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| I have one that was passed to me by my Dad, so "trade value" isn't an issue...it's not going ANYWHERE. That said, it seems those rifles don't garner much respect, and as a result the resale on them is not usually very good. If you're buying it to keep...that's a good deal. They shoot well. "FAST" second shot has never been an issue....never needed one. Mine has taken a number of Whitetail from Canada to Florida and one (Canadian) Moose. If that old Weaver is still in good shape, you've got a good deal there. |
| | | Posts: 953 | Location: Florida | Registered: 17 March 2005 | 
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| I've done a bit more internet forum browsing and searching and have found quite a few complaints of unreliable cycling of the actions when firing if the action rails (haven't found a good schematic detailing what these are yet) are damaged. That's currently the big thing deterring me from buying it. The scope was pretty clear and appeared in good physical shape. |
| | | Posts: 1426 | Location: Shelton, CT | Registered: 22 February 2010 |
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| quote: Originally posted by FFemt5287:
I've done a bit more internet forum browsing and searching and have found quite a few complaints of unreliable cycling of the actions when firing if the action rails (haven't found a good schematic detailing what these are yet) are damaged. That's currently the big thing deterring me from buying it. The scope was pretty clear and appeared in good physical shape.
The 740 is a good rifle that's been around for a long time. It's been my experience that most reliability issues stem from lack of cleaning and maintenance, but that's true of any semi auto. It seems that people that buy these types of rifles for some reason are lax in cleaning them. My father-in-law used one successfully for thirty years without a hitch. My own preference is for the 7600, I have three but that's just me.  |
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| My Missouri deer hunting teeth were "cut" using the 740 in .308 and at $350 you cant go wrong.
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| | | Posts: 7361 | Location: South East Missouri | Registered: 23 November 2005 |
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| I've owned several 740s and several more 742s in .30-06. Several were rifles, and several were carbines. I kept them meticulously clean and properly lubricated but still, after a few years of the normal wear and tear of functioning semi-automatically, a couple of them gave up the ghost completely.
Still they are more accurate than many would believe, and when they are young they're great rifles for the bush...particularly bush where you may meet hostile animals suddenly and unexpectedly. Loaded with Nosler 200 gr. RN partitions my carbines in particular served me well in the muskeggy bush along the Little Smokey River of NW Alberta when I was guiding for moose there 40 years ago.
I would not pay $350 for one today, though. My top price for one with a used Weaver scope would be about $300, and it would need to be in very nice shape and all there, sights, and everything else. These days you cannot tell how many miles a rifle that age has on it, and with the 740s or 742s that is an important consideration.
What sort of sight base and rings is it? I always prefered the Weaver bases that swiveled to the side. They are very light, very low when using low rings, yet very sturdy. Because most of the 740s and 742s generally did not have high stock combs, low mounting of scopes worked out perfect for me, putting the ocular lens right in front of my eye. Then when the scope was swiveled to the left, the open sights were right in line with the eye too. BTW, for bush use, I would select either a K-1, K 2.5, or no higher magnification than the K-3. I also like the post or post & crosshair reticule for bush use. Easy to find when peereing into the dark corners of the shrubbery. |
| | | Posts: 9685 | Location: Cave Creek 85331, USA | Registered: 17 August 2001 |
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| quote: Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
I've owned several 740s and several more 742s in .30-06. Several were rifles, and several were carbines. I kept them meticulously clean and properly lubricated but still, after a few years of the normal wear and tear of functioning semi-automatically, a couple of them gave up the ghost completely.
Still they are more accurate than many would believe, and when they are young they're great rifles for the bush...particularly bush where you may meet hostile animals suddenly and unexpectedly. Loaded with Nosler 200 gr. RN partitions my carbines in particular served me well in the muskeggy bush along the Little Smokey River of NW Alberta when I was guiding for moose there 40 years ago.
I would not pay $350 for one today, though. My top price for one with a used Weaver scope would be about $300, and it would need to be in very nice shape and all there, sights, and everything else. These days you cannot tell how many miles a rifle that age has on it, and with the 740s or 742s that is an important consideration.
What sort of sight base and rings is it? I always prefered the Weaver bases that swiveled to the side. They are very light, very low when using low rings, yet very sturdy. Because most of the 740s and 742s generally did not have high stock combs, low mounting of scopes worked out perfect for me, putting the ocular lens right in front of my eye. Then when the scope was swiveled to the left, the open sights were right in line with the eye too. BTW, for bush use, I would select either a K-1, K 2.5, or no higher magnification than the K-3. I also like the post or post & crosshair reticule for bush use. Easy to find when peereing into the dark corners of the shrubbery.
I used to live in that neck of the woods, some gorgeous country up there.  |
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| quote: Originally posted by cobra:
It's been my experience that most reliability issues stem from lack of cleaning and maintenance, but that's true of any semi auto. ...
That is the problem I've seen with them too. Cleaning from the muzzle causes the Brush to "spring" open when it enters the Chamber. That causes it to fling trash and residue all over the Chamber. But, the Patch will not open LARGE enough to wipe the Chamber, so the trash and residue remains. That causes the Case to "hang" in the Chamber and results in the Extractor pulling through the Case Head. The Chamber needs to be cleaned through the Ejection Port. Hoppe's makes a special "T-handled", nylon-shaft cleaning rod which flexes so doing the Chamber is relatively easy. Nice rifles, but I don't know what they are selling for today. |
| | | Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001 |
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| quote: It's been my experience that most reliability issues stem from lack of cleaning and maintenance, but that's true of any semi auto.
Yes. If you know what you're about in the cleaning & maintenance area - it'll serve you well. The one rifle we don't reload for, finding brass is a PITA; we just fire & forget.
Cheers,
Number 10
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| | | Posts: 3433 | Location: Frankfurt, Germany | Registered: 23 December 2004 |
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| I know that for most semi auto rifles, the dirt is what primarily makes them jam, but for the REM 740/742, that is only part of the story. If you don't clean the chamber, they will jam, no doubt. but also they simply have a limited number of shots in them. How many is determined by many things. Mostly it is the ammo used and thus the speed at which the bolt cycles backward. As the bolt hits its stop when it comes back, the inertia slaps the bolt head back and it tries to rotate. After hundreds of slaps, the rails that hold that bolt and head in place will start to wear in a sawtooth pattern that is the mirror image of the multiple lugs on the bolt head. Eventually, they will deform enough that the bolt head will jump out of the rail and lock into place so the bolt will not cycle forward. I know for a fact that when this happens, it takes a sharp hit with a punch and hammer to get it loose. My favorite rifle that has taken more deer than I can count, is worn to this point right now. I don't round count but i believe it has taken between 900-1000 rounds to get there I am trying to figure a good way to reinforce the rails but have not come up with anything yet. I will likely try to put a shim on the stop to change the point at which the head impacts the rail in order to buy some time. It will also be only a hunting gun with no target shooting unless there is a scope issue. Anyway, this is what happens to these guns over time and it will happen to all of them if they are used. f you load, you could probably use lower pressure ammo to cycle the bolt slightly slower and it would increase the life but I learned my lesson too late. I shot only factory 180grain ammo through mine and this still happened????? If the rifle you are looking to buy is not used very much, it will be a great rifle for awhile and would be worth the money. With the bolt closed, you can either look through the skinny part of the ejection port where the bolt handle slides or pull the trigger to get a better look. If you see any sawtooth wear patterns, PASS!!!!
Cheers,
Jason
But what do I know?
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| | | Posts: 62 | Location: Missouri, U.S.A. | Registered: 23 December 2008 |
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| quote: Originally posted by BlueCan:
I know that for most semi auto rifles, the dirt is what primarily makes them jam, but for the REM 740/742, that is only part of the story. If you don't clean the chamber, they will jam, no doubt. but also they simply have a limited number of shots in them. How many is determined by many things. Mostly it is the ammo used and thus the speed at which the bolt cycles backward. As the bolt hits its stop when it comes back, the inertia slaps the bolt head back and it tries to rotate. After hundreds of slaps, the rails that hold that bolt and head in place will start to wear in a sawtooth pattern that is the mirror image of the multiple lugs on the bolt head. Eventually, they will deform enough that the bolt head will jump out of the rail and lock into place so the bolt will not cycle forward. I know for a fact that when this happens, it takes a sharp hit with a punch and hammer to get it loose. My favorite rifle that has taken more deer than I can count, is worn to this point right now. I don't round count but i believe it has taken between 900-1000 rounds to get there I am trying to figure a good way to reinforce the rails but have not come up with anything yet. I will likely try to put a shim on the stop to change the point at which the head impacts the rail in order to buy some time. It will also be only a hunting gun with no target shooting unless there is a scope issue. Anyway, this is what happens to these guns over time and it will happen to all of them if they are used. f you load, you could probably use lower pressure ammo to cycle the bolt slightly slower and it would increase the life but I learned my lesson too late. I shot only factory 180grain ammo through mine and this still happened????? If the rifle you are looking to buy is not used very much, it will be a great rifle for awhile and would be worth the money. With the bolt closed, you can either look through the skinny part of the ejection port where the bolt handle slides or pull the trigger to get a better look. If you see any sawtooth wear patterns, PASS!!!!
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| | | Posts: 9685 | Location: Cave Creek 85331, USA | Registered: 17 August 2001 |
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| Thanks for that post, BlueCan. Heading back to that shop mid this week to take another look at it and look for that. Kinda slowly talking myself out of this rifle to look for a pre-64 Win model 70 in either .30-06 or .270 win (another caliber I'm not quite sure how I've made it this far without owning). |
| | | Posts: 1426 | Location: Shelton, CT | Registered: 22 February 2010 |
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| Just a thought, If and when you start to have the problems with the rails deforming can you disable the gas operation and use this firearm (742) as a bolt action? Fireing and manualy ejecting and reloading after each shot.
Never Forget WTC
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| | | Posts: 16 | Location: USA | Registered: 25 August 2008 |
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