Messed up bolt face on 338rum rem 700

[highcountry2013]

Went out shooting my 338rum Remington 700 this weekend and in the middle of shooting took the bolt out to clean the rifle. When looking at the bolt face I found a dent/nick out of it. The gun shot fine with no problem other than the loads I had were not accurate. I have no clue how this happened but it looks like something hit it hard like it was dropped. My question is does this require a whole new bolt? I have the feeling it is going to but they don't give them away. Below is a pic.

 

[MTBULLET]

cant really see from pic to well, but could it be "flame cut" from blown primers?

 

[SidecarFlip]

The machinist in me says it's fixable, I could fix it but you probably can't. I'm curious about the 2 lateral scratches/gouges in the outer face at 10:00 o'clock too. The angle of the scratches/gouges coincide with the divot......

Whatever impacted it raised the metal proud of the bolt face (you can see the ridge). I'd have that ridge removed and smoothed use it. Some very careful work with a micro die grinder and appropriate stone would work.

Whats the history of the rifle? Loan it to anyone or has it been somewhere other than in your possession? Stuff like that don't happen...usually.

Keep in mind that most bolt/receivers are matched pairs.

 

[highcountry2013]

The machinist in me says it's fixable, I could fix it but you probably can't. I'm curious about the 2 lateral scratches/gouges in the outer face at 10:00 o'clock too. The angle of the scratches/gouges coincide with the divot......

Whatever impacted it raised the metal proud of the bolt face (you can see the ridge). I'd have that ridge removed and smoothed use it. Some very careful work with a micro die grinder and appropriate stone would work.

Whats the history of the rifle? Loan it to anyone or has it been somewhere other than in your possession? Stuff like that don't happen...usually.

Keep in mind that most bolt/receivers are matched pairs.

Well I bought the rifle used awhile back but I know I looked at the bolt face at that time and did not see that. I really have clue what happened and at this point don't really care just want to make sure it is safe and useable. I did shoot about 20rds through it this weekend before I noticed it and I did not notice anything weird going on.

Running a knife edge over the area and the ding area is the only place I can feel messed up this includes the two scratches.I probably will take it to a gunsmith and see what they think but wanted some opinions before I do that.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[SidecarFlip]

It hasn't compromised the firing pin passage and it's not too far up on the bolt face. A competent smith or even (and probably better) a tool and die shop when they do die rework will have the tools and experience in smoothing out the ridge and returning you to a flat face. Again, a good die repair person with a micro grinder and appropriate bit/stone could smooth that in a minute.

You will loose the parkerizing no matter what, however.

Depending on your seat length and headspace you might find bolt cycling to become easier, not that I see any brass on the face itself.

 

[highcountry2013]

It hasn't compromised the firing pin passage and it's not too far up on the bolt face. A competent smith or even (and probably better) a tool and die shop when they do die rework will have the tools and experience in smoothing out the ridge and returning you to a flat face. Again, a good die repair person with a micro grinder and appropriate bit/stone could smooth that in a minute.

You will loose the parkerizing no matter what, however.

Depending on your seat length and headspace you might find bolt cycling to become easier, not that I see any brass on the face itself.

There really is no ridge on the bolt face the pic just makes it look like that. It actually is completely smooth except the little indent where it got hit by whatever.

 

[SidecarFlip]

When you displace metal, it always 'flows' somewhere. You had a displacement so it flowed and it appears to have flowed upward. You might not be able to feel it but it's there nonetheless, so a 'smoothing and blending' won't hurt in the long view.

Like I said, a qualified die repair facility can do that in a minute, they do it everyday. A good smith can to but probably don't have the expertise that a die repair person has.

I'm still curious about the radial gouges. Whatever occured, I suspect the gouges are part of the impact.

 

[J E Custom]

It looks like blown primers from excessive pressure caused the cutting of the bolt face.

Look at the fired cases and you should see some primer failures. (This can happen if there is
excessive pressure OR if the primer pockets were loose.

It really doesn't hurt anything as long as you find the cause and don,t add to it.

You could face the bolt a little but you probably wouldn,t clean it up without loosing head space and having to shortening the firing pin.

My recommendation would be to solve the problem and continue to shoot it, but don't shoot it until
problem is solved to avoid more damage.

If you find some cases that look like the primer may have a hole between the primer pocket and
the primer take some pictures and post them.

J E CUSTOM

 

[highcountry2013]

It looks like blown primers from excessive pressure caused the cutting of the bolt face.

Look at the fired cases and you should see some primer failures. (This can happen if there is
excessive pressure OR if the primer pockets were loose.

It really doesn't hurt anything as long as you find the cause and don,t add to it.

You could face the bolt a little but you probably wouldn,t clean it up without loosing head space and having to shortening the firing pin.

My recommendation would be to solve the problem and continue to shoot it, but don't shoot it until
problem is solved to avoid more damage.

If you find some cases that look like the primer may have a hole between the primer pocket and
the primer take some pictures and post them.

J E CUSTOM

I will check the primers and cases out and see if i see any issue with them. The rounds I was shooting were all new brass and the rounds were loaded very weak. I guess there is a chance that this could of been on the bolt face when I got it and that I just overlooked it and just now noticed it. Will update when I look at cases.

 

[highcountry2013]

Well looked at all the cases from the last 50 rounds I have shot through it and they all look normal. I am thinking I missed it when I bought the rifle. Cases go in fine with no lock up or anything and seems to shoot just find so will just continue to monitor it to make sure I am not missing something and it get worse. Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[specweldtom]

Looks like gas cut to me. Since all your brass is normal, probably done before you got the rifle. Very few people inspect the bolt face before buying a rifle. It looks to me like if you start loading up hard, primer cups may give way and leak or blow out where the divot is gone. Watch the cases closely as you ratchet up the pressure.

Oh yeah, don't load too light....Never go under a minimum load in the manual you're using. That can get truly dangerous.

If you do have to replace the bolt, it must be headspaced to the receiver. Don't just stick one in and shoot it. Also truly dangerous.

Good luck, let us know how it comes out. Tom

 

[SidecarFlip]

The issue with a lighter than recipe load is the frictional coefficient of the projectile may not be enough for it to clear the tube. That can be a big issue in larger calibers, don't ask me how I know. Lets just say my hydraulic arbor press was a lifesaver....

 

[highcountry2013]

The issue with a lighter than recipe load is the frictional coefficient of the projectile may not be enough for it to clear the tube. That can be a big issue in larger calibers, don't ask me how I know. Lets just say my hydraulic arbor press was a lifesaver....

When I say light I mean I was at the min in the book. I hope I never have to experience that. That would ruin a day that's for sure..

 

[specweldtom]

It's worse than just squib loads. Somewhere I read that insufficient powder volume allows excessive air space inside the case, effectively causing some powders to detonate instead of controlled burn. I think it was a discussion on fire-forming. Detonations are extremely dangerous.

Tom