Out of the two which one would you prefer for accuracy and reliability for a good deer rifle. Pros and cons to each?

I'd rather get a sharp stick in the eye.

The 740/7400 Jammaster is no prize, and there is a long standing recall on the 100. Two or three days ago at the range, a 100 went full auto about five benches down from me.

Remington semi autos and "reliability" dont' belong in the same sentence
If you want "reliable" get a Browning

I inherited my dad's M100 years ago and never shoot it, it just doesn't float my boat. BTW he broke the original stock on a hunt in the 1970's despite Winchester ads promoting the strength of a one piece stock.

I would also select an older Browning BAR if the need for a semi auto hunting rifle
ever surfaced.....................

Plenty of reliable 7400 and 742 rifles out there.
As long as they arent worn out.
Thing about most semi autos are the Magazines.
And if buying used you dont know so make sure you can shoot it first to check the reliability.
NOW that having been said ,give Remington Pump a thought
As They are known for great reliability,are accurate
and can be shot extreemly fast.
But its your dime.

I've owned both. The Winchester Model 100 is by far the more handsome, but I'd go with the Remington for accuracy and reliability. BTW, if you do get a Winchester Model 100, make sure the safety modification was made.

The only Model 100 I have used was ammo sensitive. Very accurate with ammo it liked. Small base dies required. You can get extra magazines but they are expensive.

Remingtons have been somewhat more reliable. My 740 got a little touchy but my LGS did a bit on it and it seems good now. 742's seemed much improved. The old guys I knew that hunted those automatics have mostly quit hunting so I have no info on 7400.

I would go with the Model 100 if I could get one in good shape.

I've never had any trouble with either of them. My choice would be the Winchester 100 though. My Winchester 100 (308) is more accurate than my Remington 742 (7mm express) and I think it looks better. The Win 100 will do 1.25 to 1.50 inch groups and the Rem 742 will do 2 to 2.5 inch groups with ammo they like. Both have always been reliable. Your milage may vary�

Winchester has a recall on the 100 firing pin. A quick call to the number on their web site will let you know if the 100 you are looking at has had the new firing pin installed. Mine hadn't. I got the new firing pin and a gift card for $30.00 in the mail in just a few days. It took about ten minutes to change the firing pin out.

The only way I could get my old 308 win MDL 100 to reliably fire, was to load nickle brass with small base dies and a mild load of H4895.

I have a 742 in .308 which shoots accurately and reliably. My research indicated that some of these guns had problems with the rails in the receiver. The bolt rides on these rails and if they become damaged, cannot be repaired. The worst offenders are .30-06, especislly if fired a lot with bullets over 180 gr.

Wasnt the recall for the firing pin?

my brother in law hunted with one for about 15 yrs with a remington 7400 30-06 only shot factory as he did not reload. Alway killed deer and to my knowledge never had problem with it. I know he bought new in the late 90's

358win

Both of them seem to have come from clean rooms filled with clean engineers who tested them on clean benches wearing clean white coats. They get away with that with bolt actions, only just.

My father, grand father and uncle all bought Model 100's in the early 70's and they all carried/used them for many many years without a hic-up. I've got my grandfathers now and while I don't use it much, it's not fussy about ammo. Will do an 1", maybe better if you do your part and isn't a bad rifle at all (minus the crappy trigger).

THIS!

The 100 Winjammer isn't known as a great concoction of parts, and the Remington isn't really any better. There's a reason the 100s don't garner a premium.


...and yes, I have had three of them. I'm that dumb.

My brother has been offered $1200 for his 284 M100. He hasn't sold as it was my grandpa's. Both me and my dad have M100 308s. His is more accurate than mine and both of ours are more accurate than my bro's 284. And my buddie's 7400 is more accurate than all three. But ours look better.

FWIW, the recall is an easy fix and no big deal.

THIS is the important thing about the 742 - 7400 Rems.

Haven't been around the W 100s but know about them, always wanted an 88.

Lot of people want to talk bad about the semi auto Remingtons But There are a lot of good one out there incliding some 740 and 742 rifles.
The thing is a lot of rifle loonys dont understand is a lot of People who own them are more hunters than shooters.
Most ,not all mind you, are deer hunters who buy the rifle, sight in at 100 yards and dont shoot it again that year unless Killing a deer.
Next year shoot 3-5 rounds at a target to make sure it is still sighted in and dont shoot anymore until they kill a deer.
Damn hard to wear a rifle out like that!
It is true that some jam but MOSTLY bad mags and WD-40 are the culprits.
These guns for the most part do what the owners want them to do and that is kill deer and provide a quick second shot.
Now I would not buy a semi-auto used Unless I could shoot it first OR new the person and could trust their word.
It might have to be cleaned well and or need the chamber brushed out real well as a lot of owners hunt in wet weather and then dont clean the chamber and oil it. that doesn,t work too well with a semi auto as the dont have the camming power of a Bolt rifle.
I bought a Remington 7600 270 win that did not want to chamber or eject, A look with a bore scope showed light rust in chamber . I took some fine steel wool and using an electric drill polished the chamber and it worked smooth as silk.There is a reason they put the dogleg brush in there with a Remington semi auto !
Are they as reliable as a bolt rifle ? No,but I have had plenty and seen plent that DONT jam.
AND I have NEVER seen one thet wont put 3 shots in 2 inches or less at 100 yards rested and MOST will shoot less than 1.5 inches for 3 shots or less.
But the blanket statements that ALL Remingtons are jam o matics is nothing but pure Bullsh..

There's a gun shop up here in Minnesota that makes a real nice living fixing Remington semi-automatics-they make pumps out of them! Personally, I'd go with the Browning, but that doesn't answer your question.

The Winny's better looking, but the Remington is probably a bit more accurate, at least in the several I've had experience with. The Remington is called the Minnesota Machine Gun up here by the many who either love it or hate it. Put on a set of see through rings and the cheapest 4x scope you can find, and you'll fit right in. If you really want to make the grade, hammer one of those little dime sized compasses into the stock and get a 20 round magazine for it!

The Remingtons are normally quite a bit lighter than the Brownings and easier to carry around while hunting.
Part of the issue with the persona of using a semi-auto for hunting is internet oppinion that anyone who uses them is a doofus who must use see thrus and cheap scopes.
While some do I have also seen the same from bolt rifle users.
A semi auto can use a nice scope and mounts just like any rifle can.
However,that being said I bet many deer have been killed with see thru mounts and a cheap 4x scope!Whether mounted on a semi auto or a bolt gun !
SOME gun looneys get a holier than thou attitude that unless someone uses what THEY use the others are wrong.
Somewhat similiar to the attitude I got from other hunters when I was using a handgun to deer hunt instead of a rifle.
When someone post a question about semi-autos invariably there has to be someone who makes a snide remark to the effect of the person is goofy if they consider a semi auto as a viable hunting tool.
Internett hunting wisdom being passed down .....
Who cares IF a hunter is using a semi auto and a cheap 4x scope ? IF it works for the hunter thats all that counts.
When I started hunting over 40 years ago the majority of deer hunters used a Lever action or a semi auto rifle (usally 30-06)or a shotgun.
Never even seen a bolt rifle with the exception of the occassional military rifle.
Guess what they all did the job and killed deer.
So enough of the snide comments about semi autos.
IF you dont like em the nobody is twisting your arm to use one !
But there is no ADULT reason to make remarks and implications to the people that do.
some of yall need to Get on the ground and do your hunting off your feet instead of hunting off your HIGH HORSE.

I had a M-100 in the 70's I found it plenty accurate enough to hit a coke can at 300 yards with a 4X scope off the bench.

Living in PA I was never allowed to hunt with a semi auto. I may be moving out of state in the near future and if I do I'm going to pick me up a Remmy semi and see what I've been missing.

Winchester Model 100 handles quick and easy...and looks good too!

Yes, I did have the firing pin recall fix.

At one point in my life, semi autos were all I used. My 742 experience was less than good. I went to Browning. Cousin used them and liked them. At one time I had every caliber built in the Type 1 (made and assembled in Belgium). The only repair I ever made on one (other than trigger work) was replace a broken recoil buffer.

I was a strong young man back then, and the weight did not bother me. All were reasonably accurate, some scary accurate. One exception. I had about four 7 mags before landing one that shot decently at just over an inch.

I'm down to one higher grade '06. It does just over an inch with factory CoreLokts.

No 100 history, just 88. I would steer you to browning. They now build them a bit lighter. No real need to sweat the alloy receiver. The bolt locks into the barrel.

Jack

I've owned 100's in 243,284 and several in 308 also owned the Rem 740 in 3006, I now own a Browning BAR Stalker in 270... never had a problem with any of them.

Buy a lottery ticket.

The remmy semi-autos are throwing good money after bad. Please allow me to elaborate. From the 1970's thru the 1990's, I worked periodically for a gunsmith here in this sleepy little SC town, and for most of that time he was the only degreed (Col. School of Trades) 'smitty in 3 counties, though there were two others that were jack-leg, but good at it. Also, for most of that time, two of the three local department stores here in town sold variation of the Remmy semi-auto guns (742, 7400...etc., etc). When the 742 was the Remmy gun in the mid-late 70's, they sold here for $265, with an Armsport or K-mart scope and over-under mounts. (Roses & Kmart ran these specials). It was common by mid-season to have more than a dozen (I have personally counted 18 at once) sitting waiting for parts...and that was back when Remington still made the parts! The most common causes were related to the weak ejector/extractor system. The 7400 did much to change it, but it is still at it's heart a weak system. The guns were designed to use Remington factory loads USING REMINGTON FACTORY BULLET SHAPES at those pressures and be squeaky clean when doing so. if you followed that Mantra, they worked fairly well, though on very cold days they were still prone to jamming. Issue is, most guys did not want to remove the forend and get that gas system squeaky clean after sighting it in, in the belief that it would trow off their zero (that was justified, I have seen that very thig affect zero on this design). the gas ports would foul, and the lack of real coating under all that meant a fast corrosion rate, so by the time cold weather got there, there was too much stress placed on the extraction/ejection system, and the result were jams. The 7400 has a beefier gas port and extraction system, but not enough, IMHO, and like I said, it is throwing good money after bad. If you think I am wrong, contact Remington. they will no longer service those guns, I think that says it all.

Something I touched on in caps up there is well worth mentioning. For both of the stated gun designs, you have to remember, this is 1960's technology, and while the military used semi-auto weapons, they were usually heavier and the whole hunt with an military type weapon thing was decades away from being the norm, so most of these designs used some form of autoloading shotgun thought in the design, which, to make them lighter and more appealing to the average hunter, was quite understandable. As such, like shotguns that were either 2 3/4" or 3", they tailored the guns to fit the cup & core bullet designs and overall bullet profiles of the time, all produced to US / SAAMI standards. Nowadays, you have many different bullet shapes, case shapes, case materials (steel, aluminum, 'bi-metal') corrosive priming, plus ammo made overseas to goodness what standards, all of which make a recipie for failure. Even if you do not use any of that, a previous diet of it does alot of damage.

I will say that Browning understood this, and built a gun with a heavier gas, ejection, & extraction systems, making it both the heaviest and the longest lasting (still in production) of the three.

So just bear that in mind, IMHO, avoid the Remmy, of the two buy the Winnie, make sure it is super clean AND NOT CORRODED AROUND THE GAS PORT and then experiment to find the best ammo for it, and you will have the best chance of having a viable hunting rifle

I have both. Get the 100. As mentioned by several people above, you would be better served with a Browning. I have several of them also. Mine have been unfailing and are as accurate as most of my bolt action rifles.

If you do get a Remington, you might want to consider two things.

Get some magazines designed for the pump action rifle. They do not have the hold-open at the last round feature. This makes replacing the empty magazine with a fresh one much easier.

You may also greatly increase the accuracy of the rifle by taking some of the wood off the rear end of the forearm where it contacts the receiver. This keeps the forearm from pressing on the receiver and bending up the barrel. This is most important if you ever take off the forearm and can't reinstall the screw back with the exact same force. I have a 6mm that went from a 4"-5" group to a 1.5" group by doing this.

I would avoid both. Get the BAR.

BROWNING BAR if you want a semi-auto

Every now and then I feel compelled to mention again - Benelli R1.

It's a better rifle than the Browning, just as accurate, almost as easy to clean as an AR. It's gotten a bad rap on the 'fire because a perpetual troll decided it was one of his favorite rifles, subsequntly the rifle's reputation suffered with his. I have two R1's, thousands of rounds fired, not a single malfunction. Look into them before you buy....

David

You might even consider an AR 10-type rifle. A black rifle in 308 or one of the other commonly used deer chamberings is a very workable hunting rifle. I used a S&W and a Sig last year for deer with great results.

Browning is a nice rifle no doubt BUT dont buy into the the Remington needing to use only Remington ammo,that a crock as I have personally used Not only Remington but Winchester and Federal Premiums and Hi shoks.Nary a bobble whether round nose or pointed.
The extractor is the same as for the Pump rifle as well.
I have had a bona fide Gunsmith tell me the same ole s..t that it is a weak system BUT funny how I have never had a problem with it or the the same thing on the pump rifles.
IF it does give problem then replace it.
As i said keep the chamber clean but squeaky clean?
Balderdash!
So Remington wont service the older rifles ?
That just means they have enough on their plate servicing the newer stuff without worrying bout the old/IF rifle is old and wore out and requires more time and trouble and money to function properly (which has been found out buy function firing BEFORE you buy it )Then dont buy it!Jeezus guys
On the other hand if it shoots good and doesn,t jam when function firing and you keep the chamber clean(Remember the dog leg cleaning brush)Have at it.
Or let somebody talk you out of it,whatever .

Interesting. Since we are not allowed to hunt with these rifles in PA I'm not real savvy on them. I didn't know to what degree they were pos's.

This brings back memories of very enjoyable discussions with my father. As a deep woods Minnesota deer hunter (and more successful at it than anyone I have met) he was a big proponent of the semi-auto. He believed that that as little time spent working the action while shooting at deer was the way to go. He believed the order of preference was semi-auto, pump, lever action, bolt action and single-shot at the very end.

So, I frequently teased him about his fifty year use of a single-shot. Because even though he used semi-autos, given they all jammed, to me, they were single-shots. And slow single-shots at that. I remember when Ruger first brought out their No. 3 single-shot I was enthralled and proposed to buy one either n .30/40 or .45/70. I proposed the idea that they would be lightweight, sweet handling pieces to slip through the brush with. My Dad was could not fathom my thinking of using a single-shot. I proposed I could work that Ruger action a lot quicker to get off a second shot than he could un-jam his Remington after the first shot to clear the cartridge stuck in the action.

To be fair to my Dad, usually his jammed rifle was not a big deal. He would shoot his deer, get it on the first shot and then clear the rifle jam. Not every time of course but darn frequent.

The advice given above - to buy neither the Winchester M100 or any variation of the Remington 740 series is advice I very much agree with.

My Dad started out with a Remington M740 in .280. This was in the later 1950's - I think the .280 cartridge just came out. I'm sure at the time he spent more than anyone in the family had spent on a rifle. He loved the cartridge and had great success with it but the rifle was a jammer. He suffered with it several years and then in about 1965 traded it for a Winchester M100 in .308 (another new rifle). And another jammer. He suffered with that for years and the next rifle to come along was a M7400 .30/06 carbine. He found that carbine particularly accurate and enjoyed the carbine length barrel in the woods. But it too, became a jammer and got worse over the years. The last rifle he bought was a vintage Savage 99 in .300. Finally! It never jammed on him but I recall he didn't like it. After a half century of semi-auto use (a.k.a. single-shot use) he just couldn't be comfortable with the idea that he had to work the lever (I guess with his semi-auto there was always the hope he could keep pulling the trigger).

It was with his M7400 we looked into investigating what was wrong and what could be done to fix it. I brought it to a professional gunsmith who went through it (cleaning gas port, chamber etc.) but that didn't change the rifle's stripes. Eventually we took it to another gunsmith who wasn't interested in taking our money as he knew he couldn't produce a result.

Going from distant memory, he said the rifles could not be repaired and showed us why. There is a rail inside the action (left side of the action) that if you slip your finger straight through the ejection port - to the other side - you can run your finger along this horizontal rail. Through the cycling of the action, this rail gets little dings and becomes rough. The rail cannot be replaced.

I recall taking a small piece of a very fine file and running it back and forth along this rail (just a bit) to smooth it out, and that helped some, temporarily.

In my own experience, the first deer rifle I used was a Remington 742. It was brand new. I used it a year or two (as a teenager) but early on, the vintage rifle bug bit me. Before my teens ended I was using a Remington M08 in .35 (circa 1906) and I still have it. That rifle is not a jammer. Most of my hunting from my teens forward was with lever rifles. A .32 spl. carbine got the nod for many years. That rifle was not a jammer nor were the other lever action rifles I used. I also used some bolt action rifles and never had one of them jam either.

People debate .30/06 vs. .270, barrel lengths and on and on but jammer vs. non-jammer, to my way of thinking, is a no-brainer. It is an extremely important variable. In conclusion, after 50 years experience with this topic, stay away from the M100 and the M740/742/7400.

Oh, and speaking from experience, no one mentioned Standard Arms but I have a Model G in .35 and it's a jammer!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane

I stand corrected Remington 740/742/7600 are all junk.
Please contact me with PM if you have one of these no good rifles that you wish out of your sight.
I will take it off your hands (for free of course as that is all they are worth)
I will also accept (again free because that is all they are worth)Cheap scopes ,high rise or flip over scope mounts ,Remington Ammo cheap slings,extra mags etc.
You will have to pay shipping charges and My FFL fees as well
(small money indeed for sure, to be able to get these pieces of crap out of mind and your gun collection.
They dont work so do yourselves a favor and get rid of them while you can !!

Bcraig -

Sorry, but none to get rid of here! That is a kind offer however.

As I think back on my father's experience I outlined above, it is possible that he preferred the Remington autoloaders. Having a poorly functioning rifle might have assuaged the guilt he felt over having an unfair sporting advantage over the deer.

LOL !

Put me in line for all those POS 100's out there.

I spent a good portion of my youth around three different M 100's and they all worked well.

I've owned a 742 in 30-06 and 100 in 284. I never had problems with either jamming. I suspect that reasons for jamming is dirt. I own a M1 and a AR-15 and was issued a M14 in USMC, later was issued a M16. Of all these, none have jammed; but I kept them clean. I've had 1100, 11-87, and a Remington 11. The only one of these that jammed was the 11. I kept them all clean, I have no idea why I couldn't get the 11 to be reliable??? Of all these rifles and shotguns, I only have the M1 and the AR-15. I like to shoot M1 matches or I probably would not have that. The AR has a bull barrel and it is used for Prairie dogs. Oh yeh, I also owned an SKS (which was pretty worthless for anything sporting).
The main problem with all those rifles is the throwing of brass; I reload and don't like looking for brass! BUT I intensely hated the M16 as it was the second most inaccurate rifle I've ever shot in 50+ years of shooting! I couldn't catch 3 rounds in a pie plate at 50 yards with that POS. When shooting tracers, I could see the bullets tumbling.
I believe that Remington made serious improvements when they made the 7400. I base this upon how much better the 7600 I have owned (gave it to my son) was than the 760's I've shot and owned.

Which is better the 7400 or the 100? I'd pick the 7400. I'd take a 7400 to a rifle match before the 100 any day. The 7400 parts are available and at a much better price.

The Browning is a good rifle too. IMO

I've only had a chance to experience one 742 but it must have been one of the good one. I was stationed in Taiwan in the 1960's and worked with the Chinese army.

I spent a lot of my off time at the army range and had an unlimited amount of 308 military ball ammo available. We didn't have any 308 rifles that I could use so I bought a new 742 BDL Deluxe in 308 and fitted it with a receiver sight and a sling and went shooting. It shot well and never jammed and it had many rounds put through it.

When I got back to the states I mounted a Herter 2.5x scope with post reticle and gave it to my father. He hunted with it until the 1990's as he got older he thought the gun was getting to heavy to pack around so I bought him a Win 70 Featherweight and sold the 742 to the neighboring farmers son, I suspect it is still killing deer back home today.

I don't know anyone else that has had one most of the folks I know have 760's, myself included.

Sir, you do not have to believe my personal experience, that is up to you, but I can assure you that it did happen. And not once, but repeatedly-repeatedly-repeatedly, year after year. When I see alot of this, no matter the make, I am sure that it is partly the fault of the person that did not take proper care of the gun, but it doesn't change the fact that it is what it is.

Someone mentioned the factory ammo comment related to my first post. that is not what I was trying to communicate - let me try again. Remington used the bullet shapes in use at the time, and there are some longer shapes and other types out now in different materials that can make the gun function differently. Also, the pressure curves used in the overall design of the gun would have been pretty close to factory original pressure, within a range of course. They would have taken limited account into handloaders, and being that we are talking about a Remington gun, what ammo do you think they used for testing? Theirs, Winchester, or say, Norma?

I dont really get what you are saying here.
Roundnose and spitzer have been around forever and What I have seen is it doesn,t matter, the rifles functioned with all.
I haven,t had nor have I seen any problems,whether it was Remington,Winchester,Federal etc.
I have not used reloads in these rifles so dont know about that or Norma ammo,perhaps any problem with reloads might be due to how a person sizes their brass and whether or not they use small base dies.
I dont think that has any bearing on whether the rifles are decent rifles though.
EVEN if a particular rifle doesn,t like a particular brand of ammo that is not an big deal. Just use what it likes!

I'd rather have an AR10 than either of them if I wanted to hunt with a semi auto. Or an H&K variant.

Hey bcraig, I see what you are saaying, maybe I am a bit off base. i was thinking that some of the long for caliber bullets and the like could make it more of a challenge for the gun to fucntion is all. So yeah, I may have over-simplified it. My wife is always saying something about my communication, but I never seem to quite hear it

My thing is this - the gun itself was often a good gun, but I think the lace of studious maintenance by the one-box-a-year hunters may have been a contributing factor, and no, joke, in three years we never had less than 1 dozen of the 742's waiting on parts at any one time. Bear in mind that SC has a deer season that starts about October thru Jan 1, and alot of guys then & now drove an hour south to start hunting with rifles in late August/early September. At the time (late 70's) this particular shop was located almost perfectly between K-Mart and Roses stores (no Wal-marts back then, at least here), and the Sky City chain on the other end of town sold them too, so we had 'maximum exposure' to them. It was enough no joke that a Remmy sales rep drove up from Columbia two seasons to take out parts orders, so somebody besides us noticed.

I have an AR10-type (DPMS LR-308 actually) and like it. Even thought the HK 770 has that fluted chamber and an original scope mount will set you back, I would still love to have one

Great question!
Kinda like asking if you prefer a Ford Pinto or Chevy Vega!!

You forgot the AMC Pacer

Craig I have a Remington Model Four .270 which is reportedly an enhanced version of the Remington Model 7400 autoloading rifle.Kills deer dead here in WV. Guess I'll have to wait for it to break.(wink)

Denny

..... or a 7600.

years ago one of the local gun shop owners here claimed that the Jamming in the 740/742/4/7400 was caused by shooters not providing enough resistant to the recoil to allow the system to work. I think there may be a bit of truth to this . I bought beautiful model 4 from a friend he sold it to me with my full understanding that it constantly jammed.He called it the Remington jam-master. He probably weighed 165 lbs .I was a bit stouter, probably 60 lbs. stouter, and like to lean into the rifle. Anyhow I owned it about 5 yrs. In all the shooting I did it never jammed one time. I reloaded and used small base dies (30-06) I tried many loads , different bullet weights and powders . Not 1 jam . I got bored with it sold it to another guy he's had it probably 10 yrs. I ask him if it ever jammed on him , he said never.

I suppose if Remington had placed a, "minimum body weight requirement" for the purchasing of these rifles, maybe there would have been a lot less frustration and a lot more dead deer? And for anyone who has one currently and is suffering with jamming... don't be afraid to pack on some pounds.

many go through a phase where they think they can love a semi automatic hunting rifle. Here is the only type of semi auto deer gun that I have found to be dead nutz reliable and 1 MOA accurate. To top it off it probably weights the same as a .308 BAR shown with 20 rounds of ammunition in it which weights 1 pound. Sooner or latter you will wind up with one if you are interested in it working and being accurate.

Interesting. I wouldn't have guessed that had anything to do with it but then I have seen people jam pistols by limp wristing them so I guess it makes sense.