Sticky Bolt

[winchester70]

I have a Remington model 700 SPS in 300 WIN MAG and when it is fired the bolt sticks. I am using factory ammo and some brands do it worse than others. Does anyone have any info as to why this rifle is doing this? Any info would be greatly appriciated!

[bogey1]

check the head (base of shell) for signs of over pressure. sounds like to hot of a load. is it easy to chamber?

[winchester70]

The rounds chamber normal. I do not see any signs of over pressure witch would be a small circular indentation on bottom of case correct? Like i said i have shot two different brands of ammo what would the chances the they would both do that if it was a pressure problem

[renegadephoenix]

The rounds chamber normal. I do not see any signs of over pressure witch would be a small circular indentation on bottom of case correct? Like i said i have shot two different brands of ammo what would the chances the they would both do that if it was a pressure problem

what type of ammo are you using? have you tried a chamber brush before shooting? let me know when you can hit the range and i'll take a look at it.

[winchester70]

Tried core lokt and winchester ammo. Have not tried chamber brush

[bogey1]

what type of ammo are you using? have you tried a chamber brush before shooting? let me know when you can hit the range and i'll take a look at it.

chamber brush as in to clean? i never thought of that, i was under the impression it was a new gun. yeh, a dirty chamber will do that, but i have to say its got to be pretty dirty to do that.

winchester, dont you clean your guns?

[Lycanthrope]

Are the primers flat?


Lycanimportantthrope

[Tomcat088]

A sticky bolt is one of the signs that we look for when we're trying to measure pressures. If other reloads aren't quite as hot, typically the bolt won't be sticky. There are times though, that this happens when it's not a result of pressure. The fact that this has happened with factory loadings from different companies, make me wonder if it's not the ammunition. I want to ask some more questions to find out a few things.

Have you tried dry firing your rifle? When you lift the bolt, is it hard even if there's not ammunition in the rifle? Lift it so that you reset the trigger, then reopen it and see if it's easier or not. Obviously when you're lifting the bolt the first time, you're cocking the firing pin, so it'll be harder, but I'm trying to figure out the problem. It's possible that the chamber is slightly out of spec or smaller, this would result in higher pressures than usual from even factory ammunition. It's not something that happens very often, so I'm wondering if it's related more to the cocking piece and the camming surfaces on the bolt. It also makes me wonder if there's maybe some grit or shaved brass inside of the firing pin channel that is binding it.

Since it's a magnum, there's some other possibilities. .300 win mag headspaces off of the belt, and sometimes in chambering there can be little burrs or a raised spot there that will hang onto the brass.

I've actually been hearing about bolt issues on quite a few SPS rifles lately. I'm not sure what the problem is, but it's something that NEVER used to get talked about, and while it's not common, it's happening a bit more than usual lately. If it's not something like a dirty bolt, or on the camming surfaces, I'd send it back to Remington. If you're not comfortable with messing with it in the first place, I'd send it back to Remington. They shouldn't come that way, and while it may not be a hard fix, you still shouldn't have to mess with it. Let me know what's going on, and we'll see if we can eliminate some possibilites.

[winchester70]

when you lift the bolt it is normal there is no problem there it when you go to pull back on it you have to pull really hard like the brass is stuck

[Tomcat088]

when you lift the bolt it is normal there is no problem there it when you go to pull back on it you have to pull really hard like the brass is stuck

Ok, that eliminates a lot of things. As lycan asked, what do the primers look like? Some pictures of the brass, primers, and bolt face may be helpful, if you were able to get some.