Remington 7400 30-06 misfeed problems

[CBJ1994]

Hello everyone! First post on here, grandfather told me about this forum so I decided to join. On to the topic at hand.

My Remington 7400 rifle misfeeds constantly! When I rack round by hand it works no problem. But, when fired 1 out of 4 is a guaranteed jam. It looks like the rounds are hanging up at an angle with the bullet touching the top of the chamber and the bottom of the casing still stuck in the magazine.

I have two magazines for it, the original factory 4-rnd magazine and a Triple K 4-rnd magazine. However, I can say for sure its not the mags, it misfeeds with both of them at the same frequency.

I tried using more rounded ammunition when I saw how mushed out the lead tips of the ones that misfeed looked. Switching from Winchester Super-X 180 grain Power Point to Perfecta 150 grain Soft Point I got the same results, 1 out of 4 misfeeds.

I don't know what else could be the issue. Could the rounds be chambering off-center? Magazine springs worn out? Or should I try using round-nose or polymer-tipped ammuntion?

 

[aegagner]

Welcome to the forum, CBJ!

Hose out the action with some brake cleaner, then lube 'er up and give it another try. You will be amazed with the gunk that comes pouring out of the mag well.

We have had a few 740/742/7400 and now 750 series rifles at camp; folks treat them like a 336 or 94, fire 5 rounds over the fall, toss them in a rifle case and it goes under the bed until next hunting season; unfortunately they don't work very well that way.

Give it a go and let us know how it works out.

 

[CBJ1994]

OK I hit it with some Powder Blast, lubed it up with Break Free CLP and it still misfed. 2 out of 4 with factory mag, 1 of 4 with Triple-K mag. I saw some brass shavings in the chamber so the rounds may be catching on something.

I REALLY don't want to drop this thing off with a gunsmith, but 7400s look too complex for my mechanically incompetent hands to fool with.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Get a chamber brush and clean the chamber like your life depended upon it. Make sure you dry it well when it's clean.

 

[mio]

I will be following this thread. I picked one up last spring for $250 with 2 factory 5rd mags and a factory 5rd .270 mag. I shot 1 mag through to see if it functioned and haven't touched it since. I may need this advice when I put a box through next weekend.

 

[Reloadron]

Have you tried thoroughly cleaning and then lubricating the gas system? Get a good parts breakdown of the gas system and scrub it, including the gas block. Make sure the port to the barrel is free of any rust and or corrosion which are common occurrences if the rifle is not well maintained as to the gas system. Anyway, if you have not already done so I would be on the gas system. Do not lose the tiny ball bearing. Here are some images.

This may help too:
https://youtu.be/bvml8dV8Cq8

Ron

 

[bobinoregon]

I have a 7400 in 30-06 and it is the only rifle I have that the chamber seems to rust for no apparent reason. If I scrub the chamber out when it comes out of the safe it works fine, if I don't it will hang up. None of the other guns in that safe have a problem, just the 7400. It's a good gun, just a high maintenance one.

 

[CBJ1994]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'll work on it when I have some spare time. I guess these rifles don't handle high-volume shooting well. I've been using my 7400 as a poor man's Garand.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Yep, too much shooting and they beat themselves to death. The receiver rails get chewed up. The Rem semi autos sure help gunsmiths keep the lights on.

 

[CBJ1994]

I figure it would beat itself to pieces. The clunk of the bolt going back can be heard over the bang of the shot. Does a Browning BAR fair much better for reliability over a Remington 7400? Might think about getting one down the road.

 

[bainter1212]

An older version but......the 740s and 742s had rusty chamber issues.
My grandfather had the issue with his 740 back in the 50's. He sent it back to Remington and they polished the chamber (and threw in a complimentary trigger job).
I have the rifle now. The chamber is shiny and the rifle runs well. No rust. And my grandfather is no champion rifle maintainer.

 

[ontarget]

Definitely check the receiver rails. My 7400 shows signs of wear but not to the point of malfunctioning yet. From what I understand they can be smoothed out a couple of times before they are unservicable.

 

[jmr40]

You can try all of the possible cures including letting a gunsmith work on it but in the end you'll likely still end up with an unreliable rifle. Instead of throwing time and money at a rifle with a known reputation as a problematic design I'd simply cut my losses at this point and start looking for a more reliable rifle.

If you're still wanting to look at easy fixes to make it more acceptable (none of the 742, 740, 7400 series have ever been know as reliable) my money is still on your magazines. You say 1:4 jams. The magazine holds 4 rounds. If it is always the same round coming out of the magazine that is a pretty good indication of a magazine problem.

 

[armedwalleye]

I've bought (and sold) a few. Take the magazine out and look into the opening with a good light and a magnifying glass. The rails the bolt fixes on should be square and burr free. These guns are not designed to be heirlooms, but, as others have said, to beat themselves to death. As the action continues it's violent cycle process, the harder bolt wears on the softer rails of the receiver. The more those rails move away from square and toward a worn knife edge, the more the gun will jam. It can be trued up by a competent smith, but only once for sure and maybe twice. If you have it tried once, at that point I'd start shopping it around, for then it's only a matter of time.

 

[CBJ1994]

I'm going to at least make it usable for one more season and then i'll probably give it to my younger brother. So as for getting a new-to-me 30-06, will a Browning BAR or the newer Remington 750 be alright for some high-volume shooting or should I just go to the bolt-guns?

 

[X-Rap]

If you like the 740 take a good look at the pump 760, night and day reliability in a very similar package.

 

[Casefull]

Very weak action in those. Good luck.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

CBJ the Remington 742's 7400's and 750's aren't designed to be "range guns" they are meant to be hunting rifles and shot a few times to sight in and then a few times over the course of a season. Then be cleaned thoroughly and oiled to wait til next season.

If you are wanting a high volume cartridge to high volume shoot and also deer hunt with the AR-10 type rifles is what you want. If it must be .30-06 then a bolt action will be your best choice.

 

[Bexar]

They can be converted to Pump 7600 for about $150.00 if you like it. My Dad gave me one for graduation which I in turn gave it to my Daughter. Several years ago I looked inside the receiver well and it had started showing the chatter marks along the rear receiver rails. I will eventually get her's converted or have the gas system modified to where it becomes a pull type bolt and shoot it on occasion for old times sake.

Good luck.

 

[Slamfire]

Take a look at post 10 in this thread:


742 Woodsmaster - Now what?

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=530602

I really don't know whether you have a rail or magazine problem. Could be both.

 

[CBJ1994]

I don't feel its worth the money to repair or convert it. Polishing a turd comes to mind. It has served its purpose for my family and it's time to retire it .

I'm looking at the H&R Handi-Rifle single shot in 30-06 now. Surely it will work nicely for hunting and plinking around with minimal problems. I already have one of their Pardner shotguns in 12 gauge and it has been ultra-reliable.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Problem is that with the H&R single shots that its possible after alot rounds that the action will get some wiggle in it and can create headspacing issues.

It seems that you like to shoot alot, there is nothing wrong with that, but I'd be looking for a quality budget bolt action rifle to fill that need and hunting roles as well. The Ruger American, Savage Axis, Mossberg Patriot all come to mind.

 

[SC Shooter]

I have a 7400 in .270 that I picked up in a pawn shop a couple of years back. It was in rough shape, and hadn't been cleaned in some time. I refinished the stock, and spent a good portion of a day at my bench cleaning it and tightening everything that I could tighten. I took it to the range and sighted in the scope and was fortunate enough to have harvested a nice white tail with it. I have found after taking it to the range a few times, that it is definitely not a gun that will just keep firing without being cleaned regularly and often. Other than that, it's a great gun.

 

[C.R.]

A fellow that I worked with had one of those things and ended up putting it in the band saw and cutting it up and throwing it in the scrap metal dumpster it was un usable worn out and not repairable ,and I think after he missed a big buck after a jam he was totaly cheezed off

 

[d2wing]

I have two of them and have had feeding problems. You may want to get a new factory magazine and see how that works. Make sure the mags are getting fully seated. Occasionally the nose hits below the chamber. One cure is to put a bump toward the front of the follower so that it raises the nose of the bullet more as it is pushed forward. My problems were with aftermarket and old magazines.