loading the 30-06 for a Rem 742

[guzzijohn]

It has been a good gun year. I inherited a nice S&W mod. 36 from an aunt and a Rem 742 in 30-06 from a cousin. I did not think I would care much for the 742 but the more I shoot it the more I am starting to like it. If I decide to start loading for it what if anything special do I need to know concerning that the loads would be for the 742 only? Particular powders that would be better for an auto?
GuzziJohn

[Larry L]

I think there are some things about a 742 you might need to know. The rifle is built on the 870 shotgun frame. As such, it's rare to find one that has been shot much that still groups at 100 yds. They are plagued with frame rails that wear quickly which causes feeding issues. Remington at one time issued a recall of them where Remington would take your 742 in trade for a new 7400 which is a redesigned 742. Few took Remington up on the offer. I have one and the accuracy of mine when new was about 1 1/2" groups at 100 yds. Before it got to 100 rounds thru the gun, the accuracy went to I doubt I can keep all shots on yer trucks door at 100 yds. Removing the scope and reinstalling open sights helped but hitting anything past 50 yds is iffy at best. I'd use it for tent stake but considering that it's a gun my dad gave me when I was kid, it's not something I'd get rid of, he died in 1968.
If you intend to load for it, keep everything in moderation. The medium burning powders are going to work best and keep velocities at or below factory ammo. This is not a gun to hot rod. Usually you can tell when the frame rails are wearing as the rifle will start to vertical string shots. Shoot it sparingly when that starts to happen as it's only going to get worse. I doubt using a grease on the frame rails will add any life to it but it's certainly worth the effort to try. Any grease with sulphur(stinks) or moly in it would be a good choice.

[guzzijohn]

I probably won't shoot it all that much but since I have everything but the dies it does not take much shooting to save some bucks. I don't really know how much it has been shot. It was bought new by an uncle who probably shot it the most, than it went to my brother and then to a cousin, then to me. When I got it, it had some surface rust on the receiver and a dirty barrel but the receiver cleaned up pretty well and the barrel looks very good after cleaning. It has an older 6X Bushnell with see through rings. It is pretty consistent about grouping 1.5 inches at a 100 with factory ammo. Since the rifle didn't cost me anything I figure I don't have much to lose.
GuzziJohn

[Bigeasy]

Moderate burning rate powders, and moderate pressures are a good idea in almost any gas semi-auto.  I know a couple guys who have hunted with the 742 for years, without issue.  And like you said, the price was right - so I would just enjoy it.  You may find you need to use small base dies when reloading for this gun, as semi-auto's do not have a lot of "cramming" power on tight cases.  That aspect really varies by rifle though, as some semi's I own need the SB die, and some don't.
 
Larry

[guzzijohn]

Bigeasy,
Would you please explain the small base dies please? The difference between them and a standard die? I am not familiar with them.
GuzziJohn

[Drilling Man]

  Of the several 742's my father and i have owned, none of them shot worse than 3" @100 yards, and a couple of them were MOA...  NONE of them shot a lot worse after they were shot a lot and only one of them had jamming problems and it made a trip back to Rem. and was repaired by them.
 
  They last a LONG time as a hunting gun that only shoots a couple boxes of ammo a year at most, and that's what they were intended to be....hunting guns!
 
  The one that i still have, shoots pretty good and has NO jamming issues of any kind, it's "mostly" had factory ammo shot through it.
 
  Small base dies are dies that full size the cases to a smaller diameter than regular fl. dies do...  They size the case "body" down, NOT just set the shoulder back, so the ammo is loose in the chamber, and that makes it easier to chamber ect...
 
  DM

[guzzijohn]

Thanks for the replies and DM's explanation of the small die. It is not comparable to my highwall for overall workmanship but it is not bad either. Just comes across as a honest working gun that does not do anything great but gets the job done in most cases.
GuzziJohn

[fastchicken]

If you already have 06 dies, try running some brass through them and see if they drop in your chamber before you go buy small base dies. I'm using FL dies for my 750 in 308 and a friend's two 7400s in 06 with no problems.  I'd be surprised if you need small base dies. 

[charles p]

I've had a 742 since 1967.  Mine works flawlessly with moderate loads, trimmed brass, and small base dies.  Before adopting these procedures, it was jammed a few times.  Now, never.  Moderate loads are the single best advice of all.  The deer will never notice a 100 fps slower bullet.
I admit to not using it in ten years, but when I last did it was perfect and I have no reason to doubt it's operation today. 
 

[gr8ful]

I have had good luck with 150gr sierra gamekings over IMR 4895 for 2700fps as listed in the M1 Garand section of the Lyman Manual.  Don't try to hot rod it or use slow powders, my experience has been that it turned my two into "jam-o-matics".

[Mikey]

Guzzijohn:  there are a couple of things you need to know about the earlier rem semi-autos and some have been spoken to already.  For reloading you need to stick with the faster burning powders like 3031 or 4064 as the burning rate is what is called for in those semis.  Btw, both powders reproduce factory loadings for the 06 with both the 150 and 180 gn bullets.  Factory loads or factory reproduction loads are best for these semi autos and with these loadings you get the same from a 06 as they did before +P or higher pressure loadings came out, and these hotter loadings are not necessary for a 30 bore in the lower 48. 
 
As for accuracy - usually the first two shots are on target but if you try running the magazine dry you will most likely encounter some fliers as the barrel heats up.  There are some tricks for improving the accuracy though.  One is to remove the forestock and to square the back of the stock where it mates into the action - often you may find this little area poorly squared or you may even find stock finishing material has dribbled back there to form a build up that as the barrel heats up this area puts pressure on the area where the forestock mounts to the barrel and this throws of fyour shots.  Also, where the stock mounts to the barrel with a screw, if you space that out a bit with a small lock washer you can get the stock as tight as you need to prevent wobble but not impart so much pressure on the barrel and stock to throw off your shots. 
 
One more thing is where the white spacer and foreend cap meet the barrel - often you find these two pieces of material to lay directly against the barrel - if you relieve them enough to slide a dollar bill between them and the barrel you should reduce a lot of pressure buildup there as the barrel heats up. 
 
The Rem semi autos are great rifles.  I like the way they feel and they come to my shoulder very nicely.  I have worked a couple of 7400s as I mentioned above to 3/4" group rifles with factory ammo at 100 yds.  I found two of those rifles would shoot match handloads no more accurately than factory, which allowed the owner to stock up on the Rem Core Loks in 180 way back when andhe is still knocking down whitetail with them. 

[BBF]

Mine was made sometime in 1950 +. For the sake of making it easy to use in tight places the barrel is now 18 +1/2 inch. I don't use max loads,no use or need for them. I do have small base dies but do not need them. If the cartridge drops into the chamber all is well. The rifle does like and certainly dislikes certain loads but I do have more than one powder/bullet combo that shoots just fine.

[cybin]

I have been around 2 742's in the last 40 years or so. Using small base dies seemed to be the thing to use for them. One thing I noticed that hasn't been mentioned here is that when your shooting it--don't let there be any presure on the clip. Both of the rifles I used shot to one inch groups at 100 yrds, but as soon as the rest was moved rearward to where the rifle rested on the clip--groups opened up to over 12 inches. I don't know why--just did. After finding out about it--we repeated it several times so it wasn't a fluke--good luck--you have a good rifle in my opinion.
 
cybin

[Couger]

Moderate burning rate powders, and moderate pressures are a good idea in almost any gas semi-auto.  (the U.S. military followed this advice in the M1 Garand and M14 .    )  I know a couple guys who have hunted with the 742 for years, without issue.  And like you said, the price was right - so I would just enjoy it.  You may find you need to use small base dies when reloading for this gun, as semi-auto's do not have a lot of "cramming" power on tight cases.  That aspect really varies by rifle though, as some semi's I own need the SB die, and some don't.
 
Larry

Excellent response!  +!.
 
Also from what I've learned about not stoking semi-auto's with HEAVY loads, if shooting deer with your recently acquired M742, twas me I'd cater more toward 150 or 165 grain bullets, vs anything heavier (like 180's or 200's).
 
FWIW, the M1 Garand was syncranized to the U.S. Army Ordinance M2 cartridge loading, (that used a MEDIUM rate/pressure powder), but also a 152 grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2805fps.
 
Thats what the Marines used on Iwo Jima and the troops invaded Normandy with.
 
There were other .30/06 loadings the military also used (starting shortly after WWI through WWII, Korea, Vietnam, etc. with that same M2 load),  but that M2 was the standard.

[guzzijohn]

Thanks for the additional information from you all. This was what I was looking for.
GuzziJohn

[JPShelton]

My dad shot a 742 in .30-'06.  The load he settled on was a 165 gr. Sierra GameKing HPBT over a middlin' dose of 4064.  His rifle was sub 1.5 MOA consistantly with that load. I use esentially the same load (slightly longer overall length) in my Ruger No.1-B with a tad better results -groups running .750" to .980" last time I shot it a couple of weeks ago.
 
My dad got his rifle in 1969.  He started loading for it in 1973.  From 1973 to 1985, he shot about 200 rounds through it a year before hunting season.  The rifle has somewhere between 2 to 3 thousand rounds through it.  The last time I shot it, which was about 6 years ago, groups ranged from a smallest of around 3/4" to a largest of around 1.5" on a very gusty day.  He's never had any problems with it and it has been 100% reliable in his use.  He used standard RCBS dies and didn't have any feeding or extraction problems.  I wouldn't do this, but in later years, he switched to Lee collet sizing dies and the ammo he loaded with that die set worked fine in his rifle, too.  I wouldn't resort to small base dies unless standard full-length dies weren't getting the job done sufficiently for a given rifle's chamber.
 
My dad's brother had an older 742 in .308 that thought it was a target rifle.  He used regular RCBS dies to make his loads.  He used R-P cases, the 150 grain Sierra flat-base bullet, and also used a mid-level charge of 4064.  He never had any feeding or extraction problems with his rifle, either, and it was shockingly accurate with that load.
 
JP
 

[BBF]

Yep my expierence as well. You give that rifle the right fodder and it groups tight, real tight.

[Dark Warrior]

I will just echo all the good info posted about loading for the 742. I got a 742 .30-06 in 1973; I was just out of college and it was my first centerfire rifle of my very own. I lived in southeastern Oklahoma near the Arkansas line and all the woods at that time was still native timber before Weyerhaueser started clearcutting. Right after I got my 742 a couple of my co-workers got me started in handloading and my first loads for the 742 were with 180 grain bullets over a moderate load of IMR 3031 powder - results were fine and my dies were standard Lyman full-length. I had lots of cases and bullets, primers, & powder were cheap, so I shot it a lot. I tried some 165 grain Speer roundnose bullets and found expansion was pretty limited - I attributed that to a heavier jacket. I then went to the Hornady 165 grain pointed bullet and it gave great accuracy & great performance on whitetail deer. About that time Weyerhaueser started clearcutting in our area and longer shots were the deal. I changed to 150 grain bullets (which would still be my choice for deer hunting) and a hotter load using IMR 4350 like my bolt-action friends used. Uh-Oh!!! The guide rails became worn pretty quickly and function problems began. The 742 is long gone now, but if I had another one I would stay with moderate loads or factory loads.

[BBF]

 Generally, IMO if you need to load hot, you are probably using the wrong cartridge

[shot1]

The only thing bad about the 742 is that if you break a part unless you can find a junker 742 that has the part you need your rifle becomes a wall hanger. There are just no new parts out there for them anymore. So keep it clean and treat it nice. They are bad about rusting in the gas system and chamber especially if you live in humid areas.