Rem 700 actions too tight

[rainshadow1]

I have a couple rem 700 youth 243's. Not a ton of rounds thru them but quite a few. Both guns have taken 3 deer each for my two sons. Happy with everything about them except for how tight the bolts operate. They're kids' guns and sometimes I can barely work the bolts myself. For a kid that's effectvely a jam!

Any ideas? How do you loosen and smooth a remmy 700 bolt?

[7mmfan]

Are you reloading for them or are these factory loads?

[b23]

I have a couple rem 700 youth 243's. Not a ton of rounds thru them but quite a few. Both guns have taken 3 deer each for my two sons. Happy with everything about them except for how tight the bolts operate. They're kids' guns and sometimes I can barely work the bolts myself. For a kid that's effectvely a jam!

Any ideas? How do you loosen and smooth a remmy 700 bolt?

Do you mean just cycling the bolt is very difficult or on a loaded round closing the bolt is hard to do, or is it both?

Has it always been like that or is this something new that it just started doing??

Not knowing what exactly you mean, some of the first things I'd do is make sure the action isn't in some kind of a bind.  I'd check to make sure the magazine box is loose and not tight.  If the mag box is tight and won't wiggle around freely a little it could be putting the action in a bit of a bind and cause the problems you're describing. 

How tight are the action screws?

If it were mine, I'd take the barreled action out of the stock then reassemble it but make sure the mag box is in the proper location because it's easy to get off just a little and it'll bind up. 

Also, the action screws don't need to be gorilla tight, only about 35 in-lbs is all you really need and if you aren't using a in-lb torque wrench, it's VERY easy to get wayyyyyy over that and not even realize it.

If it's only a problem closing the bolt on loaded ammo, are these reloads or factory ammo?  Could be a headspace issue if what you mean is it's hard to close the bolt with a round in the chamber.  If you are reloading, you may need to bump the shoulder back a bit more. 

[jrebel]

Tagging.....

More info is needed....but I am thinking along the same lines as the first two responsed. 

[rainshadow1]

They are reloads, and I'm wondering the headspace thing too. I set the headspace to the bullet based on my Encore 243, kissing the lands, then also loaded the kids' rounds with it too. Hadn't thought about that.

Seems harder than just pushing the bullet a little, and I've never stuck a bullet with it. But it's sure possible.

That'd be an easy fix, hope that's it.

Cycling empty is snug, but not hard, it's chambering a loaded round that's hard. I haven't tried an unloaded round, to see if it's the extractor binding on the base, but I'll try that.

[7mmfan]

So I can say that my dad and I have use rival 7 mags, but his reloads will not fit in my gun, period. If you are inter changing brass, that could be part of the problem.

[winshooter88]

It could also be that the chamber is a little tighter on these rifles than on your Encore, my lever action model 88 308 was tight and a friend who is a national bench rest champion told me to use a small base sizing die when I reload. It worked and now the gun shoots 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards consistently.

[Yondering]

They are reloads, and I'm wondering the headspace thing too. I set the headspace to the bullet based on my Encore 243, kissing the lands, then also loaded the kids' rounds with it too. Hadn't thought about that.

Seems harder than just pushing the bullet a little, and I've never stuck a bullet with it. But it's sure possible.

That'd be an easy fix, hope that's it.

Cycling empty is snug, but not hard, it's chambering a loaded round that's hard. I haven't tried an unloaded round, to see if it's the extractor binding on the base, but I'll try that.

Headspace has nothing to do with the bullet; it sounds like you're confusing two different things and the actual headspace may be a little long for the 700. Headspace is measured between the base of case head and the datum point on the shoulder; use something like the Hornady headspace comparator to measure that, or just screw in the sizing die in small increments until the bolt closes easily on an empty case.

From what you describe, it definitely sounds like a problem with your ammo, not the rifles.

[hunter399]

You can always buy a box of factory ammo ,see if the bolts close better , Then try to measure factory ammo for length of cartridge and all that,But I don't reload , so I'm no expert.

[JimmyHoffa]

fully resizing the reloads?

[b23]

They are reloads, and I'm wondering the headspace thing too. I set the headspace to the bullet based on my Encore 243, kissing the lands, then also loaded the kids' rounds with it too. Hadn't thought about that.

Seems harder than just pushing the bullet a little, and I've never stuck a bullet with it. But it's sure possible.

That'd be an easy fix, hope that's it.

Cycling empty is snug, but not hard, it's chambering a loaded round that's hard. I haven't tried an unloaded round, to see if it's the extractor binding on the base, but I'll try that.

Headspace has nothing to do with the bullet; it sounds like you're confusing two different things and the actual headspace may be a little long for the 700. Headspace is measured between the base of case head and the datum point on the shoulder; use something like the Hornady headspace comparator to measure that, or just screw in the sizing die in small increments until the bolt closes easily on an empty case.

From what you describe, it definitely sounds like a problem with your ammo, not the rifles.

 

Yondering has it pretty well explained and I agree that headspace is likely your problem and you need to screw your sizing die down a little more so it bumps the shoulder back on your brass.  Unless you have multiple problems going on, this should fix the tight on close issue.

[Yondering]

fully resizing the reloads?

Actually that's a great question that I took for granted in my earlier response. OP - if you're neck sizing instead of full length sizing by any chance, that's your problem. Neck sized brass really needs to be dedicated to the gun it was fired in (if we're talking about factory rifles anyway).

[Bill W]

FL your brass and also check the serial number on the bolts and make sure they are for that rifle.

[rainshadow1]

Full sizing, but I found some inconsistencies in the rounds that I've loaded for them. Think it's different batches of brass that weren't consistent... possibly didn't get trimmed. Microns. Not really visible by eye, but it looks like we've got it found anyway! Thanks guys!

[Yondering]

Are you talking about inconsistencies in neck length, or shoulder/headspace length? Forget neck length unless it's over max, it just doesn't matter. Headspace is important, as are the body diameter dimensions at the shoulder and near the case head.

[b23]

Also, I think it's a good idea to keep track of how many times your brass has been reloaded/fired.  Not only would I keep the brass separate for the individual gun but I'd keep the brass separated and into groups based on how many times each piece has been reloaded/fired.  Say you have 25 pieces of new brass for each gun, don't reload a piece a second time until you've cycled all the way through them one time.

I know guys that'll use the same 10 or so pieces of brass to work up a load and they'll have no clue how many times those ten pieces were shot, then once they get the load they want they load up however many and mix those ten right in with the rest that are virgin brass or maybe only been shot once and can't figure out why their gun is all of a sudden shooting all over the place or some are tight and some aren't.

[Mongo Hunter]

I had a similar problem with my 700 in 7mm. My grandfather loaded some rounds and tested them in his Ruger 7mm, cycled perfect. Tried using them in my gun and I couldn't close the bolt at all. if I remember correctly we had to go back, pull the bullets, resize and seat the bullets more. it wasn't a lot but it was enough to jam the gun up. My newer 700 just had a tighter chamber than his old Ruger. now I have bullets loaded to my specific chamber, still tight when closing the bolt but I can stack the rounds on top of each other  .

Always good to double check your reloads in the gun you plan on using them in. Factory loads are normally a little generous so they will work in 99.9% of factory guns. just double check your measurements next time, no biggie.

[hunter399]

 
That's what I was thinking to seat the bullet enough , to match factory ammo.as a starting point anyway.