I had my Rem 700 BDL in SS AI'd by someone in Nevada when I lived there. That was 16 years and 2500 miles away. I'm just wondering if someone here can tell me what's wrong and what I need to do to fix it.

After he did the AI job the brass catches on the edge of the receiver instead of being thrown clear. Now if I cycle hard and fast, I can eject and load, but there's a long scratch/gouge along the side of the brass that was ejected.

Just now I took an unfired piece of 270 brass and cycled it. It doesn't "catch" on the side of the action like the AI brass does, but it does hit the side and scrape along before limply being thrown clear at the end.

I distinctly remember the ejection of this rifle before this AI job. It was smooth and crisp and the brass didn't get flicked to the side until it was clear of the chamber part of the action. It stayed straight inline with the barrel until it was clear of the chamber area and then crisply flung to the side. It didn't matter how slowly you did it, it worked flawlessly everytime. Until the AI job.

Not being a gunsmith, I'm sure I'm not using the proper terms, but I think you all know what I'm talking about.

Oh, as far as the guy's experience? He was very experienced with mouser actions. As it turns out, that's all he ever worked on for years. He admitted to me after the fact that mine was the first Remington action he had ever worked on.

What happened and what will I need done? Can it be fixed? What's the price range for the repair or parts replacement?

TIA

Remington 700’s have a spring loaded plunger ejector so the speed and/or force of the bolt cycle ain’t gonna make allot of difference in how the case is tossed.

The trajectory of the tossed case is dependent upon the positional relationship between the ejector plunger and the extractor on the bolt face, as well as the spring force of the ejector.

I would take it to a smith who knows about 700’s and have him check or replace the extractor and ejector or both.

700 Extractors and ejectors are not expensive, and both are easily and quickly replaced.

Sure sounds to me like an ejector spring issue. The extractor is pulling the case from the barrel but the ejector isn't flipping it out. The fact you mention the normal case is just limply ejected. On a working 700 the ejector will push the case against the right side of the action as soon as it clears the edge it will flip out. The AI case will just give you that much more drag. When you do it hard it is just the momentum of the case when the bolt hists the stop that is ejecting it.

Springs can get weak in 16years. $1 part and 5 minute fix.

I will bet that if you pull the ejector you will find the spring is all gunked-up with years of crud.

Pull the firing pin assembly out and try soaking the bolt overnight in a good grease eating solvent and blow it out the next day with a high pressure air hose and see if there’s a difference. Those spray cans of brake cleaner-degreaser from an auto parts store work pretty good also.

To pull the ejector to check or replace the spring you have to have either a special tool (available from Brownells) or a home made way to compress the plunger/spring so you can drive the cross pin out. I’ve done it before by putting the bolt in a vice and having a friend compress the plunger with a hardwood dowel or a piece of delrin rod while I drove the pin out. If you try this just remember that the ejector plunger is under ALLOT of spring pressure when its compressed so be really careful when removing the dowel to let the pressure off. Reinstall the same way, with the same degree of caution.

The AI case "catches" on the side of the receiver because of the minimum body taper. The scratch is a result of a sharp edge on the lug recess inside the reciver. Remove the bolt and reach in carefully with your pinky finger, you will be able to feel the sharp spot- the reason to be carefull is you can cut your finger. Using a small piece of 320 grit wet or dry paper or a small round needle file and then the paper, just break the corner and smooth the edge. This will eliminate the scratch. Then you need to clean the ejector button as suggested and you problem should be solved.

JWK all three of the above answers have told you everything you need to know! Tis is a simple issue, and a simple mechanical operation. Now take the bolt out of your rifle and take a piece of fired or virgin brass and place it on/in the bolt face and feel the pressure from the ejector and underlying spring. If you visualize the relationship between the casing and the reciever you will fully understand the scraping you are experiencing. If the ejector or ejector spring were really not functional, the case would fall loose into the action when the bolt bottomed on the ejection stroke. Hell, my memory isn't as sharp as it once was...

Since the case is above the lines of the action once it clears the front ring. Where would it catch on the action enough to keep a functioning ejector from flipping it out? Don't have a 700 right now to look at.