New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

[frog_a_lot]

Howdy, i have just recieved my new McMillan A5, Thanks heaps to JW Precision for the help, where great people to deal with.

Now i installed the stock the other day and tightened the bolts up fairly tight, and noticed that the bolt handle wont drop the entire way down into the little channel on the stock.

If i loosen the screws off a little bit then the bolt handle drops down and i can cycle the bolt freely and easily.

What would be causing this problem? And is there a solution?
and
Is it bad to have the bottom screws loosened off a tad or do they need to be as tight as possible?

 

[Shortdraw]

Re: New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

The action screws need to be properly torqued. That means a torque wrench, not loose and not fairly tight. Sounds like the stock fitment might be a bit off and needs a bit of inletting to be proper.

 

[FCS]

Re: New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

Front action screw is too long, lug on bolt is hitting screw as it rotates into battery.

Loose action screws yield poor accuracy.

 

[frog_a_lot]

Re: New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

What are the torque settings for the action screws.. its a Rem SpsTac .223

Is shooting it with loose screws dangerous or will it simply result in poor accuracy?

If it is the front action screw, can it simply by cut down slightly to fix the problem?

 

[SScott]

Re: New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: frog_a_lot</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If it is the front action screw, can it simply by cut down slightly to fix the problem? </div></div>
It might be as simple as filing it down a little bit, easy fix.
SScott

 

[Truth223]

Re: New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: frog_a_lot</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What are the torque settings for the action screws.. its a Rem SpsTac .223

Is shooting it with loose screws dangerous or will it simply result in poor accuracy?

If it is the front action screw, can it simply by cut down slightly to fix the problem? </div></div>

I have my sps tact 223 in a Bell and carlson m40 stock torqued to 45 in lbs. Shoots great. I did have it originally at 65 in lbs and it was too tight,tight even that the rear was jammed and had to be cut out.

 

[pavementends]

Re: New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

Two separate issues. If the screws are too long then they will contact the bolt before they are actually tight. i.e. the screw touches the bolt. If this is what is happening then the screws cannot be torqued correctly. If you tighten the screws with the bolt removed from the action you should be able to see/fell if the screws are indeed too long.
If so shorten the screw.
pavementends

 

[repiv]

Re: New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

I have the same setup, A5 on a remington 700 that I got recently from JW Precision and my front screw was too long. I trimmed it like 1/64 an inch (maybe not that much) with a dremel and that solved the problem. Before trimmming, with a tight screw my bolt would not open. Works fine now.

 

[cooper623]

Re: New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

I really dont think that the issue is the screws being too long, but rather the torque. I have a 700 in a mcmillan A5 stock as well and it went in just fine with the factory action screws. I have mine torqued to 45 inch-lbs and it has worked great both with the bolt cycling and has grouped well on paper out to 600 yards (I havent had the chance to take it further). I would definitely get a torque wrench and try that before i altrered the screws, especially since having a torque wrench is great for a lot of things with precision rifles such as mounting scopes anyway. Just make sure that if you get one its in inch-lbs not foot-lbs

 

[ShootToWin]

Re: New McMillan A5.. Bolt/screw question

file the front screw down a thread and then re-tighten it down to 45 in lbs.