I was out bear/deer hunting this morning with my Custom Frank Wells Remington 700 in .375 h&h and I went to the pull the trigger on a nice 4x4 when it just went, click. I pulled the bolt back and reloaded and it did it again as I watch 3 decent bucks bound off out of site. I got home and did some investigating and the cartridge that didn't fire had a relatively light primer strike and so I put another round in and shot it and it shot beautifully with a much deeper primer strike. I have never had this happen before and so I am pretty frustrated because nice 4x4 blacktails don't show up real often on the property I hunt and the gun cost me a great deer. Will the firing pin not reset if by some chance I didn't pull the bolt back entirely? If I recall correctly the firing pin resets with the bolt handle closes, not when the bolt gets pulled back. Any help would be great!
Frustrating morning Remington 700 went... click!
- Thread starter BamaPse
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
Wingnut
Well-Known Member
Most likely debris in the firing pin or spring that is inhibiting it from falling forward with force. Better pull it apart and clean it.
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
You might pull the bolt apart and clean it inside. There could be some sludge built up that caused the problem. Something like carb cleaner will work.......Rich
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
+1 Sounds like he has some junk in the bolt body, or something was blocking the FP hole in the bolt face. Over time sludge and oil will buildup in there, and also brass shavings can buildup if you shoot it a lot, or shoot fairly warm loads.
I use the green label BrakeKleen automotive cleaner you get at your local parts house. Works great when you need to clean grease and oil off of metal parts. WEAR EYE PROTECTION. Wouldn't recommend using it on the action, unless you have it removed from the stock first, and removed the trigger assembly. Then let it thoroughly dry, and then wipe the parts down with a RemOil wipe before putting it back together.
Rich Coyle
Well-Known Member
Or it could be a faulty primer. The other day I had a CCI BR-2 not fire. The firing pin dent was considerably more than normal.
Buttermilk
Well-Known Member
Was the gun stored for an extended period with the bolt cocked? Potentially causing the firing pin spring to weaken over time?
Not likely but possible I suppose....
Not likely but possible I suppose....
FearNoWind
Well-Known Member
Seating a primer too deep can generate those conditions too.
Rich Coyle
Well-Known Member
My Klienguenther K14 had that malady. Since then I dryfire it prior to putting it back in its case.
cowboy
Well-Known Member
Were you shooting factory ammo or reloads?
fiftybmg
Well-Known Member
My bet is that there is / was oil in the firing pin channel.
Strip the bolt and oil all the bits, but wipe them dry before assembly.
If you store the rifle standing in a safe, resist the urge to leave any oil in the barrel to prevent corrosion, etc., , it should be dry.
I find that the red ATF wipes off dry to the touch, but retains a long lasting film.
Strip the bolt and oil all the bits, but wipe them dry before assembly.
If you store the rifle standing in a safe, resist the urge to leave any oil in the barrel to prevent corrosion, etc., , it should be dry.
I find that the red ATF wipes off dry to the touch, but retains a long lasting film.
cowboy
Well-Known Member
FYI:
I always store my rifles in a safe - floor of safe is covered with old towel and rifles/shotguns are placed into safe with barrels pointed down.
The Remington 700 is a cock on open, not cock on close design. This means that when you lift the bolt from the forward locked position that the firing pin is reset, makes no difference if you didn't pull the bolt back all the way (short stroke) or how fast/hard you work it.
Could be bad primers; had a buddy a few years back that had the same thing happen to him. Two bad primers in a row of factory Remington ammo cost him a big buck. I had a Remington primer cause me a big buck as well several years back...I won't use them in handloads any more.
Could be a light primer strike; as mentioned, caused by the firing pin/spring or a primer seated too deep.
If you can, try to fire them in a different rifle of the same chambering. If it fires then your rifle is suspect, if not then I would lean toward the primers.
