I have a Rem 700 BDL SS. Real good shooting rifle with nothing more then a trigger job. I have also replaced the ISS shroud with a Remington replacement from Brownells.That is the extent of the modifications I have made. Here is my question. With the bolt uncocked and in the down position the bolt moves back and forth and makes a metallic sound all I have to do to make this happen is tip the gun up or down. I have been taken it hunting a few times and found the bolt open w/o walking thru brush. I have a few 700's and I can't replicate it with any of them. I called REmington customer service and they told me a normal amount of movement is allowed with the bolt in the down position. Any ideas or should I not worry about it? Thanks

Sempre Elk,

All of my 700’s have fore and aft play when uncocked...but I have to physically pull the bolt handle back and forth to see or feel it. I can shake it, tilt it, and even bump the butt on the floor and the bolt handle does not move or make any noise.

If your bolt is flopping back and forth, and opening on its own I would say that something is not right. Did it do this prior to your replacing the shroud/firing pin/spring assembly?

Rick, I replaced it(shroud firing pin assbly) pretty much a month after purchasing the rifle and if it was there I didn't notice it. This is pretty noticeable. In fact one of my friends picked it up and asked me about it as well

I would send it to Remington (after putting the ISS system back on!) and have them fix it. Sometimes its hard to get accross to the people on the phone what the problem is, while the guys in the shop will see it right off and fix it.

With the stock striker and bolt shroud assembly, there was enough interference between the sear and cocking piece to stop the rattle from occurring. With the aftermarket piece, this is apparently not the case. I doubt that there is any real problem with the rifle. One thing to check is to be sure the bolt shroud is screw in all the way. Regards, Bill.

If the bolt is in the "fired" position shouldn't there be some upward pressure on the bolt from the reset spring under the sear block in the trigger? It sounds like this trigger may need some attention, maybe the reset spring is jammed off location or missing?
Just some guesses.

I would replace the shroud firing pin assembly with the original and see if the problem persists. Does the rifle function with the replacement assembly in place? Do you have the correct shroud assembly (i.e. long action vs. short action). What sort of work was done to the trigger?

Yep,..there is NO pressure from the firing pin against the cocking piece which in turn pulls the locking lugs rearward against their respective seats. (I think). Try pulling on it when cocked,..it is tight in the action.

How can the bolt "come open" without cocking?

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Yep,..there is NO pressure from the firing pin against the cocking piece which in turn pulls the locking lugs rearward against their respective seats. (I think). Try pulling on it when cocked,..it is tight in the action.

No problem in that regard ..nice and tight..Its when its uncocked ..between it and my other 700's seems like there is less spring tension holding this bolt to the reciever.

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Originally posted by SempreElk:

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Yep,..there is NO pressure from the firing pin against the cocking piece which in turn pulls the locking lugs rearward against their respective seats. (I think). Try pulling on it when cocked,..it is tight in the action.

No problem in that regard ..nice and tight..Its when its uncocked ..between it and my other 700's seems like there is less spring tension holding this bolt to the reciever.

You need to remove the new firing pin assembly and install the old ISS one and see if the problem is still there.

Rick I wish I still had it but I actually sold it when I picked up this one. Hope its not too costly a mistake

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Originally posted by SempreElk:
Rick I wish I still had it but I actually sold it when I picked up this one. Hope its not too costly a mistake

Call Brownell’s since you bought the replacement there and tell them what’s happening. They’re pretty good about this kind of stuff.

Rick, I did as you suggested. Brownells told me that Remingtons firing pins are more tapered then before. He told me to use Action Lube plus on the spring and it will probably keep the pin from bouncing around. It makes no sense to me what he said I would imagine the spring whether cocked or uncocked is under pressure and its movement will be limited anyway.

As I mentioned before, the problem (?) lies in the relationship between the sear and cocking piece when the striker is in the fired position. This is, most likely, due to some minor dimensional difference between the factory and aftermarket pieces. Having said this, it is , of course, impossible to determine exactly where the difference lies over the internet! Regards, Bill.

Bill, that sounds more reasonable then the explanation Brownells gave me. It is a Remington replacement bolt shroud,firing pin and cocking piece assembly.

Sempre Elk,

Do you have a SA or LA? If it’s a SA...I have a spare assembly I would be more than happy to let you borrow so you’ll have something to check against.

Send me an address if you want to borrow it.

Rick its a LA ..thanks for the offer though..I'll get this fixed somehow or another

the extra pressure on the ISS actions is due to the spring being so damned convoluted and out of line inside the bolt body to make room for the locking mechanism. Did it make a funny sound when you were lifting the bolt handle before the new unit was put on? kind of like a "brooooiiiing" sound? That is the spring being bent out of shape during compression and it is rubbing the bolt body inside. That is also the reason we have found the ISS bolts to have far less slop that prior ISS bolts when cocked. That lock really throws off the spring and puts it in all kinds of binds and increases that rearward pressure.

You can probably just swap out the cocking peice with a new one and see if that does it. also,..many gunsmiths have them laying around in some parts drawers,..you might get a free one just to see.

all my bolts have that play,..and my 1000yd BR rig has the worst of them all,..but the targets can't tell it. I would think it's a non-issue moreso than a safety/performance issue,..but I am not a gunsmith either.

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the extra pressure on the ISS actions is due to the spring being so damned convoluted and out of line inside the bolt body to make room for the locking mechanism. Did it make a funny sound when you were lifting the bolt handle before the new unit was put on? kind of like a "brooooiiiing" sound?

Yep it made that old screen door opening sound. I'm going to have a stock put on it in a few months I'll have the gunsmith who probably has dozens of these laying around look at it.

Thanks for all the advice given. Much appreciated.