The surprisingly good value firearms ....

[CountryGent]

Very nice. I'm eyeing a 7400 in .270 and a 742 in .30'06 right now that are just north of that price. Considering how little the dollar buys these days, that's not bad.

Curiosity go the better of me and I'm seeing many 742s at very reasonable rates. The quality ranges from well used to LNIB. Calibers I'm seeing are .270 and .30'06 mainly, though .308 on occasion. Blued steel, nice wood stock, semi-auto, 4 and 10 round magazines available ... and a going rate that is surprisingly good considering how little the dollar actually buys now. One in .270 Winchester might be a fun varmint rifle.

 

[bradsteen]

Curiosity go the better of me and I'm seeing many 742s at very reasonable rates. The quality ranges from well used to LNIB. Calibers I'm seeing are .270 and .30'06 mainly, though .308 on occasion. Blued steel, nice wood stock, semi-auto, 4 and 10 round magazines available ... and a going rate that is surprisingly good considering how little the dollar actually buys now. One in .270 Winchester might be a fun varmint rifle.

How are they in terms of reliability? I've been looking into getting a semi auto 308, but have heard conflicting reports about them.

 

[Spitpatch]

The Remington 742's I have shot (.270, 30-06, .243, .308) have all functioned perfectly one hundred percent of the time. As a gas-auto, they also mitigate recoil to a certain degree. Accuracy is right there with most factory bolt guns, sometimes better.

I have heard rumors that at one point, they were chambered in .223, though I have never seen one. Such would be a perfect coyote gun, and handier than an AR (in and out of scabbards, cases, etc.). The .243 would fill that bill with a lot more power.

If there is a fly in the ointment, the triggers (necessarily more complicated with more linkage than a bolt gun) are not top-drawer, but a good 'Smith may be able to improve on that.

As a side note, varminting with a .270 (at least in my experience in a prairie dog town) becomes tedious rather rapidly.

 

[CLT65]

My grandfather had a Remington 742 .30-06 that he hunted with. I shot it a number of times, borrowed it and shot it from the bench a couple times. I was always disappointed with the accuracy, maybe 3 moa at best.

I had a friend who also had one, and he said his was about the same. I assumed that was just the nature of the design, and never paid much attention to them since. It's good to know that they're not all that way.

 

[Provincial]

I have a 742 that came with my wife and two daughters. One of the daughters used it as a deer rifle. It is chambered in 30-06, and well taken care of. A number of years ago, the daughter complained that the rifle had jammed. I was able to get the empty out of the action, but the bolt would not close. Study and internet research provided the answer. The cause was that the barrel extension had unscrewed part way out of the barrel.

The barrel extension is where the locking lugs of the bolt engage. It is screwed to the back of the barrel, and the unlocking of the bolt while there is still pressure in the cartridge case imparts a rotary motion to the barrel extension. Older examples of these rifles had threads that unscrewed from this effect. They were changed on later production to reverse the thread pitch direction, which would then help tighten the threads. This change was made in February of 1977, date code LO.

A very common problem with 740-series rifles is damage to the guide rails in the receiver from the locking lugs being slammed into them during the action cycle. The only fix is to have the area TIG welded and filed back into proper shape.

Inspect 742-series rifles very closely before purchasing one.

 

[64MercurysRule]

I had a 740 in 30-06 . I had done some research on the model . As with most semi's taking the trigger group out and making sure the chamber / locking lugs are free of gunk , rust & nicks . Proper lubing is essential . There was extractor shear issues because of stuck case in a rusty chamber . Seemed to happen more on the 30-06 models . Mine ran great ...... accuracy was 2.75" @ 100yd . Good enough for what I was using it for . Sold it to a good home .

 

[orygun]

These guns came from Remington with a chamber brush. It's imperative they have a clean chamber to prevent a stuck case.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

IMO the best value out there right now. Arex zero 1 tactical, optic ready threaded barrel 9mm. $529 (without red dot) at cheap gun club. I love this gun. Accuracy shooting fast is awesome and can use it single action only/cocked and locked (has separate decocker and safety).


Mud test compared to sig p226 (arex was better). In another video he also did 1000 rounds non stop except for mag changes and no malfunctions.

View: https://youtu.be/LuPOqDlaX6U?si=6XduVEJv09y_w9Sz

View: https://youtu.be/Lh8NNOdjILs?si=snGh3tKsG_JovY6d

 

[Olderguy]

Not sure but I will have to check with my priest but I think selling your guns just might be a sin, at least that's the excuse i'm now using

 

[Spitpatch]

Not sure but I will have to check with my priest but I think selling your guns just might be a sin, at least that's the excuse i'm now using

Nothin' three Hail Marys wont take care of.