Remington 700 bolt not locking

D

danager

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Okay, so I have been doing some work on this rifle over the past few months. I recently picked up a take-off H&S Precision stock on the EE. It fit great, was in great shape and the gun worked flawlessly. I decided to bed the action, and of course I knew what I was doing because I watched 3 or 4 videos on youtube :/

I felt the prep and execution went well. I reassembled the rifle last night, which meant re-attaching the trigger assembly and internal magazine and then attaching it to the stock. After everything goes back together, I function test the rifle. Safety works, bolt release works, hinged floor plate not binding... I ran my snap caps through, and no issues chambering a round, firing, extracting and ejecting. No odd signs on the snap caps either. When I cycle the bolt, it does not "lock" in the forward/closed position. When I push the bolt forward and down, it is all one smooth motion. This does not feel right.

I am fairly mechanically inclined and I have the tools to get almost any job done. Aside from taking out the trigger group again, and re-install it, I am not sure where I should look next. Any insight here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Dan
 
danager said:
Safety works, bolt release works, hinged floor plate not binding... I ran my snap caps through, and no issues chambering a round, firing, extracting and ejecting. No odd signs on the snap caps either. When I cycle the bolt, it does not "lock" in the forward/closed position. When I push the bolt forward and down, it is all one smooth motion. This does not feel right.
Dan
Click to expand...

Dan, some bolts needs to be pushed forward as you turn the handle down. It can be a matter of the edge of the locking lugs catching at the edge of the locking lug recesses if the bolt is not fully forward...

if you are referring to the bolt handle 'locking' down, they are not supposed to... you should be able to lift it...

Can you dry fire it? Are you experiencing how it feels if you cycle the bolt with the trigger held back...? If so test the trigger function.

Without inspecting it, that's all I have...
 
Thanks for the quick replies! I must be over-thinking this. The bolt cycles both empty and with a snapcap chambered.
I thought the bolt handle did "lock" in place, or at least feel more like it is engaging the lug recesses. My son just picked it up and said it feels fine too, a bit smoother probably because I cleaned it really well when it was apart.
Old age is setting in here...
 
Eagleye said:
Sounds like normal operation to me. 700 Bolts do not "lock" down.
Eagleye.
Click to expand...

Some did, depending on date of manufacture. I've got one, a custom shop .375 with a "B" prefix in the serial number which should make it an early 80s date. If I remember correctly the changeover was in '82 and there was a volunteer recall/retrofit program from Remington for those that wanted theirs changed to non locking.
 
Dogleg said:
Some did, depending on date of manufacture. I've got one, a custom shop .375 with a "B" prefix in the serial number which should make it an early 80s date. If I remember correctly the changeover was in '82 and there was a volunteer recall/retrofit program from Remington for those that wanted theirs changed to non locking.
Click to expand...

It wasn't really a volunteer retro fit, it was a recall and any 700 coming returning from Remington will have the non locking safety installed. Remington would like every 700 out there to have the new style safety and it will be installed at no charge forever...
 
Dogleg said:
In any event, there are decades worth of 700s made that locked the bolt. (I fixed your typo)
Click to expand...

And every one of them is under a recall... Remington does not want any of them to have a locking safety... due to the fact you have to disengage the safety to remove a round from the chamber... no longer considered safe with so many morons out there.
 
I have no idea how the "bolt locking safety" got into this conversation.
The OP simply stated that he felt no indication of a "locking" feeling when he closed the bolt.
The safety was not even mentioned. [another feature entirely]
He noted there was a lack of any feel as he closed the bolt on an empty chamber...perfectly normal.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
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