Gunsmithing Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

[*Dranmelex*]

I've got a remington 700 SPS tactical that I put into a B&C medalist stock and replaced the xmark pro with a rifle basix trigger (approx 2lb pull). I did these swaps at the same time and ever since, I've noticed that periodically when I cycle the bolt for a second or third shot (fed from factory hinged floorplate) the firing pin will drop prior to the bolt closing completely. Luckily, it has never caused a round to go off, but i definitely want to pinpoint and fix the problem.

I've also noticed that sometimes the bolt won't catch the next round. I don't know if these problems are related or if the bolt not catching the round is related to the bottom metal in that aftermarket stock and the firing pin dropping a result of the trigger mechanism not being reset properly. Sorry for being so long winded, any suggestions/guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[roggom]

Re: Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

The only smart advice at this point is to take your rifle to a competent gunsmith. As for the feeding, you probably have the follower spring bent so the rear of the follower is sitting low. A little bend, and wipe a light oil on the inside of the magazine box.

 

[*Dranmelex*]

Re: Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

Thanks for the info! Unfortunately, I have yet to find a competent gunsmith in the vicinity of where I live. I guess I need to spread my search out a bit.

 

[Beef82]

Re: Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

Make sure none of the trigger assembly is contacting the stock, might keep it from reseting, seems I may have read something about that somewhere. Good luck.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

The sear engagement needs to be checked. Adjusting a trigger is not hard, but when it goes bad it can have deadly consequences.

 

[hero's machine]

Re: Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

Yup.....start with more sear engagement and clean trigger that has plenty of clearance to the stock.

 

[Mike Casselton]

Re: Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

Look for contact between the trigger and the stock before you readjust anything.
It may also be touching the trigger guard. It also sounds like the mag box is not seated properly in the action recess. Take the action out of the stock and try reinstalling it again. Make sure the mag box is seated into the action before you place it in the stock. I do this by holding the barreled action upside down and then placing the stock over the action. Lightly tighten the screws and then seat the recoil lug and retorque everything.

Give the trigger another few hundred tries and dry-fire between each bolt cycling to ensure the rifle is going through a complete cycle. If you still have a problem, then look for contact.
If all is well, then try cycling a magazine full of dummy rounds.

Don't play with your trigger until you eliminate the simple stuff. A trigger adjustment is easy enough if you are familar with what you are doing. If not, don't mess with the sear adjustment.

 

[*Dranmelex*]

Re: Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

Thanks for all the info guys. As far as dry-firing, do you guys use snap caps? I've always heard it isn't good to dry-fire bolt action rifles, whether this is a fact or myth I'm not sure.

 

[Mike Casselton]

Re: Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

Dry firing will not hurt your gun unless it is a rimfire. The rimfire firing pin will peen the back of the barrel.

I constantly dry fire mine, never had a problem.

 

[*Dranmelex*]

Re: Firing Pin dropping on Remington 700 SPS Tactical

UPDATE - I finally got out in the garage and had an opportunity to try to troubleshoot the problem(s). I started by removing the stock from the action and removed the trigger just to make sure the assembly was clean and free of debris. Trigger looked good, so I put that back on the action. Cleaned the internal magazine well and got the stock mounted back on the action and made sure the trigger wasn't touching in any location and put bottom metal in place again verifying there was no contact with trigger group. I noticed that there was not nearly as much pressure in the rear of the "follower" (not sure if that's the right term) as there was on the front, so I bent the spring (flat metal) on the hinged floorplate until I got a somewhat consistent tension front to back (I still should probably google to see what they are "supposed" to look like).

So as far as the firing pin dropping, I cycled the action a good 50-75 times and dry-fired and began noticing patterns with an empty chamber. Slow controlled bolt manipulation caused no problems, firing pin never dropped (when I wasn't pulling trigger). Faster, slightly more forceful manipulation of the bolt cause the firing pin to drop when I close the bolt handle. I also noticed that when keeping pressure downwards on the bolt, it hangs slightly. I assume that this is due to the amount of sear engagement?

Ideally, I would like to take it to a gunsmith to give it a once over. Does anyone know of any reputable gunsmiths in the Hampton Roads area (southeast) Virginia??