Remington 700 SPS Questions

[Regolith]

I just bought a Remington 700 SPS chambered in .30-06 last week.



The store I was buying from didn't have any on the shelf, so I had to order one in. It took less than a week for the rifle to arrive (I ordered it last Monday and I got the rifle on Thursday). So far I'm fairly happy with it, except for two things that are bugging me.

The first is that the bolt, when fully open, wobbles enough (as much to an 1/8th of an inch of movement) that when I try to close the bolt it will catch and not move forward if I don't make sure to push it exactly right. Is this normal? None of the other bolt guns I have experience with (a couple of ancient .22's and some older Ruger M77's) seem to display this kind of bolt wobble, nor do they have issues with the bolt catching.

The second issue is what seems to be a screwup (a fairly deep gouge) when machining the groove in the bolt lugs. This may be the cause of the bolt wobble, but I'm not sure. Any thoughts on this?

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:



The gouge looks like it was done AFTER the blueing process due to the bare metal, which is a bit strange as all of the machining should have been done by then.

 

[Shawnee]

Personally, I would figure it's a brand new gun and you should not have to deal with or worry about such things - after all, the store didn't find anything wrong with your money.

I would take it back and ask for a replacement. And if the replacement had problems I would ask for my money back.

Good luck !

 

[Regolith]

Seems like it'd be easier just to have Remington replace the bolt. Its unlikely the store I bought from would have a replacement on hand (they don't usually keep a large stock), and I can't really fault them for it because it arrived NIB and they hadn't had a chance to check it before I picked it up.

However, I'd like to establish that this is in fact not normal and that the defect on the bolt is a serious problem before I go through the process of fixing it.

 

[cdrt]

I'd call Remington. I'm sure they'll want to replace either the bolt or the entire firearm. 1-800-243-9700 (that's the number I have for them; it may have changed).

Firearm Warranty Information

Who and what is covered by this warranty and for how long?
Remington warrants to you, the original purchaser of a new Remington firearm, that from the date of purchase, your Remington firearm will be free from defects in material and workmanship. Some limitations apply; select a model from the list on the right for specific warranty details.

What is not covered by this warranty?
We will not cover damage of your firearm caused by:

Failure to provide proper care and maintenance

Accidents, abuse or misuse

Barrel obstruction

Hand loaded, reloaded or improper ammunition

Unauthorized adjustments, repairs or modifications

Normal wear and tear

What will Remington do if you discover a defect?
If you make a claim within the warranty period following the instructions given in the specific model's owner's manual, we will, at our option, repair the defect(s), or replace the firearm at no cost to you. If we send you a new firearm, we will keep the defective one.

What is excluded from this warranty?
Remington excludes and will not pay incidental or consequential damages under this warranty. By this we mean any loss, expense or damages other than to repair the defects in the firearm or replace the firearm. No implied warranties extend beyond the term of this written warranty. PLEASE NOTE: Some jurisdictions do not allow exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, or limitation on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above exclusion and limitations may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights.

 

[04JRB]

I have the same gun in .270. My bolt does not have "play" in it that I recall and my bolt after many rounds does not have any gouges in it. I would certainly contact remington and they should send you a new bolt in my opinion.

Once you get this taken care of, you will be happy with your sps. I love mine, first pick for deer hunting. Mine has been a reliable and accurate rifle.

 

[USSR]

I would certainly contact remington and they should send you a new bolt in my opinion.

Remington (or any other manufacturer for that fact) will not send a bolt to someone, because the rifle needs to have the correct amount of headspace. Contact Remington and ask to have them service your rifle.

Don

 

[Regolith]

Remington (or any other manufacturer for that fact) will not send a bolt to someone, because the rifle needs to have the correct amount of headspace. Contact Remington and ask to have them service your rifle.

Can you explain this further? It seems to me that they should be able to just replace it with another bolt designed for a .30-06, and that the bolts should be dimensionally similar enough that there shouldn't be a problem taking one bolt from a rifle of a certain caliber and replacing it with the bolt of another of the same caliber?? Or am I off base?

 

[fernie kazam]

you're off base with that
every weapon is slightly different due manufacturing tolerences. Your rifle is only garanteed to fire safely with your bolt. Your bolt probably has a number on it somewhere that corresponds to the rifle's serial number showing their a matching pair.

 

[USSR]

Can you explain this further? It seems to me that they should be able to just replace it with another bolt designed for a .30-06, and that the bolts should be dimensionally similar enough that there shouldn't be a problem taking one bolt from a rifle of a certain caliber and replacing it with the bolt of another of the same caliber?? Or am I off base?

Whenever a bolt and/or a barrel is replaced, the headspace must be set properly. Not enough headspace, and the bolt won't close on the round; too much headspace, and your brass case will expand too much and possibly come apart. Dimensionally similar is not good enough - we are talking about dimensions of .001's here, when pressures of 60,000 psi are being generated right in front of your face.

Don

 

[tjj]

It's not normal but it doesn't prevent proper function either. Just cosmetics from the way it looks here. Still, it would gripe my ass too being brand new and all. Looks like a runaway die grinder mark accidentally made during final assembly. E-mail that pic to Remington and they will make the call on the repair / replacement route.

The "wiggle" is normal too. Make sure the wiggle does not let the bolt touch the stock though. A little bolt grease and oil will make working the bolt a lot easier when new.

 

[Regolith]

you're off base with that
every weapon is slightly different due manufacturing tolerences. Your rifle is only garanteed to fire safely with your bolt. Your bolt probably has a number on it somewhere that corresponds to the rifle's serial number showing their a matching pair.

Whenever a bolt and/or a barrel is replaced, the headspace must be set properly. Not enough headspace, and the bolt won't close on the round; too much headspace, and your brass case will expand too much and possibly come apart. Dimensionally similar is not good enough - we are talking about dimensions of .001's here, when pressures of 60,000 psi are being generated right in front of your face.

I see. Thanks for clarifying that.

It's not normal but it doesn't prevent proper function either. Just cosmetics from the way it looks here. Still, it would gripe my ass too being brand new and all. Looks like a runaway die grinder mark accidentally made during final assembly. E-mail that pic to Remington and they will make the call on the repair / replacement route.

The "wiggle" is normal too. Make sure the wiggle does not let the bolt touch the stock though. A little bolt grease and oil will make working the bolt a lot easier when new.

Well, the wiggle is bad enough it causes the bolt to catch hard when I try to close it without making sure I push it exactly right, so I'd say that while it probably doesn't impede firing the gun, it definitely makes it difficult to work the bolt in a hurry, which is something that I don't think I could stand on a hunting rifle (which is its primary function). And after examining the play in the bolt, it does appear that the gouge is primarily responsible for a lot of it.

I think I'm going to call Remington's service dept. in the next day or two. Anyone have any experience with Remington's warranty service? Any idea on how long it might take for them to fix the gun once I ship it back to them? Thanks.

 

[RevolverMan567]

good luck

I wouldn't think Remington would be responsible because that gun has probably seen 10-12 people before you got it, they do not ship direct to dealers only distributors so theres no telling where it happened, and the fact that it happened after bluing doesn't speak well for the handling of the distributor/gun shop because machining is all done before bluing occurs and it would be difficult to do that in final assembly seeing as those guys do that for a living and all. besides it would still have to pass final inspection after assembly.

 

[skinewmexico]

A gunsmith cuts the chamber with a reamer, and checks it with a headspace gauge, not the bolt. The bolt may be serialzed because it passes the headspace gauge test for that rifle, but hundreds of other bolts will too. But send it back, you deserve to get what you payed for.

 

[Regolith]

I wouldn't think Remington would be responsible because that gun has probably seen 10-12 people before you got it, they do not ship direct to dealers only distributors so theres no telling where it happened, and the fact that it happened after bluing doesn't speak well for the handling of the distributor/gun shop because machining is all done before bluing occurs and it would be difficult to do that in final assembly seeing as those guys do that for a living and all. besides it would still have to pass final inspection after assembly.

Doesn't really matter a whole lot. The damage is still Remington's problem, as it's their responsibility to make sure that their goods reach their customers in one piece. If one of the distributors is indeed at fault for the damage, that's between them and Remington. However, I don't think that is the case.

There were also one or two other small problems with it (such as over-torqued screw-hole covers that were placed in the scope base mounting holes - it took a half hour to get those things out), which makes me think that whoever put it together either hasn't been on the job long or doesn't take very much pride in their job, so I'm guessing that it did in fact take place in the factory.

Luckily, those seem to be the only problems, so hopefully when I get it back it will be a good shooter. I haven't even had a chance to fire the thing yet.

 

[RevolverMan567]

umm

so your saying if you built birdhouses for a living, and then after building it you give it to someone ele to sell for you, that person damages it and try to pass it off n someone else, somehow thats your fault and you are responsible for fixing it, wrong, i think you should go back to the dealer,, who should go back to the distributor. chain of command kind of thing.

if you buy a faulty tool at lowes, you return it to lowes, no call DeWalt and blame them.

 

[Regolith]

if you buy a faulty tool at lowes, you return it to lowes, no call DeWalt and blame them.

If the tool was faulty because DeWalt put it together wrong, yes, you call DeWalt and use their warrenty service. Sometimes it is easier to go through the store you bought it from, but in other cases it isn't, and this is one of those cases. I know the damage didn't occur at the place I bought it from, and I have no contact with the distributer, so its easier just to go through Remington, who probably caused the damage in the first place.

 

[sarduy]

The second issue is what seems to be a screwup (a fairly deep gouge) when machining the groove in the bolt lugs. This may be the cause of the bolt wobble, but I'm not sure. Any thoughts on this?

You got that right, the wobble is caused by that scrach you got there, here's a picture of "How it most look like" (this is not a Brand-New bold, but from my Rem sps 30-06) same as yours.

just call Remington and tell them what happen, and that you want to replace the Bolt. BTW here's a video (something carzy that i did) about how smooth the action should work.

video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC0u9MKSIYs