# Whats wrong with my 742??



## medic56 (Jan 6, 2007)

I own a Rem model 742. *This rifle will not hold a group.* It is the wildest shooting gun I have ever fired. Never mind 100 yards, I can barely keep it on paper at 50. To start with I thought it was the optics so I put a better scope on it, didnt make a bit of difference. Any ideas, or has anyone had the same issue.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Those guns are NOT known for being accurate. I would suggest your mounts/rings are loose if it will not hit the paper. A 3" group with that gun is about average. I know they have horrible trigger pulls.


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

> Those guns are NOT known for being accurate. I would suggest your mounts/rings are loose if it will not hit the paper. A 3" group with that gun is about average. I know they have horrible trigger pulls.












What kind of rings and bases are you using? Quality rings and bases help alot, burris or Leupold turn-in rings and bases are the way to go.

Clean the bore and chamber.

Try different brands of ammo, or if you hand load, experiment. Once you find what your gun likes a model 74/740/742/7400/4/750 :wink: WILL print groups of 2 inches or less at 100 yards.


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## medic56 (Jan 6, 2007)

Yea, I have tried several different factory loads, and hand loads. Doesnt seem to matter. I am using Weaver mounts and rings, which are good a tight.


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

What caliber is your 742?


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## medic56 (Jan 6, 2007)

30-06 I have shot winchester, and Rem ammo. Today I was shooting hand loads, Hornady 180gr SPBT over 48gr IMR 4064. I have also tried numorous loads with IMR 3031. Does not seem to matter. Bought the gun second hand and I wondering if the previous owner got rid of it for the same reason.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

A 2" group at 100 yards is not what I would classify as an accurate gun. That would be minute-of-five-gallon-bucket accuracy...


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

For match shooting yes, for hunting accuracy, if you do your part, you'll never miss a deer.

Have you cleaned the chamber?


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

Not trying to start a pi$$ing contest here S&A just saying.


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

My brother had the same problem a few years ago after he bought one new in 30-06. At first he thought it was the used scope he put on it so he bought a new nikon and the same thing happened. He just couldn't get crap for a group. Shots were all over the place. I think the day we were sighting it in four of us shot it and noone could get any kind of group. He tried different brands of factory loads and different grain bullets with nothing helping. The gun would jam up about every third or fourth shot. Took it to where he bought it to see if they knew what was wrong and just ended up trading it on a ruger bolt 300 mag and changing the scope to the new gun. I have no idea what they did with the gun, but we tried everything we could think of with no results.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Remington 7400 said:


> For match shooting yes, for hunting accuracy, if you do your part, you'll never miss a deer.


 agree - at 100 yards it is not a problem. When you stretch it out to 300 yards, that 2" group opens up to 6". At 400 yards, it is 8". If you add a flinch or wind, it is not accurate enough to hit the target.

I am not trying to get in a pissing match either, but I hear 100 times as many people complain how their Remington automatics/pumps will just not group, compared to the ones that will shoot groups.

I would venture to say that it is the exception, and not the rule to get one that will shoot under an inch or so. Most all good bolt guns will do this with the right ammo.


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

Remove the scope and rings and shoot the rifle with iron sights at fifty yards. That should answer the question of scope problems right away, and when you reinstall the scope , rings and bases, you'll know they're right. While 742's aren't really known for their sterling accuracy, what you describe sounds like an extremely fouled bore. Use a foul out system or clean repeatedly with a copper removing bore cleaner until all signs of copper are gone. THEN, try to shoot a group or two. If that doesn't do it, and you still want to salvage the gun, take it to a good gunsmith for a complete tear down and clean up. Many of these used 742's have had a lot of rounds through them and have never been cleaned with anything other than #9. Copper fouling can be so bad, and the bore so completely coated, that you won't see any evidence until you use a good cleaner. It might take up to ten applications of a good copper cleaner to get it all out. Don't give up easily. A 742 in good mechanical condition is worth salvaging, and it might be simpler than you think. Burl


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Worn locking lugs and/or a sprung receiver and a very dirty barrel get my vote.


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## medic56 (Jan 6, 2007)

I took this gun apart today and gave it a good cleaning. What I found was that the barrel wiggles in the reciever. I cant believe that, that is normal. Its not much but I can certaqinly feel it. HHmmmm could be my problem. I bought this gun second hand so there is no way of knowing its history. Any ideas on getting this fixed or "junk it".


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## medic56 (Jan 6, 2007)

Horsager, is that what you are calling a "sprung reciever"?? Hey I would like to say thanks for all your help, everyone.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Medic, it sounds like that's your problem, but without having it in my hands it's hard to know for sure. A competent smith should be able to identify that problem in seconds.


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

> agree - at 100 yards it is not a problem. When you stretch it out to 300 yards, that 2" group opens up to 6". At 400 yards, it is 8". If you add a flinch or wind, it is not accurate enough to hit the target.


True, but how many people do you know that actually routinely take shots at 400 yards while deer hunting?



> I am not trying to get in a pissing match either, but I hear 100 times as many people complain how their Remington automatics/pumps will just not group, compared to the ones that will shoot groups.


True, but I must say, I've got a .30-06 that will shoot 1.5 MOA at 100 yards, buddy of mine has a .270 that will shoot about the same.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

I practice a good bit. I will not hesitate on a shot up to 500 yards if I have a good rest and no wind.

You and your friend are by your own admissions the exception to the accuracy rule. Congrats on getting one of the good ones. :beer: :sniper:


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

> I practice a good bit. I will not hesitate on a shot up to 500 yards if I have a good rest and no wind.


I feel I an good enough to connect, probably not with the 7400, but definately with my Weatherby .300. Its just that here in the mountians (I'm in KY remember) it is almost unheard of to shoot that far. The only way you can shoot that far is from one ridge to the other or on some of the strip mines.

:sniper:


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## caribukiller (Oct 30, 2006)

s&a how offten do you find that besides is it really that hard to just move closer


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## Alaskan Brown Bear Killer (Feb 22, 2005)

I have a 742 and a 760 (30-06) that are both tact drivers @ 100 yards :thumb: 
But over 300 yards I'd perfer my 300 WM or SARUM :wink:


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## late.runner (Dec 17, 2006)

Hi medic,

I'm taking a guess here, but I bought one of those in '95 (i think they were 7400's then). I cleaned it and after 4-5 shots I was on paper at 100yd. The groups though were 4+" and got worse the more I shot it. I cleaned it well again and checked the scope. It went back to 3-4" groups and got worse from there. And, I was letting it cool down between shots. I cleaned it again and realized that the jagged patch would catch half-way down the barrel. with a flashlight in the chamber I looked down the barrel and saw what looked like a burr where the gas port had been drilled into the barrel. It had lint from my patch stuck to it.

Long story, but after I returned it to remington, they sent me the same rifle 7 months later with a new barrel. It shot 1.5" groups, and was fine after that, except it started to jam the second year. I then sold it and bought a browning BAR. The BAR's gas operating system operates differently, and browning claims that the BAR's system clears it's gas ports when you fire it. I don't know how it works, but it does work. I figured I'd give them a try as they built the machine guns for the military for a few wars and must know something about reliability. No problems since, and 3/4" groups. By the way, don't expect remington to pick up the cost of shipping if you return the rifle for repair even though the problem may clearly be their fault.

All this to suggest, don't spend too much more money on the Remington as ejection issues are likely to crop up later anyway. If they wanted to build an auto that pleased 95% of the consumers who purchase them, they would. I'm one of the suckers that has enabled remington to find profit in producing mediocre autos that they can sell for $150 less than the next pricier auto. If I were to do things over again, I would have sold my 7400 as soon as the burr problem arose and bought an auto that has a better reputation. I would have saved money, as well as let someone else learn about remington autos sooner. Looking at another way, the maker of the next most expensive semi-auto wouldn't sell any if they had many unhappy customers. Everyone would buy the remington.

If you want to spend a little time you can do an informal survey of the number of posts of OWNERS that bad mouth their autos. That will let you know what you have. As you do, be aware that you will read posts from people who love their "whatevermake" autos. Ignore these; you're trying to inform yourself of problems you don't want to deal with. (I'll be the first to tell you that some of the remingtons have never jammed and aren't cleaned for years. Every maker produces some good ones; you want good odds that you don't get a bad one.)

If you decide to go bolt action, I'd be the first to recommend a 700 (but plan on glass bedding it and doing a little easy trigger work). Don't be afraid of their pumps either. The three I've shot shoot under an inch and those hunters have owned those same rifles for years and love them.

Good luck,

Laterunner


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## medic56 (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks* late.runner and everyone else *for your imput. Here is where things stand. I have shot multiple types and brands of ammo. Changed and checked the optics. Extemsively cleaned it. Shot it again. After talking with friends, and reading this and other forums, *Stevens 200 *here I come. I am still a Remington man and always will be, but its time to look at something different.

Rem 742 = uke:


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