Gunsmithing Remington 700 Bolt Lift

[2Barrels]

I'm at wits end. I own my fair share, and then some, of Rem 700s. Most, if not all, have been customized/modified in some way, shape, or form (re-stocked, bolt fluted, re-barreled. etc.) What holds true for each and every one is that the bolt lift is horrible. Not extraction, but bolt lift. This is the case regardless of whether the bolt is opened on a fired round, or on a dry fire. There is nothing smooth about it.

I've heard and read of the the work that a guy in Alaska does on Rem 700 bolts that aids with the primary extraction. Not sure what his work would do to smooth out the bolt lift.

I've also heard/read that the design of the Timney trigger, which I use a lot of, is part of the problem. Supposedly they (Timney) are forward falling sear design, and that compounds the problem. I'm skeptical since all of the my 700s, regardless of the installed trigger (Remington, Timeny, TriggerTech) act the same.

My goal is to have each and every Remington I own have a 2-finger bolt lift. Meaning I can extend 2 fingers forward after firing a shot, slip them under the bolt and lift the bolt, extract the fired case, and reload, without having my firing hand come completely off the gun.

What do I need to do to these Remingtons, or what action should I be looking at?

 

[AMGtuned]

I've got to say, with my 2 700 platform rifles, I have no problem cycling as you describe. Both rifles have Badger Ordnance bolt knobs, if that makes any mechanical difference. Win mag might be a little heavy feeling if the load is too hot, but when load testing, I'm not in a hurry.

 

[Mordamer]

First, the service to improve primary extraction will not reduce bolt lift.

Do you have extended bolt knobs installed?

Why do you need to lift the bolt with 2 fingers while your hand is still on the gun? In my opinion the proper way to cycle a bolt action is to firmly grasp the knob with your whole hand. This may just be personal preference.

I believe that what you are describing is simply a result of the design of the action and is a result of several factors:
1. Striker spring weight.
2. Camming surface geometries.
3. Friction.

Friction can only be reduced so much. The other 2 factors I would not recommend changing. In short, I don't believe there is not much that can be done to alleviate your heavy bolt lift. If it was just one singular rem 700 action you were having a problem with I would think that it was possibly a problem with that action like galling on the lugs of the bolt/receiver faces.

If it bothers you that much then you need to seriously consider trying some custom actions. All 90 degree throw actions I have ever tried from defiance, bighorn, impact, and surgeon (and most likely most other custom actions) have been much lower bolt lift force.

 

[LRI]

I'm at wits end. I own my fair share, and then some, of Rem 700s. Most, if not all, have been customized/modified in some way, shape, or form (re-stocked, bolt fluted, re-barreled. etc.) What holds true for each and every one is that the bolt lift is horrible. Not extraction, but bolt lift. This is the case regardless of whether the bolt is opened on a fired round, or on a dry fire. There is nothing smooth about it.

I've heard and read of the the work that a guy in Alaska does on Rem 700 bolts that aids with the primary extraction. Not sure what his work would do to smooth out the bolt lift.

I've also heard/read that the design of the Timney trigger, which I use a lot of, is part of the problem. Supposedly they (Timney) are forward falling sear design, and that compounds the problem. I'm skeptical since all of the my 700s, regardless of the installed trigger (Remington, Timeny, TriggerTech) act the same.

My goal is to have each and every Remington I own have a 2-finger bolt lift. Meaning I can extend 2 fingers forward after firing a shot, slip them under the bolt and lift the bolt, extract the fired case, and reload, without having my firing hand come completely off the gun.

What do I need to do to these Remingtons, or what action should I be looking at?

A longer lever just masks an underlying problem. I would venture to guess that the cam on the bolt isn't tangent to the radius on the nose of the cocking piece. My other guess would be a heat treat issue, but that's unlikely.

This is nothing more than a plain bearing system. For it to work correctly the surfaces must interact with one another under the correct circumstance. If one side is loading more than the other, its about like toe picking the ice with a pair of skates.

Burnish, NOT Lap! There's a big difference. Follow it by polishing on a hard felt wheel with some green roughe. Make the bolt look like its chrome plated on the ramp. Do the same to the nose. Works every time.

Hope this helped.

C.

 

[2Barrels]

None of the Rem 700s I speak of have extended bolt handles. As Chad mentions, and my take was, that it would merely mask the problem and I'd be "pouring good money into bad."

As for why I want to be able to have a 2-finger bolt lift is pretty simple. When shooting prone at long range i want the gun to remain on target after the shot and not be 'bounced' around in the reloading process and require 'major effort' to reacquire the target. What got me going on this was a trip to K&M Shooting Complex a few weeks ago. I shot one of the instructor's guns (Brian Allen) which I beleive was a Defiance. Talk about smooth and easy to operate. Having said that, I do not know what Brian may have done, if any thing, to get the rifle to be as smooth as it was. None the less, comments where made during the course of instruction about trying to 'stay in the gun' as much as possible, including maintaining firing hand position.

Chad, be careful for which you speak!. I'm gonna be in the Reliance, SD area next week doing my best to diminish the prairie dog population. Sturgis is only a few hours west. Don't be surprised if you find a Ford pickup camped in your parking lot, Sunday night/Monday morning.

 

[LRI]

None of the Rem 700s I speak of have extended bolt handles. As Chad mentions, and my take was, that it would merely mask the problem and I'd be "pouring good money into bad."

As for why I want to be able to have a 2-finger bolt lift is pretty simple. When shooting prone at long range i want the gun to remain on target after the shot and not be 'bounced' around in the reloading process and require 'major effort' to reacquire the target. What got me going on this was a trip to K&M Shooting Complex a few weeks ago. I shot one of the instructor's guns (Brian Allen) which I beleive was a Defiance. Talk about smooth and easy to operate. Having said that, I do not know what Brian may have done, if any thing, to get the rifle to be as smooth as it was. None the less, comments where made during the course of instruction about trying to 'stay in the gun' as much as possible, including maintaining firing hand position.

Chad, be careful for which you speak!. I'm gonna be in the Reliance, SD area next week doing my best to diminish the prairie dog population. Sturgis is only a few hours west. Don't be surprised if you find a Ford pickup camped in your parking lot, Sunday night/Monday morning.

We'd welcome the visit. Please do and we'll see if we can exorcise the demons while were at it.

 

[jzwolen]

Chad,
Any chance you can point out/picture the surfaces that you recommend burnishing?

 

[Jack's Dad]

One of my 700s became beautifully smooth after 1500 or more rounds. Perhaps just time will solve the issue for you. If you have a blued bolt you might be able to see any signs of wear that might indicate a slight high spot that you could take down a bit more?

 

[ShtrRdy]

Something else to check is to remove the Firing Pin assembly from the Bolt Body and examine the threads on the Bolt Shroud. Are they dry? Or are they all gunked up? Try cleaning the threads and applying some lube. Put it back together and see if that helped.

Be sure to put some grease on the Cocking Ramp Chad talked about and on the Lugs.

 

[carlsbad]

1. lube the bolt shroud, make sure it isn't dragging. Use quality grease.
2. Lube/ smooth/polish cocking ramp and cocking piece.
3. remove most of the bump at the top of the cocking ramp.
4. Removed cock on close.

All of my R700s are 2 finger operaions.s