Remington 742: a pain.

[30mag]

So, I bought a remington 742 USED.
and it has a nice custom thumbhole stock and a alright scope.
I like shooting it, it is chambered in .30-06.

HOWEVER, it is incredibly difficult to clean, and it is soooo dirty. I want to pull the bolt carrier etc. out so I can really get it clean and get in the chamber good. No luck though.
I suppose I'll have to buy the dumb 'special' wrench eventually...
GAH!!

 

[Jason_G]

Use some good solvent in an aerosol can with the little straw. Blast the hell out of it until the solvent runs clear, then hit it with some compressed air. I have one in 6mm Rem, and they are a PITA to clean if they haven't been cleaned regularly.

Jason

 

[RonE]

I think that only one or two pins hold the trigger group in. With the trigger group and magazine removed, cleaning is a lot easier.

 

[30mag]

I pretty much have everything pulled apart except the barrel and the bolt carrier.
I can't seem to get a good angle on the chamber though.

 

[dmazur]

I used to own a Remington 742, in .30-06.

I had a muzzle guide, so I could clean the barrel without damaging the crown. I believe there was a method to disassemble the bolt without removing the barrel, but it was a true PITA and I only did it once.

I can't imagine arm-wrestling a 742 barrel would be a whole lot better, on a frequent basis. (And you do want the barrel to stay attached in use ...?)

+1 to the suggestion to drift the pins out to remove the trigger ass'y and clean the receiver from the bottom. After you do that, there aren't a whole lot of parts remaining up there.

My 742 came with a little bent handle brush for cleaning the chamber. Looked kind of like a little test-tube brush, but bent. This was Remington's idea of how to clean the chamber without disassembly. If they aren't currently available, I'm sure there are alternatives. I have a flexible cleaning rod with a .45 cal brush on it that I use for cleaning my Garand chamber. (That's another rifle that you don't pull the barrel to clean, by the way. )

 

[Jason_G]

I assumed that the trigger group was already removed. If it isn't, then definitely do what RonE and dmazur said, and remove it. Not only to get better access at the receiver, but also because you'd be shocked at the amount of crap that accumulates in the trigger group itself in that rifle.

Jason

 

[Col Kurtz]

Have you tried a Bore Snake?
They work great on this type of gun.

 

[hardluk1]

There are also short flexable cables used just for cleaning the chambers that you can buy.

 

[rcmodel]

You need to buy a Chamber-Maid cleaning kit to clean the chamber. The one they make for .308 will work perfectly in your .243.

http://www.cjweapons.com/aspcart45/default.asp?page=306&start=1

Taking the barrel out for cleaning is not recommended.

BTW: A bore-snake is totally worthless for cleaning hard carbon fouling out of the chamber on a Remington 742, or any other firearm.

rc

 

[jdh]

If the chamber is really bad with rust or build up:
1. get a good bore guide to protect the muzzle
2. insert a cleaning rod in from the muzzle end
3. hold a 30-06 chamber brush in some needle nose pliers
4. reach in the ejection port with the pliers and hold the brush to the end of the rod
5. turn the rod to screw it on to he brush
6. remove the handle from the rod.
7. chuck the rod in a drill
8. soak the brush with cleaner.
9. activate the drill and work the brush in and out of the chamber to remove the rust and or built up gunk.

You can figure out how to get it all back out of the action from there.