Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Swapping bolts in a 30/06 Rem 700

I have an opportunity to change out my 30/06 bolt for a 270 bolt that I am getting for free from a good fellow shooter who currently has no use for the bolt as his rifle was destroyed.

I see no problem with changing it out as both are long actions, same length cartridges and importantly same web diameter.

I really like this rifle and over the years have had a lot of the usual gunsmithing done to try to improve its accuracy (including a barrel changeout). No luck - it still remains a 2 MOA rifle.

Might a change of bolt possibly result in a tighter lock up and therefore an increase in accuracy (tighter group)?

I Would worry more about headspace than any of that stuff.

You'll need to have the new bolt headspaced. I sincerely doubt it's going to move you from 2 MOA to .5

Assuming the re-barrel was done by a competent smith - the 30-06 bolt/headspace will end up the same as the .270 bolt/headspace (betting they come out of the same exact parts bin at Remington too).

Your 2moa issue lies elsewhere...

There’s more to it than same Make, Model, Action length.

Headspace can’t be SEEN. It has to be measured. You can TRY shooting the ‘other’ bolt
in your rifle. I DON’T recommend that.

Have someone measure the headspace.

If you don’t, shoot at your own risk.

Jerry

I'm thinking the headspace can be measured using the standard go/no go gauges??

A bolt won’t likely make it any better shooter either.

You could create headspace issues for no good reason.

The gauges are pretty inexpensive from Midway, cheaper than a visit to the gunsmith, and a hell of a lot better than an injury and blown up rifle.

A few comments:

My guess is that the .270 bolt will fit with no need to adjust the headspace. This is mostly based on plenty of experience screwing other Remington 700 factory barrels onto 700 actions: Around 75-80% of the time the headspace ends up within SAAMI tolerances. (Long-time gunsmith Charlie Sisk's experience is the same.)

That said, the headspace may NOT be within SAAMI tolerances, and am guessing you have no means to measure it.

Second, as somebody already suggested the 2-inch groups you're experience are probably not due to the bolt. However, they might be--if your present bolt's lugs don't seat evenly in the action, though that should have been looked at long ago. (This can generally be at least primitively checked by looking at the rear of the bolt lugs and seeing if their wear is pretty even. If not, your bolt may indeed be part of the problem.)

Since you've had all sorts of "the usual gunsmithing" done to the rifle already, including a barrel change, the problem may be the nut behind the bolt. Though if your shoot your other rifles regularly with better results that also probably isn't the problem.

But I also have a question: Supposedly you "really like this rifle" despite its relative inaccuracy, which has apparently has been there for years, why are you still looking for a fix?

PSE — I agree

Id Shooter — I agree

[quote=beretzs]

A bolt won’t likely make it any better shooter either.

You could create headspace issues for no good reason.
————————

I also agree with Beretz & MD
Don’t think a bolt will fix the accuracy problem.

Jerry

Thank you Mule Deer - This is the reply I was looking for - well thought out and reasoned.

I do have no means handy to measure headspace, but I will. It's worth it to let the gunsmith measure it if only for my peace of mind. I really don't want to buy the gauges as this will probably be the only time I'll be using them and I'm sure the gunsmith's fee to measure it will be minimal. Where I live, it is also not as easy to buy gun stuff as it is for many of you. (ITAR)

I was thinking along your lines that the bolt lug fit with the new bolt might be a more snug and a tighter fit possibly resulting in a bit more precision down range. The bolt I'm going to try is free to me so why not try it? You never know.

As far as it may be the nut behind the bolt - that's indeed possible - but that being said I do have other rifles (Tikka T3 sporter) that shoots very well (usually 1 MOA with 5 shots - sometimes sub MOA) so I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I am capable of better precision with a better rifle.

Your last question which is Why Now after all these years??? This one's harder to answer.

I like the balance and feel of the rifle which is a Rem 700 mountain rifle stock with nice wood. It is topped with a Leupold 2.5X8 scope and the look, feel and weight of the ensemble I really like. I also have a lot of hunting history with this rifle having taken moose, wild boar and deer with it. It represents to me part of my youth (better times indeed).

I realize that 2 MOA is quite suitable for hunting and as such it has performed well but I lucked into getting this 270 bolt so I thought why not try it? Everyone wants a little more precision if they can get it - Right?

In the past I spent a lot of blood ,sweat and tears to get this rifle to shoot, alas to no avail. I feel like I've failed with the rifle and this represents something else to try for no more added money and who knows, maybe I'll get lucky.

If the rifle dosen't shoot, that's fine, I'll still keep it and give away the 270 bolt to someone else.

PSE

Let me preface my question with a
Disclaimer.

I am NOT a Leuppy HATER. I’ve had GOOD ones.

Now, have you tried another scope ?
Maybe it’s in scope mounting, bases, rings, or
Possibly scope ?

If you talked about scope or mounting I didn’t see it.

Jerry

Early when I acquired the rifle it had on a Leupold 2X7 vari X2 and shortly after, I installed a one piece Leupold base and rings with a 2.5X8 vari X3 so I've had 2 scopes on it with no change in precision. Accuracy seems OK with all shots clustered around point of aim. Scopes seem responsive to zero adjustment.

I realize Leupold isn't everyones favorite but these appeared to be decent scopes mounted solidly so I'm not suspecting the scopes.

I don't think the bolt swap will do much (if any) good. But, it is worth a try I guess.

What about the trigger ? Not that the trigger will help the "inherent accuracy" of the rifle, but a good one will usually help the shooter shoot better.

All done along with a host of other fixes and a variety of loads. This bolt swap represents a last gasp for me.

Has any other shooter tried for groups?

yes

Factory and reloaded ammo?

yes and yes

Load specs?

Did you happen to try any faster burning powders than what is the norm?