WTK: Rem 700 magazine spring

[mpthole]

I'm almost embarassed to ask this because I should already know.... so here goes. I have a Rem 700 in .308 and want to replace the magazine spring because I often have a hard time chambering a new round. Can anyone confirm if this is the correct spring? I honestly don't know if I have an ADL or BDL or whatever... All I know is that there is a little button near the trigger guard that will drop a floorplate that unloads the magazine.

Here's a pic of the rifle:

 

[JNewell]

700s with a floorplate are "BDL" style; the ones without are "ADL." That parts listing says it fits both.

However, I don't believe I've ever heard of one of those springs going bad, though perhaps a few are made bad. It is definitely possilbe to either fit the spring to the follower incorrectly or to fit the spring to the floorplate incorrectly, so you might check that first.

 

[Red_SC]

As JNewell said, you have a BDL. It looks like you have a McMillan A4 stock in the picture, is that correct? That's an aftermarket stock. When a rifle is upgraded with a McMillan stock, often new, stronger bottom metal is put on it as well, such as a Badger Ordinance or Williams bottom plate. If you have the original bottom metal, that link is the right part. If you have an aftermarket part, you will probably have to contact them to get a new spring.

I'd agree with JN, though, the spring probably isn't your problem. What is it doing when you try to chamber a round?

 

[mpthole]

Yep, its a McMillan A4 stock. I don't know if its the original floorplate or aftermarket.

What is happening is this... after firing a round, I work the bolt to eject the spent case. When moving the bolt forward to pick up the next live round, it sometimes doesn't pick it up and goes over it instead. I'll then have to work the bolt back and forth and jiggle it a bit to get the bolt to pick up the next round. That is frustrating. To make it worse, there are times when no matter what I do, the bolt won't pick up the next round. Then I'll have to drop them all out the bottom and start again. That is very frustrating.

All this monkey-ing around causes me to change my position and loose my cheek weld. Once I get set up again I have to get back in position.

I feel like I should be able to shoot a round, work the bolt while maintaining position and shoot another round without having all this trouble.

 

[Red_SC]

Yeah, that sounds like it'd be irritating. I don't have my M700 in front of me, so I'm trying to think what could cause it. Does the follower have a burr on it, or is it binding at all? You could check it by pressing it down with your fingers with no ammo in it. It should move freely.

Second, and I don't think this is possible with the 700, but I can't remember, but is the spring, or the follower and spring, in backwards? A friend brought me his old bolt action shotgun a few months ago, which wouldn't feed right. The spring was in backwards.

And the third thing, what caliber is it chambered for? Is it the same as the original barrel? For instance, if you put a .300 WSM barrel on a receiver that originally had a .308 barrel, you will have to open up the feed rails to get it to feed correctly.

 

[mpthole]

I'll have to check those things tonight. I'm at work right now. The rifle has an aftermarket Hart barrel on it, chambered in .308.

 

[JNewell]

RedSC is making some good points. When you get home, check for full forward engagement of the spring on both the floorplate and the follower. If one or both are not fully forward, the follower will likely rise incorrectly in the mag well and that could well be your problem. Ten seconds, no tools, no cost. Here's hoping.

Second, does it do this all (or essentially all) the time? I have sometimes seen this problem when the rounds were mis-fed into the magazine, which is not impossible when loading under a low-mounted scope. If the problem is occasional, it may be an operator issue.

I suppose it might also be possible that if you bought the rifle used, someone installed the incorrect follower, but that seems improbable.

 

[Jim K]

First, yes, that is the correct spring for your rifle, or at least for the rifle as it was originally.

I have never replaced a Remington magazine spring as they never seem to have problems. It sounds like your rifle has some feeding problem unrelated to the spring, like a follower hanging up where the magazine box meets the receiver. Since you have a rifle with a floorplate, it should be easy to drop the floorplate and then insert the follower and spring into the magazine and work it up and down to find the hangup point.

It is possible that the problem is nothing more than a burr or a bent magazine box and will be easily fixed.

(I am assuming the rifle was originally in .308; changing calibers can cause feeding problems in rifles.)

Jim

 

[Red_SC]

Did you get it figured out?

 

[mpthole]

Nope... not yet. Just haven't had time to play with it. I'm going to print this thread out and take it home with me tonight.