Remington 700 stuck bolt --- Please Help!

[remguy96]

hi everybody,

i just bought a very slightly used Remington 700 30-06 but am rather new to hunting and (although i have done my research) am shaky on the internals of long rifles. so my problem...

as i said i just purchased this rifle and had it out for a little bit, enjoying my purchase. i took out the bolt and gave it a decent cleaning before starting to practice my trigger squeeze by a little dry firing. i noticed the bolt handle became harder and harder to lift until eventually it was stuck in the down position, unable to move.

now, i did not overuse, abuse, or treat my rifle in anyway that i thought would have caused such a happenstance. any thoughts on what the hell happened and how i can fix it?? will most likely take it to a gunsmith soon if it goes unfixed so any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!!

 

[Tikkamike]

Sounds like something is stuck in font of or behind the bolt lugs beat it open with a chunk of wood and look in there with a light. Also ale sure you have grease on the back of the lugs

 

[FearNoWind]

Although beating the bolt open with a block of wood is likely to eventually get it open, I'm not sure it would be my first choice.
I have the impression that opening the bolt is not something that qualifies as an emergency so let's discuss what procedure you followed when you "cleaned the bolt" Did you disassemble it? Can you lift the bolt at all; even a few thousandths?
Can you see any burrs or other marks on the front of the bolt handle where it cams with the action when it's fully open? Is the firing pin fully forward of the bolt plug? (look at the rear of the bolt and see if the end of the cocking piece is even with or resting just below the surface of the bolt plug)
Let us know what you find.
Also, remove the front action screw (it runs from the front of the bottom metal under the rifle in front of the trigger guard and up into the stock and ties in with the action just inside the chamber) and see if that solves your problem.

 

[remguy96]

Although beating the bolt open with a block of wood is likely to eventually get it open, I'm not sure it would be my first choice.
I have the impression that opening the bolt is not something that qualifies as an emergency so let's discuss what procedure you followed when you "cleaned the bolt" Did you disassemble it? Can you lift the bolt at all; even a few thousandths?
Can you see any burrs or other marks on the front of the bolt handle where it cams with the action when it's fully open? Is the firing pin fully forward of the bolt plug? (look at the rear of the bolt and see if the end of the cocking piece is even with or resting just below the surface of the bolt plug)
Let us know what you find.
Also, remove the front action screw (it runs from the front of the bottom metal under the rifle in front of the trigger guard and up into the stock and ties in with the action just inside the chamber) and see if that solves your problem.

yes it is not an emergency but you can imagine my distress at the lack of this very important function. no, my cleaning was pretty slapdash; i removed the bolt, cleaned the barrel and dropped the floorplate and cleaned inside the magazine area. i can lift the bolt handle to about halfway so it is parallel with the floor if it is held in a firing position. there are no visible burrs or other marks of damage on the bolt. the firing pin is fully forward, but not "resting just under the surface" it is roughly 1/4" depressed. however i think that is normal as i examined the same area when the rifle was working perfectly and saw the same thing. also, just to be clear, is the front action screw the one between the trigger gaurd and the stock of the rifle or the other one? thank you so much, this is really helpful.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Something stuck in the cocking ramp...

 

[remguy96]

Something stuck in the cocking ramp...

and best method of removal is...?

 

[Marble]

You can try to tap the bolt with a cleaning rod from the inside while pulling the bolt. Don't beat to hard on it. My dad's got stuck, he beat on it and broke the handle off.

Maybe put some lube down the barrel, let it sit overnight. Try again?

 

[MagnumManiac]

While it was getting harder to open/close, was there any screeching of metal on metal?
I had a similar problem on a short 700 action, the culprit was the fitted pin that holds the firing pin to the cocking piece, it had wiggled loose and was binding on the bolt body as the rifle cocked on opening.
Use a mallet to fully open the bolt and remove it from the rifle, check everywhere in the action for evidence of foreign materieal and or binding, which will be scratches or shiny wear marks.
Look up on youtube for video on how to remove a Rem firing pin assembly with your shoelaces.
Do this and check for anything out of alignment, like retaining pins, they should be flush or less than flush on BOTH sides of their holes. Also lokk at the firing pin, is it bent or even broken, this will cause the same symptons. The other reason why to disassemble the bolt is that there may be a piece of a pierced primer in the bolt body causing it to bind as well.
Do all of this and get back with some more info if it doesn't fix it.

Cheers.
gun)

 

[Red Sparky]

Try moving the safety back and forth. You should be able to unload with the safety on but try both ways. Just a thought since you can lift the bolt half way.

 

[FEENIX]

Sounds like something is stuck in font of or behind the bolt lugs beat it open with a chunk of wood and look in there with a light. Also ale sure you have grease on the back of the lugs

Just be aware and be careful; this happened to new Remington 700 XCR ...

Originally posted by montanajoe
[br]3 Rounds through it; And the results are,,,,,,,

(GunBroker.com Message Forums)

Good luck!

 

[AZShooter]

Did you loosen that front action screw?

IIRC if the front bolt is too long it will interfere with the bolt. If it protrudes just enough you can move the bolt partway open but when the lug swings into position it is lower and will hit the top of the forward action screw.

 

[FearNoWind]

is the front action screw the one between the trigger gaurd and the stock of the rifle or the other one?

The front action screw is in front of the trigger guard, at the far front end of the bottom metal.
If you have a magazine release in front of the trigger guard you might want to the magazine internal parts and check to see if there's anything on the follower that might interfere with the bolt. At the same time use a bright light to look up through the vacant magazine port to see if there's anything visible that might be interfering with the bolt.
Once you get the bolt out, check it VERY thoroughly for any pins that aren't recessed as they should be and look for marks on the bolt and trigger surfaces that might indicate binding or other interference.

 

[FearNoWind]

Just be aware and be careful; this happened to new Remington 700 XCR ...

Good luck!

Thanks for that Feenix ... those are great images that make the point so very well. As they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words".

 

[shortgrass]

"Slightly used", huh...... If the previous owner adjusted the over travel on the trigger and didn't re-seal it (lock tite or nail polish) the adjustment may have moved slightly when dry firing so the internals of the trigger are in the way as the bolt handle lifts and withdraws the firing pin from the 'fired' position (the trigger won't let the sear be pushed lower, into the trigger body, far enough for the cocking piece to pass over it, as it should, as the bolt handle is lifted). Just speculation (but isn't everything that's been posted so far?). See a competent gunsmith before separating the bolt handle from the bolt body or.............