My M70 in 375 H&H has developed a difficult bolt lift only after the trigger is pulled. Works slick in all directions without a trigger pull in the middle. Before you all jump and say to go down two grains on your load and keep on diggin, this is dry firing. Do I need to lube some place? I just put a thin coat of RIG on the bolt as it was getting just a bit of resistence on working the bolt. This is a semi custom rifle and one of the things I have loved about this rifle is the super slick way the bolt has always worked. Any help? Thanks, "D"

Try disassembling the bolt and cleaning it up and adding some good, slick grease to the cocking cam areas.

I would try some of the newer lubricating greases instead of RIG. RIG is far better at inhibiting rust than it is at lubricating moving parts.

Good luck,

Rick

I'd say you've got rust on your striker, under the bolt shroud. It's not your fault. Winchester left some bluing salts there. I've posted a fix:

http://www.accuratereloading.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=689233&page=2&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

H. C.

Could be rust but it is a SS rifle. "D"

Stainless eh? Well, you're not carrying it while you're surfing maybe? I don't guess it's rust then. Unless Winchester messed up and used some chrome-moly parts. Nah.

I don't think you're dealing with a buildup of firing residue either. Most of the friction involved in cocking (what you're doing as you lift the bolt handle with the striker down) happens back at the rear end of the bolt, and whatever is happening up front where the firing residue should be, well, that shouldn't depend on whether you're cocking the rifle or not.

To calibrate you, all the stainless guns I own are revolvers. Ignorance only rarely keeps me from forming an opinion, however, so here is my uninformed second crack at the problem.

I'd hate for it to be this, but perhaps you've got galling. That's the roughness that stainless steel develops when two pieces are rubbed together. Stainless steel sticks to stainless steel under pressure, and one piece pulls little pieces of the other piece off. Anti-seize lubricants are designed to prevent this, but they can't fix a galled surface.

Have you greased the little ramped surface on the underside of the bolt handle that actually pushes the striker back? How about the threads inside the bolt? The other surfaces that rub together when the rifle is cocked are between the striker and the bolt shroud or the striker and the channel in the receiver tang.

There are probably special anti-sieze gun lubes for stainless guns out there. I'm the wrong guy to ask about that. I use Break-Free CLP and Wilson Ultima-Lube grease on my revolvers.

Good luck.

H. C.

I've got a M70 Stainless and it is very important to keep some lube on the camming surfaces. This has helped mine quite abit

Yeah ,, Id say check the cam surface and cockig piece.