Recently picked up a Remington 700 barreled short action. Installed it in a custom stock bedded to a different 700 short action , as I was tightening the front action bolt I noticed that the bolt handle was starting to lift ever so slightly. If I snug up both front and rear bolts the handle still works but is definitely under pressure/tension when fully closed. Do I need to rebed the entire action or is there another option?
Remington 700 Bolt Handle Lifting
- Thread starter Toller
- Start date
Might just need to check the notch on the stock by where the bolt handle slots into. See if any part of the bolt is making contact with the stock. Look for rub marks. If so, knock down the high parts with a file.
You should soot, powder or Sharpie the bedding on the stock or the receiver, carefully lay the receiver back into the stock and install the bolts finger snug. Hold rifle muzzle to the sky and bounce the butt of the stock on the ground a few times. Remove the bolts and very carefully remove the receiver out of the stock. If you did it right, you should see where the receiver is making contact with the stock ie areas making contact will be rubbed off. If it's pretty even, you're good to go. If the rubbed off area is uneven, you should skim-bed it.
You should soot, powder or Sharpie the bedding on the stock or the receiver, carefully lay the receiver back into the stock and install the bolts finger snug. Hold rifle muzzle to the sky and bounce the butt of the stock on the ground a few times. Remove the bolts and very carefully remove the receiver out of the stock. If you did it right, you should see where the receiver is making contact with the stock ie areas making contact will be rubbed off. If it's pretty even, you're good to go. If the rubbed off area is uneven, you should skim-bed it.
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The rear action screw just needs to be snug, not cranked tight, and you get more consistency out of it that way as well. You might be flexing the receiver cranking both down since it was bedded for a different receiver. I ran into that with a '98 once, bolt would bind if the rear was too tight.
You should skim bed the action stress free... that is with no clamps or tight screws while the epoxy cures... wrap masking tape around the barrel to center it in the forend and to hold the action level. Tape the front, sides and bottom of the recoil lug for clearance.
Appears as if the front action screw was about two threads too long. Shortening resolved the bolt issue but still didn't like the way it fit in the stock so I did a skim bedding job and am pleased with the end result. Appreciate all of the advice and assists.
