Remington 700 Bolt Stuck After Firing

General RE LEE

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Changed factory trigger on my 7mm STW Rem 700 Sendero and now my bolt gets stuck after firing hand loads and is very difficult to pull back on factory ammo. I'm not sure if it's the trigger change (Timney) or the softer Hornady brass I'm using on reloads. What's causing this? Loads are not hot and no signs of over pressure.
 
Changed factory trigger on my 7mm STW Rem 700 Sendero and now my bolt gets stuck after firing hand loads and is very difficult to pull back on factory ammo. I'm not sure if it's the trigger change (Timney) or the softer Hornady brass I'm using on reloads. What's causing this? Loads are not hot and no signs of over pressure.
Stop firing it first.... dry fire as mentioned to check operation, then go back and check the ammo and empty cases for unusual extraction marks on the case body, perhaps you have a rough chamber or something stuck in the chamber.
 
Primary extraction. This is a VERY common issue on many Remington 700s. There is no mechanical function of the action to aid in extraction so you have to fight the case out of the chamber by yanking back on the bolt. The primary extraction cam on the action mates up with the cam on the bolt handle. When you lift up on the bolt handle the two cams come in contact and the quick up and back motion from the cams working pops the cartridge case loose from the chamber walls.
 
I'm going to try some different brass and switch from Hornady to Remington. I bump the shoulder back .0040 and my loads are 79.5 grains of H1000 and 162 grain Hornady SST at 3150 FPS so not a hot load. I'm wondering if the multiple loading on the Hornady has the brass expanding more in the chamber.
 
Primary extraction. This is a VERY common issue on many Remington 700s. There is no mechanical function of the action to aid in extraction so you have to fight the case out of the chamber by yanking back on the bolt. The primary extraction cam on the action mates up with the cam on the bolt handle. When you lift up on the bolt handle the two cams come in contact and the quick up and back motion from the cams working pops the cartridge case loose from the chamber walls.

Well that stinks. This is a "new" problem after a couple hundred rounds fired from the rifle. What's the resolution?
 
Do you have the over travel on the trigger set to close? If you didn't have this problem before installing the new trigger, it must have something to do with the new trigger. Not that Remington 700s don't have primary extraction problems, they do. But, take things logically and in the order the problem appears. As sort of a test, put the original trigger back on and see if the problem still exists. Did you change brass brands and the trigger at the same time?
 
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Changed factory trigger on my 7mm STW Rem 700 Sendero and now my bolt gets stuck after firing hand loads and is very difficult to pull back on factory ammo. I'm not sure if it's the trigger change (Timney) or the softer Hornady brass I'm using on reloads. What's causing this? Loads are not hot and no signs of over pressure.
It has nothing to do with your new trigger. It is the softer brass you are using.
 
Hard bolt lift after trigger install is a known and fairly common occurrence after installing a Timney trigger in a R700. Google "hard bolt lift Timney trigger". Caused by the cocking piece/firing pin binding on the trigger release lever. Easy to fix with the right tools.
 
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