Remington issues???

[Bloody_Tailgate]

My dad purchased a Remington 700 CDL chambered in 300WSM earlier this year and has been having problems with it since he first took it out. I'll give you some background and would like your opinions on what is going on.

He was having problems getting the rifle to shoot so I had him measure it with the Hornady headspace gauge and the measurement was so short that when he contacted Remington, they told him not to shoot it anymore and to send it to them to be fixed immediately. He did so and they returned it about three weeks later "all fixed up".

After receiving his "fixed" rifle he loaded up some more rounds to begin load development and headed to the range. The rifle was shooting better for the first ten or so shots and then the bolt started to get heavy...not just lifting but putting a round into battery as well. Six more rounds fired and it failed to eject spent brass and was nearly impossible to load a round. He took it to Scheels and had the "Remington approved Gunsmith" look at it and they found that the bolt lugs had 90% contact on one side and 5-10% on the other. They lapped the lugs, polished the chamber, and replaced the extractor all on Remington’s dime.

He has fired around 40 rounds now and finally has a load worked up for it that is working. This weekend he took the rifle back out to shoot and it started to get the same heavy bolt and then it happened again... it failed to eject spent brass and was nearly impossible to load a round.

His load is 2 grains below Nosler published max and he is using Winchester brass and Nosler Ballistic Tip 150gr bullets. What is going on?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Bloody_Tailgate]

Re: Remington issues???

Come on....no way this little problem stumped you guys.

 

[Hateca]

Re: Remington issues???

Sounds like there is some galling going on with the bolt lugs. You might be under the load data for the book but you could still be having pressure issues, and so far it sounds like it.

What is the seating depth of the bullets? Are they touching the lands or are the rounds at OAL per the manual? Are the round extracting but not ejecting or both?

I myself do not like WSM in the Remington due to extraction issues due to the case design and the Remington bolt nose.

 

[wirehand]

Re: Remington issues???

Take a black marker like a sharpe to the lug surface that engages the lug abutments.
This will tell you if the G-smith at the store did it right also.
If to much was removed the bolt timing could be screwed up.
Check for galling,he is using grease on the lugs, right?
I'm no smitty so take this with a grain.
However do not mention reloads to Remmy.
Also make sure there nothing funky with the bolt face/extractor/ejector.
The galling and unequal lug engagment thing is nothing new with Remmy.

 

[BobinNC]

Re: Remington issues???

There is really no way to fully diagnose this problem over the Internet. I am not a gunsmith. However, you can do some trouble shooting 101.

1) Buy a box of factory ammo, and see if the same problems occur. The main reason for this ammo, is to show Remmy you shot only factory, not reloads. Never mention the reloads. They will want to see the spent brass, and the remaining factory ammo for tests, if the same problem occurs with this ammmo, which I expect it will.

2) If it does, I suspect it could be one of two things:

When you first sent the rifle back to Remington, they had to take off the barrel, to "fix" it. They may have warped the action in trying to make the fix. So now after you fire 8-10 rounds the action heats up enough for the warp to become
noticeable. That could be why it is both hard to chamber and extract.

Second, it could be a bad barrel, that is not faced properly, but I'm suspecting a warped action.

In any event I would send it back to Remington after fring some factory loads, and ask for a new replacement rifle. They had two tries to fix it and failed. You got a lemon, and no amount of fixing can make it right.

Best of luck,

Bob

 

[300sniper]

Re: Remington issues???

when you say at first he was having trouble getting the rifle to shoot, what do you mean? and by the chamber was short, do you mean the bolt wouldn't close on a go gauge?

have you shot factory ammo? i have a hunch that it is a reloading problem.

 

[Kells81]

Re: Remington issues???

Sounds maybe like a little user error on the reloading end?

Did you check your bolt fluid?

 

[Bloody_Tailgate]

Re: Remington issues???

Not a reloading problem...it does the same thing with factory loads...and my dad has been reloading since the '70's and I have been reloading for over 10 years myself with no problems to speak of.

When he first bought the rifle the headspace was so short that a Nosler Ballistic Tip loaded to touch the lands was so short the ogive of the bullet was nearly at the case mouth. There was no way to seat them any longer. He bought some winchester factory shells to try and they produced about a 3 1/2" group at 100yds and were tight to chamber.

 

[bohem]

Re: Remington issues???

Take it to a "Remmy approved 'smith" and ask him to check the action for it being warped.

Also have him hardness check it. If it slipped through heat treat somehow you can get the same reaction, it will twist and have issues as you fire it more and more.

A bad heat treat is not the cause if it returns to normal when the rifle cools down and sits around for an hour. If it's progressively worse as he keeps shooting it and never gets "better" when it sits in the case, then STOP SHOOTING IT. I have only seen this once but if that thing isn't heat treated it's going to come apart on you sooner than later.

 

[treebasher]

Re: Remington issues???

Bloody_Tailgate did you know the Scheels has a no BS return policy at their stores? I buy lots of guns from them and have never had a problem returning one that I have been unhappy with. Big reason that I spend so much money with them. If they won't refund your money or exchange for a different rifle let me know and I will get some contact information to you on who to talk with.

Good luck.

 

[SpotcheckBilly]

Re: Remington issues???

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bloody_Tailgate</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Not a reloading problem...it does the same thing with factory loads...and my dad has been reloading since the '70's and I have been reloading for over 10 years myself with no problems to speak of.

When he first bought the rifle the headspace was so short that a Nosler Ballistic Tip loaded to touch the lands was so short the ogive of the bullet was nearly at the case mouth. There was no way to seat them any longer. He bought some winchester factory shells to try and they produced about a 3 1/2" group at 100yds and were tight to chamber.</div></div>

You say that both of you are experienced handloaders, so why are you confusing headspace with leade?

 

[okiefired]

Re: Remington issues???

I would'nt mess with one more second. Take it back to where you purchased or send it back to Remmington for a new replacement. Dont settle for anything else.

okie

 

[Hateca]

Re: Remington issues???

Still sounds like a pressure issue. If the throat and lead were so short that you were touching lands with factory ammo before you sent it back, the throat and lead may still be too short and you're building pressure too fast.

Send it back or have a rifle builder look at the chamber and make a cast if need be.