Jammed Rifle

[Vandy Vol]

Got a question for the gun nuts out there.

I inherited my dad's Remington Woodsmaster Model 742 (and have yet to shoot my eye out).  Externally, the rifle appears to have been taken care of.  Internally, however, I suspect that there's some rust and/or gun powder build up, as the bolt action won't pull back to unload the magazine, nor will the magazine budge.  To make matters worse, the screw on the forearm will not budge, so I can't disassemble the gun to try to remove the bullets and see what's going on with the inside.

This model is known to be bad about jamming if it's not cleaned after each use.  That may sound like solid advice for any gun, but this model is really bad about it from what I've read.  It literally has to be spotless, or else it will jam or develop rust in the chamber or gas system.  It looks like it got jammed, and my dad said, "Fuck it," threw it in a closet, and let it sit there for God knows how many years.  Although I can see why the chamber and action might be all fucked up with rust, I'm confused as to why the forearm screw is stuck.

Any suggestions on what to do?  Soak the gun in some sort of solvent, or spray solvent in the chamber and around the magazine to hopefully loosen up the rust?  The most obvious answer is to take it to a gunsmith, but I'd rather deal with it myself if I can.

[Saniflush]

Not sure about the current jam but for starters get yourself a can of break free and soak it down good. That should break it loose. I'll be happy to look at it in a couple of weeks when I'm over there.

[Vandy Vol]

Not sure about the current jam but for starters get yourself a can of break free and soak it down good. That should break it loose. I'll be happy to look at it in a couple of weeks when I'm over there.

Thanks...I'll give it a whirl.  Should I be cautious about where it's sprayed, or is it safe for any part of the gun?  Obviously the break free will be cleaned off once I can get it apart, but just wanted to make sure that it's not going to cause any permanent issues if sprayed in a certain area, sprayed in excess, left on for too long, etc.

[Saniflush]

Nah, you can't use too much of it. It is the commercial version of what we used in the corps. When I put my guns up I leave a heavy coat of it on all metal parts. It won't hurt the non metal parts but you will want to wipe it off of them just so they aren't greasy.

[Vandy Vol]

Nah, you can't use too much of it. It is the commercial version of what we used in the corps. When I put my guns up I leave a heavy coat of it on all metal parts. It won't hurt the non metal parts but you will want to wipe it off of them just so they aren't greasy.

Sweet...the "you can't fuck this up" option is always the best.  I'll give it a try within the next couple of days and give an update.  I'll buy you a beer or three when you get to town.

[DnATL]

I'll buy you a beer or three when you get to town.  Maybe slip a roofie or two in them, get out the can of break free, and then I'll go to town.

fixt

[Vandy Vol]

fixt

I'm definitely going to need two roofies for his big ass.

[CCTAU]

Uh. If it jammed on him while loaded, be very careful. I have one of these and it has NEVER jammed. Like any auto, it has to stay clean and lubricated.

Like has been said, soak it down. WD 40 can help brake it loose also. After you get it loose, you can clean the extra oil off of it and just apply a thin coat of gun oil.

[Vandy Vol]

Uh. If it jammed on him while loaded, be very careful. I have one of these and it has NEVER jammed. Like any auto, it has to stay clean and lubricated.

Like has been said, soak it down. WD 40 can help brake it loose also. After you get it loose, you can clean the extra oil off of it and just apply a thin coat of gun oil.

I'm not actually sure if it jammed on him, or if he just put it away loaded and the gun powder has allowed to set and/or rust has developed.  It might just be that he left it loaded, and it wasn't jammed, but has rusted...the other rifle he had (Winchester Model 94, 30-30) was loaded as well, but it was operational enough to get the bullets out.  Haven't had a chance to break that one down yet, as it's apparently a bitch to get disassembled.

Tried WD-40 on the jammed/rusted Remingtom and haven't had any luck yet.  I'm hoping the Breakfree is better at breaking up the rust than WD-40.  Based on my innerwebs searches, it looks like it is, but we'll see.  It may not even be rust, but I have a hard time believing it's not...nothing will budge on the fucker, so I don't see what else it could be.  A jammed bullet shouldn't cause the magazine to not come out, and it definitely shouldn't cause the forearm screw to not come out.

[Godfather]

I guess if we don't hear from you in like two days we can assume you have shot yourself?

[WiregrassTiger]

I jammed my rifle over and over this weekend and found it quite enjoyable. I jammed it to the east and I jammed it to the west.

[Saniflush]

I jammed my rifle over and over this weekend and found it quite enjoyable. I jammed it to the east and I jammed it to the west.

Jammed it to the woman that you love the best?

[WiregrassTiger]

Jammed it to the woman that you love the best?

How did you know? Have you been jamming her too?

[Saniflush]

How did you know? Have you been jamming her too?

Every waking moment.

[WiregrassTiger]

Every waking moment.

Oh, yeah, well, you don't jam as deep as I jam, so. Whatever.

[Vandy Vol]

I guess if we don't hear from you in like two days we can assume you have shot yourself?

Either that or I scheduled another two day blow job marathon.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

I have a 7400 (model that replaced the 742).  After you get it fixed one tip that I will give you is that when you load the mag make sure the rounds are pushed as far rearward as possible.  That will help keep it from jamming.

[GH2001]

Look at the thread title and author. I am pretty certain this thread is not even about a gun.

[Vandy Vol]

I have a 7400 (model that replaced the 742).  After you get it fixed one tip that I will give you is that when you load the mag make sure the rounds are pushed as far rearward as possible.  That will help keep it from jamming.

Thanks for the tip!  I was thinking about having it converted to a pump action, as the manual loading action would be less likely to jam.  However, I don't hunt or otherwise do long range shooting (at least not yet), so converting the gun for reliability's sake may not be worthwhile at this point.  Plus the gas-operated reloading is more efficient if it works correctly.  Not to mention that I don't even know if it's jammed, I just assumed that was the reason it was put away loaded and left to sit for years.

I'll probably be a little more strict about cleaning it than my dad was, especially if I don't fire it often.  My dad hunted deer fairly frequently years ago, so he may have just been lazy about cleaning it after every use, whereas I won't be using it as much and cleaning it after every use wouldn't be such a pain for me.  So if frequent cleaning and loading of the magazine like you suggested solves the (potential) jamming issue, then I probably won't convert it to a pump action.

[Vandy Vol]

Look at the thread title and author. I am pretty certain this thread is not even about a gun.

Sure it is...