[clone]

OK, ok! I know you are probably rushing in to tell me "gamemaster any day over the jam-master!" However it isn't that easy for me. First off, these guns are both my dads. He is wanting to hand one down to me. He gave me both guns and told me to shoot them and pick the one I want. The other goes to my brother. The 742 is a .243 and the 760 is a .308. They both have fair scopes. He bought them new in the late 70's and both appear to have had very few rounds through them. The 742 looks like new and the 760 is just a notch down from that as it went elk hunting a couple of times. I am not a hunter at all but there are times that coyotes need to know they are getting too close to my house and family. And I like shooting with my friends once in a while on a nice day. So I would not use it a lot. I shot both last weekend and they both shot great. I shot a tighter grouping with the .243 auto even though it is not supposed to be better than the 760. I suppose that is because the auto doesn't beat on a guy so much. I had some friends that are good shots. They shot both guns and they had similar results. I'm not unhappy with the 760, rather very impressed with the 742. I was actually leaning towards the 760 gamemaster to go with my 870 pump wingmaster shotgun BEFORE shooting them. After shooting I was thinking the .243 auto would be perfect for knocking down the occasional coyote not having to think twice about my shoulder when pulling the trigger Then I had to go and search both guns and found a lot of negative things on the 742. So what would it be for you: Toughen up and get better with the 760 or just enjoy the 742, keep it clean and hope for the best?

Thanks
Adam

 

[Muliemaster]

OK, ok! I know you are probably rushing in to tell me "gamemaster any day over the jam-master!" However it isn't that easy for me. First off, these guns are both my dads. He is wanting to hand one down to me. He gave me both guns and told me to shoot them and pick the one I want. The other goes to my brother. The 742 is a .243 and the 760 is a .308. They both have fair scopes. He bought them new in the late 70's and both appear to have had very few rounds through them. The 742 looks like new and the 760 is just a notch down from that as it went elk hunting a couple of times. I am not a hunter at all but there are times that coyotes need to know they are getting too close to my house and family. And I like shooting with my friends once in a while on a nice day. So I would not use it a lot. I shot both last weekend and they both shot great. I shot a tighter grouping with the .243 auto even though it is not supposed to be better than the 760. I suppose that is because the auto doesn't beat on a guy so much. I had some friends that are good shots. They shot both guns and they had similar results. I'm not unhappy with the 760, rather very impressed with the 742. I was actually leaning towards the 760 gamemaster to go with my 870 pump wingmaster shotgun BEFORE shooting them. After shooting I was thinking the .243 auto would be perfect for knocking down the occasional coyote not having to think twice about my shoulder when pulling the trigger Then I had to go and search both guns and found a lot of negative things on the 742. So what would it be for you: Toughen up and get better with the 760 or just enjoy the 742, keep it clean and hope for the best?

Thanks
Adam

Welcome to ftf, sounds like your mind is made up , if all you plan to do is wack a yote here an there enjoy the 243. If u are gonna get serious an go after deer an big stuff then the 243 will work as well but is less in the horsepower dept.

 

[chloeshooter]

The 742 Jam Master earned its name primarily in 30-06. I had one and all I can tell you is, great deer rifle, but don't shoot it a lot, 742s tend to beat themselves up and replacement parts are hard to come by. Keep the bore super clean using a bore-snake. Better design for the caliber you have

 

[kyleytxrialover]

The 742 Jam Master earned its name primarily in 30-06. I had one and all I can tell you is, great deer rifle, but don't shoot it a lot, 742s tend to beat themselves up and replacement parts are hard to come by. Keep the bore super clean using a bore-snake. Better design for the caliber you have

This i had one in .308 did a little research. The 742 is good for about 1500 rds.
Till it tears it self apart. But in the high side there is a place in MN. That takes the 742 in semi and turns it into a pump action for about 279.00
Then no more worries. I will find it when i get off work

 

[chloeshooter]

This i had one in .308 did a little research. The 742 is good for about 1500 rds.
Till it tears it self apart. But in the high side there is a place in MN. That takes the 742 in semi and turns it into a pump action for about 279.00
Then no more worries. I will find it when i get off work

Yeah I got rid of my 742 because the receiver tracks were getting "scalloped". It was only a matter of time until it would get off-track. I'm lucky enough to live 45 minutes from that place you mention: (Ahlman's), it's a great gun store and shooting facitlity

www.ahlmans.com

 

[JTJ]

The 243 is a very accurate round in most actions and it has less recoil than the 308. The 308 might take a little more work to find an accurate load for your particular rifle. I had one 308 rifle that absolutely would not shoot 165 grain loads with any degree of accuracy. With the history of the 742 I would stay away from it and get a good recoil pad and as you stated, it is a match for your 870. There are reduced recoil loads available for the 308.

 

[robocop10mm]

Much of the problem with the Remmy auto loaders is you canno take them apart to thoroughly clean them. Take out the trigger group and flush the receiver with gun scrubber. Work the action and flush again. Let it run down the barrel til it flows clean. Use a bore snake to clean the bore and leave a very thin coat of oil in the barrel. Properly lube the action and you will extend the life of the gun.

The other problem is rust in the chamber. It is easy to neglect the chamber. Clean well and leave oil in the chamber. These guns would get used once or twice a year, fired 5 times and put away improperly cleaned/lubed. They would develop chamber pitting. Much of the bad reputation comes from neglect.

 

[blucoondawg]

^^^This is probably what happened to my dad's gun's chamber^^^^

My dad had a 742, it is now mine as he passed away, it is a 30-06, his never had action problems and he had it for years and shot the heck out of it, but it did develop something in the chamber which unless the gun is cleaned every 5 ot 10 rounds will start grabbing the casings not allowing them to eject, then of course it jams and you need a cleaning rod to hammer the casing out of the chamber. I have the 30-06 in model 7600 which is the more modern version of the 760, this has always been my go to gun for deer. I prefer the pump I like how it handles and both will shoot well enough to kill a deer or coyote, there are horror stories on the 742 and I tend to believe them, these Remington auto deer rifles simply aren't built to withstand the amount of use of a good quality AR or other semi auto "battle rifle", however in 243 it MAY be more reliable from a standpoint of shooting a smaller round, however this may mean it will simply take a little longer to wear out than a gun shooting a high power round. I personally would take the 308 as it likely will not fail and the 308 is also a very accurate round, maybe that gun just didn't like that particular ammo, but any 760 308 SHOULD shoot well enough to hit a coyote at reasonable range. Also 308 ammo is really common, when people aren't hoarding it.

 

[locutus]

You cannot clean a gun with a boresnake.

You may think you you're cleaning it, but in reality, you're wasting your time.
Clean youe weapon PROPERLY and it will last a long time.

 

[jeepejeep]

I don't know much about the 742 but I've had a 760 for almost 30 years and love it. Never any problems at all and very accurate.

 

[headhunter]

The place in MN that does the conversions is Alhman's in Morristown. They do good work. Located about 15 (?) miles NW of Cabelas in Owatonna or about 10 miles west of Faribault.

 

[locutus]

Better yet, trade it for a Browning BAR in .30-06 and you''ll have a weapon even more reliable than the pump and still have a gas semi-auto.

 

[blucoondawg]

Better yet, trade it for a Browning BAR in .30-06 and you''ll have a weapon even more reliable than the pump and still have a gas semi-auto.

While the Browning is a fine gun I doubt any semi auto of any kind is more reliable than a pump gun, if kept clean they're all pretty reliable but a lot of folks don't keep them clean enough, if that is the case the pump will always function more reliably. Not trying to argue just my opinion FWIW

 

[chloeshooter]

^^^This is probably what happened to my dad's gun's chamber^^^^

My dad had a 742, it is now mine as he passed away, it is a 30-06, his never had action problems and he had it for years and shot the heck out of it, but it did develop something in the chamber which unless the gun is cleaned every 5 ot 10 rounds will start grabbing the casings not allowing them to eject, then of course it jams and you need a cleaning rod to hammer the casing out of the chamber. I have the 30-06 in model 7600 which is the more modern version of the 760, this has always been my go to gun for deer. I prefer the pump I like how it handles and both will shoot well enough to kill a deer or coyote, there are horror stories on the 742 and I tend to believe them, these Remington auto deer rifles simply aren't built to withstand the amount of use of a good quality AR or other semi auto "battle rifle", however in 243 it MAY be more reliable from a standpoint of shooting a smaller round, however this may mean it will simply take a little longer to wear out than a gun shooting a high power round. I personally would take the 308 as it likely will not fail and the 308 is also a very accurate round, maybe that gun just didn't like that particular ammo, but any 760 308 SHOULD shoot well enough to hit a coyote at reasonable range. Also 308 ammo is really common, when people aren't hoarding it.

I have also heard that the shorter action calibers such as 308 hold up a lot better than the 30-06 action.

 

[chloeshooter]

Better yet, trade it for a Browning BAR in .30-06 and you''ll have a weapon even more reliable than the pump and still have a gas semi-auto.

I have heard nothing but great things about those BARs - unfortunately, I just don't like the way those rifles feel in my hands. That's a deal breaker for me

 

[clone]

Better yet, trade it for a Browning BAR in .30-06 and you''ll have a weapon even more reliable than the pump and still have a gas semi-auto.

That will never happen considering the man it is coming from

Thanks for the advice, all. I'm going to shoot the guns this weekend to give myself a second opinion. I'm going to try hard to sell myself on the 760

 

[TLuker]

You cannot clean a gun with a boresnake.

You may think you you're cleaning it, but in reality, you're wasting your time.
Clean youe weapon PROPERLY and it will last a long time.

I have to agree. They're good for getting carbon out of the barrel, but not so good for copper.

 

[kyleytxrialover]

^^ i would not sell it myself i was saying one has a place to fix it

 

[Muliemaster]

I have to agree. They're good for getting carbon out of the barrel, but not so good for copper.

A bore snake is only good for an emergency in the field say u had a fall got some crud in your barrel, or its been raining am u want to dry out the barrel thats where it comes in handy. But not as a full out clean

 

[Marlinman]

A bore snake is only good for an emergency in the field say u had a fall got some crud in your barrel, or its been raining am u want to dry out the barrel thats where it comes in handy. But not as a full out clean

Or to just run a quick bit of oil down a dry barrel is another good use for one as well