anyone load for a Remington 742

[champ198]

got my dads old Remington 742 BDL gun...and been getting ready to go through some loads with it.....right now i have Nosler BT 150grain.....and loading IMR 4895....i just have them worked up now from 49.0-51.0 in .5 grain increments.....havent got to shoot them much yet...anyone got any other powder they like in the 742? with it being an Auto loader wasnt sure if there was something better or not....any info would be great

[WCW]

I reloaded hunting ammunition for many years for use in a Remington 742 in 30-06. I never had any problems whatsoever with any reloads for it, although I did keep loads on a slightly lighter side to avoid beating up the rifle. My pet load for deer was a Hornady 150 gr. SP behind 51 grains of IMR 4064. With this combo I got about 2800 fps, and one inch groups. The rifle proved very accurate with the right load combination. I found IMR 4064 to be the most accurate powder in my rifle with the lighter bullets, and H-4831 to be stellar with the 180 grain bullets that I used for elk and moose. I used this rifle for both plinking and hunting for over twenty years, and only traded it off for something lighter when I moved to mountainous country and I found the weight of the 742 to be a bit more than my aging legs were willing to hike up a mountainside with. Keep that chamber clean and your brass will last as long as with any bolt rifle. In my opinion you have a fine hunting firearm that with some extra care and a diet of sane loads, it will truly last you for a lifetime of hunting.

[Slamfire]

I think your loads are hot. For a 30-06 gas gun I would use 47.5 grains IMR 4895 with a 150. In my Garands this load duplicates GI ball velocities. High pressure loads that are max in a bolt rifle will just beat up this semi auto.

I don't own a M742 but I really doubt it has any sort of compensating gas system.

As for powders, you will have a hard time beating IMR 4895. There are IMR 4895 equivalents if you want to try them, H4895, AA2495. These are very close to IMR 4895 in burn rate, actually AA2495 is Accurate Arms copy of 4895, but stupidly they call it 2495 and confuse everyone.



I reloaded for a bud's M742, it was not a target rifle. For this hunting rifle function should be your highest priority, if it shoots within 2 inches that is good enough for a hunting rifle.

I recommend that you buy a cartridge headspace gage and full length resize your cases to gage minimum. Trim your cases, prime all cases by hand so you don't have any high primers, seat your bullets to magazine depth or less, and go shoot the thing.



The recommendation to keep the chamber clean is 100% sound. This is a semi auto matic mechanism and if you don't keep the mechanism clean and free of gunk you will experience malfunctions. Some are more tolerant than others, but it is not worth wasting a hunting oppurtunity due to a dirty rifle.

Clean and oiled will reduce wear, also loading moderate loads with fast burning powders.

This might be of interest:

http://www.wisnersinc.com/additional...7407427400.htm

[briandg]

moderate loads with fast to medium powders is a necessity. They are not built to take supercharged loads. In the case of very slow burning powders, the powder charge is still in mid burn by the time the bullet reaches the gas port. Instead of a long, high pressure curve, which allows a much more violent blast of gas into the mechanism, you want a short burn, with a quickly diminishing initial impulse.

With this particular rifle, your problem is not entirely about pressure. It is also about the pressure put upon the gas mechanism.

Those are wonderful rifles, there's no reason, IMO, to try to extract an extra 200 fps or so by using hot loads of slow burning powders.

[alfack]

I have a 750 and have had some success with the Nosler 165 gr. Ballistic Tips and 55 gr. of IMR 4350 with a COL of 3.225. I wanted to try out some AA3100 powder, but they haven't made any for some time, now.

[oneoldsap]

Small base dies aren't a bad idea either ! Some don't need them but they will all shoot brass resized in them .

[ammo.crafter]

Small base dies are absolutely a must in the 742.

[alfack]

Small base dies are absolutely a must in the 742.

I don't use them and don't have a problem. A case gauge is a must though, and you may have to run your sizing die to the shell plate + 1/4 turn.

[William T. Watts]

I agree with ammo.crafter, Remington 742's need small base dies to ensure they will function properly. I've had experience with a 742 that would not function with brass that were sized in a standard resizing die. The rifle would function perfectly with factory or military surplus ammo but not with once fired brass, end of story. It was only years later I found an article about using small base dies in the Remington 740/742 rifles. In my Nato Garand (I still have this rifle) a standard RCBS sizing die reduces the cases enough I've never had a failure to feed problem, commercial rifles Remington/Browning auto's need small base dies to ensure they will function correctly to be on the safe side. FWIW I have used both IMR4895 and IMR4064 in my Baretta Garand, I'm currently using IMR4064 because the rifle seems to prefer this powder. William

[champ198]

im not totaly new to reloading but i havent ever heard of small base dies? what are those?

[sc928porsche]

Mine seems to like IMR4350 better than IMR or H 4895.

[William T. Watts]

If you have any new commercial 30/06 brass mic the cases 1/4" above the extractor grove (this is the part of the case that isn't supported by the chamber), new cases will mic .462 - .463", a case fired in a bolt gun will usually measure .467" - .469 "or greater depending on the size of your chamber. A standard resizing die will resize that case to ( I just used my starret mic on a dozen resized 30/06 case .4665 -.4676") all cases were resized in the same die. A small base die will reduce the case another .002", go to MidwayUSA and do a search for small base dies, Remington and Browning usually chamber 243Win, 308Win, 280rem 30/06 etc in their auto's. I no longer own a commercial auto rifle, after the trouble I had years ago I started buying bolt guns and frankly they usually produce smaller groups and aren't to fussy about what you shoot thru them!! I hope this helps! William

[champ198]

thanks a bunch William that explains it a little better....im like you as well much prefer a Bolt gun but this was my pops gun and more a sentimental keepsake than anything really and dont have any bolt guns left so this is the only one i have to play with really

[rg1]

I've had a Rem 742 Woodmaster since the 70's and have reloaded for it since about 1980. I've always used a standard RCBS Full-Length sizing die and have never had any problems with all kinds of brass including military cases. I recommend a medium speed powder such as IMR 4064 for bullet weights up to 150 grains and Win 760 to IMR 4350 for the heavier bullets. I would keep velocity and pressure less than loading for a bolt rifle. The 742 if loaded hot, and with too slow powders WILL over time damage the receiver from battering from the rotary bolt locking lugs. At the rear of the receiver when the bolt stops rotating it can over rotate and the locking lugs will dig into the receiver slots. A powder such as IMR 4895 to IMR 4064 will help reduce the force of the bolt at the rear of the receiver. The newer Remington semi's are supposed to have better gas compensation than the original 742's reducing this problem. The damage from the locking lugs at the rear of the receiver is what kills this rifle. Mine has some damage but not a problem with cycling yet. I love mine and have shot it many hundreds of rounds. Mine likes Hornady 150 gr. SP's flat based bullets. Chambers in semi-autos are usually on the long side and my 742 is. Cases shot in mine can stretch up to about .008" on each firing. I adjust my sizing die to not push the shoulder back all the way to zero each time I size. Usually I try to push the shoulder back .004" for my 742. A case gauge such as the RCBS Precision Mic or Hornadys Headspace gauge set would be nice to check your cases when sizing. I have both tools and both are good for checking the amount you size the shoulder back.

[oneoldsap]

As I said before , some will function fine after resizing in a standard fl die . They will all function with brass resized in a small base die ! As well as those Jam-O Matics function anyway!!