Gunsmithing A sticky bolt pull on my Rem 700. Maybe the bolt shroud?

[68bthp]

I just finished buying a really nice used short action Remington 700 in 221 Fireball. The first thing I did was clean up the little bit of powder residue from out of the action with Hoppes, and then lube everything. The bolt shroud that came with this barreled action is a PTG replacement for what had originally been manufactured with a J lock. I've noticed that when you lift the bolt straight up (either with or without a case in the barrel), and you try to proceed with the natural motion of pulling the bolt straight back, it hesitates a little right there before it moves backward. It doesn't take much muscle to get it to pull back, but it is sticky and does not make for a smooth bolt action. I've never owned a Remington 700 with a sticky bolt like this, and figure the replacement shroud might be causing the problem. I experimented and cammed the bolt into the chamber without the shroud on the bolt, and the bolt pulled out smoothly. So, I know it's not the bolt lugs causing the problem.

Has anybody experienced this with a replacement shroud? Any minor adjustment I can make to eliminate this without getting my smith involved?

 

[Frank]

If it's the shroud, then I would think a shiney spot would be found where it was binding.

 

[DAVETOOLEY]

It's probably an alignment issue with the action anti bind rail and the slot in the bolt lug. You may need to flair the rear of the slot in the bolt lug.

 

[LRI]

Check what I call the "heal" of the bolt handle. The portion that stops further rotation by laying up against the raceway opposite of the ejection port. Often with ceracoat this little "foot" can drag just a smidge when rolling in/out of battery.

If it is this you'll see it tracking in the ceracoat. The only way to fix (short of removing the handle and changing position) is to build yourself a file with a safety edge. Just get a nice sharp mill file and grind off the cutting surfaces on one edge till they are smooth. This way you only cut with one surface. You'll be laying right up against the bolt body so its important to do this.

Color your surface with a sharpie and work carefully to keep the surface parallel. Don't dome the flat by rolling the file over it. Two hands generally work better than one here.

IF this is the case of course. Could just be your shroud as you mentioned.

Good luck.

C.

 

[68bthp]

Thanks for the input guys, but I really know nothing about the mechanical workings of a Remington 700 other then how to disassemble the bolt to clean the insides, or change out the trigger, and so i had trouble understanding what you were describing. So the only thing I knew to do was to swap out the trigger with an identical old style spare trigger that I had stored away, and see if that made a difference. Problem solved......no more sticking!!