U Trust a rifle that had a frozen Bolt?

My sister’s Remington Model seven sat in a closet for years hardly ever used. With a shrug of my shoulders, I noticed a surrendering smirk on her face as I took possession leaving her home with it, both of us silently knowing she would never see it again.

This was actually a youth model in 7mm-08 with an 18 ½ inch tapered barrel and is very light weight even scoped, shooting 1 ½ inch groups @ 100 yrs with factory ammo.

But last season I was on stand early morning when I spotted a nice buck come off a ridge at 80 yards. It was 32 degrees and I shouldered the rifle, squeezing the trigger only to hear the bolt engage (drop) in two stages hitting the primer lightly but not detonating the round.
I bolted two more rounds with the same results! My bolt was frozen and it could not engage the full motion with a hard strike on the primer. After watching the Buck walk off, I headed back out of the swamps toward the truck. Trying one of the rounds again it went off no problem and I bagged a tree. ‘Go Figureâ€

I took it home, striped down the bolt with no signs of dirt but sprayed it anyway and sent it off to Remington.
They reported dried residue inside the bolt and on trigger assembly and polished the inside bolt body too. I didn’t see any.

Would you trust hitting the field next season with this rig, having the same experience?

Vinny

Sounds like Remington did their job. I'd shoot it a good bit in the off season and even put it in the freezer for an hour and try it if your still concerned. I don't put any lube on the bolt except behind each locking lug and in the cocking cam notch. Everywhere else on the bolt,including the inside is degreased and left that way. The trigger assembly I rinse out with lighter fluid every other year or,if I figure it's gotten dirt in it,before then. Let it evaporate and it will leave a lubricating film. Hope this helps.

til later

Leaving a rifle sitting idle in a closet for many years can certainly lead to dried lube in the bolt. The cold weather could certainly lead to even more problems. As has been mentioned, leave the inside of the bolt body dry or lube with dry graphite powder for better cold weather performance. Light grease on the lugs and cocking cam is a great idea as long as no grit accumulates on them.

Not to pick nits with you, but a slow firing pin fall is not the same thing as a frozen bolt. A frozen bolt (one I could not get to move, stuck in the action) would cause me concern until I knew for sure it was not the result of some previous high-pressure incident.

However, slow falling strikers (firing pins) are almost always the result of exactly what Remington said it was, or of weather so cold the oil viscosity thickened up just like cold motor oil does in a car motor parked out overnight in cold temps....and with the same result as in a motor...keeps things from moving as freely as they need to.

So basically, I would not worry in the least about it. Keep it clean and dry as the other fellows have suggested, go hunting, and kill that buck! Good luck, and enjoy the hunt even if you don't see ANY deer. It's the freedom to roam and hunt, not the size of the bag that is the ultimate pleasure. When you get too old to hunt, you'll most fully appreciate that.

Best wishes, and good luck,

AC

Not to pick nits with you, but a slow firing pin fall is not the same thing as a frozen bolt. A frozen bolt (one you could not get to move, stuck in the action) would cause me concern until I know for sure it was not the result of previous some high-pressure incident.

However, slow falling strikers (firing pins) are almost always the result of exactly what Remington said it was, or of weather so cold the oil viscosity thickened up just like cold motor oil does in a car motor parked out overnight in cold temps....and with the same result as in a motor...keeps things from moving as freely as they need to.

So basically, I would not worry in the least about it. Keep it clean and dry as the other fellows have suggested, go hunting, and kill that buck! Good luck, and enjoy the hunt even if you don't see ANY deer. It's the freedom to roam and hunt, not the size of the bag that is the ultimate pleasure. When you get too old to hunt, you'll most fully appreciate that.

Best wishes, and good luck,

AC