Sleve on bolt?

[albertaboy]

I'm having a Rem. 700 rebarreled with a Lilja barrel.(7 STW)
The gun smith suggested having the bolt sleved. Is this worth the cost?
Thanks for your input.
B...

 

[Ballistic64]

IMO,anything you can do to accurize the gun further is worth it.Might look at an aftermarket firing pin,spring or assembly also.

 

[Brent]

If it, and all the other prior necessary steps are done correctly I would have it done. Kirby can do this correctly and the method he uses would be the only way I would ever have it done.

 

[chris matthews]

I will go against the grain here and say don't sleeve. In my professional opinion it does not add significantly to the accuracy in a properly trued up action.
If you feel you need an action that tight then get a Nesika or another custom action.

 

[Shawn Carlock]

OK,
I will split the difference. While I like a solid locking gun (I sleeve the rear and lock the front end up via a different method)for my own use, I can not say that it has made a difference in performance. Sometimes you just need to make the mind happy. If you don't sleeve and lock, and the rifle doesn't perform like you had hoped you will always wonder "sould I have...". In the end I believe that all other things being the same that perfect bolt alingment and tolerance is less critical than many other issue in building a precision rifle. However if you choose to get it done, get it done right.

 

[Pete Lincoln]

I agree with Chris Mathews on this one, i think the cost of sleeving the bolt doesn't offer enough advantages for the modification to be done. If the rifle is set up correctly any way then it will shoot. The idea of sleeving the bolt is to stop the lugs lifting and the bolt from slipping slightly of centre. if you make the lugs fit correctly between the reviever lugs and the end of the barrel, have the bolt close on the case with slight pressure then you don't need to sleeve the rear end of the bolt IMHO.. you can go mad and throw $thousands at a remingtion, but when all is said and done its just a Remington with remington resale values, you'd be better to look at a custom action rather than do everything possible to a Remington, it would be more of a sensible investment.
regards Pete

 

[Brent]

IMO everything in the action must be trued with all cuts in referance to the boltbore axis. The bolt being held in perfect alignment with the chamber/throat/bore being the ultimate goal while lugs are seated symmetrically on abutments. I see refitting the bolt body front and rear a necessary step to ensure positive alignment and perfect lug engagement. How imperfect everything is if this is not done is up in the air and would depend on the specific rifle, and much like Shawn said, it will always be in question as to how much better it could shoot. I'd rather know that a customer's rifle is 100% true for less than two hours more work into it. To me, it's just peace of mind knowing my rifles are all built the same spec's and have 100% done to them that could have been. I know where "I don't" have to look for problems is what it amounts to, so that's the only way I'll do them. The reason I won't just "install" barrels, or any other work that I feel is a half way approach. Most see service as doing only what a customer wants done, and that's fine too, just not my approach.

Many want to sell the rifle at some point down the road, and I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for putting money into a custom action instead. For many it's just more feasable to use what they have for a little more cash into it, or some may have no plan on selling so it isn't about that for them.

 

[308 nate]

My feelings on sleeving the bolt would be pretty much the same as Pete Lincoln and Chris Matthews

But,I agree with what Brent is saying also.

In my experiance it is very common to see 1/4" groups at 100 yds. without sleeving the bolt. Anything past that in a hunting, tactical style rifle (I'm talking custom built with a good barrel,properly aligned chamber,reciever face trued,locking lugs trued and lapped etc...)would be the least of my worries as there are a lot of other elements to consider, but if you are looking for a bench-only style gun and want to squeeze every last bit of accuracy out of it that you can,then my recommendation would be to just get a custom action.
FWIW,
308nate
p.s. or you could get a Savage action with the foating bolt head and not worry about sleeving bolts or bolt handles falling off or switching bolt faces in future
re-barrelings.This is what I do for myself.

 

[heatseekins]

I would tend to side with the fact that the bolt needs to fit properly and tighter bolts feel better, but most importantly you need to feel confident with your equipment. If sleeving your bolt does this for you sleeve it or buy a custom bolt. I have 4 Remington actions (3 short 1 long) and I measured the diameter of the bolt verses the diameter of the bolt raceway. My ADL action has the sloppiest bolt I have ever seen. The bolt diameter is .690 and the raceway is .705, but the rifle shoots very very well (.08? best group 6br). The other actions are off of vssf's (bdl) and they are way tighter. Bolts are about .693-.695 and the actions are from .701-.703. I recently built a 308 out of my adl action and bought a pacific tool and gauge bolt for it. The bolt measures .701" and the fit and finish is way better than expected. It is a one piece bolt (lugs and body). They are custom ground, so you can choose the fit you want and comes with your choice of a sako or Remington extractor cut and a tactical bolt handle (detached) for $125. These are perfect no truing needed. I would highly recommend going this rout instead of sleeving. Sleeving also includes having the bolt raceway in the action reamed, so near perfect fit is very likely. This is about as close to custom as it gets for a Remington. You can even sell your old bolt on e-bay and possibly come out ahead…… If you're building a gun to take in the field and play in the dirt with I wouldn't make the bolt super tight. If you're trying to build a winning benchrest rifle I would pony up the extra cash and get a custom action.

 

[Fiftydriver]

I would compare bolt sleeving in a fully accurized receiver to that of deburring your flashholes in your cases. When everything else if performed correctly, this will make little noticable difference to the overall performance of the load in all honestly.

It is simply another step in addition to many other steps that get us as close to pefection from shot to shot as possible.

Will you see a difference on target, on big game no. On paper, maybe if your rifle is quality enough and you can shoot well enough.

Still I do believe it benefits consistancy but if it is worth it for your rifle, Unless it is a fully accurized custom rifle I would probaly say no.

Good Shooting

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[Pete Lincoln]

What i would do is sell the bolt on ebay. Then buy a new bolt from Pacific precision ( i think thats the right company) comes with a Sako extractor already fitted, the bolts are apparently oversized compared to the remington standard bolts and fit tighter and more snug. should aleviate the need for sleeving the bolt, and with the cash you get for the old bolt on ebay put against the new one, is probably the cheapest solution.
Pete