Gunsmithing Rem 700 barrel issue

[SDLAW]

I'm helping a friend that has a very stuck case and bolt in his Rem 700 338 ultra mag. He has been known to get a little macho with the reloading data so I was not overly shocked. (He swears he weighs every load and it is well under max) As I'm getting ready to turn the barrel off, I notice a rust ring around the barrel at the recoil lug. Once again I'm thinking he probably should have put a little oil on this thing before shoving it in the case. It is a bitch to get off due to the goop Remington like to put on the threads, but hey I've got a big-ass wrench so a little grunting and the action comes off. After I get the case out of the chamber and clean all the crap off of the threads, I screw the action back on.

This is where things get wierd. The action hits a tight spot before it touches the recoil lug and I can't get it go any further by hand. Well like I said I have a big-ass wrench and about one revolution later all is tight. WTF the screw holes for the sights on the barrel are now about 30 degrees off... the action over rotated. It looks to me like the barrel was never fully tightened at the factory and was just glued in place...hence the rust ring and probably a contributing cause of the seized case.

Do I always get the odd shit, or is this something you guys have seen before too?

 

[nashlaw]

Re: Rem 700 barrel issue

I have unscrewed some barrels that hit "tight spots" when retightening. It was always a bit of rust or crud on the threads and a dab of grinding compound and a very wee bit of lapping would make things smoother. (Have to be careful because lapping the threads changes headspace.) Also, if your wrenching was over zealous you might have soused down so much it crunched the threads and goobed up the headspace.

Might want to run a set of go/no go gauges to make sure.

david

 

[1shot2kill]

Re: Rem 700 barrel issue

+2 run go no go gauges and go from there
also before heading to the big mama wrench try filling the barrel full of kroil and let it sit for a day or 2 i tried this and it worked surprisingly well

 

[SDLAW]

Re: Rem 700 barrel issue

I have no doubt the headspace is out of wack since the barrel screwed in about an 8th of a turn more than it was originally. I didn't reef on the wrench any more than usual when I tightened the action so I really don't think that caused the problem. Its pretty obvious the barrel was not fully tightened from the factory. Now I have to set the barrel back to get it timed and reset the headspace. He is going to own me much beer.