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Rem 700 vtr not chambering well

Porter24

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 11, 2011
245
0
32
Ohio
I bought a rem 700 vtr .223 used it came with b&c stock. I went to shoot it and its like pulling teeth to try and chamber the round. I have tried factory fusion mrs .223 as well as my reloaded .223 that are all factory measurements. They are identical in length. Neither will chamber with out my slamming the bolt as hard as possible. What could the issue be. It's oiled up fine they is no sticking or issues when there is no round in the chamber. Also is there anything you can do to change it from a 5 round
internal mag to just one round. Ideas and advice is appreciated
 
Do you have a problem chambering a round when it is not loaded into the internal mag? or is the resistance felt when chambering a round that is loaded into internal magazine or placed into the chamber and slide bolt forward? Can you post a picture of where the round is getting stuck/facing resistance in the chamber?.
 
I know we have different rifles but I experienced what sounds like the same thing with my new AAC-SD .308. I bought it in early November, actually went to buy it Election Day, but had to come back the next day bec. that tuesday at least in NJ there was no NICS.

I immediately noticed that it had some real trouble chambering rounds. The AAC-SD is a "BDL" level rifle with a Hogue OverMolded pillar-bedded [the lower ranking one] stock with a hinged floor plate and spring/follower magazine. I asked for help on a few forums, The Firing Line was extremely concerned, they were saying I was having really serious issues that were indicitve of a major problem , perhaps different chamber/barrel/entirely wrong build etc. I didn't like that answer so I sort of ignored it. I did a lot more research and found a ton of AAC-SD owners were finding problems with their rifles chambering too. Most suggested they needed to adjust or replace the hinged floor plate and magazine assembly. Bend the spring, redo the spring, buy a new spring, possibly a new follower, do some sanding, polishing, etc. {The Firing Line suggested lapping etc. and then other people strenuously objected to lapping, some strenuously objected to their objections, etc.}

I contacted Remington, they said they would open a repair ticket and send it back in. I said, why can't you just send me a replacement spring/follower/floorplate, and if that doesn't work, THEN I will send it in. Nope. I said, no really, I am telling you that is what I want and would feel much more comfortable because if you are telling me you potentially sold me a completely wrong built rifle in need of major repair out of the box, I don't want it, and I don't want your repairs, I want my money back or a new rifle in new box. Literally, no answer. I decided then my quest for a new stock had to include a new bottom metal assembly and detachable magazines. Basically I needed a chassis.


Wound up making the smartest decision on Firearms I have made since buying two Aimpoint Micro R-1s during the 2010 post-Christmas crazy sale @ Midway. I bought me a Manners MCS T5A DBM w/ Badger Ordnance Mini Chassis. It came with one 5 round Accurate magazine [rather than AICS because of shortages].

But I still have a bit of chambering difficulty. Better than before but not what I would like it nor think it ought to be. The thing is, I have not had a lot of time to get to the range and really put a lot of rounds through the rifle so it might open it self up when it gets some shooting done. Also I think the Accurate magazine might need to break in itself, seemed a little tight. I believe its better now than it was in the Hogue/BDL configuration but its not perfect. I also spent most of my avail dough on the MCS T5A so I haven't bought any spare, AICS magazines [which I will] and as we all know magazine itself could be the issue, just not perfectly feeding.




The thing is, I am sorry for the long post, I wanted to give you as much info so you might compare your situation. I know the VTR is different but we both have rifles coming off mostly the same assembly line, and I am thinking there is some reason for all these rifles having the same problem {I found a LOT of people describing the same thing as me, and especially a lot of the AAC-SD new owners.} I was told when Freedom Group bought Remington, they instituted batch testing instead of individual rifle testing, so if say one guy is screwing up or someone is skipping a step during builds or a part is not getting put in/put in right, a large amount of rifles will be released like that until a batch of the broken ones gets caught and they put two and two together. Bushmaster had a serious issue of this kind. So anyway keep me in mind so we can compare notes.
 
The resistance is felt when the round is being loaded in to the chamber. The brass casings are getting noticeable scratches on them. When I push the bolt up it's fine until I get ready to close it. The last little bit forward to the closing motion is where it gets stuck
 
That sounds like a head spacing issue and or more serious chamber issue (e.g. not reamed properly for .223?). I'd either contact a qualified gunsmith or Remington about this issue. Just my 2cents.

^^^forgot to ask, have you tried any other ammo? I doubt factory fusion ammo is out of spec, but it's possible. Check the lot numbers and try some from different lots just to rule that out. Also, try some other 223 ammo if you can.
 
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