Opinions on Rem Semi-auto hunting rifles?

[andy1canada]

Thanks again to all you good people who responded to my first ('Newbie to reloading...Rem 700 carbine...) post.

What I need some help with now is to gain some feedback on Remington semi-auto hunting rifles. I'm trying to help a friend find a good deal on a decent (not too expensive) hunting rifle; he's just got his license and will be goin' hunting with me for the first time this fall. He's real pumped up about it.

A young fellow up Island (north of Victoria,BC where we live) has a Rem 740 or 7400 (not sure which model yet but I'll find out) for sale in a '30-06' cal; which would be fine for my buddy because I'm just starting to reload for my own 'Odd-six'...

If my buddy had money and was bent on a 'semi', I know a Browning BAR would be the way to go; however, like me, he's on a tight budget and this gun could be had for $350 to $400 Cdn.

Any pro's and con's about these various models of Rem/semi-autos that we should be aware of?

Are they reliable enough that one could count on it while hunting in serious bear-country?

Any and all help greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your time and trouble!

Cheers,
Terry

 

[The Bushmaster]

My friend's rifle is a Remington Mod 740 with a 20" barrel. The only problem that he encountered when he bought it was the trigger pull on his was quick and crisp. Recoil had a tendency to cause him to double tap. Now when you double tap a .30-06 it can flat render you out for the count. Not to mention where that second bullet went...
If your friend buys it,and it is a good rifle, he must practice with it until he is confident that he can control the trigger.

 

[black bear]

Hi Terry,
In reloading for a semi auto you should use small base dies, they full length resize to the proper dimension for using in the tightest chamber.
Also you should keep the velocity as near as Factory ammo as possible, to work properly with the gas operated piston.

Check chamber for perfect condition, a little rust in there and the gun will have trouble ejecting. Is the gun is a old model 740; it could possible use a new main spring, the 742 is better as have an acurizing bushing in the front.

The 7400 is even better; it uses a stronger magazine and the new bolt without the multiple lugs.

I have hunted with the model 742 for 31 years, my wife uses the model 4 (a deluxe 7400) and my son the new 7400 carbine also in 30-06.
I have never had a jam in any of them.

black bear

 

[45crittergitter]

Personally, I will not consider another Remington centerfire semiauto anything. Had too much trouble, and heard of too much trouble. Life's too short for that stuff. Just my $0.02 worth.

 

[Sistema1927]

I use my 742 quite a bit, and it is accurate and reliable. However, if you are a "neat freak" recognize that complete disassembly is a pain in the behind.

As a result, mine is never truly "clean", since I run a boresnake down the bore, and use long wooden handle swabs to get to everything that I can reach when the bolt is open.

This has worked well for me, and even though the rifle is never pristine it has never failed me.

 

[steve4102]

Are they reliable enough that one could count on it while hunting in serious bear-country?

In my opinion NO. I have a Rem. 740 in .308 that doesn't jamb but, doesn't shoot real well. The 30-06 742 around these parts is known as a "jamb-o-matic" . Many hunters have shot the 742 for years with NO problems and many have nothing but problems. So, I guess he could get a good one or a bad one, duno. In any case the Rem auto does not have a good enough rep. to be considered a "reliable enough" firearm for serious bear country. I have 2 Browning BARs, a 338 and a 300WSM and I have never had a problem with either both factory ammo and handloads. I still don't know if I would consider these to be a good choice in serious bear country. If you are worried about big critters than can kill, I would stick with a bolt gun, JMHO.

 

[1911user]

I had a model 742 in 308 and would not have considered going into bear country with it. It was an OK rifle, but I don't regret selling it.

 

[blackhawk44]

Have had a couple of 742's, both in 30-06. Both were near new. Despite several brands of factory ammo and numerous handloads, neither would group better than 2.5-3 inches at 100yds. Functioned fine, but gave up. Friend has one that only functions about half the time. Three inch groups. Have worked with a couple of friends each with Browning BAR's and Rem. 760 pumps. The BARs responded to handloads going in the area of 1.25-1.5 inches. The 760s would stay around 1.5-2 inches. Worked with five Browning BLR's (short action, steel frame) and get groups of 1-1.5 inches. No functional problems with BARs, BLRs or 760s.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I don't know...My friend has no problem hitting his deer out to 200 yards and more with his 740 Remington .30-06, iron sights I might add. Of course he's indian and could take them down with a knife or so he says after a few firewaters.

 

[JA]

The correct name is " thirty naught six" or "naught six" for short. Over the years the "n" has been dropped so "ought six" is the way most people pronounce it now.
The last Remington 740 I owned I bought for $50 due to it not working. The chamber had become pitted due to the owner taking the rifle in and out of the house without unloading the rifle. Condensation formed in the chamber from the change in tempature from the rifle getting cold outside and then warming up in the house. He didn't fire the rifle at a deer so when the season was over he oiled the outside and put it in a case to store it. So when he went to shoot the rifle right before the next deer season it wouldn't eject the fired cartridges. Looking at the fired cases I knew what the problem was and tried polishing the chamber to no avail. Sent the rifle back to Remington for a new barrel which cost $143 in 1997. Since then I have run into several model 740/7400/4 owners sighting in before deer season at the range that have had rifles that wouldn't eject fired cartridges. After knocking out the cases you could see the marks on the case from the pitted chamber.
So I would make sure to fire any used model 740/7400/4 before buying.

 

[redneck2]

I had a 7400 in .35 Whelen. Shot 1 1/4 inch groups @100 several times. I suppose like any other gun it depends on the gun and attached operator error. I liked mine, but we can't use rifle here so I sold it.

I have a friend that used to guide in Colorado. He had one in 30-06. Liked it because it didn't kick bad, but it tended to freeze up in cold/wet weather. In all fairness, I knew two guys that had identical Browning BAR's in 300 WM that hunted Alaska and also froze up. They ended up using the guide's gun

If I got it, I'd use a dry lube like teflon rather than oil, at least in cold weather.

 

[Gewehr98]

Love those Remington semi-auto hunting rifles!

Well, maybe not the gas-operated ones - that's why I bought a Browning BAR.

But the recoil-operated Remingtons are a thing of beauty in both form and function!

 

[BusMaster007]

The 7400 is the best choice in the Remington autoloaders, from what I've read, been told, and observed personally.
I have a 1st year, 5-digit 740: it isn't reliable anymore.
I have a Y2K mfg. 7400 Carbine: it's been 100% reliable!
They are both .30-NOT-6's

Only use the Remington magazines in these rifles as the aftermarket ones just plain don't work and don't hold the bolt open on the last shot. Really.

I like having the 740 in my collection and it occasionally with work through an entire magazine...
I LOVE my 7400 as it has always worked and is extremely accurate.

The part about keeping the chamber CLEAN is TRUE.
Keep a 7400 clean and it should be an excellent gun.

Good Luck.

 

[Marshall]

I have a buddy that I have hunted with for eons, he has a Rem 7400. It's never hiccupped once on him. I have another buddy that has the same gun and he can't keep it running well. Who knows why the difference?

I have gone the BAR route and consider myself ahead in the long and short run.

 

[Sistema1927]

Where did the "naught" or "not" come from?

The .30-06 is the Thirty ought-six due to the fact that it was a .30 caliber that was introduced in 1906, or "ought six", as in back in ought six .

 

[JA]

From the Webster dictionary,

aught
noun
A alteration of naught
Meaning 1 : ZERO, CIPHER
Meaning 2 archaic : NONENTITY, NOTHING

 

[andy1canada]

Thanks again for all the replies guys!

Wow, opinions on these run the gauntlet eh...

Sounds to me like there's a bunch of 'Friday-afternoon' made '74's' out there.

I guess key is to make sure you test the sucker out at the range before the 'dough' hits the table.

Thanks again!
Cheers,
Terry

 

[rbernie]

For Christmas 2003, my wife bought me a 7400 in 270 from WallyWorld. By June 04 I'd sold it at a pretty good loss, just to get rid of it. From http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=98760 :

The 7400 and I didn't get along simply because it's a really cheap design that's too hard to maintain. You cannot easily pull the bolt out and clean it from the breech end. That is simply silly. Moreover, the bolt hold-open is the magazine follower itself, so there's no way to mechanically hold the action open if the magazine has been removed. Due to the shape of the chamber (lack of feedramp of any kind) and mag follower, it would not feed Barnex X-Bullets or any form of hollowpoint. It was poorly finished with lots of sharp edges to make you bleed. Finally, its accuracy was mediocre (best case scenario of 1.5"-2" groups @ 100 yards) with all of the factory ammo I tried.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

I have a Remington 742 .30-06 Woodsmaster carbine, and it hasn't given me any trouble. It shoots accurately and reliably. I'd take it anywhere.

The biggest downside to it is that it has enormous muzzle blast; everyone in a three-county radius will know when you set that baby off.

 

[jobu07]

Off topic here...

The correct name is " thirty naught six" or "naught six" for short. Over the years the "n" has been dropped so "ought six" is the way most people pronounce it now.

I've always heard it pronounced Thirty "ought" Six. Or simply just "Ought" six like one poster said as "I shot that moose back in ought six." Or something to that avail.

Back on topic... I have no experience with the semi-remingtons.

 

[Sharps Shooter]

My hunting buddy used a Remington 742 30-06 Woodsmaster Carbine for years. It was reliable and accurate enough - it shot minute-of-deer anyway, but like Mr. Greene stated, it was LOUD!

Personally, I prefer bolt actions because I like to tinker. I don't like to have to full length resize my cases and be restricted to near factory loads. Besides, my first big game rifle was (actually still have it) a Model 100 Winchester .308, and I've never been able to get the accuracy from it that I can from one of my bolt actions. It's not that reliable anymore either. I wouldn't want to have to depend on an auto in big bear country.

 

[45crittergitter]

Yeah, does that mean we are using double-naught buckshot????

 

[Mannlicher]

My 1976 BiCentennial Model 742 is accurate, and reliable. I shoot factory 150 grain Remington corelock.

 

[redneck2]

I think the reliability factor has a lot to do with the weather conditions it's exposed to. Alabama is going to be a lot different than Alaska

Back to my original point. I personally wouldn't use an auto where you could get wet/cold/freezing. The guys I mentioned had great success here in Indiana in the summer. The BAR's performed quite poorly in sub-zero temps. Perhaps too much and/or too thick of oil to lube...dunno. All I know is they ended up using the guide's bolt gun. Our gun shop ended up with 2 barely used .300 WM BAR's

My friend that was using his in Colorado (elk) had to kick the tab on the bolt to get it to close on more than one occasion. He ended up with a bolt also.

YMMV

 

[Art Eatman]

With a K4 on my 742 in '06, I've always gotten 3-shot groups of no more than 1.5 MOA at 100 yards.

As a limited-use hunting rifle, I don't expect problems from wear or grunge...

Art