vertical in a Rem 742

[jp]

Guys, I have a friend that has a Rem 742 in the 30-06caliber. And he has tried several loads and factory ammo. Even changed scope and scope mounts. Trying to get rid of the vertical to no avail. All kinds of rests, hard & soft. Have any of you ever had a 742 and seen this and what did you do to cure it?

 

[jonbearman]

Is he shooting 5 shots rapid fire? The barrels are pretty thin and they tend to shift with rapid fire.He should shoot one and wait a full 2-3 minutes and fire one more etc to see if it helps and I think it will.

 

[jp]

thx Jon, he fires 3rds then waits, then fires 3 more.

 

[Lapua40X]

Guys, I have a friend that has a Rem 742 in the 30-06caliber. And he has tried several loads and factory ammo. Even changed scope and scope mounts. Trying to get rid of the vertical to no avail. All kinds of rests, hard & soft. Have any of you ever had a 742 and seen this and what did you do to cure it?

How much vertical are we working with here? I've known guys to complain about vertical when five shots create a print on target that has them all within 1 inch at 300 yards with two of the holes just under three others. How serious is your friend's vertical problem and is it consistently vertical in a straight vertical line or does it print some other pattern?

 

[jp]

shot a little over 3" tall to as much as 5" tall very little left or right. 1st shot on all loads was the closest to the point of aim. There was only one load that had horizontal of 1 1/2",but it was over 3"tall.

 

[M14AMU]

Tell your 'friend' that a 742 makes a good boat anchor....if he'll tie a cinder block on it!!

 

[xpilot]

Tell your 'friend' that a 742 makes a good boat anchor....if he'll tie a cinder block on it!!

Nice

 

[Joe C]

Years ago I had a 740, 742, and 7400, all in .30-06. Every one of them would string verticle shots just as you were describing when fired multiple times. I ended up selling and trading them all off and never regreted it...

 

[Lapua40X]

shot a little over 3" tall to as much as 5" tall very little left or right. 1st shot on all loads was the closest to the point of aim. There was only one load that had horizontal of 1 1/2",but it was over 3"tall.

Assuming all of the reloading mechanics are correct, with vertical like that I would first look at muzzle velocity. Where I found issues with MV, I'd next sample two or three other powders. Not to make light of the issue, but failing to find a solution, I'd trade it for a good 1903 Springfield. I've never seen one of those in good condition that would string vertically.

 

[StevenDzupin]

These are at best 3 to 4 inch groups at 100 yards.

A woods rifle for sure.

One of the most important things is forearm screw tightness.

You might try varying the torque on that screw to see if it helps.

If it gets too loose ,accuracy goes out the window.

You can Google search Remington 742 accuracy problems and cry.

Years ago Remington had a program to replace the 742 with a 7400

which was suppose to be built better. With heavy bullets and heavy loads

742 go into sort of a self destruct mode. The insides of the actions would

get chewed up due to action rails flexing. Yes I had one for about 3 years

Regards,

Steve

 

[jp]

thanks guys, I intend on loading some different powders for him, as he is frustrated with it.the loads he reloaded were in the 24-2500 fps range according to the manual. And he is a military rifle owner all sorts and a 03 he has and it shoots well. He has no particular weight of bullet in mind, just one that will shoot accurately enough not to miss a deer or wound one.

 

[Lapua40X]

One of the most important things is forearm screw tightness.
You might try varying the torque on that screw to see if it helps.

Excellent point, I neglected to consider that factor. Checking all action mounting screws for proper torque should probably be a first move. (if you can't find the factory torque specs. just make sure they're good and tight)

 

[Area Man]

A friend of mine hunts with a M742. It has "minute of whitetail" accuracy and he gets his meat because he's not going to be taking long shots. One time we were ribbing him on "sight-in day" that he needed to get a bolt action to improve his accuracy.

He stated flatly, "I ain't never going to own a bolt action!" When we asked why, he told us that when he was kid, he and his older brother both got .22s for Christmas - their first rifles. Older brother got a semi-auto and he got a bolt action. "We go to the woods and Brother is going pow pow pow pow pow pow, and I'm going pow......... pow........ pow.......... I ain't never owning another bolt action!"

 

[jp]

Steven and Lapua40x, I broke down the rifle and found that the gas port was almost closed with rust and that the spring was binding. I shot 3 rem core lock 180gr and it shot about a 2 1/2" 3 shot group. A lot better than it had shot before. I am going to work on powder charges and oal next. thanks for all the help from every one.. now Area Man that's funny, I'll have to remember that..thx

 

[Lapua40X]

Steven and Lapua40x, I broke down the rifle and found that the gas port was almost closed with rust and that the spring was binding. I shot 3 rem core lock 180gr and it shot about a 2 1/2" 3 shot group. A lot better than it had shot before. I am going to work on powder charges and oal next. thanks for all the help from every one.. now Area Man that's funny, I'll have to remember that..thx

Thanks for the tip, jp. I'd have never considered that possibility. Ya lern sumthin ever day.

 

[K22]

I was at the range this morning and a fellow shooter was having vertical issues with his Rem 700, 30-06 shooting 180 grain bullets. One shot would be ok then two other shots 2 to 3" high.

Frustrated, he asked me what I thought was causing the problem. Of course there could be a multitude of reasons but I had noticed that he had his target posted rather high on the backer resulting in his rifle being angled up on the bench. I suspected that he was riding the recoil. I suggested that he lower his target so his rifle was parallel to the target. Bingo, his next three shot group was a nice cloverleaf center about his 1 1/2 inch high desired sight in.

Not saying this is your problem but you might want to make sure the rifle is parallel to the target.

 

[jp]

thanks for the insight. He has his bench and target pretty close to same height. And Lapua40x, yes sir we learn some thing everyday. Once again thanks to all..I will post more on my findings in hope it will be of some help to some one else.

 

[SW Iowa Shooter]

I mounted and sighted in a K4 weaver on a .308 742 about 20 years ago for an acquaintance. I had never shot one before, but had heard stories similar to the other comments here. It shot 150gr Remingtons into .750 inch 3 shot groups at 100 yards and some 168 grain handloads into a .630 inch 3 shot group. I was amazed, he wouldn't sell it. In hindsight, maybe it was my lucky day that he wouldn't.

 

[Ringostar]

I had a 742 in 30-06. It shot pretty decent for over 10 yrs. Then one year I went to shoot a few before season. It was all over the place. I first thought my scope reticle was moving, then found it was a loose barrel nut. It doesn't take much movement there to send you off at 100yds.

 

[jsthntn247]

Funny I found this. I just got back from shooting my 742 30-06 at the range. If I shot too fast it would throw them high and low. When I let it cool for 3-5 minutes it shot around .75". It liked the cheap 17.99 a box Winchester power points the best which is fine with me. It also shot Remington 150 scirocco's about the same, but shot like a shotgun with any corelock.