Gunsmithing Sticky bolt, feed issues, scratches on case

[Lynn313]

Monday I received rifle back from gunsmith. 300 WM, blueprinted REM 700, BDL floorplate with Wyatt box, Bartlein 1-10 match chambered 26” barrel, CE trigger, A3-5 adj stock. I could hardly work bolt it was so sticky. It looked like to much cerakote inside action. I cleaned, lubed and cycled it has gotten better, but still not smooth. I’m up to about 500 bolt cycles now.

On shooting I discovered it wouldn’t feed unless I ran bolt over top of rounds, closed, pulled bolt back, then push bolt forward. Then the round would come up cocked to high at tip. It will load or jam about 50/50% of time. Advice on how to correct?

Doing case prep today I saw a longitudinal scratch on shoulder & dimple at shoulder/body junction. What could cause this? Serious or not serious?

There is also uneven wear on bolt. Pics included. Should I expect this on a blueprinted action? Indicates any kind of problem?

The gunsmith built this right before an operation and isn’t available for comment. I am concerned though because he said he shot it 20 to 30x’s before sending it. I’ve really enjoyed working with him, but don’t understand my being sent rifle without a heads up.

Appreciate all help. This is rifle i’m hoping to use on a Colorado elk hunt this fall.

 

[ShtrRdy]

Those mark's on the case are curious. Can you feel them if you slide your fingernail across them?

The mark's on the Ceracoat are probably okay. I've got a accurized Rem 700 that was Ceracoated and there is finish worn off in spots on the bolt.

The sticking bolt while cycling sounds like maybe the Ceracoat got applied a little thick. Try removing any lube you've put on the bolt body and cycle the action lots of times. Put some grease on the lugs but no lube on the body.

The difference in wear on the lugs seems slight. It looks like the lug with less wear is still contacting the abutment but not as much.

 

[Lynn313]

Gunny, can definitely feel scratches. Could that be from some blasting media got into chamber and was baked on? I shot it 40 times and it’s still there. I’m holding off on anymore shooting until I get some answers. The bolt has gotten better as I have continued cycling it. Appreciate you looking at it and giving advice. I’m USMC VV Era veteran & been around guns all my life, but definitely not a gunsmith.

 

[AIAW]

That doesn't look trued (blueprinted) to me. Was it sold to you as saying this or was your gunsmith the one that was supposed to true it up for you?

Your feeding issue might be solved by slight magazine feed lip adjustment.

 

[Lynn313]

That doesn't look trued (blueprinted) to me. Was it sold to you as saying this or was your gunsmith the one that was supposed to true it up for you?

Your feeding issue might be solved by slight magazine feed lip adjustment.

I paid my gunsmith to blueprint (true) it. Thanks for the tip on the feed lip. My gunsmith will be out of commission for at least 2-3 weeks.

 

[smoooth1]

@AIAW - Agreed.
That looks like poor workmanship (or no workmanship?) covered in Cerakote.

 

[Lynn313]

Bought some factory ammo today. Still feed issues. more wear patterns on bolt as i try to feed factory ammo.

 

[ugsly308]

It looks like your not getting enough case presentation and as the round goes to feed up the ramp the ass end dips the bolt rides over the top. You said Wyatts box? Which Wyatts box is it? I have run into an issue with some of the Wyatts extended box mags and rounds feeding.

Just looking at the pics, it looks like he laid the cerakote on thicker. Black goes on pretty thin, the thicker it gets you start to see that texture/ripple look that it has. The edge on the front ejection port looks to be thick also. Those areas are more prone to chipping if its thick.

Casey

 

[Lynn313]

Just returned from seeing gunsmith at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, MO. The sticky bolt is a Cerakote problem. The rails in the action have a thick layer of cerakote. He said the bolt scratches are where it is wearing away the cerakote. He said it will get better & to use some extra lube until then.
The feed issue was a simple fix. The Wyatt’s box wasn’t set right. It was cocked with the upper right hand corner sitting by the right side of feed rail.
The gunsmith should have given me a heads up about the sticky bolt. If he single fed when test firing he could have missed the feeding issue.
I’m keeping in mind that he was working in pain and trying to finish the job before his operation. He had neck vertebrae fused Thursday from an auto accident.
I couldn’t count the times i’ve been in Bass Pro Shops and never realized they had full custom gunsmith services. My wife told me about it. I have been very worried about my 1st custom and want to thank everyone for their help. After the gunsmith heals we’ll see about fine tuning the feeding.
Thanks

It looks like your not getting enough case presentation and as the round goes to feed up the ramp the ass end dips the bolt rides over the top. You said Wyatts box? Which Wyatts box is it? I have run into an issue with some of the Wyatts extended box mags and rounds feeding.

Just looking at the pics, it looks like he laid the cerakote on thicker. Black goes on pretty thin, the thicker it gets you start to see that texture/ripple look that it has. The edge on the front ejection port looks to be thick also. Those areas are more prone to chipping if its thick.

Casey

I took it to gunsmith yesterday. It was working ok except for the sticky bolt. He said he could see cerakote inside action including on rails. It has a Calvin Elite trigger. I took barreled action off yesterday to adjust trigger. I’ve had a bugger of a time getting everything feeding ok. Still not ok.
I don’t know the difference in Wyatt’s extended boxes. This went into a Rem L/A to give me more COAL for loading VLD type bullets. This has definitely been a disappointing experience.

 

[ugsly308]

Lynn, If you running the Center feed wyatts (CFE-09, gets you to a COAL of 3.990) the action has to be milled back and feed rails opened a tad. With that model you rely on the wyatts box feed lips to control how the rounds feed. The MBE-02 add around .100-110 length, a lot of times you can fit the box and everything is fine. Sometimes theres another step you can do to get more case presentation to get them to feed like a champ.

 

[Lynn313]

Lynn, If you running the Center feed wyatts (CFE-09, gets you to a COAL of 3.990) the action has to be milled back and feed rails opened a tad. With that model you rely on the wyatts box feed lips to control how the rounds feed. The MBE-02 add around .100-110 length, a lot of times you can fit the box and everything is fine. Sometimes theres another step you can do to get more case presentation to get them to feed like a champ.

Ugsly308, I don’t know which it is. My rifle has been at the gunsmiths for 2 days now. I hope he’s familiar with the steps you are referring to. He said he couldn’t believe anyone would send such sloppy work out. The action has been milled out at the back. We found a flat washer at the rear of the box that was used for a spacer to hold box in place. I’m guessing it was milled to much, but am going to,wait until the new gunsmith finishes repairing the 1st gunsmiths work and see what he said. I could have lived with letting the cerakote inside the action and on the rails wear down over time, but the new gunsmith is determined to make the bolt work like it should.

I wanted this ready for lots of practice before hunting season and a very well ,known smith with awesome rep couldn’t guarantee the time frame so I went this other smith and guess I got what I deserved for not having patience. I’m just hoping when new smith finishes with it the accuracy will be there. Not getting to upset as there’s bigger things in life to worry about.

 

[Lynn313]

Ugsly308, I don’t know which it is. My rifle has been at the gunsmiths for 2 days now. I hope he’s familiar with the steps you are referring to. He said he couldn’t believe anyone would send such sloppy work out. The action has been milled out at the back. We found a flat washer at the rear of the box that was used for a spacer to hold box in place. I’m guessing it was milled to much, but am going to,wait until the new gunsmith finishes repairing the 1st gunsmiths work and see what he said. I could have lived with letting the cerakote inside the action and on the rails wear down over time, but the new gunsmith is determined to make the bolt work like it should.

I wanted this ready for lots of practice before hunting season and a very well ,known smith with awesome rep couldn’t guarantee the time frame so I went this other smith and guess I got what I deserved for not having patience. I’m just hoping when new smith finishes with it the accuracy will be there. Not getting to upset as there’s bigger things in life to worry about.

Ugsly, I have my rifle back. There were issues with the fit of box. It was free floating in recess. New gunsmith did a minor alteration on feed ramp, milled front of box to fit ramp, & resolved issue causing box to free float. It is now secured in recess in BDL floorplate. A list of items corrected.

Problems identified & corrected by 2nd gunsmith. I’m explaining best I can. Understand I am not a gunsmith.

1. A lot of the problems were due to the sloppy cerakote application. Cerakote all in action including heavy coating on rails. The bolt also had to heavy a coating of cerakote. At the same time the cerakote covered sloppy work on the bolt where he cut extractor slot ( grinder marks which would never be seen due to cerakote)which was discovered as the 2nd gunsmith removed the cerakote.

2. Feed issues: the Wyatt’s box had to be milled some to be compatible with the feed ramp. The box was also just floating without being secured. Pic’s attached- the bottom pin on the Timney CE is 490 thou wide. The trigger guard width is 423 thou wide, so the bottom metal wasn’t sitting down as far as it should. It was sitting on the pin. The Wyatt’s box was not secured in the bottom metal recess. Gunsmith milled grooves in guard so it could be lowered over trigger pin. See pic- talking small distance just enough to engage box into recess.

3. Trigger issue: when safety was pushed into fire position it would not engage in the fire position. It just floated. The trigger was not compatible with the cut in the trigger guard. When 1st firing the gun after receiving it (single feed with sticky bolt) it did fire a couple of times when I wasn’t expecting it to. I don’t know whether or not this was due to safety not being “engaged” in the fire position. Sear engagement was adjusted to far & had to be adjusted.

4. Bolt stop: wasn’t popping out to stop bolt due to heavy cerakoting. Bolt was just pulling straight out.

5. Asked how it got the cerakote off bolt. He said with a lot of _____ _______ work!

6. Front action screw: gunsmith shortened screw as it would touch bolt.

7. *Note: when 1st receiving rifle with me single feeding one round at a time working sticky bolt it shot a good group with 210 Berger’s over a light load of 73.5 gr of H1000

Gunsmith who did build that needed correcting was Alton at Dixie Precision Rifles.

 

[Keith Johns]

About the bolt lugs... not sure if this was answered, didn’t see it...
It’s common for the bottom lug to show more wear because the firing pin assembly forces the bolt up at the rear, causing the bottom lug to rub anytime it’s cycled, and the top lug only when a round is tight in the chamber.

More wear on the bottom lug is common with 700s due to bolt slop and the way it works.