Bolt to tight?

[ukenout]

I just got my Remington 700, 7mm rem mag, back from the gunsmith where is was duracoated and had a leupold one piece scope base installed. I put my scope on at the house but when I started to see how the rifle handled the bolt is very tight when you try to close the boat. I can get the bolt halfway cyleced without any tightness but the last half of the cycle to completely close the bolt is very tight. Infact I have to almost ude both hands to open it. I cannot see if it is binding anywhere. Any suggestions?????

I read an early post from the forums concerning "bad remingtons". I would like to add that this rifle operated smoothly before I sent it to the gunsmith for the painting and mounting of my scope. The security lock on the rear of the bolt is in the disengaged setting so the bolt should be operating good.

[Jay, Idaho]

First thing I'd check is to see if the front action screw is touching the right lug as it nears battery. Also, check scope base screws for length.
Then, I'd remove the firing pin and see how it feels, where the resistance is coming from.
As a last resort, I'd go back to the last person that worked on it.

[ukenout]

Jay,
Thanks for the response, I took the scope off and found that one of the scope base mount screws was binding the lug. I took it out, shortened it with a small file, and screwed it back in. Everything is back to being smooth!