I think it is fairly safe to say it is of little benefit on a hunting rifle. In fact, tolerances which are too close can be a problem in a rifle intended for field use. The use of bumps to eliminate slop when the bolt is closed is more appropriate to field use but with the same sort of benefit, or lack thereof.
From what I have seen, the elimination of all movement at the rear of the bolt is good for about 1/10 moa vertically in group size. While this might be pretty exciting if you have a BR rifle which shoots .250, it's not that impressive when applied to a 30/06 that shoots .750.
Bolts which are VERY sloppy ( more than .010 under the receiver bore size) can show greater improvement mostly because they start out worse. It is rare that a Remington is that bad however. Regards, Bill.

Jordan, If the end product shoots under an inch with factory ammo or handloads on a consistent basis then I would be quite happy. I have gone to Greg Tannels website and his work is quite impressive just not sure whether it will pay off or not on a hunting rifle.

Is this procedure really necessary? I am thinking of building a hunting rifle out of a 700 action I own and have seen some writeups about this procedure. Thanks in advance for your replies.

Not to split hairs, but what is your definition of "necessary"? I have had the procedure done on three or four rifles---one Rem 700 chambered in 22 Vais and a couple of small Sakos. If you are building a rifle with a view toward obtaining the highest level of accuracy the rifle is capable of giving, then bolt-sleeving makes sense. For a hunting rifle however, it is superfluous, IMHO.

You might give Greg Tannel a call at [970] 353-6176 and purchase one of his videos that show how to sleeve a bolt and true an action. These videos let you see first hand exactly what you get with a sleeved bolt, especially in terms of function. One video shows that with a properly trued action and sleeved bolt, the bolt lugs will completely wipe black ink [from a magic marker] off of the lug abatements in the receiver without any lapping to the bolt lugs. In other words, you get a very precise lock-up and movement of the bolt within the reciever. Sleeving can completely eliminate the cant which normally happens from the pressure of the trigger sear on the underside of the cocking piece at the rear of the bolt. It will also eliminate almost all bolt movement at ignition, especially bolt handle "jump".

In combination with other trueing procedures, bolt-sleeving can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. By that I mean you can turn a factory sloppy Rem 700 action into a precise fitting, dimensionally correct bolt action comparable in accuracy potential with the finest custom made, match quality bolt-action. Whether it is worthwhile in a hunting rifle depends I guess on the desires of the individual shooter.


Jordan