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?

It seems to me that if the bolt is free and it doesn't cost much to check headspace, then why not?

And if it doesn't help, then I guess there's two ways to look at this. One, you like the rifle, it has worked for you, and shot well enough for the hunting you use it for. That being the case, just confine your paper punching to checking zero and quit worrying about it. At the risk of having my gun loony card revoked I have rifles in that category. I have others to use when I really want the higher precision too.

Otherwise, having more or less tried everything, if you really couldn't be happy with it, you'd send it down the road, or over a gully bank.

Don't remember about fast or slow.

Loads I used off the top of my head

57 gr IMR 4350. 165 gr Hornady Interbond
49 gr IMR 4320. 165 gr Hornady SST
61 gr RL 22. 165 gr Hornady SST

165 gr was used because the barrel twist was supposedly optimized for this by the barrel maker. Also tried Factory ammo in 180s and 150s but no joy.

Sold off my reloading stuff a few years back when we moved so can't reload but still retain quantities of the above listed reloads.

Can you access some little chips of noncompressable material of a known,

uniform thickness. In sizes ranging from .001 to. 010?

One really doesn't have to know the headspace in relation to
SAAMI spec. That's just for standards.

What's important is the relation of your ammo to
the gun.

If you understand this and it gives you an idea.
Good.

But I don't want to send you off down a road you don't belong on.

Are you sure you're a gun loony?? You're supposed to obsess about that - LOL!!

We're the factory loads booattail also or flat base bullets?

Don't know

Maybe the barrel is bunk and you don't know it.

Since this is a discussion that could benefit all of us, can you post what exactly has been done to said rifle including a few details ex. barrel make, receiver truing, bolt face truing, bedding...... and who did the work?

.oad development and scopes come to mind including scope alignment.

When was the rifle made?

What kind of rest are you using?

Anything else?

I totally believe your predicament BUT find it hard to believe that you are at the same place as when you started i.e. 2 inch groups.

Well lots a smart ideas here. How well do you shoot lower recoil cartridges? If you shoot them better than your 06 you may not be completely at fault. Mt rifle don't weigh much. It could be you aren't capable of sub 2 moa with this gun. The recoil or rather the anticipated recoil has a negative effect on you. Shoot someone else's well tuned 06 and see how you do. What you got to lose.?.mb

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.

I find a lot of time it could be a stock issue.Just for thrills,try a different stock and see if it shoots different.,it could be a bedding issue.I had that happen before,put it in a stock I had bedded for another 700 rifle and instantly it shot amazingly well.

Has the action been bedded properly (no torque) and the barrel floated? If so have you tried a shim at the end of the stock (business card) to apply a pressure point to the barrel? In doing many many Remington 700's my bet would be these items rather than your bolt. I have had Remington's that had 80% contact on one lug and 10% on the other still shoot pretty well. I am not saying that your bolt is a contributing factor but my money would be on a couple of other items. BTW the trigger can also be a factor. This is all assuming that your barrel is clean and in good condition and installed properly. Anyway let us know what your findings are as it is always good info for the Remington knowledge bank.

Betting a scope or bedding issue. Have you tried other scopes

How was the donor rifle destroyed? My concern would be if there might be damage to the bolt from that.

It would help to let us know a few things:
Remington 700 BDL or ADL?
Wood Stock or Synthetic?
Barrel floated or pressure point at forearm tip?
Stock bedded?
Trigger pull weight?
Ammo type?
What bullets?
Scope mounts?
Have you checked the bases to make sure they are tight?
Scope?
A lot of the usual gunsmithing done to try to improve its accuracy (Just what was done?)

So many questions. Some I've already answered but I'll be brief and to the point.

Rifle is a 30/06 Remington 700 BDL Mountain rifle with wood stock made in the 70s I think

All were done by a 2 professional gunsmiths excluding the barrel which made by a reputable barrel maker up here.

Tested with original mountain rifle barrel then got a new barrel with slightly heavier profile (Brushed Stainless)

Barrel was cut to length and crowned using a recessed crown cut

Factory Stock was free floated and bedded

The factory stock was then briefly replaced by a Mtn rifle laminated wood stock - tested and then switched back

Switched the free float of the factory stock to a pressure point at the forend using business cards then switched back

Trigger job done by gunsmith - Trigger is great

Bolt lugs appear to have good wipe on them - tested using a thin coat of Lithium grease

Tried several handloads (described earlier) using various 165 gr bullets as per recommendation because of twist

Tried some factory ammo using 180 and 150 grain bullets to rule them out

All test shooting done off benchrest at 100 and 200 yds (Hunting Zero)

Much test shooting done using front and rear bag under fairly calm conditions whenever possible

At times gun was left idle to cool barrel between test shots with action open laying on forward bag

Tested rifle out at the range using a buddy who happened to be there that has a known rep for shooting

Mounts are Leupold 1 piece base with Leupold off set rings.

Scope is Leupold Vari X3. 2.5X8 Duplex reticle

Action screws checked by hand to ensure none are loose - No inch pounds, just tightened by feel.

I am able to shoot my 300 Mag Sendero and 6.5 Tikka LSS much better than this rifle so feel my shooting is good.


Trying this 270 bolt given to me as a last ditch effort to see what if any improvement.

So after all these things done,has the scope bases been checked to make sure they are tight?Have you tried a different scope?

Hadn't thought of that. Don't know how it was destroyed.

I guess visually check it over - cycle it through the rifle's action checking for any binding or unusual travel etc - have headspace checked - Ask previous owner what happened.

Don't own any fancy measuring tools.

Don't know what else to do using my limited resources.

Can't get at scope base screws because of scope interference but appear to be tight. I tightened them myself years ago with blue locktite and if anything they are tightened beyond spec.

This is the second Leupold scope tried since ownership. Have no other scope available to try and not going to buy one.

Entire scope and mount appears quite ridgid.

New barrel with rifling for 165 gr bullet. What is that twist? Has the barrel been lapped? Just courious!

Yes - forgot the twist it was built in, just know it was optimized for 165 gr bullet - no lapping done.

Edit: Checked the twist just now - 1 in 11. It should be perfect for 165 gr bullets.

A lot of good comments by many - here's my 2 cents, take it for what you paid for it:

The different bolt will likely not change a thing.

This is a mountain rifle, correct? I've only owned one 700 mountain rifle and a life-time of standard weight 700's, I ended up changing the barrel. It went from a 2+ MOA shooter to a ~ 3/4 MOA shooter. I had free floated the barrel, glass bedded the action etc. in a premium stock before I changed the barrel, so those changes may have helped the new barrel shine; it didn't help the original. The new barrel came of E-bay as a 'new' take off. It screwed right onto the action and the head space was correct. The new barrel was standard weight stainless steel and that rifle is now my favorite 270. I gave the mountain barrel away, letting the new owner know what I had experienced.

Maybe - maybe not

Decided to run another test on the bolt locking system currently on the rifle today. I wiped the bolt locking lugs and used a sharpie to color the lugs front and rear.

Front side top and bottom lugs(toward the chamber) showed no engagement which is probably the way it should be.

Rear side (toward the shooter) showed definite engagement on bottom lug (almost all sharpie ink scraped off). Top lug shows less scraping and more so at the start of the engagement.

That tells me that the engagement pressure is less on the top lug that still has ink on it and more on the bottom lug that has most ink scraped away.

Is this a valid test to determine uniformity of lug engagement??

https://imgur.com/aPOs73Y

https://imgur.com/Sf0w1Hd

Bolt Lug Comparison on my rifle after sharpie applied

Not really unless the firing pin and shroud assembly are removed from the bolt when you do this "test". Also pressure needs to be pushed against the bolt face when it's being done. Without removing the firing pin when you rotate and cock the bolt closed the firing pin engages the trigger sear assembly which is under spring pressure which pushes/tilts the rear of the bolt up against the rear receiver bridge causing the low or bottom lug to contact the lug seat of the receiver harder than the top lug as the bolt is rotated causing the top lug to show less contact than the bottom lug even though the lugs and seats may be machined perfectly. That's one of the reasons why guys bush the bolt (Borden bumps) to take out the play/wiggle of the bolt to prevent the bolt tilting up into the top of the rear receiver bridge. If you look at most unaltered Remington 700's you will see just about all of them show the same pattern of wear you describe. In fact haven't seen an unaltered factory rifle that didn't display what your talking about.

^^^^^ This was gonna be my suggestion also, there are 2 moa scope mounts and scopes in this world

Very good post bushrat

The only problem with bushrat's post is that many 700s (and 721s/722s) shoot very well without the "bushing" and all the associated stuff.

A good example is the 721 .270 Winchester that Harold R. Vaughan used in his experiments for his great book RIFLE ACCURACY FACTS. Vaughan was an actual rocket scientist, and far-gone rifle loony, who performed many experiments with this rifle--which he'd owned and hunted with for a LONG time.

One thing he discovered is that the locking lugs had worn themselves into the recesses with full contact, due to plenty of use. Thus the rifle shot very well despite the bolt not being "bushed."

The other example of this is that Remington 700s that have their bolt lugs lapped WITHOUT removing the spring, firing pin etc. also end up shooting very well, without bolt bushing. I know this from having performed this "experiment" myself, along with other folks who've done it--including professional gunsmiths.

However, I will add that bushrat's observation is interesting, because the wear-pattern on the locking lugs of PSE's bolt are indeed pretty typical of a 700 that hasn't been shot a vast amount--and also an indication that just swapping the bolt probably won't make much (if any) difference.

I am somewhat surprised that the "work" done on his rifle (especially installing another barrel) didn't include at least some work on the bolt lugs, whether with bolt bushed or not.

Mule Deer, I agree all my stock remington 700's shoot quite well, some really well. All display the same wear pattern on the bolt lugs. I was alluding that the bolt lug wear pattern can be/is deceiving and fools people into thinking it is a problem when it very rarely is.

All one has to do is put the bolt in the rifle close it on an empty chamber leave it cocked, press down on the top of the bolt shroud at the rear of the bolt with a little force with your thumb and the bolt can be pushed down and will pop back up when thumb pressure is relieved, this allows one to understand how the uneven wear pattern on the bolt lugs happens. Dry fire the trigger and the bolt will now be loose and relaxed at the rear and can be wiggled up, down and around. When being actually fired with a live round, the sear breaks allowing the bolt to drop to center at the rear and the lugs to seat square as the case head pushes back against the bolt face.

Like you I think the OP's accuracy problem is unlikely to be caused by a bolt lug seating problem but rather other more common accuracy problems. One could bush the bolt or change the bolt and pretty much waste his time and money.

Agree on all points.

We still don't know what all has been done to his rifle, and apparently other than the barrel change he doesn't either.

^^^
Not true MD

I did list earlier in detail in Post 16300445 what had been done on the rifle. As a matter of fact most everything (with the exception of the action and the bolt) has been swapped out from original factory and tested at one time or another.

Read the post.

Also read Post 16298121 which dealt with swapping optics, base and rings from the original set up.

Do you deal regularly with a gun shop, PSE? Someone you trust?

Here's the thing. It is impossible to diagnose what, if anything, is wrong with your rifle. Bad groups come from broken optics, poor bedding, a bad barrel, poor lock up and one or two other things.

Because you have a rifle that performs poorly with the original bolt, you wish to try the donor to see if it will make any difference. That's fair, but I think you should take the rifle and spare bolt to your gunsmith. He has the tools and the training to inspect the original rifle. It is going to cost you a few dollars. How much depends on what you two discuss before he starts. He will give you a price upfront. This is not a standard job, so the quote he will give you is for a serviceability inspection. He will also try the spare bolt to see if it can be used in your rifle with no problems.

Honestly, you should work with a pro on this. If he discovers something, he will tell you what the problem is and how much to correct it.

I understand you wanting to talk with people, but no one here can offer anything definitive. Guesses won't fix things.

[quote=Steve Redgwell]Do you deal regularly with a gun shop, PSE? Someone you trust?

Here's the thing. It is impossible to diagnose what, if anything, is wrong with your rifle. Bad groups come from broken optics, poor bedding, a bad barrel, poor lock up and one or two other things.

Because you have a rifle that performs poorly with the original bolt, you wish to try the donor to see if it will make any difference. That's fair, but I think you should take the rifle and spare bolt to your gunsmith. He has the tools and the training to inspect the original rifle. It is going to cost you a few dollars. How much depends on what you two discuss before he starts. He will give you a price upfront. This is not a standard job, so the quote he will give you is for a serviceability inspection. He will also try the spare bolt to see if it can be used in your rifle with no problems.

Honestly, you should work with a pro on this. If he discovers something, he will tell you what the problem is and how much to correct it.

I understand you wanting to talk with people, but no one here can offer anything definitive. Guesses won't fix things.[/quote


I tend to agree and may do that. That will be my decision on whether I wish to spend more money on what is a problem child or leave it alone and enjoy it as is. Since my retirement I tend not to want to throw good money after bad.

The thing of it is that this thread has gone way off track. What started as as a simple inquiry - Can a 30/06 bolt be swapped
for a 270 bolt has gone from that to what all did you do over the years to your rifle. One question leads to another and then to another and pretty soon you're in the position of defending what was done to your rifle as well as defending your shooting ability.

The bolt was given to me free of charge by a good man in a different forum so I just wanted to know whether a swap is feasible, and could there be some improvement, that's all. No big deal.

What I eventually got from this thread (I think) is that a bolt swap is feasible with the caution that you check for proper headspace but it probably won't result in better performance.
Good enough.

Sometimes it seems that the less extra information you give on forums like these - the better off you are. I'll know better in the future.

It's always best to go to the pros. I understand why you asked though.

The gunsmith will be able to give you an answer and a price. Just talk to him. Explain the situation and see what he says. Good gunsmiths employ the KISS principle and most are skilled.

Not to sidetrack the discussion, but as you have discovered, threads on this site (and others) devolve quite quickly.

P.S. Your rifle probably shot better before Biden became president in the States.

My .30-06 will not shoot any of the 165 Interbonds or SSTs worth beans. I’m betting therein lies the problem. Some will moan and disagree.

Has tried factory 150 and 180 grain stuff.

With all factory and reloaded ammo do groups all stay around that 2" mark?

PSE, this is the 24 hour campfire forums. It is not necessarily a place where you can ask a specific question and get a straight answer. There are a few that will go outside of the answer in a sincere effort to help with your problem. Others will ask you for more info, only to contradict everything you state, when you supply them with the info they ask for and try to make you look incompetent or that you are not telling them the truth. Some will comment without reading the whole thread or they cannot comprehend what they read.
My advice would be to do what the first couple of posters said after your initial post and get the spare bolt checked for headspace in your rifle. If it headspaces ok, shoot the rifle to see if accuracy has improved. RJ

Yes - With that said I haven't tried a whole lot of factory.

I'm am interested in trying the factory ammo with 165 gr Mono Metal bullets next (when they finally get some ammo in stock at the LGS).

That's exactly what I intend to do. Thanks!

You mean before Trudeau became PM in Canada - Right??

OP,
Clean the bore & chamber as if the Bbl had never been fired.
(Mick made excellent barrels)

Install a higher power scope to shoot groups with.

The 2.5-8X scope is for point & click hunting...not load work/grouping....even w/ 20 year old eyes!

Sorry I missed that post--but it still doesn't tell us a lot.

Some have already commented on how it's just about impossible to analyze inaccurate rifles on the Internet--for various reasons. Per usual, the "answers" you're mostly getting are the usual stuff--often involving stuff that's already been done to the rifle.

However, I will point out a couple of simple things that have eventually come out of threads like this, of course AFTER a bunch of people suggested all sorts of the usual stuff, often expensive.

One was a thread a few months ago, where it turned out the OP was resting his rifle so the rear sling swivel stud hung up on the rear rest during recoil. That one went on for over 10 pages.

A few years ago a guy who lives in a state south of me sent me a PM, saying he had a new .30-06 of a usually accurate brand, and could NOT get it to shoot well with the typically accurate load of a 165-grain bullet and around 58 grains of 4350. (Can't remember if it was H4350 or IMR, but both usually work with that charge and 165's.) I asked about the scope, and he said it was a New Leupold, purchased with the rifle. So I asked if he'd tried a different scope, and he said yes, but the results were the same. He'd already checked at the screws for tighteness, etc. I gave up.

Maybe six months later he decided to try a third scope, because it finally occurred to him that the second scope he'd tried was also a new, unproven scope. He found an old 4x Leupold in his safe that had worked fine on several other rifles, so he mounted it and shot the same load--which then went into around 3/4". (There are two implications from that: Two scopes can be screwy, and no, you don't need a high-X scope to tell if a .30-06 will shoot sub-inch groups, as somebody suggested here.)

In general, I have found simple solutions occur far more often in instances like yours than many rifle loonies are willing to believe.

Keep front stud out of bags too.

I thought Pierre was dead.

Let me know what the gunsmith says. Nothing beats talking to the right guy, rifle in hand.

That's the key with gunsmiths - talking to the right guy.

It would be great if the work done on the rifle came with an iron clad guarantee.

Something to the effect that if the work (agreed upon) done on your rifle does not produce at least 1 MOA with 5 shots at 100 yd consistently by said gunsmith then the work is free of charge. 4 consecutive groups (20 rounds) should be enough of a test. Client pays for ammo (Manufacturer and type agreed upon).

I wonder how many gunsmiths would still be in business if that were the norm??

I don't think you'll find anyone offering that guarantee, but if someone did, their prices would have to be really high! Not that many big game rifles are consistently MOA for 5 shots.

🙂 He will offer to check anything that you want. He will need to know what has been done to the rifle, and usually by whom.

You should tell him everything, but say that you only wish to try the new bolt. He will ask if you want him to fire it with the replacement bolt to see if it makes any difference. That way, knowing what's been done already, and firing it himself, he can give you an informed opinion.

From there, you can decide if you want to proceed with any other work. He will make suggestions, and most importantly, what it will cost.

That sounds like a good idea

You have a PM.

Don't know what happened to my text on my other post.

Was going to say they can guarantee and prove a rifle capable of 1/2" groups, but can't guarantee the customers ability to do same with the same ammo used, let alone with what other reloads and factory ammo the customer runs through it. Seems a constant controversy customers have with their gunsmith.

Absolutely assure yourself of proper head space!

I hunted with a 2MOA 700 .243 for several decades, and killed stuff with it. Can't remember ever not getting what I shot at with it. Maybe why I became a fan of "leaving powder burns".

Didn't like the original stock, with factory pressure point, but did glass-bed it that way, with and without pressure point. No Joy, so I built my own - in fancy wood. No change. But prettier. For a time....

Couple years ago I had nothing better to do, so started playing with the bedding/pressure point again, trial and error. Finally found an exact pressure point pressure that it liked (.75 MOA) with shims, and bedded to that. The PP bedding did not achieve the temp shim accuracy, quite - It now shoots moa. But then I don't use a torque wrench, so a slight difference NAY have caused that, or maybe the rigidity/flexibility/compression differences of the two PP materials. Close enough!

It doesn't kill any better or worse, tho.... . And I still don't particularly like it. Never did.

That exact pressure preference might be something to consider, as well, and make sure your receiver is bedded in flat. There should be no more than 1/2 (1/4 is better) turn in the front and rear screws from coming snug to fully tight. Use index marks or torque wrench to bring those back into perfect alignment if action is removed from stock. If you and/or the gun is that particular.

If you haven't already done these things..., also I've read some stuff on 24 about magazine fit affecting accuracy. And front receiver screws being a tad too long. I have two rifles that are full length bedded- M98 in 06 is superb - the 1985 M70 7x57 is 1.5 t0 1.75 moa. I've some playing with to do on that one this winter. But after full bedding, it shoots better than as it came factory trigger set, crap- bedded and fit, and the safety never factory fit at all. The Tubbs safety and bolt upgrade made no difference from factory. At least in my hands.

These 3 are the only of my rifles that are not free-floated from a couple inches forward of the receiver. Most rifles prefer free-floating, in my experience.

Good luck chasing the phantom of accuracy!

Oh, yes - I once had a RU77V in 25-06 that shot about 5MOA with factory. A Lee Loader (19.95 at the time) and reloading my cases with that, loads worked up, turned it into a sub MOA shooter- no other changes made, tho the trigger pull was a tad harsh.

I have a Rem Mountain Rifle in .30-06 purchased new in 1994 and had a similar problem. The good news is that I was able to fix it.

It was ADL with a synthetic stock and shot sub MOA. After a few years of great success with the rifle, it suddenly just lost it's ability to shoot a decent group, way larger that 2 inches.

I put on an new scope but that didn't help. Finally, I spoke with a guy in the parts department at Remington who had the same rifle. He explained to me that the mountain rifle's pencil barrel is extremely sensitive and NEEDS to be touching the two small fingers at the front of the stock. If the barrel doesn't rest firmly on the fingers, the increased vibration will affect accuracy.

It turns out that the FFL that sold me the rifle had filed the two finger to float the barrel, all with good intentions. So, over time, the fingers continued to erode until the accuracy went out the window.

As a result of the conversation with the Remington guy, I ordered a new mountain rifle synthetic stock (BDL was the only one available) and my rifle went back to sub MOA accuracy. The only other non stock mod on the rifle is a Timney trigger that I put in it a couple of years ago.

I hope that this helps you, it sure fixed my problem.

It's possible that is the problem. After all, every barrel is different, and very thin barrels seem less likely to shoot well free floated. On the other hand, I had a Rem 700 Mountain Rifle in 30-06 made in the 1980s that shot well bedded and free floated. So it depends on the barrel.

I've had Rem 700's that shot much better after I filed the magazine box so it didn't put pressure on the action. And I've had some where I had to shorten the front action screw for the same reason.

So there is a long list of possible accuracy fixes that one can go through trying to get a rifle to shoot well. JB has written about many of them in his books.

It certainly does depend on the barrel.

My Mountain Rifle barreled action shoots great in a stock having an inlet for a varmint contour.

There are even two magazine-box possibilities:

The magazine box is "too tall," so contacts the bottom of the action firmly when the action screws are tightened. This can happen over time as a wooden stock shrinks. (Another problem that can occur if a stock shrinks is the front action screw can contact the lower recoil lug, as the hole for the front action screw in 700's goes into the lower lug recess. Somebody mentioned this earlier.)

The other potential problem is either end of the magazine box can contact the stock. Usually it's the front end, but not always.

Both problems are relatively easy and cheap to fix, but often overlooked--even by supposedly professional gunsmiths.

I take it that the magazine should have a little wiggle and play when one opens the base plate with the follower and sticks a finger in to wiggle it up and down.

I just checked mine and that's how mine is.

Curing a too tall magazine box transformed my buddy's Model 7.

Slap the new bolt in it, tie this abortion strongly to an old tire, get her aimed right and pull the trigger with a string. Just looking at the fired brass will give you some insight. With a small miracle there could be an accuracy increase.

As an update to this saga.

I took the new bolt and rifle to the gunsmith and he checked it with the Go/No Go gauges and it will definitely not close with the Go gauge. The gunsmith said it will likely not even chamber a round.

I will not be using the bolt. It appears that there may be some dimensional differences between older Remington bolt lugs and newer bolts. Interesting to know.

Simple question, why didn't you do this in first place ?

Your story will help others here. I hope this doesn't sound smug. I don't mean it to. This is why it is best to take your concerns to someone qualified - even if it's just some conversation over the gun counter.

I'm sorry it didn't work out, PSE.

Didn't this "new" bolt come rom a damaged firearm?

Yes the bolt came from a damaged firearm and one of the things I intended to do was get someone to check for head space, which I finally did after I received it, which took a little time as the donor was on vacation.

In the meantime before receiving it, I thought I'd see what Campfire had to say about it since there are a lot of shooters that are knowledgeable about such things on this forum.

Didn't expect the interrogation about what else was done to my rifle in the past though. That was a surprise.

So all is good and now that I'm satisfied I can"t use it - someone else has expressed interest in it and I'll send it along to him at no cost, except that like me in my case, I requested a donation toward any of our S74 court challenges up here.

P.S. I'll also inform him of my experience and testing with the bolt so he will be aware of its current status.