Hey fellas-

I have a Remington 700 Classic 7mm rem. mag. that has given me fits since the day I got it. My grandfather bought it new some years back, never shot it, then passed it along to me.

Here's the problem:
1. When chambering a round, it occasionally will not close over the head of the case. A very firm slam of the bolt will make it go into battery.
2. After firing, the bolt lifts with no problem, but is very stiff in coming rearward to eject the empty.

I have only fired factory rounds through it, and I get the same results with any brand of ammo. There are no pressure signs on the case. It seems to be a pretty good shooter when it works right, so I'd love to get it working. Thanks for any thoughts and input.

Gib

Gib,

Right off the bat without looking at the weapon I would guess that the extractor is the problem for why the bolt closes hard over the rim. The extractor is most likely the riveted type and can be out of whack from the factory. See if your gunsmith can either reposition it, or, install a new one. Minor work.

Sometimes a burr is formed at the forward edge of the belt area of the chamber, that digs into the case when it expands causing difficult extraction. Look your fired cases over for heavy or unusual markings in the forward area of the belt. Your gunsmith can polish this out rather easily.

Good luck,

Malm

Hey Gib, I'd guess Malm is correct.

But I've seen a couple that did a similar thing with a Scope Base screw that was "barely" too long. The bolt was free enough in the receiver that the screw didn't seem to effect it until a cartridge was put in. Then the cartridge changed the alignment of the bolt slightly and it would then barely make contact with the screw.

But, Malm probably has the correct answer.

[ 07-17-2003, 16:12: Message edited by: Hot Core ]

You might try backing out the front guard screw and seeing if it is rubbing against the bolt, do not shoot the gun this way. With the front screw loose try closing the bolt if your problem stops just grind a thread or two off the screw.