Remington Woodsmaster 742

[johnf]

My father in law passed away Friday and my MIL gave me his 742 308. It's in pretty good shape but hasn't been shot in over 30 years. Is there anything I need to do before shooting this gun? If you've got some experience with this gun any advice would be appriciated. What kind of ammo, scope and mounts would you suggest? What kind of groups can I expect out of it?

[LETMGROW]

I'd give it a good cleaning and use it. The 742 model followed the 740 and was later followed by the 7400. All were good except the 740's had a few issues feeding with the long action guns IE: 30-06

The .308 should not give a problem. Remington will send you an owners manual if you request it. It would have take down and reassembly instructions in it.

I have a 7400 .308 which shoots consistent sub-MOA groups with Hornaday 150 gr.ammo. For that particular gun and my Icon it is my ammo of choice.

Sorry to hear about your father in law.

Respect and enjoy the gun. BTY it would be valued at around $350 in good shape for the gun alone.

Lynn

[johnf]

Not really interested in the value.:bummed:

[dbHunterNY]

Well you can take it to a shop that knows how to clean them and it should cost close to $50 or you can attempt it yourself. There really isn't much to it. Take a punch and knock out the two pins holding in the trigger group. Clean that good and rinse with lighter fluid and let dry. Unscrew the forend to expose the spring and components. If things look to be in working order (like the spring isn't so rusted it may break) then just clean everything up well with gun scrubber. You'll also see a tube and block toward the front. This is the gas port. Spray up in there the best you can and make sure it's good and clear. If it isn't you pretty much have to take it to a shop to get the barrel off, because there's no way to get up in there well enough. There isn't much to the action other than make sure it doesn't have build up on it. Another thing is to check the chamber for rust or corrosion. Most clean the barrel well, but miss the chamber. When the shell is fire and expands any surface irregularities will aid in preventing the shell from ejecting properly. That's pretty much it.

I've got one in 30-06 and I shoot plain old factory Remington Core-lok 150gr bullets fine. I get between MOA and 1.5 MOA. You'll have to see what the gun likes, but don't let anyone tell you that you've got to shoot round nose bullets over 180gr.

My dad has a 7600 (almost the same but a pump) and I have the 742. We both have weave rings and bases. He's got see-thru rings with some old Bushnell 3-9x40 and I've got I think med. rings with a Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40 scope. The only reason I like the see-thru rings are it's a good woods/short quick shots sort of gun. When in that stuff, if you bump the scope you've still got open sights, but you can't really have a good cheek weld on the stock to look through the scope. I've shot wood chucks at 200 yrds and a pair of young coyotes at 250 yrds with the combo, so I wouldn't say it really hurts your shooting enough.

- Dan

[LETMGROW]

Not really interested in the value.:bummed:

I didn't think so. Just thought I'd send it out.

Hope it didn't offend you.

Lynn

[stcif]

My father in law passed away Friday and my MIL gave me his 742 308. It's in pretty good shape but hasn't been shot in over 30 years. Is there anything I need to do before shooting this gun? If you've got some experience with this gun any advice would be appriciated. What kind of ammo, scope and mounts would you suggest? What kind of groups can I expect out of it?

Well the posts so far kind of summed up what I was going to say. I own a 740 in .308. I like the gun. I shoot Remington Core lokt 150 grain pointed soft points out of it. I do not get MOA. I bet I could get close if I tried different loads and practiced more. MOA is not important to me as I use it for deer hunting, not any type of competition.

One thing I noticed on mine is I had to use a medium height scope ring as the shorter rings interfered with the rear rifled sight.

I have a Leupold Vari X II 3 - 9 x 40 scope.

I think you will enjoy shooting yours as the sentimental value is there. Mine was high school graduation gift from my parents. It was over 30 years old when I acquired it. I hope to bag my first deer with it this season as I have rarely used it due to rifle restrictions where I hunt.

Good luck with it.

[johnf]

I didn't think so. Just thought I'd send it out.

Hope it didn't offend you.

Lynn

No offence taken.

[Jeramie]

They are heavy old, good hunting guns. I had a .30-06 and it wasnt as accurate as my 700 but it would easily kill a deer. Should make a good hunting partner and the recoil should be very light!

[m gardner]

Michaels of Oregon (Uncle Mikes) used to make a sling swivel kit with shims to help accuracy. If you could locate one that some dealer has from years ago it may help (Midway lists them too http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=164275). I never could do much better than 1.5 to 2 inches wwith any of them I shot, but that's plenty good enough to kill big game out to 300 yards. Cleaning them I used Rem Oil to clean the trigger group. Blow it out with compressed air. It's a good rifle enjoy it.

Edited October 28, 2010 by m gardner

[Grady269]

I used to have the same gun, now have a BAR Short-trac in .308. The biggest concern I would have is the gas system and the spring. An Automatic is like an outboard motor, the worst thing you can do is let it sit. Clean the gas system real well and the action and see if she will throw shells. Any Automatic that does not jam is a good one. You are much more likely to have success with the short action you have than the long action models.

[johnf]

Michaels of Oregon (Uncle Mikes) used to make a sling swivel kit with shims to help accuracy. If you could locate one that some dealer has from years ago it may help (Midway lists them too http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=164275). I never could do much better than 1.5 to 2 inches wwith any of them I shot, but that's plenty good enough to kill big game out to 300 yards. Cleaning them I used Rem Oil to clean the trigger group. Blow it out with compressed air. It's a good rifle enjoy it.

Can I lower the trigger pull on it? Feels like 5-7lbs and I like 3-3.5 on my rifles.

[m gardner]

Can I lower the trigger pull on it? Feels like 5-7lbs and I like 3-3.5 on my rifles.

You can have a gunsmith fix the trigger but it's a fairly heavy and long so it doesn't "machine gun". Cleaning the trigger and oiling it will help. Putting a lighter hammer spring in it and cleaning up the sear surfaces helps but it's tricky work. Find a good gunsmith.

Mark