Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Anyones opinions on the Remington 750?

I was gawking at some guns the other day at the the local Cabela's and got to handel a Remington 750 carbine. I fell in love with the looks of it and it felt great to handel. Its balance was terrific. I need anouther deer rifle like I need a third leg, but this one really caught my eye and made me think I need to research it.

Anyone here have one, or had one? Anyone here fired one and have an opinion on how it operates. Any feeding problems, or other issues anyone has noticed?

What I remember is the old 742 Woodsmaster being dubbed the 742 JamMaster. I'm sure they have been improved since then.

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/featured_rifles/remingtonwood_052207/index.html

I'm sure that after 50+ years that they have changed the design and that the older parts that were known to fail has been replaced with a newer version that will give you many years of faithful service.
I would not expect it to be a tack driver, but a good clean reliable firearm.
I would not shoot hand loads in it unless you keep the powder down to factory duplicate loads.
That was the problem with most of the 742 was that when the action cycled too fast, it accelerated the wear and when it wore out - it did not function properly.
I would not expect it to be a cheap replacement for a machine gun either. It is just a semi auto sporting rifle.

I ran into one in 35 Whelen several years ago and responded in a similar way, and bought it. I have now put lots of ammo down the tube & been on several hunts with it. It has not disappointed me in any way. It functions reliably with my handloads, looks good, and gets the job done every time.

If you mean the Remington 760 or the Remington 742 by all means forget about it and pass them up. Those guns are nothing but trouble. They self destruct and wear themselves out in no time.
I think it's about the only Remington that is junk.

I've always been a sort of Remington Guy. Bought a 742 Carbine once in an 06. O.K.gun, but a bit heavy for me. Looked into the gunroom once, and all of the bolts and levers had isolated themselves in a corner. Must be They didn't want to catch any viruses. Had to get it out of the house before I had a coup. So I sold it to a good Friend - Cheap.

If you find anymore of them that you want to sell cheap - send them my way.

I only have to lament over my next door neighbor who died today and did not have a will and owned two cherry 760 Gamemasters - a .270 and a .30/06 BDL with Redfield Widefield scopes and a 870 Wingmaster 12 gauge.

I think the 742 & 740 reputation hurt the later 7400 and now the 750. Maybe they got it right this time, but I would go for browning BAR at the price they want for 750's. They are nice looking though. I think the bias against them is the reason remington has dozens of variations of the 700 now and only one auto.

I inherited my dad's 742 3006 and still hesitate to take it to the woods because I remember seeing the occasional jam and my dad telling me "buy a bolt action - bolt actions don't jam". I may need to give it to a nephew...

Well, the don't jam on the first shot...make that one count.

I wouldn't mind a 742 for setimental reasons. I didn't mind the 7400 I had either.

I'd buy a 750 if they didn't cost so much for what you get. I'm tempeted by a .35W that I see from time to time.

I remember seeing the last shot my dad made with that gun where the deer was running off and his rifle was jammed up solid with no chance for a second shot. Eventually we worked it loose at home and I took the rifle in to a gunsmith to have it worked over as a fathers day gift. $70, a new spring, some gunsmith commentary about the mickey mouse designs on 742's & 760s (I like this gunsmith since he is honest on what to buy or avoid... ), and I gave it back to my dad.

It was wasted money because my dad bought a sako bolt action for the next fall.

(at least my 742 has a new spring!)

Well said, Poobah, well said indeed.

I dont know anything about the 750 rifle but the 740 and 742 were the predominant rifles in the deer camps where I grew up.I saw some jam and have seen some that were so full of debris and wd-40 that they jammed all the time. I have also seen a lot of them that did just what they were supposed to do .
Inevitably on rifles that were kept reasonably clean that had problems the cause was a bad magazine.
are they as rugged as a good bolt ? NO but for the average deer hunter that will take the time to clean them occasionaly and keep the magazine clean they work just fine.
Also that old saw about autos being inacurate is unfounded.I have seen a lot of them that would shoot into an 1 1/2 or less at a hundred which is more than good enough for deer hunting .
Buying a new one should present no problems at all however and if you like the looks and want the semi-auto capability then buy it . If you have any problems then try changing magazines and if that doesn,t solve the problem then send it back to Remington and have them fix it.

FWIW, the 760 is the early version of the 7600. Both are pumps. Personally, we've had no issues with the 740/742/7400s in the family. It's folly, though, to mix up the pumps reputation with the semis.

I'll take my pumps over the semis, though.

George

The 740/742/7400/760/7600 magazines are the downfall being a thin stamping that flex & bend easy. My 760 magazine gave me troubles until careful vice squeezing & hammer taps got it to work (my gunsmith did the vice squeezing while grumbling about mickey mouse designs...)

I know the old hunters in our group etched their names in their magazines to keep them from being mixed up because getting a good one was like finding a good wife and training her properly! Well maybe the magazines were more compliant...

I own a 742 that is 40yrs old and I can't remember it ever jamming. My Dad bought it in 6mm Rem. for us Boys to hunt with. Back then it would shoot a 2" Group at a 100yds. Now it shoots about double that and the Trigger is just awful,due to much neglect.

I have a 750Carbine in 308 and it is an excellent gun except for the gritty lousy trigger. I have over 700rounds thru it with no problems at all. It shoots into about 1.25-1.5" with it's favorite deer load.

As a matter of fact the Remington 750 is a much better action that the Browning BAR. The gas port location and angle allow the remington to shoot ANY factory ammo including the Hornady Light Magnum ammo. BARs are noted for bending and breaking things internally when feed a steady diet of slow burning powders under heavy bullets. I've heard of more than a few BAR owners who have broken guns after 300-500rds. Internally the 750 is better designed to deal with the bolt velocities generated by slow burning powders.

The biggest problem with automatics tend to be with owners who do not know how to properly clean or maintain them. There is little reason that they cannot be as reliable as any other actions, but do require more attention to cleaning & lube choices. WD40????
Most of the conplaints I have heard, or read, about the 750 are hearsay, or worse.
They might not be perfect, but they are pretty damn good.

Semi-Autos can be reliable with proper ammo and cleaning but a few other things need to be kept in mind.

Every semi-auto outside the 750 can be damaged if people who handload ammo use the wrong powders. Just like the M1 Garand needs to be shot with fast to medium burn rate powders, the Browning BAR, Remington 742 and 7400, Winchester 100, Benilli/Winchester R-1 will suffer battering and damage to the bolt rails and operating rods if loaded with slow burning powders.

About three years ago I bought a 750 carbine in .308 and it was the single worst experience buying a firearm in my life. I usually only buy one new rifle a year, so a lot of research and thought goes into it. That year I settled on the 750 carbine-thats where the trouble started. I lived the looks and feel of the rifle, it pointed naturally and came to the shoulder quick. Before I ever shot it I disassembled the major components, degreased everything, and lightly lubed it all with g-96, and reassembled. Now it was off to the range. If I remember right I had 5 different factory 150-165-and 180 loads. Every single load jammed. Basically this was the problem-with 4 rounds loaded in the magazine and one in the chamber, first shot-good,second shot-good,-third shot, the bolt has slammed into the side of the cartridge,denting it. It acted as though the magazine was too high up into the reciever. Long story short, the gun went back to the Remington factory four times over the next year, and was never repaired correctly. It was absolutely the worst customer service I have ever seen. On the fourth trip there the factory said there was nothing wrong with the gun, it must be something that I was doing.I have a friend who owns a gunshop and we spent an afternoon trying different magazine latches and different magazines in it, and finally came up with a combo where it would shoot reliably. I sold it soon after. I really wanted to like that rifle, but I won't have an unreliable gun. It also soured me on Remington in general, that gun should have never left the factory in that condition, much less left it four times for repair and still didn't function properly. I will be very cautious about Remington in the future. Too bad, they used to be the industry standard.