A reply to a question on off center firing pin strikes on BR.Com. Jackie Schmidt is a good BR shooter from Houston and with his brothers own a huge machine shop that does primarily tug boat type repair work. He does know machining and competition gunsmithing.
jackie schmidt
"I don't tighten up the entire bolt, I just bush the section that engages the rear, which keeps the trigger cocking piece from lifting the bolt too much.
When I first did my old 721 project, I noticed that the firing pin strike was still a tad off center, despite my best truing efforts. I then bushed the rear section to where it only had about .001 clearance, and now the firing pin indention is dead center. It was cocking the bolt that much".
It is a standard problem on a factory Remington and other bolt guns that the rear of the bolt moves upward when the bolt is cocked. It can cause 2 problems-It takes the upper bolt lug away from the receiver and has the firing pin traveling at an angle not perpendicular to the base of the case.
Does all this make a lot of difference? I really don't know. I have wanted to take a factory rifle and make one step at a time and shoot it to see to my satisfaction what each step will do.
Butch
Last edited by butchlambert1; 10/23/11.
