Mr. Kampfeld,
Just to satisfy my own curiosity; did you check further to see if the divergence in the bolt face from the receiver face was the fault of the bolt, the receiver, or both? When you measure to the bolt face, is the action cocked or is the bolt stripped?
I have to say, I think .010 tolerance for the bolt to receiver fit is a bit much for a custom action. GD
When I measured the bolt face, I did it with a stripped bolt, just like the Remington's that I checked. I did measure from the action face to the bolt lug seats on the Stiller, and could measure no difference from one to the other. So, whatever I'm measuring on the bolt face must be coming from the bolt or the bolt raceway. When measuring, I'm holding the action vertically, trying to let the bolt hang neutral. I have noticed that because of the .010 difference in the bolt to raceway, getting measurements that repeat was tough. One time I would get .001 difference across the bolt face, I've give the bolt a little wiggle and the next time it'd be about .0006.
Like I stated at the start of this post, I just think Borden Timberline and Alpine are a better value. I haven't seen either one of those action with bolt binding issues, even with tighter tolerances than the Predator. JMHO.
