Stiff Remington 700 bolt

[Brandon H.]

Well I bought a Remington 700 ADL from Walmart for $300, which I thought was a great deal but the bolt on the rifle seems really stiff, and I am wondering is there ways to make it smoother?? I have owned plenty of pistols, but this is my first rifle. I have some rem-oil on the bolt and cycled the bolt up and down about 100 times and it seems to be not as bad. But I am wondering should I just wipe off the lube and try graphite?? The rem-oil seems to wear off sort of fast. Anything you guys to to make a bolt cycle a little smoother??

Oh and if I use graphite do I just lube the 2 lugs on the bolt??

Sorryfor the stupid questions, I have searched on here and didnt find what I needed, I hope I looked hard enough.

Oh and I just joined the site, but im not new to forums, so hi everyone!!

 

[birdbustr]

Shoot the rifle. It will loosen up a bit within the first 50 rounds. Cyclinng the action will help some, but there's nothing like the recoil of live rounds for making everything break-in properly. I like to use Tetra grease on the metal to metal contact areas on my guns. I use Browning Oil in the other parts. I have also used Rem-oil, and there is nothing wrong with it either, but it is a very light oil.

You'll find out that the Rem 700 action will hold up much better 2000 rounds later when some of the competition will have lots of "slop" and be "rattle traps". Just shoot the thing!

 

[dfariswheel]

For stiff bolts, apply a SMALL amount of a good grease to the rear face of the locking lugs, the bolt body, and the cocking cam on the bottom rear of the bolt where the bolt's cam surface is.

This will go a long way toward smoothing it up.

 

[Tony Gable]

Stiff Bolt

Hi Brandon,

Shoot the heck out of it and clean and lube it. It will loosen up. Brand new I assume. Like anything new you have to break it in and get all of the tiny maching irregularities out of it. Welcome to the forum. Lots of good info here.

Tony

 

[chute2thrill]

thank you brandon... i just bought the same gun for the same price at the same place... and i also had the same question... thanks for saving me the thread

 

[Brandon H.]

Thanks for the welcomes . Yes the rifle is brand new, havent fired a single round through it yet . So you guys recomend that I dont use graphite lube and use a grease correct? I was reading a post on one site and the member actioned his gun to smooth it out holding the trigger down so the firing pin will go in and out like 1000 times. I did this a couple days ago but only about 30 times and noticed that if would get stiffer and stiffer to the point where it didnt even feel comfortable. Like it was STIFF!! Now some time this week me and my buddy who just got out of basic training are going to the range to site in the scope, and I dont want to hurt my baby. So grease the gun like dfariswheel said and it should be fine??

 

[dfariswheel]

You can use a graphite grease like the old Hoppe's graphite grease that came in those small silver tubes, but any good grease will do the job.

The key area to grease is the cocking cam, since that's where most of the friction takes place during the lifting of the bolt handle.

As for grease, any good water and heat resistant grease will do.
You can buy cans or cartridges of Lithium grease at most any hardware, Wal-mart, or farm store. That was the specified grease for the M1 Garand rifle.

 

[W.E.G.]

I have no idea why anybody in this day and age would use graphite-based lubricant for a sporting rifle to be fired in North America.

That stuff is nasty-dirty for anything that comes in contact with it.

No only that, once you realize what a mistake it was to put it on your gun, its damn near impossible to ever get it all off.

The suggestions for Tetra grease are wise.

http://www.tetraproducts.com/product_view.asp?ID=1

 

[erict]

Make sure and use your rebates guys. I bought a new 700 a couple of months back and sent in the $30 rebate and got the check back about 4 weeks later.

Here's a link, just print the coupon and turn it in with the receipt and info that came with the rifle.

http://www.remington.com/library/promotions/2007_open_season_on_savings.asp

 

[vmfrantz]

The other posters are right. I was working at a house and the guy sold me pre acu trigger savage 110. The bolt was herky jerk to the point I was ready to sell it. It took about 80 rounds down range to smooth it out. Now its one of my more favorite rifles to shoot with.

 

[hoghunting]

Did the rifle come with the scope installed or did you install it? You could have one of the front base screws protruding into the receiver and hitting a lug when locking the bolt.

 

[rodregier]

+1 for Tetra grease and bolt wear points.

 

[Picher]

Powdered graphite has been known to cause corrosion in firearms. I use Tetra grease also. Oil is not the best lube for bolts, especially cocking cams. Dry lube like moly is best for firing pins.

Tight bolts can be smoothed up with valve lapping compound and automobile polishing compound, but it's a messy job and it must be cleaned out of every nook and cranny before using the rifle. Removing the firing pins while lapping makes cleanup easier.

Some people use very fine grit emery paper on bolt raceways and rough spots. It shouldn't be used on locking lug rear surfaces, since that affects headspace or create uneven surface contact. Lapping bolts is the best method of creating uniform contact with locking surfaces.

Picher

 

[skinewmexico]

I'd be tempted to clean all the lube off, and sit in front of the TV some night, and work the action about a 1000 times. Then I'd put Tetra on it and shoot.

 

[Brandon H.]

Ok well I went to walmart (yeah yeah I know) and I found some of this

http://www.ramseyoutdoor.com/produc..._term=THOMPSONCEN+9212000494&utm_campaign=nxs

Its a breach plug grease, but will it work for the bolt?? Its a grease and its got a high heat range. And its made by Tetra Gun

The scope base screws are fine, they dont hit the bolt anywhere. I noticed that the grease did help smooth it out, so im happy about that. But I also noticed the the bolt is only stiff when cocking the gun (like after firing, when you lift the bolt and it resets the hammer). Thats the rough part. So maybe if I take the stock off the gun and spray everything down with cleaner and re-oil it will help?? Any ideas about that? .....Sorry guys, but I am learning a lot.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The key area to grease is the cocking cam, since that's where most of the friction takes place during the lifting of the bolt handle

Right you are -- greasing the locking lugs does nothing for you, and can pack the locking recesses with ghunk.

 

[siglite]

My savage was awful from the factory. I dry fired and worked the action about 500 times. That helped some. Putting about 800 rounds through it helped even more. It's smooth now. Not sako smooth, but damn smooth.