Remington 742 Woodsmaster

[30mag]

What's it worth?
The one I'm looking at has a Bushnell 4-12x Scope mounted on it and a very nice custom stock. It's pretty well used I might add, it has some scratches, and the dust shield is cracked.
It's in .30-06.
Also, any high capacity magazines..?
I guess I'm looking for 10 rounds or so.

 

[MD_Willington]

10 round magazines, what are ya building ?

an Assault Rifle...



Not sure what the avergae price for a well used one would be.

Since you're looking at one, I thought I'd share this link:

http://www.remington7400.com/index.php

They have an assortment of whizz bang stuff for similar rifles.

 

[d2wing]

I have one and I love it. I have killed alot of deer with it. But they do tend to have a problem with the side rails jamming and being unfixable. Test fire it.
If it works keep it clean and lubed. I have a couple ten round magazines but had feeding problems so I don't use them.

 

[offthepaper]

I have my Dad's from after he passed. It's in pretty good condition. he took a lot of dear over the years with it. He always liked it's handiness due to it's short length. It's 30-06 and has it's 2 original 4 rd mags. Shoots well, never any problems. Not sure what one with a custom stock would fetch.
Can you post pics?

 

[X-Rap]

Figure what a new scope is worth and pay that if you feel lucky.

 

[moooose102]

my dad had one, it was a carbine, nice little gun. i wanted it when my dad passed, but my older brother got it, and sold it without telling anyone several years later. i am a little upset with his actions there. but back to the gun. i have heard that some of them had issues. i never paid much attention to it as dads always worked. if it aint broke, dont fix it. i would fire it before you buy it, and i would run a whole box of shells through it first. if you have no issues with a box of shells, you probably would be ok with the gun. as for the price, go to gun broker.com and check out the prices. the nice thing about auctions, is that USUALLY, the prices are self correcting.

 

[hossdaniels]

I have my dads old 742 in 30/06, busted plactic dust cover, otherwise perfect. Not all that accurate, around 1.75-2 moa with its favorite ammo. I"ve seen cheap 10 rd mags for it, but never bought any. Its a hunting rifle, best used in the woods for quick shots and its really very good at that. Not a bean field rifle by any strech, but it works and has NEVER jammed on me.

 

[Archery Ham]

Triple K and Eagle makes 10 round magazines for Remington 742/7400/750

 

[30mag]

Thanks for the information guys.
If anyone else would like to add anything, feel free.

 

[rodell]

The 742's can be finicky, but, if you get one that works, they usually remain so. I have one that has been dead nuts reliable. I've been thinking about an upgrade, but, I really don't know to what.

A .30-06 w/ scope in average (!) condition could go $400-$450 here in Western WA state. One of my favorite haunts probably has 10 in that caliber on the floor.

Bob

 

[Evenflo76]

I've seen a bunch on GunBroker for way less than $400.

I'm curious how these are as Deer rifles. Whatever hunting I will eventually do will be short range (Florida, Georgia & Upstate New York ). Mostly under 200 yards in the areas I plan to hunt.

Previously I was considering a Marlin 336 or a Savage 340 in 30-30. Would a Woodsmaster be overkill for small to medium sized game at these distances?

These rifles seem like an excellent deal.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

Before you buy that gun make sure you ask about the chamber. Make sure you know that chamber intimately. No rust, spots corrosion and clean. Not clean? Not inspectable. The chamber is the most neglected and critical part.
Had a remington 742 woodsmaster I loaned out for a couple of years. When I got it back it wouldn't eject because the brass would fill in the pits caused by the rust.

 

[Mike J]

Never had on of these but several of the guys in the hunting club I used to be in had them. They are good deer rifles.

 

[stiab]

I would avoid it like the plague. I have owned two and both died. First was a .30-06, then a .243. The bolts have a way of eating away the receiver at lockup. I heard that was a problem only with the larger calibers, so took a chance on a .243, and it did the same thing. Look on gunbroker and there is a .243 being sold for parts, and he quotes what the Remington factory told him. In effect, it says the malfunction will happen to all 742s eventually. If you have one that is still working it is just a matter of time if you keep using it. They earned the nickname "Jam-o-matic" for a good reason.

 

[robsc]

Stay away from it.

 

[robsc]

Stay away from it. There are no replacement parts available for the Rem742 rifles. The only semiauto hunting rifles worth having are the Browning BAR and Berreta R1. Both must be cleaned from the muzzle end which will eventually cause incaccuracy and require recrowning the barrel.

 

[willymike]

I have had one since 1972. It's still in great condition and I have a personal attachment to it since it was a Christmas present from Dad when I was a high school senior. It is a great deer rifle and I've taken many with it. It is still accurate for the task.

However, I'd spend my money elsewhere. The 742 has been out of production since around 1980 - 1981. You can not get parts through Remington and must look elsewhere if something breaks. I had to resort to ordering parts from Numerich when Remington could not supply them.

Mine did start jamming after I neglected to frequently clean the chamber. Remington supplies an offset brass brush that allows you to clean the chamber through the magazine opening or ejection port. It took extensive cleaning and treatment with Militec-1 lubricant to cure the jams. Nevertheless, I never did trust that it would not jam at an inopportune time while hunting and would potentially cost me a game animal.

As much as I love this gun, and as it has served me very well over decades of use; I can't recommend anyone spend money on a 742 for the reasons above. If you are willing to bet that nothing will go wrong with any part, then go for it. It was (and may still be) a good gun, but there are more modern options out there if you want an autoloader.

 

[jamesb]

I have one in .30-06, was my grandfathers. I still hunt with it because it is my link to my past but I would not buy one. Often on mine after 5 or six shots at the range it will start to have ejection problems, brass getting stuck in the ejection port sideways like the extractor didn't let go before it started to slide forward. It kicks more than any of my other .30-06's. Also it has really never been too acurate, good enough for hunting but thats not aying much. So unless you can get it for a song I would pass.