Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Rem. 700 bolt handle breaks off!

I found this on the net:

"I bought a new Remington 700 Stainless Milspec 5R last week. I ordered a Leupold Mark 4 LR/T scope, mount, and rings, supposed to be here today. I have not fired a single round through this brand new gun.

Yesterday, I was dry cycling the bolt, and this happened.

The dealer I bought the rifle from, has another identical one in stock, but (as expected) won't swap with me. Remington says repairs this time of year are running 6-10 weeks.

How PO'd would you be?"

The ground of the shooting range I frequent is littered w/ Remmy bolt handles. Almost as many 22 hulls there as bolt handles.

I'd be pissed, but condifent that Rem would make it right. Happens far less frequently that it gets discussed on the 'net, I'm sure.

I see literally hundreds of Remington 700's a year and very, very, very few have had bolt handle issues. Those handles that had come off had been beaten on because someone's friend or relative over loaded a round and stuck the bolt.

When a company sells as many guns as Remington, the odds of experiencing a problem, while relatively low by volume, seem to indicate the existence of a manufacturing flaw.

Is it possible that a Remington 700 bolt handle could simply come off by dry cycling? Perhaps, but this is the age of the internet, where words, rumors and un-truths spreads like wildfire. Because of this, EVERYONE knows of an instance where a Remington 700 bolt handle has come off for no reason what-so-ever. There could be one incident, but by the time it has circled the globe, you would think that the problem is common. Again, based on sheer numbers of sales, the problem is relatively rare to occur for no reason.

That said, if the owner had sent the gun to Remington, I doubt it would have taken near the amount of time posted. Remington's factory warranty center has done some remarkable things time wise. I've witnessed it. The fact that his dealer would not swap him for another gun, big deal. I'm sure had the problem occurred within the first few hours the dealer might have felt different, but a week out, it is no longer the dealers problem. It's a warranty issue. Could the dealer have been "decent" in the eye's of the guy with the problem and swapped rifles? Sure, but then he would be out a sale. And if the Dealer makes his living selling firearms, that would be something he would need to consider.

Would I be pissed? Well, I would be more annoyed, as I could reattach the bolt handle myself. But, if I couldn't do these things for myself, absolutely, I would be pissed. But at who???

Do a search on that subject here:

http://www.benchrest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=17

http://www.benchrest.com/forums/search.php?searchid=1900014

Dans40X

http://www.ACCU-TIG.com

Glenn

That sounds about right. (grin)

A guy can't shoot Sako's because the barrels always shatter.
He can't run Firestone's because they always explode.
He can't kill with Barnes because they never expand.
Hell, I quit buying McDonald's coffee because I always burned my gonads at the drive-thru.

The odds are stacked against us all!!!

Did you hear light barrels won't shoot?

Death, taxes, and light barrels. Only sure things...

"as I could reattach the bolt handle myself. But, if I couldn't do these things for myself, absolutely, I would be pissed. But at who???"

Would you mind explaining how? Not that I plan on ever doing it, but I am curious as to how you would get it hot enough to melt the silver solder or whatever it is without taking a chance on warping or ruining the heat treat of the bolt.

That, in addition to cleaning up the discoloration. Also, how would you remove the bolt from the action? What if you had loaded a live round when the handle broke? You couldn't send it back to the factory with the live round in it. Well, I guess you could have fired the round. You don't need a bolt handle to fire it the first time you close the bolt.

Going by the pictures shown, the solder did not fuse to the bolt body on this one.

Dealer should have replaced it, if it hadn't been fired. He could have sent it back to Remington to have it either repaired or replaced. He wouldn't be out any money, except possibly for shipping. He might also have been able to exchange it with either his whole seller or Remington.

Might be a good idea to test the bolt attachment on your Remington before following a wounded Cape Buffolo or lion into thick brush.

The owner might also want to check the bolt locking lugs. These are soldered on, too, and the same person who soldered the bolt handle on might also be the one who soldered the lugs on. That would be embarressing if the lugs came off when you fired the live round.

If you don't know how to get the bolt out of that action, with the handle off, then you'd best not try to solder the handle back on.

This is a "single" incident so suck it up and send it to Remington rather than whining all over the internet about it.

That comment about bolt handles all over the ground at the local range is horse manure.

I own a lot of Remingtons.

I'm not paranoid in the least bit.

T

I have heard of this happening by police snipers that hammer on them during rapid fire. Personally mine work great.

I suppose that I would be mildly POd at worst. Mostly just annoyed. No manufacturer has managed flawless production, can't be done and keep prices reasonable. Even NASA boots it occasionally.

About a year ago I was adjusting a trigger on an older 700 for a friend and the bolt handle came off while I was testing for a slam-fire unsafe condition. Mighty weird feeling! I was slamming it pretty hard and it turns out my friend was unusually gentle cycling the action. Braze hadn't penetrated the bolt for some reason - a good brazed joint is more than strong enough.

Had him call Remington, they were super apologetic and did everything but send a man to pick it up and apologize personally. They did send a prepaid box. Turnaround was 2 or 3 weeks.

Upside is my friend was glad it happened in the shop rather than in the field and we have no doubt it's on there solid now.

(I had the trigger set as light as it would safely go. Adjusted it back to about factory weight and sealed the adjustment screws with lacquer. They did not monkey with the trigger, YMMV)

"If you don't know how to get the bolt out of that action, with the handle off, then you'd best not try to solder the handle back on."

Oh, I understand now. You would push it on through the action and out the barrel. If there is another way, why don't you explain it for us simpletons?

What ever gave you the idea that I would try to solder the handle back on in the first place? That is the question I asked Malm. Don't look like the person who was paid to know how to do it did such a jam up job, either.

how did the cocking cam notch get at the top?

You can take an aluminium or brass puch and turn the bolt by tapping in the cocking cam notch until the lugs disengage from the reciever.Then it will slide out.

Well, Acetylene and Oxygen comes to mind. There are 2 areas you would have to protect from the heat. The bolt head, which is at the other end of the bolt, and the cocking notch. These are easily protected. As to how, with regards to preventing damage to the bolt, it requires skill in using a torch, knowledge of the job and the use of proper heat protection and careful preparation. These are considered routine skills for a working gunsmith.

FWIW, I don't recommend anyone reattaching a bolt handle or applying heat to a bolt, or receiver for that matter, unless they know what they are doing. Too easy to screw up.

And the tempering temperature is as hich as the melting point of the silver solder used. The factory silver brazes the handle and the bolt head on in the furnace at the same time as they are drawing the bolt head hardness. In a case like this, the bolt didn't get quite hot enough or the particular batch of silver solder was off spec and required a slightly higher temp.
As Malm suggested, it is a routine fix for any reasonably competent gunsmith. GD

I have seen one 700 bolt handle come off a rifle, that was in
1989 in Korea at a sniper range. I have heard that the
bolt on a Remington 788 breaks more often than a 700, but
I have never seen that happen. I have had one extractor
fail on a Remington 722, but other guys have told me
they see it all the time with 721/722/700 rifles.

Had a goat hunter fall and break his 700 handle off, also looked at buying a 788 that the bolt had been resoldered. Also busted an extractor on a 700, too hot of a load in that instance.

At the same time frame when I was in the USArmy, I heard
several "war stories" of Beretta pistol slides cracking,
flying back and injuring or killing the shooter. I shot
several of them and never had a problem.

Seeing as how someone hijacked my pics and events from another forum, I might as well post here.

Do I think it's a common thing? No. I've heard of it, but neither I nor anyone I personally know has witnessed it personally. Probably just my bad luck striking again.

Remington sent a prepaid shipping label, and the rifle is en route back to them for repair. Remington has so far done as much as I could realistically expect.