Remington 541-T: Bolt is hard to work, solution?

[kdave21]

Hello, any help is greatly appreciated.

When the rifle is in a non-charged state and the bolt is worked, the initial lifting of the bolt handle is very hard to do. (Pulling the bolt back and returning it all the way forward and down feels normal) Once the rifle is "cocked" or charged, the bolt is easy to work, easy to lift etc. But once the trigger is pulled, the whole difficult lifting thing starts again.

Does anyone know what is going on??? I thought maybe one of the plugged holes had a screw dragging on the bolt or something but that doesnt make sense that it would only do it before the gun was charged.

I have not had a 22 bolt action rifle before, is this normal? It is quite difficult to lift the bolt, doesnt seem normal to me....

 

[kdave21]

PS I have never shot this rifle before. I dont think it has seen hardly any use before me, it is in near perfect condition. Does it just need broke in?

 

[Chawbaccer]

Put little grease (Lubriplate) on the cocking cam, should make it easier.

 

[kdave21]

chawbaccer: When you say grease the cocking cam, do you mean somewhere around arrow # 1 or arrow #2, or neither?

 

[kdave21]

I noticed this wear on the bolt, I wonder if it is normal wear or indicative of a slight misfit of the bolt in the receiver? If so, it seems like nothing but time and use will smooth it out...

 

[Chawbaccer]

No, its the place showing above the bolt handle, the angled place that goes up towards your arrow 1, grease the angle. also put a small dab on the back side of the locking lugs.
That looks like normal wear to me, just thru the finish.

 

[bigedp51]

My 581 looked the same way, use some moly grease on the lugs and all moving bolt parts to smooth the action. My 581 dates from 1973 and required some stoning to smooth the bolt operation back then.

How many of you remember the Redfield Frontier 3/4 inch .22 scope.

 

[kdave21]

Thanks guys for the recommendations. I will try to grease up these points and see if it helps. The biggest thing that confused me is that it only was hard to work the first time, before the bolt had been charged. It seems like it should be a consistent feel whether or not the bolt had been charged...?

So I am gathering that it is the general opinion that this is nothing to worry about, am I correct?

Tell me more about this Redfield Frontier...is it a good one? (I suppose it is now impossible to find based on your comment?). I mounted bases on the 541 today and now need to start thinking about a scope for it. I have been thinking about the BSA sweet 22. Any other recommendations? If I buy it any time soon, it will have to be semi-reasonable priced, ideally not more than $50, although I could probably spend more if I HAD to...

 

[kdave21]

There is a frontier on GB for $69.

 

[Chawbaccer]

When you raise the bolt you are cocking the action which compresses the heavy spring that powers the firing pin.

 

[Krogen]

I just bought a 541-T from my brother and noticed the same issue. The bolt is pretty smooth when cocked, but lifting/cocking it after firing a round doesn't feel right. In fact, it feels like something is binding or even squeeking as I lift the bolt handle. Chambering a round also takes some forward effort on the handle.

Two things I did that helped a bit. 1) I disassembled the bolt, cleaned it up and greased the firing pin spring. I also greased the surfaces mention earlier in the thread. 2) I readjusted the trigger. I found that he had adjusted it such that there was no overtravel at all. If there isn't at least some overtravel, internal parts can bind and cause stiff bolt lift.

These two things have helped a bit. I'm thinking I need to stone the camming surfaces as they appear somewhat galled. Also, I'm thinking the chamber needs a good cleaning with a bore brush unless it's just a really tight chamber.

 

[natman]

Put some grease where the white line is. A bit on the lugs wouldn't hurt either.

The two grooves shown in the second photo do not look right. It appears that something like a burr or a screw is dragging on the bolt handle collar when it is turned. Look in the receiver and see if there is anything that the collar could drag on.

 

[kdave21]

Thank you Natman and Krogen for the help. It may take a few days to get to it, but I will try things and let you know if it helped. Glad to know I am not the only one with this issue Krogen.

If I understand the definition of over travel correctly (I am thinking this is the distance the trigger is pulled before the rifle fires) then I would say this rifle has very little over travel. I was just looking at the manual, and I dont see anywhere where it says how to adjust the trigger. Do all 541s have adjustable triggers? If so, how do I adjust it?

 

[DM~]

How many of you remember the Redfield Frontier 3/4 inch .22 scope.

Now that the origional question has been answered, i'll answered your's...

I still have two of them, here's the one on my Browning,



Of course, Browning also sold the same scope with Browning on it.

DM

 

[kdave21]

Another person with the redfield frontier. Feedback on this scope?

 

[Krogen]

Thank you Natman and Krogen for the help. It may take a few days to get to it, but I will try things and let you know if it helped. Glad to know I am not the only one with this issue Krogen.

If I understand the definition of over travel correctly (I am thinking this is the distance the trigger is pulled before the rifle fires) then I would say this rifle has very little over travel. I was just looking at the manual, and I dont see anywhere where it says how to adjust the trigger. Do all 541s have adjustable triggers? If so, how do I adjust it?

Kdave21,

First, let me say that adjusting your trigger can cause you some problems if you don't know what you're doing. It's simple enough and there are lots of sites on the 'net giving instructions. However, you must get it right. I was lucky enough that my 541 has a 3-screw trigger, but I recall reading that later ones were re-designed.

The screws adjust pull weight, sear engagement and overtravel. Pull weight should be obvious. Sear engagement is the distance the trigger moves before it releases. Overtravel is the distance the trigger moves after it has released. If there's not a slight amount of overtravel, then the trigger mechanism may not trip cleanly and you may find some binding. That was my situation.

Checking overtravel is easy. With the trigger released, it should allow a slight movement when you pull on it. While less is better, you want some detectable movement; say 0.020" or so.

As a final note, I am surprised at the bolt lift problem with the 541-T. Other bolt action .22 rifles I've used have been distinctly different. We aren't alone, though. There's a bit of chatter on the net about this exact issue.