in the North East is the Remington 760-7600 pump action rifle. It is a bit more accurate once you get used to the trigger, which is similar to the 870 pump shotgun. They also feed more reliably. Thanks for the video.
Mine has a a pistol grip ajustable length stock ( AR style )and 10 round mag / 3- 9 ×30 scope / high mount scope rings / look under the scope for iron sights / ancient clip on barrel M-16 bypod ! Hit near center a paper plate @ 300 yds ,easy ( don't know what MOA that is ,but the deer would be in the freezer ) ! Great rifle ! I wanted one for years and years sense the early 80s ( I near 70 now ) , finally got one 2010 (?) For like $150.00 !742 woodsmaster !
My knife is the M-tech 151 trail master / kydex sheath ( cost 2x as much as the knife ) !
They stopped making this rifle way way way before the internet !
Hell yeah
LOL. Man. Memories. Dad had a 742 carbine in 30-06 (and yeah, they used to hunt with dogs). I only shot it a few times as a kid. I hated shooting that damn thing, with it's solid butt plate and weighing like 7lbs shooting full house Winchester Silvertips. Kicked like a mule on PCP, but I'm sure that memory is affected by the fact that I was like 14 at the time. It wasn't super well taken care of, and I think it's rusted up sitting in my brother's safe now. His brother (my uncle) had the pump action version. What a weird gun that was.
I will grant those guns their appearance though. They have a very cool aesthetic with the fancy fleur de lis checkering and the black grip and nose caps.
I will never forget the time my grandfather gave me his 30-06 BAR, sat down in a deer stand with me, and after about 10 minutes he had me shooting at the smallest fawn you've ever seen. I even asked, "Shouldn't we wait for his dad?"
"Hell no, I'm cold." was his response.
@@Deanosaurous I'm guessing he grabbed it by a back leg and just tossed it into the back of the truck with one hand. BTDT. 😂
"It can't be that bad" the phrase that seals your fate.
I loved the one I had it for years, it was awesomeness insanely accurate and I never cleaned it.
The 3 rings of steel... Between this model and the pump version. Extremely popular in its day. Carry the 1100 and it, bird hunt and deer hunt in the same day. Not bad to disassemble just need to know the tricks of it. Problem, the bolt would develop a spur.. very fast cycle rate. Fix it once, fix it twice. It's done. Can't repair it anymore. Problem is it was not designed to be shot a lot... but people would. So it shot itself to death. Currently, parts are very difficult to come by. Buy the pump version and own it happily for life. Want to learn more about this rifle. Attend Colorado School of Trades Gunsmith course.
This is a pretty funny and well made video. Thanks for the good content
You got my subscription
Gun forums aka Fudd forums. 😂 My better half's father has one of these. It's definitely quite the chore cleaning one of these. The key is keeping the things clean. The 740/742 does have the potential to be reliable and reasonably accurate. If you run across and purchase Hornady 168gr M1 Garand vintage match the 740/742 likes that ammo. It was designed for the Garand. You definitely told the truth about the 740/742
I need to track some down for the accuracy video for sure.
My Dad used a Model 70 sporter with a "semi heavy" barrel. His best buddy used a Remington 740. Dad shot 180gr Remington Core-loc - his buddy used whatever junk came along.. Every season he had to take his to the gunsmith for a cleaning after deer season whether he shot at any deer or not. The Smith was a buddy of my Dad's and he griped to Dad that Remingtonade a great rifle - but your friend is going to beat the damn thing to death with that garbage he is running through it.. Eventually he traded it for a 7600 pump - still in .30-06.. Dad stuck with the bolt gun till he died..
Loud. Shot mine yesterday alongside a DPMS G2 and a K&M M17, all .308, and the 740 was LOUD! It surprised me.
This is first and foremost, to my way of thinking, an offhand rifle. It shoulders very well. Amen.
Agreed. It's a very nice rifle for shooting offhand.
theres also the 760 and 7600 that look almost the same but are pump action rifles. my dad and both grandfathers had one all in 30-06. and my dad got the 7400 later
My dad has one of these in synthetic furniture. Really not a bad gun, just gotta keep it squeaky clean
Had to ream the chamber of a couple corroded 30-06 chambers to 30-06 Ackley Improved to clean up the chamber and restore function. Still couldn't hit the inside of a barn with it, but it would empty the magazine reliably.
So,... while there's one in the safe, I shoot a Garand, an M1A, a BAR, and a couple of model 100 Winchester's. Come time to go to the timber, or out on the desert to fill tags, I still reach first for my Model 70, 270 Win.
The part where you read forum posts is my favorite. I grew up reading Arfcom, Snipershide, TheHighRoad etc and being a teenager, I always just assumed that these old timers knew what they were talking about because they had experience. As I got older, and after several decades of firearms experience including working in a gun store, Ive realized that many of these boomers had no idea what they were talking about. Like the info you presented, many boomers will just lie about stuff that they have never done or tried before. If a boomer doesnt know the answer to a question, he will never say "I dont know" he will almost always make something up. Over half of the "gunsmithing tricks" Ive learned from boomers just totally dont work and they made them up in their diabetes rattled brains
“.6 MOA” with that 😂
Sub moa 308 with at the time acceptable scope mounting sounds incredible tbh
Sub MOA with any production rifle from that era is essentially unheard of, especially for actual 10 round groups. And that's fine, a rifle is still usable without being 1 MOA.
@@Deanosaurous Absolutely, I'd figure they were probably just at best choosing their best low round count group or just not good at doing the measuring.
Men and animals are big, a foot at a 100 yards will still hit.
Nicely done, subscribed. Great granularity well applied.
I had a 740 and have a 742, my youngest daughter wanted the 740, so she has it. As to both guns they are as accurate as can be expected given their design, somewhere around 2"- 2 1/2" MOA.
While 2" moa dont seem great it is acceptable for deer hunting, And with handloading they will shrink the groupsize to (my 742) about 1.5-1.75". both guns I have/had were very reliable, provided they are cleaned and lubed(I use 90wt gear lube on the bolt as it is a high pressure lube).
that galling issue you mention is why I use 80-90 wt gear lube
If it says Remington. What I read is blemington. Remington started churning out saturday night specials. Sig is shortly behind them
A pretty good vid I had a 740 in 308 and the gas slide rods in the forearm kept breaking got rid of it and bought a 742 in 06 and love it it shoots around 2moa.But the only problem I had is it wouldn't cycle my reloads to good so I shoot factory ammo in it and never had a problem.If you reload shells see if you have a problem maybe I was doing somthing wrong
Great video Dean.
I had a 742 in 30/06. Tried to sight it in when I got it and it was all over the place and then discovered that the barrel nut was loose. I tightened it and it settled down, but I never really shot it enough to see what it could really do. I eventually sold it and bought a 760. That one I do really like.
And I also had a magazine catch break.
I had the exact same issue with mine, after I applied lock tight and tightening the nut it shoots 1.75" groups at 100 yards with factory loads from Walmart, I haven't tried any premium ammo. Good enough for deer. I also have a 760, I like both.
They eat themselves up. Soft receivers. Had 2. I wouldn't buy one to save my life!
People should listen to you. I bought an older one real cheap and it was all wore out.
Good Video! For me It is another rifle to add the collection. Looking forward to the shooting video.
Funny I just got this video after cleaning a 740. Second time it’s been apart in 45 years. No rust. Never had a malfunction shooting. Accurate as any other “off the shelf gun” Again I’ve always lubed it wet. It is a giant PITA to disassemble.
I have shot the semi auto version and it was a tack driver with magazine issues. If i found another one cheap enough, i would go for it. They are asically shotguns made into rifles.
I remember seeing one or similar new and wanting one for about 550$ back in 1996 or so. Engraved. Nice.
Never got one.
@@TheBeefSlayer may have dodged a bullet.
I’ve heard them referred to as the “closet master”
I researched these rifles quite a bit when looking for a semiautomatic deer rifle. Couldn’t find one at an attractive price, but found a deal on a BAR. Now folks are saying that the Benelli rifle is the best semi. Lots of opinions.
@@gerryfinch2014 plenty of opinions. The later BAR's are decent rifles.
Reading old guys claiming crazy sub MOA accuracy online. before people knew better, is a guilty pleasure of mine 😂 please tell me more about how much your gun loves Winchester White box!
Can post replies but never pictures of their targets. Always curious.
Feel like this happens a lot with Remington, maybe not exactly the same stuff you described, but the 1100 for example is either looked at as still one of the best semi auto shotguns ever made. Or completely eclipsed by basically anything on the market today lol
And it all comes down to if the individual who owns it has ever replaced the O-ring.
Very tasteful AK and AR
Thank you!
Dammit now I want one, this thing disassembles kinda like the browning model 5 shotgun or Remington model 11
Ok you are an author. I will check out the books
1955 and "Woodsmaster" says everything you need to know. This replaced the highly regarded Model 81 in the catalog after a couple of years, and that was too good an act to follow.
Nothing wrong with those old rifles, though I personally prefer the 760/7600 pump versions.