Gunsmithing Rem 700 sticky bolt.

[Mmussati]

Recently purchased a used rem 700 SA in 223.
The bolt is thought to close when chambering round. (Factory or reload)
When i say tough, it's to the point the I have to smack it with the palm of my hand.

With that being said, if I chamber a round then pull the bolt back a bit it's much easier after the case is behind the extractor.

It smoothens up a bit if you push forward on the bolt to rotate the bolt lugs into the reciever lugs.
The bolt lugs were a little rough, but I cleaned them up a bit.
I have 100% disassembled the rifle, lapped the lugs, and polished up any areas with wear thinking that it was a bolt lug issue.
Its 10 times better now, but still a PITA to chamber a round.
I'm led to believe that maybe the extractor, or plunger is causing me all this grief.

Any ideas?

 

[whatsupdoc]

I have a 700 in 223 that has tight headspace, factory rounds are tight closing the bolt. No problems with reloads due to me pushing the shoulder back.

 

[Mmussati]

I have a 700 in 223 that has tight headspace, factory rounds are tight closing the bolt. No problems with reloads due to me pushing the shoulder back.

Headspace check good, I have bumped shoulders back to 5 thousandths, maybe I should go a bit more and give it another go.

 

[Ksracer]

Is the extractor leaving a gouge on the rim where it gets pushed over it? I've seen a few that didn't have enough room behind the extractor for it to move enough.

 

[Mmussati]

Is the extractor leaving a gouge on the rim where it gets pushed over it? I've seen a few that didn't have enough room behind the extractor for it to move enough.

I literally just was looking at that. Yes, its leaving a pretty good gouge.
What's the remedy?

 

[Ksracer]

I literally just was looking at that. Yes, its leaving a pretty good gouge.
What's the remedy?

The proper way would be to mill some more clearance into the bolt.
A quick, dirty, and effective alternative is to just sand a little off the nose of the claw with a Dremel so it doesn't need to push in as far.

 

[deadly0311]

Years ago i had a 223 Rem that had this exact issue. My remedy was to pull the extractor and install a sako extractor. Problem went away

 

[JMGlasgow]

I've seen this a few times now. Check to see if there is excessive movement or a loose fit by wiggling the extractor. If there is, what you need to do is remove the extractor carefully, bend the 2 tabs out a little bit, and reinstall without bending the tabs. I think someone is getting a little heavy handed at the factory when installing the extractor.

It should move in the direction that allows it to clip over the case (sideways) but not up and down.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this, order a new extractor from Brownells or Midway, or your preferred store that has them.

 

[Mmussati]

I've seen this a few times now. Check to see if there is excessive movement or a loose fit by wiggling the extractor. If there is, what you need to do is remove the extractor carefully, bend the 2 tabs out a little bit, and reinstall without bending the tabs. I think someone is getting a little heavy handed at the factory when installing the extractor.

It should move in the direction that allows it to clip over the case (sideways) but not up and down.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this, order a new extractor from Brownells or Midway, or your preferred store that has them.

I removed the extractor this morning and cleaned all the junk our tlfrom behind it.
I bent it out a little and it broke .

I chambered a round with out the extractor and it was perfect.

Have a new one on the way.

 

[Mike Islander]

Same thing happened to me. Guy sold his model 700 cheap on GunBroker, and neglected to divulge that the bolt stuck. Super simple fix for very little money. Just replace the little spring extractor and she runs like a top. I made sure to let the jerk seller know it cost me $10.

 

[Unknown]

I had a Defiance machine action with a Rifle Basix trigger mounted onto it, and the bolt was always rough/sticky. When the trigger got changed to a Timney all the stickiness and roughness disappeared. I don't know if somehow the rifle basix trigger had a defect, got bent, or wasn't mounted properly, so I don't want to blame rifle basix, my point is that it could be the trigger.