I recently bought a Rem 700 VLS thumbhole in 22-250, but haven't had a chance to shoot it until I buy a scope. The question I have is in regards to the safety lever. With the bolt closed, the safety can be pushed to the "off" (forward) position easily enough, but pulling it back with the bolt closed is a lot stiffer than it should be. If I open the bolt, it moves more easily.

Any suggestions on fixing this, or should it ease up with use? It seems the tension on the action with the bolt closed is causing it, but I'm not sure where to start. The trigger pull itself feels great.

When you rotate the safety to the rear, there is a little "leg" that rides in the center of the trigger housing, which rotates upward as the thumb lever is pulled back, which engages and lifts the safety cam off the connector and which blocks the firing pin from moving forward.

Sometimes when the triggers are over bubba'd, the safety cam ends up sitting too low in the cocked position preventing the "leg" from easily engaging the cam.

Pull the barrelled action from the stock and remove the bolt. Look at the back of the trigger assembly while you operate the safety and you will see this "leg" rotate up and down in the trigger housing.

On an empty chamber, insert and cock the bolt. Now watch to see what happens as you operate the safety. If the trigger has been worked on, there is a good chance that the engagement between the "leg" and safety cam is out of whack. This would probably best be addressed by a gunsmith who is familiar with Remington triggers. Good luck!

Thanks!