Rem 700 failing to feed

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Born2climb

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I bought a Remington 700 5R Mil-Spec in .223 back in 2018, thinking I might get into precision shooting. Turns out this rifle would only work for single shot shooting. Almost every time, the bolt slips right over the next round in the magazine. I’ve bent the spring so that there’s added tension to the rear. Lightly sanded the sides of the follower, lest it be binding at all in the box. Took the box out and sprung it outward a bit in case it was creating drag. Still does it. Almost every single time. Anyone else seen this issue? What’s the solution? (Thanks in advance!)
 
I’ve read of a few people having to grind/file the feed rails, but am hesitant to do so unless I’m positive that’s the issue. I am beginning to lean that way, however. Follower moves freely up and down in the mag well.
 
The Rem700 mag spring is under designed, and a weak one will cause your problem. Look and see if the base of the next round is fed all the way up. If not, time for a spring.
 
I’m not sure what you mean. Sometimes you can rack the bolt and empty the rifle, other times it will feed one, skip one, etc. While ago, I tried and the first two rounds fed fine, then it skipped the third (second from bottom in mag).
 
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Make sure you are not short stroking the rifle and you are pushing the round all the way back (to the rear) when loading, bending springs isn’t a good solution. Also when working the bolt, do it in a strong firm manner, not hard but continue uniform forward momentum, same when moving the bolt rearward, if it doesn’t fix the issue try lubing the magwell box with silicone oil/grease and getting a new/stronger spring.
 
I’m definitely not short stroking it, always seat to rear, and it’s persistent. I’ve tried slow bolt stroke and quick/snappy. Happens with either. Rifle is near brand new condition. Been fired about 10 times. I have a 700 ADL in .30-06 that has had 4 rounds in the mag for close to 20 years and it feeds fine.
 
I wondered if a tiny bit of filing on the rail(s) would allow the cartridges to “pop” up the tiniest bit higher and thereby insure better bolt engagement. By filing/grinding, I mean wherever the follower is contacting and being stopped.
 
Born2climb said:
There are no feed lips. It’s a BDL.
Click to expand...

Yes, they're are "feed lips" they're part of the receiver. The feed lips can be seen on either side of the cartridge:

photo_3-jpg.jpg

They're what keeps the rounds in the internal magazine until stripped forward into the chamber by working the bolt. Same function as the fed lips on a detachable magazine, they're just integral to the receiver.
 
Born2climb said:
I’m not sure what you mean.
Click to expand...
What I mean is that you should look, with your eyeballs, and observe whether or not the base of the next round is fed all the way up against the lips, or not. It should be fed up against the lips by the spring.

If it is fed, no spring will help because you have a geometry problem. If it's not fed, you have at least a spring problem.
 
You could always change it out for a detachable box mag. There are kits out there to do this, not cheap though.

Have you tried contacting Remington? They might send you an entire kit to replace the factory parts.
 
I have not reached out to Remington (yet).

As to them being lips or rails, I understand they serve the same purpose, but a detachable magazine has "lips", that can be tweaked by slight bending. The rails, as an integral part of the receiver, cannot.

It's rather a hit-or-miss as to how the next round sits. Sometimes it's sitting perfectly aligned for the bolt to pick it up, other times it's tip-high and butt-low, and the bolt skips right over it again.

@edwardware....If it is a geometrical issue, do you have any recommendations?
 
I bought the rifle isn 2018, mounted a scope, sighted it in, then discovered the feed issue. Life got busy, and I pretty much shelved the idea for a time. Now I'm wanting to proceed. My initial idea was to use the Dremel to lightly grind the left side rail first, like a couple of thousandths at a time, until the left side feeds correctly, then see if that fixes the whole issue, or if the right side needs tweaking as well.
 
There's an internal box with lips on it, you could pull out all parts and then do a little tweaking.

10-000055-2T.jpg
 
Born2climb said:
I have not reached out to Remington (yet).
Click to expand...
Don't waste your time, Remington is a new entity now and does not support any previous products. :(

As already mentioned, you need to watch the bolt closely. If it catches the round and moves it a little then looses it before it chambers, then you probably have a feed lip problem. If it doesn't catch the round at all, then the rounds are probably not in fully indexed position, which is going to be a spring or follower issue.
 
Born2climb said:
It's rather a hit-or-miss as to how the next round sits. Sometimes it's sitting perfectly aligned for the bolt to pick it up, other times it's tip-high and butt-low. . .
Click to expand...
If you have seen this, and aren't simply assuming it. . . then now you know you have a spring problem. Solve that first.

If it's geometry too. . . machining those lips is going to be a real peach of a job. . . hopefully it's not necessary.
 
Try this:
Insert one round and force it down while closing the bolt so the round doesn't chamber.
Then cycle the bolt. Repeat this a few times.
Does the round chamber properly when cycling the bolt?
Does the bolt catch the round at all or miss it?

If it is not catching the bolt at all, your problem is most likely the spring.
If it is cycling properly doing this, your follower is probably hanging up on something.
 
It's Remington's problem. Have they fix it before you start grinding or filing on anything.
 
Are you using factory ammo or reloads? If reloads make sure they are not jamming, due to being too long.

On the 700's I've worked on. Watch as you move the bolt forward. If it's not catching base of the round you found your problem then proceed to correct it. Make sure the follower in not sticking if low in back.
 
Hugger-4641 said:
Don't waste your time, Remington is a new entity now and does not support any previous products. :(

As already mentioned, you need to watch the bolt closely. If it catches the round and moves it a little then looses it before it chambers, then you probably have a feed lip problem. If it doesn't catch the round at all, then the rounds are probably not in fully indexed position, which is going to be a spring or follower issue.
Click to expand...
I always forget that. I keep telling people to reach out to Remington forgetting that they've gone the way of the dodo.
 
I ordered a replacement spring off eBay, as well as a Wyatt follower. Installed them yesterday. Didn't help much, and the second (from top) round ALWAYS spits out and jams up rather than feeding properly. :fire:
 
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