Gunsmithing remington 700 bolt wont open

[boudin]

I just installed a shilen trigger in my bone stock Rem 700 ADL and everything seemed to go smoothly until the bolt seized up after 5 or 6 dry fires. The bolt is now under so much tension, I can't lift the handle. What did I do wrong and what should I do to alleviate the problem?

 

[GasLight]

Re: remington 700 bolt wont open

You could take the barreled action out of the stock, and remove the trigger, see if that frees things up.

I would take it out of the stock and give the trigger a good look over before removing it, maybe there is something obvious there?

 

[Jerry m]

Re: remington 700 bolt wont open

Are the stock screws tightened into the bolt?

 

[boudin]

Re: remington 700 bolt wont open

Thanks for the help DebosDave. I think I may have figured out what the problem is.

I had to relieve a little bit of the stock material where the trigger slips in, to make room for the two adjustment screws on the front of the trigger. I think I may not have removed enough and when I tightened down the action screws, the lower adjustment screw must have been touching the stock and it put the action under stress, which in turn caused the bolt to seize.

When I loosened the action screws a smidgen, I was able to raise and cycle the bolt.

Does this sound like a plausible diagnosis?

 

[boudin]

Re: remington 700 bolt wont open

Thanks Jerry and Steve, I inspected the bolt and there were no rub marks to be found. Moreover, I looked inside the action with a flashlight and could see that the front action screw is not protruding when fully tightened, so I dont think thats the problem.

I'm going to pull the barreled action out and see if I can tell if the weight of pull screw was making contact with the stock.

 

[boudin]

Re: remington 700 bolt wont open

Okay, so here's where I stand. I took a little bit more out of the stock and can see from underneath that the adjustment screws are not touching anything. However, after getting it all put back together, it seized up again after 10 to 15 dry fires. I pulled the barreled action all the way out of the stock and eventually got the bolt open after some persistent coaxing. It appears that the bolt seizing is independent of the action being mounted in the stock.

Could it be a problem related to the cocking piece and the cocking ramp?

ETA:
There is no tension or resistance when opening the bolt <span style="text-decoration: underline">after</span> the bolt has been opened once, and the firing pin has been cocked. It only happens when tring to cock the bolt after I have released the firing pin.

 

[Jim See]

Re: remington 700 bolt wont open

most likly the cocking piece in the bolt is being wedged between the trigger housing when you dry fire it. sometimes if the holes thru the rear of the trigger housing are a little tight, when you drive in the rear pin you can push the leading side of the housing in creating a narrower gap that does not allow the fire pin cocking piece to move freely. Sounds like your front one might be tight?

any way if thats it remove the bolt and spread the housing as installed on the pins. might need a tap with a punch.

 

[SDWhirlwind]

Re: remington 700 bolt wont open

You got grease on the camming surfaces or are they dry and galling??

 

[Rarebreed93]

Re: remington 700 bolt wont open

Front scope base screw will stop the bolt from opening if it is too long or maybe broke and work it's way down the threads and into the action.
Just a thought, I know you didn't mention anything about working on the scope.
Just my .02

 

[boudin]

Re: remington 700 bolt wont open

Thanks for the explanation Jim, that makes alot of sense.

I gave each of the sides, at the front of the trigger housing, a rap outward from underneath with a punch. I also rubbed a q tip with a thicker oil than I had originally used, on the bearing surfaces of the cocking piece and ramp. Im assuming these are the camming surfaces.

I put the rifle back together a while ago and have dry fired I 20 or 30 times with no problems. It also feels more normal when cycling the bolt open with two fingers. Hopefully this has got it cause the trigger feels amazing compared to the X mark that was in there and I'm dying to break it in at the range.

ETA:
I checked the front scope base screw from inside with a light and it was fine.

Thanks for the help yall.