i have a remington 700 that throws fliers. the bolt handle contacts the stock. could this be the cause of the fliers?

IMO....not likely.....but it don't take much to relieve the stock to find out.

I've got to disagree with Vapo; it definitely can cause inaccuracy.

Depends in part on WHERE the bolt handle touches the stock...

If the back of the bolt handle touches the stock, it may well keep the back of the bolt's locking lugs from seating back into full contact with the back of the locking lug recesses in the action. That can definitely cause erratic shooting sometimes.

On the other hand, if the bottom side of the bolt handle is touching the center of the bottom of the bolt handle recess in the stock, it MAY have no bad effect at all. Though it would keep the bolt locking lugs from rotating closed as far as they would if the recess was deeper, it can still be a consistent closure.

Matter of fact, in the old days, a lot of top target shooters used to adjust the trigger pull engagment on their Model 52 Winchesters by putting a very small round headed wood screw into the stock at the middle bottom of the bolt handle recess. The screw would then be adjusted to hold the bolt handle up away from the wood a bit, thereby reducing trigger/sear/striker engagement, making for a VERY crisp (and dangerous I must add) trigger.

When meticulously adjusted, that trick not only didn't harm the accuracy of their rifles, it often improved it under carefully managed match conditions.

it was the back and the bottom of the bolt handle that touched the stock. i did relieve the material so i'll see tomorrow if it helps.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Kobe:
I've got to disagree with Vapo; it definitely can cause inaccuracy.

I've only had one bolt handle ever touch the stock (that I know of) and it was on a laminated stock that had warped enough such that the following spring the gun wouldn't fire because the stock didn't allow the bolt to close completely.

I used a dowel and 100 grit paper and sanded the bolt groove until it again cleared and the gun fired with it's usual accuracy.

As AC says...it depends and reconsidering my previous post, I can easily see inaccuracy happening depending on the place, amount, and severity of the bind.

I stand corrected!.....

Yup, for sure. Try and post that same question on Benchrest Central. Here is a link. I HOPE I am not mistaken but could be.

http://www.benchrest.com/forums/

Yes it can and will adversely affect accuracy. The boat paddle stocks-rynite- Ruger used were famous for this, I still have 2 of them and they both got sanded down until no more contact, fliers disappeared, that's why I still have them.

I'd been having problems with a Kimber Swedish Mauser Sporter. It would fire one or two rounds and then misfire, shallow primer hits. I had the pin and headspace checked, still the same.

I was test firing with a friend who was much more observant than I and he noticed the bottom of the bolt handle was contacting the Ramline stock. About 5 minutes of filing with the file on a Swiss army knife and problem gone.

The back of the bolt in my Model Seven touched the stock. I couldn't get it group three shots in less than 1 1/2 inches with fliers opening the group to over 2". I relieved the contact and it will now place five in about 1 1/4 with several loads.