bolt closing hard on Remington 700 -- please help!!
Terry + Ann Stedman
bought in '91. The gun has not been shot very much and has spent most of
its life in the cabinet. At any rate, I am currently having great
difficulty closing the bolt on the gun when loading rounds. The bolt opens
and closes fine when unloaded. It closes very hard when chambering a round
and also when ejecting unfired rounds. I have noticed lots of little pieces
of brass in and around the chamber. There are also little half-round marks
being made on the PRIMERS of unfired rounds. The strange thing is that the
difficulty with closing and opening the bolt happens even when feeding in an
empty case. Weird. I normally use reloads, but I have tried loading
factory 7mm magnum ammuniton from Remington with the same difficutly. If
someone could give me any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
Terry
. . . . . . . . . .
Info on moderated group rec.guns is at http://doubletap.cs.umd.edu/rec.guns
NKKilgore
#Hello. I have a 7mm magnum Rem. 700 ADL with a laminated stock that I
#bought in '91. The gun has not been shot very much and has spent most of
#its life in the cabinet. At any rate, I am currently having great
#difficulty closing the bolt on the gun when loading rounds. The bolt opens
#and closes fine when unloaded. It closes very hard when chambering a round
#and also when ejecting unfired rounds. I have noticed lots of little pieces
#of brass in and around the chamber. There are also little half-round marks
#being made on the PRIMERS of unfired rounds. The strange thing is that the
#difficulty with closing and opening the bolt happens even when feeding in an
#empty case. Weird. I normally use reloads, but I have tried loading
#factory 7mm magnum ammuniton from Remington with the same difficutly. If
#someone could give me any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
#
#Terry
Terry!!!!
It sounds as if something is obstructing the chamber of this rifle. Have you
checked the chamber with a small light to see if a piece of another cartridge
is stuck in it?
Is there possibly a bullet stuck in the barrel, that you haven't noticed?
Insert a cleaning rod from the muzzle to determine if there is an obstruction,
first. Then...
Remove the bolt from the rifle, and using a cleaning rod with a jag and tight,
DRY patches, insert it from the breech end until the patch is surely into the
rifling. Quickly draw the cleaning rod and patch back towards the receiver.
IF there was something in the chamber, it should have come out. Try chambering
another round, again. WITHOUT the primer installed. (Use a dummy round.)
If this problem STILL occurs, DO NOT chamber anymore live ammo. Your comment
about the primer having an indentation, could possibly lead to detonation of a
loaded round!!! This would NOT be good, if the rifle isn't closed.
"KABOOM!!!!!"
If after you check these items, and the problem is corrected, clean and lube
the rifle according to the manufacturer.
(One Hint:) Military chamber brushes are excellent for cleaning out the gunk
and unburned powder from the chambers of all type of rifles.
Otherwise, take the rifle to a reputable, reliable gunsmith, and have him check
it over.
I hope this has helped,
Keith
Madburro
# I have noticed lots of little pieces
#of brass in and around the chamber. There are also little half-round marks
#being made on the PRIMERS of unfired rounds.
You have SERIOUS headspace problems. Marks on the primers indicate that a
round might someday go off while you're trying to close the bolt. Considerable
damage to the gun and you is probable if that happens.
Are you sure of the caliber? If I were you, I'd be making tracks to a
competent gunsmith in a hurry.
cu...@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
You might examine the chamber for rust or hardened oil or grease. If
there is something in there that is preventing the cases from chambering
fully, it would have that effect. The marks on the primers are probably
from a small burr on the firing pin opening.
Bob Curry
In article <6u845l$g...@xring.cs.umd.edu>, "Terry + Ann Stedman" <ste...@dreamscape.com> writes:
> ...
Win95sux
or factory rounds that have been stored in my safe a long time. Try using
new rounds that have been newly purchased.
Terry + Ann Stedman wrote in message <6u845l$g...@xring.cs.umd.edu>...
> ...
having great
> ...
pieces
> ...
an
nb
separation and a circular piece of brass from the shoulder forward is plugging
up the chamber just aft of the throat. OR a piece of brass is forward of the
locking lugs in the receiver. Check these places yourself and then take the gun
to a 'smith if you don't find anything. Let me know what happens.
-Norm
Terry + Ann Stedman
many many emails with suggestions about my problem.
Since I can't reply to all of them, I will try to address some of the
questions here... Yes, the gun is in fact a 7mm Remington Magnum and not
some other caliber. The gun has been thoroughly cleaned and the chamber
area has been scrubbed to death with a large brass bristle brush. I have
examined the chamber and barrel with a bore light. It is perfectly clean
and unobstructed. There is no brass or other foreign material that could be
causing the difficulty. The bolt is actually shaving pieces of brass off
the rims of shells when it is closed. There is nothing visibly wrong with
the bolt face, extractor, etc. I called Remington yesterday and they told
me that it is a headspacing problem. I'm driving it to Ilion tomorrow.
Thanks everyone for your ideas and help. I especially appreciate the
suggestion to use a .410 brass bristle brush to clean out the chamber. I
used a 12 ga brush and although it scrunched it a little, it cleaned out the
chamber nicely. Thanks again. I will let you all know how I make out.
Terry
Terry + Ann Stedman wrote in message <6u845l$g...@xring.cs.umd.edu>...
# Hello. I have a 7mm magnum Rem. 700 ADL with a laminated stock that I
#bought in '91. The gun has not been shot very much and has spent most of
....
Jonathan M. Spencer
writes
#
## I have noticed lots of little pieces
##of brass in and around the chamber. There are also little half-round marks
##being made on the PRIMERS of unfired rounds.
#
#You have SERIOUS headspace problems. Marks on the primers indicate that a
#round might someday go off while you're trying to close the bolt. Considerable
#damage to the gun and you is probable if that happens.
Surely the primers in the _unfired_ cartridges must be sitting proud of
the primer pocket for them to become marked? This suggests defective
ammunition as the primers should be flush or beneath the ctge case head.
--Jonathan Spencer
==================================================================
Keith Borer Consultants - Forensic Scientists
Mountjoy Research Centre, Durham, DH1 3UR, England
tel: + 44 191 386 6107
fax: + 44 191 383 0686
==================================================================
NJgunman
#Subject: Re: bolt closing hard on Remington 700 -- please help!!
If you are using reloads, it commonly can be caused by excess shell length that
a trim to spec. can easily cure.
Good Luck
Rick
Rick McCarthy - New Jersey
NRA Life Member since 1968
Middletown Rifle & Pistol Club - Member
Association of NJ Rifle & Pistol Clubs - Member
gunn...@pacbell.net
surplus? Military chambers are generally made slightly larger than commercial
guns, so if you're using military ammo, this is the likely cause of your problem.
Try a nice commercial load.
NJgunman wrote:
> ...