I have a Remingron 742 semi-auto in 30-06 that has been in the family for a few generations. It is having problems with the locking lugs not lining up correctly which causes it to not go into battery most of the time.

Im interested in a couple things. First, getting it repaired so it's fully functional and secondly to possibly get some restoration done on it.

Can anyone suggest someone who would be best for this?

I'm listening too...

Have a hunt buddy whose 742 has become a single shot too...

Old School Tag.

Bigger_Hammer

I've owned three 742's, traded one off.  It may be cheaper to get a doner rifle. Assuming your rails inside the reciever and are good. I'm very careful to pick unworn, receivers with good shiny chambers. Then I complete strip clean and lube. You need a special wrench to remove the barrel nut. Wiser to pick up a 7400 or a Browning. You can also part it out on eBay to absorb some of the cost. Remington quit making 742's long ago, no new parts are available.  A few nice used ones are still out there.

Try Pat Laib in Spicer or Alhmans Morristown.

I can't find any info on Pat Laib but it looks like Ahlman's is good to go.

Ug, my brother learned his lesson about buying 742's.

FWIW, if someone who is Amish is selling one, it doesn't work right. EVER.

I'll see if he can remember where he sent his to be fixed.

This guy worked on my Winchester 100. I've heard he does excellent work on 742's.
https://www.facebook.com/Fugetts-Gun-Shop-151969768177616/
Won't hurt to call.

USUALLY THESE 742 ARE KNOWN FOR THE RECEIVER GETTING CHEWED UP AND USUALLY NEED TO BE REPLACED IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THEM

Some firearms aren't worth fixing.

I have inherited several.  A first generation 740 ('06), two 742 ADLs (.308 and .280) and a BDL ('06).  I've had them since about 1976 or so.  I guess they are more mine, from a use and maintenance standpoint, than the relative who bought them.  I use them.

One thing I've learned:  you must keep the chamber clean or they do exactly what is described in the original post, bolt will not quite go into battery.  I would not be surprised if that 742 can be made functional by removing the built-up crud in the chamber.

You can't get it with a regular bore brush.  You can't access it from the bolt carrier because the bolt is not easily removed and there is no path for a brush.

What you need is an offset or dogleg chamber brush.  One is pictured below.  They are still widely available as there are millions of these rifles in circulation.  Remington supplied one with each rifle - for a reason.  Many were never used and have been lost over time.

Get a brush.  It has brass or bronze bristles.  Liberally apply solvent and repeatedly scrub out all the accumulated dirt, grime, dare I say gummy WD-40 that was often used as lube.  Get it all out.  Let the solvent soak, if necessary.  Do this with the rifle upside down so the solvent does not go into the wood stocks.  Then lightly oil with real lube and wipe it out.

Chances are high that it will run like a Timex watch.  Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

Your rifle does need some TLC.  It looks like a BDL from the early to mid '70s.  Wrong screws where the rear sight used to be, for instance.  General neglect before you got it.  Probably taken a lot of deer, though.  

When I deer hunt in mixed terrain with a lot of heavy brush and open shots of 200 yards or less, I often carry one of these, usually the .280, but could be any.  I keep them sighted in.  Each has acceptable hunting accuracy, about 2 MOA with handloads made with good bullets (typically Nosler Accubond or Barnes TSX).  The .308 is actually close to MOA, about 1.5" at 100 yards with Nosler Ballistic Tips, although they open too fast and tend to unnecessarily damage meat.

Don't give up on it or send it off before trying this.  Way too many of these rifles are dismissed as unreliable merely because they have dirty crudded up chambers.  Clean bores but chambers never cleaned.  If you plan to keep it, you'll need to have and use a chamber brush.  Get one.  Let us know if that resolves the problem.  

Great brush gun.

If the lugs aren’t lining up, I’ll bet that you’re missing some parts. The 742 had these parts (having a brain fart about their actual name) in the bolt to keep it from rotating while it out of the lugs.

This was an improvement to deal with the issues with the 740, which was the rifle that trashed receivers like the guy above mentioned. The bolt on the 740 would rotate due to inertia, when the bolt carrier hit the back of its travel. Over time, the hardened bolt lugs would chew up the comparatively softer receiver at a particular spot in the back, bad enough to bind things up. On the 742, they added locking parts(again having a brain fart as to their actual name) that kept the bolt from rotating while the carrier was retracted.


If your rifle’s bolt lugs aren’t lining up to go into battery, those parts are probably missing. For some reason, a lot of the 742s I see are missing these.

At any rate, I see a fair amount of these 742s at my shop and I’m fairly familiar with them. I can help you with this rifle. If you’re interested, shoot me an IM.

I had one of those some years back, really liked it.
What about finding a quality local gunsmith?

That is likely the issue. Thanks.

Yeah, thanks to posters above I found that there is a really good gunsmith in MN that has experience with these. I'm probably going to have him work on it. Its the restoration that I'm actually more intent on having done. Even though it's been pretty unreliable in its last 15 years, it's more of an heirloom now for our family than anything.

Yes chamber brush a must keep it clean
If you reload suggest RCBS Small base Sizer Die and Lee Factory Crimp Die
Suggest IMR 4895 powder load it to spec like the Garand
I have 50 years experience with the 30-06 “WoodsMaster “ Great Rifle !

A friend of mine sent his back to Remington to be repaired years ago. See if they are still doing repairs.

Attached File

Mann's Sporting Goods was a factory repair center for Remington for years and years and years before Remington went bankrupt.  Give them a call and see what they can do.


Phone: +1 618 357 2911

15ers. Am I right?

Thanks I'll check with them.

Both great suggestions. Laib's Gunsmithing & Custom Guns phone number is (320) 796-2686. I've never had work done there personally but have only heard good things. It's been open a long time.

My dad has 2 74 series rifles.  A 742 in 30-06 in a 7400 in 243 Winchester.  The 742 is is like yours, more often than not a single shot, which is why I got him the 7400 (and because of the lighter recoil of the 243, much better for his arthritis).

Anyway, I recently saw this article explaining the many failure modes of the 74 series, and thought it was interesting: https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/11/06/tfb-armorers-bench-remington-74-series/

Agree re: chamber brush (see my post above) and also agree regarding use of small base dies for reloading. Haven't had a need to crimp them though.

I've always used either IMR 4150 or IMR 4064 with 150gr bullets in the 30-'06s with good results.

OP:  did you get it repaired?  What turned out to be the problem?

I have not. I live mostly outside the country and when I am back home I end up prioritizing other stuff. I'm debating whether I should do it or not. Its going to end up going on the wall anyway as a collector (because it was my grandfather's) so I dont know if it is worth getting it repaired or not. I would like to but . . . you know, money needs to be spent elsewhere.

Don't waste your time with it...

If wolff won't make springs for that should tell you something.

I’m very sorry, but it’s a wall hanger at this point.  742s, as others have said, have a useful lifespan that cannot be extended.  I’ve had enough around me to know when they give up it’s time to retire them to above the fireplace.

Yep, thats where I'm at with it.

Chamber brush scrub did not work?

It's way more than a dirty chamber