[Joshuaj21]

Hello 700Rifle!

I have been looking for a forum to learn more about my Rem 700 (.300WM) for a while now, so I'm happy to be here! My rifle was the 200th Anniversary ADL model with the fleur-de-lis checkering on the walnut stock. Beautiful rifle, but I was having issues with a sticky chamber when I first shot it. With the intention being my go-to hunting rifle (wasn't planning to purchase another anytime soon), I also didn't want to damage the stock - a rifle (or shotgun) is a tool... and I've had to use them as such in the past. I re-stocked it with a Magpul Hunter 700L and am quite happy with it, albeit a little heavier, but solid nonetheless. I mounted a Vortex Viper HS-T 6-24 x 50 on top and am overall very happy with the setup. The only issue I'm having is the sticky chamber, which is how I found this forum after many hours searching! It has been frustrating to say the least, but from what I've learned here so far, I've been able to make significant improvements with this issue - thank you for that!

A little back story, I was a Chief Petty Officer (E-7) in the US Navy. I have a lot of experience with small arms / crew served weapons (we obviously didn't carry Rem 700's so this was new territory for me). Have been stationed overseas and on both coasts, but now call middle Georgia home. I enjoy all things outdoors and spending time with my family and friends, and learning new skills. Thank you for having me here!

Regards,
Josh

 

[jimg11]

Hi joshuaj21,


A warm welcome to the 700 rifle forum.


Visit often.

 

[Doom]

Welcome. You say sticky chamber but that doesn't mean much in trying to analyze the issue. Does the round stick before firing, only after firing, factory ammunition, reloads? What does the fired brass look like?

 

[Joshuaj21]

Hi joshuaj21,


A warm welcome to the 700 rifle forum.


Visit often.

Thank you! Happy to be here and learn as much as possible!

 

[Joshuaj21]

Welcome. You say sticky chamber but that doesn't mean much in trying to analyze the issue. Does the round stick before firing, only after firing, factory ammunition, reloads? What does the fired brass look like?

Apologies for the lack of detail initially... I was trying to keep my intro relatively short and sweet.

I'll get more into the nitty gritty details with this rifle... Mind you, the majority of my experience is with Naval small arms and crew serve weapons, and torpedoes (I was a Sonar Technician in the Navy). In any case, bolt action rifles was not in our arsenal, so I didn't get as intimate with knowledge of my rifle until after I bought it. That said, I bought this rifle before Remington was battling their legal issues, so by the time I figured out (or thought I did) what the problem was, customer service was non-existent. When I received it, I followed the mfr instructions for cleaning and got it ready to go to the range. First time at the range, I put maybe 8 or 9 rounds through it. After the first 4-5 rounds, I noticed the bolt getting harder and harder to extract with each round fired... would say shots were 2-3 at a time, maybe 20-30 seconds apart with about a 10 minute break between salvos. By the time I fired the last round, I couldn't even pull the bolt back - I had to tap the bolt with my mallet to remove/extract the bolt. The brass didn't seem to have any major issues, although I could see some very small striations just above the belt. I have never shot hand loads from this rifle, only factory (Hornady the first time, but since then Federal, Winchester, and Remington, that's it). All my guns get thoroughly cleaned after hunting/range days. Rounds didn't not stick before firing, only after the barrel heated up (3-4 rounds) before I could feel resistance. I don't know if I still have the brass from the first time firing, I'll have to check. If I do, I'll upload a pic.

Fast forward about a year and some change (moved from Virginia Beach down to middle Georgia and didn't get out as much as I would have liked). I went to the range again, cleaned the rifle before hand, following my SOP for cleaning and same issue. Got home, cleaned, inspected, punched the barrel until patches were clean coming out. Did a little research, spoke to a few of my buddies (armorers for special warfare units, life-long gun nuts, and/or worked with gunsmith(s), etc.), but couldn't afford to spend a bunch of money diagnosing my issues since Remington couldn't help. Long story short, re-stocked my rifle with a Magpul Hunter 700L. I bought my 700 and 870 together - the 200th anniversary commemorative editions with the dark walnut fleur-de-lis checkering - beautiful guns. I didn't want to risk damaging the stock on a hunt, so I replaced it. (When I get a new rifle to hunt with, I will replace the original stock and put it up as a safe queen along with the 870). Anyway, moving on...

Fast forward again to last month, I went to the range and then hunting with my son. Since re-stocking, I wanted to make sure my zero was still good. You guessed it, same issue, but this time I sent 6-7 rounds through before it got 'sticky'. On the 9th round, it was stuck. I let it cool down for about 15 minutes and then took my trusty mallet and tapped the bolt rearward. This time, the casing was still stuck in the chamber. I closed the bolt and opened again, pulling back and the case extracted. This time, no striations on the casings like the first two times, except a few very minor scratches. But I summed that up to them rolling around on the concrete after extraction. Nothing really stood out except the last round. There was a scratch parallel to the belt about 1/4". Cleaned it very thoroughly that night, reassembled and packed up for the hunt. Shot a deer, and the bolt was difficult to extract after the first shot...luckily I didn't need a follow-up!

Very frustrated at this point, got home and found this forum. Found the article about "polishing" the chamber/breach. Did some more research and followed the guidance I found here with a larger copper bore brush and then the rifle flex-hone 400 grit. Went back to the range with another buddy a couple weeks ago and was able to send 13 rounds before it got sticky again, but this time I was able to extract just fine. I could feel the resistance in the bolt after the last round and came to the conclusion that was my (main) issue. I repeated that same process after the range and will see how it performs next time I get out.

After seeing how well the process worked, I immediately signed up for the forum and wanted to share my experience (and success) and give a HUGE THANK YOU to all you folks who offer their help and support to correct these issues people have. You probably saved me a ton of headaches, not to mention hundreds, if not thousands of dollars at a gunsmith! I very much appreciate y'all's support and all that you contribute to make our lives easier!!

 

[Doom]

The description of your problem is intriguing and isn't one that I have heard of in the past. I'm not convinced that you have a finish issue on the chamber but I can't rule that out. It would be interesting to have the issue come up, then let the barrel cool down for a while, then shoot again and see what happens without cleaning. It would also help to know if rechambering a piece of fired brass is difficult to chamber and extract.

One issue with some of the late Remington rifles was a timing issue with the primary extraction. If I remember correctly the magnums were espiecially prone to that. That issue requires removing the bolt handle and refitting.

 

[Joshuaj21]

Good Morning Mr. Doom! Took a little time to do some research on all this... I'll be honest, I sure hope it's a finishing issue, because a timing issue can get expensive pretty quick it seems like. I haven't been back to the range yet since I did the deep clean field day with the flex-hone brush, but will report as soon as I do. I mis-spoke about that before - I deep cleaned with the oversized bronze bore brush before I shot last time, but didn't run the flex-hone brush through until after (it hadn't come in yet). Apologies for the misconception... I kept the last few expended casings from when I shot last and loaded them up in the magazine and chambered each one - no issues closing or opening the bolt, feeding or extracting/ejecting. Does that tell you anything or change your direction for troubleshooting at all?

When you say, "...late Remington rifles..." are you referring to models manufactured since 2000- present (just throwing a year out there for an example)? I did some light reading about the extractors... seems to be more common than I would have imagined. Does this happen in other rifles as frequently or just Remington models? Read several articles about this and the general consensus is that the Remington factory extractor is "the weak point in its design." How would I know if this could be the root of the problem? What are my options for replacing the extractor?

I also looked at the extraction timing. From what I can tell, the bolt makes contact the cam as I open/unlock the bolt. The only thing of note (that I can tell) is the bolt is more difficult to lock/unlock than my other rifles (and others I've shot). Not sure I'm explaining this the best way, but hopefully this makes sense. Could this possibly be an ignition timing issue? I don't know what the trigger (hangar) position is (going to check today), but as difficult as the action is to close/lock, it seems suspiciously similar to this scenario as well. I watched some videos from Alex Wheeler and Chris Harris about this, so figured it was worth mentioning...

 

[Doom]

My rifles are pre-2013. When I mentions late it's usually referring to models with RR serial numbers and rifles produced between about 2017 and 2020. Do not change the extractor as this requires bolt head modification and as far as I'm concerned is a potentially dangerous modification. The issue with the extractors is primarily related to damage from small bits of brass building up and not being cleaned. Check my posts on the other current thread. Usual extractor issues are fallure to extract (round stays in chamber) or damaging/scarring the case rim.

I will say it's possible that you may have damaged the extractor and right now the only source I know of is PTG.

As for chambering the fired cases, this seems to indicate that there is no issue with overpressure and you are looking at an issue with extraction timing or as you previously noted a chamber issue. I am not familiar enough with ignition timing to fully understand all of the issue.

 

[Joshuaj21]

I bought the rifle in 2014 (NIB), but the serial number on the left side of the barrel is RR49814J. Assuming this is the 'RR' you're referring to, when I go to the remingtonsociety.com website to confirm the manufacturing date, it doesn't make sense to me... Wouldn't this mean it was manufactured in November 1997? Where I'm getting confused is according to the Remington page for this rifle (StackPath), it was only manufactured between 2016 and 2020 and there are no serial number blocks provided from Remington. Please tell me I'm neither losing my mind or an idiot... Is there a different serial number elsewhere on the rifle or bolt to check? I assume its possible Remington took an existing barrel from their inventory to complete this rifle, but not entirely sure what they're manufacturing and QC processes are either.

In any case, do NOT change the extractor - check, got it. I clean and inspect every component prior to reassembly for all of my firearms and did not notice any build-up of brass bits or anything else on the bolt, but I will check again this week. I am hoping to get back to the range soon to test fire again and see what it does with your previous suggestion. Thank you again for the insight and knowledge on this/these issues. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help in diagnosing these problems. Closing this knowledge gap one conversation/thread at a time! So, if it's likely not an overpressure issue, what is the best course of action to diagnose extraction timing issue(s)? I will have to do some more digging on ignition timing as well, but I'd like to pick your brain as much as I can (or as much as you can take of my questions).

Not sure if this is relevant, good, bad, or whatever, but I have been looking into a trigger replacement for some time now. Had been looking at the Timney Elite Hunter... nothing too fancy, but an upgrade nonetheless. Should my focus be on resolving the extraction issue or would it hurt anything to do my trigger job?

 

[Doom]

I don't think you should be worrying about losing your mind. The date code is not part of the serial number but is on the left side of the barrel. LF is Feb 2011 on mine below. The serial number on the receiver is required by the GCA of 1968 and is added when the receiver is fabricated not when the rifle is assembled. It appears that RemArms may not be adding the manufacture date code on new RA S/N rifles. As for the trigger that should not matter. Both of mine have Timney 510's. As for the sticking bolt/case it may be the chamber or primary extraction. I looked at my two 700's and there is a definite rearward movement on both when the bolt reaches the end of the stroke on opening. On my 223 it is significant and very positive. The 308 is not as positive but I've not had an issue with extraction that I can recall. It's the one in the picture.

Might want to see this. You are being redirected...

 

[Joshuaj21]

I found the date code, just as you said. Looks like they were slightly off on alignment when they stamped the code on the barrel... but to me it looks like XK = December 2016.

Thanks for the article. That sounds all too familiar... After everything you've talked about, what I've read here plus the article you posted, and what I have witnessed so far with mine I'm starting to lean towards extraction timing almost certainly. Time will tell the next time I go to the range for reassurance on this. What I don't fully understand is from the first time I shot it to the last, I have been able to get more rounds down range with every outing, given the last two cleanings were significantly more thorough, but still.

With extraction timing being off, it seems like the round count should be a little more consistent, right? I suppose if the barrel/chamber were still 'factory dirty' the first couple times and finally got that gunk cleaned out, it would be safe to assume there would be some improvement.

As mentioned, I am going to run it the next time as you advised and see what happens (send rounds until barrel heats up and chamber starts to stick, cool down, shoot some more). At this point, I just may have to take a couple more trips to the range and see what happens each time to get a better handle on the situation. I'd rather not take it to a GS until I have to, so we'll see what happens. Thanks again!!

 

[Doom]

You date is correct. I haven't experienced the issue with extraction except for a couple of overpressure rounds. I would expect that round count wouldn't be a big factor but I'm not sure it would be on a rough chamber either. The fact that the 300WM is a belted cartridge might play into the issue. I wish you luck.

 

[Joshuaj21]

Thank you for all the guidance and recommendations moving forward. I genuinely appreciate all the support and knowledge you provided. Best to you as well! Once I've gone back to the range and (hopefully) figured this out, I'll report back with findings.

 

[Doom]

A clarification on you extraction, did you need the mallet to rotate the bolt or to pull the bolt to the rear?

 

[Joshuaj21]

I only needed the mallet to pull the bolt to the rear. That happened twice and both times I needed it was before I used the flex-hone brush in the chamber. I haven't gotten back to the range since I use the flex-hone brush though...

Also, for my own clarification, when I say 'locking,' I'm referring to the bolt being forward and rotated downward to close the breach, locking the bolt in place. 'Unlocking' just being rotating the bolt handle upwards, 'opening' sliding the bolt rearwards. It seems like terms we used in the Navy don't always translate over, so just want to make sure I'm on the same page.

 

[Doom]

Thanks, that is what I had assumed. Sometimes reloaders have rounds that are overpressure and will lock the bolt up so you have to use something to rotate the bolt and/or open the bolt. That's a totally different problem and I wanted to make sure we were on the same page.

 

[Joshuaj21]

Ok good deal, thank you for asking. I keep going back in my mind trying to think of anything else I may have done (or missed) since this started happening. The only other thing that comes to mind is swapping the stock to the Hunter 700L. I remember when I changed them a buddy of mine had mentioned that the two mounting screws may not have been torqued correctly (from the factory) which he thought may have had something to do with the sticking bolt issue. Not sure on that one, but I torqued the screws to the recommended setting (65 in-lb if memory serves). Can't remember now if there was any difference, but don't believe that had any impact on the extraction issue either.