Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing nother' sticky bolt lift question

buddys 338 700 wont allow bolt lift after firing. wait 5 seconds and it will. tells me hot loads or chamber issue.

gun is 270 rebarreled to 338 with sako ext. factory remmy takeoff. lugs were lapped. chambers fine. chamber is clean. brass looks good with no dents etc.

all ammo has been factory (4 manufacturers). last year when it started i cleaned up the chamber for him with some scotch brite (no, i did not polish it). no help..

what say you?

woofer

Good question.. With your info in mind, I haven't a clue..

good. i felt so vulnerable until now

woofer

Light coat of oil in chamber.

Here is a thought..
Perhaps the rifle suffered a bit of lug set back at some point in its life. So now even with normal pressure loads it could be causing the bolt to stick.

Have the lugs been lapped since the problem started?

"last year when it started"

That's a clue right there. What the clue is - I don't have a clue. Something has changed if it hasn't always been doing this.

A crack or burr in something somewhere that's influenced by heat? ? ?

The lugs getting "sticky" ? ? ?

Here's a "nother" thought. If the rifle hasn't always had a sticky bolt maybe it's just a small sliver of brass stuck somewhere. That's probably more likely than a "change" in one of the steel components. Unless it's been shot an awful lot.

Maybe try a thorough scrubbing/polishing with 0000 steel wool and a little bit of oil wrapped around something and spun with a drill to clean up the chamber. A tiny bit of fine lapping compound on the lugs and work the bolt. Follow that up with a thorough cleaning (rifle disassembled )with brake cleaner. Visually inspect everything with a magnifying glass or loop. Lube the lugs (lightly) and the bolt (lightly) reassemble it and see what happens.

I'm not a gunsmith but that's what I'd try.

Problem is, he says it goes away after 5 seconds...

Then everything's rosy.. That negates lug setback, hot loads, chamber crap, .... everything.. And with factory ammo yet... ?????

Nothing makes sense in this case.. Sorry bud..

But I sure wanna hear what the answer finally is.. I need to learn something new..

Which 338 is it? What's the primer look like?

Never seen a Remington 700 with lug setback. Immediate sticky bolt lift in a Remington is a classic pressure sign, provided the brass doesn't indicate a rough chamber. My thoughts, where factory rounds are concerned, go to throating issues. Maybe the neck and throat. Too tight, too short. I would be interested in seeing the case head to see if there are drag marks where the Sako extractor sits. The bottom inside edge of the Sako extractor has to sit flush with the face of the bolt or it can drag and raise hell.

If it is a belted mag, it is possible that there could be a burr at the forward edge of the belt area in the chamber causing problems. Drag marks there are fairly easy to detect if you know what you are looking for. If the problem is in the chamber, the appearance of the fired case should point you in the right direction. If the case looks good, from mouth to case head, I would look to the throat.

What about a rough bolt face from opening it up? or is it a 338/06?

Redneck,

I respect your experience and thoughts. At least my suggestions shouldn't cause any harm. Will it solve the problem? I certainly don't know.

If the the rifle hasn't been doing it since it was rebarreled - something has changed.

FWIW, my background in aviation is what influences my thoughts. Problem solving is sometimes a process of elimination. You have to start somewhere. Cleaning, a little scubbing/polishing, visually inspecting and in the process handling everything might shed some light. It's a start.

I'm not disagreeing with your thoughts at all. They have a whole lot more value than mine.

If I couldn't find the problem with just the basic steps as I outlined - I'd stop shooting it and send it to you.

I mean that with all due respect.

I think what Redneck is implying is that after 5 seconds, the bolt will open, and that is extrememly puzzling for Redneck, and also to me.

A cartridge is not going to expand enough to freeze the bolt, then cool of and contract enough in 5 seconds to allow the bolt to open.

Perhaps trying to open the bolt for 5 seconds allows whatever is holding it closed to fall out, but, as Redneck states, I also do not believe it is lug setback or excessive pressure.

It started after using an abrasive? Try making circular scratches in the chamber with 400 grit Wet or Dry paper, used with oil. Clean throughly after using abrasive paper, and make sure chamber is dry and no film of oil is left.

Using your finger, lightly polish the bolt face with the same 400 grit. Check the extracter to make sure it is not binding and comes loose after you pull on the bolt for 5 seconds.

I understand your views and appreciate your statement.. Like Malm, I've never seen a lug setback in a Rem. That's not it, IMHO.. And this is especially puzzling with factory loads - and especially since you said you've tried four serparate manufacturers..

AND ( to add to the list) this just started last year, BEFORE you cleaned the chamber.. Yet it's still occuring!?!?!!

Last, you mention brass so it's not obviously that nickle-plated stuff..

If it worked fine early last year, that negates throat issues IYAM..

Man.. I gotta keep thinkin' about this one..

Not that my opinion is right or even matters but the suggestion of mildly polishing the lugs was more along the lines of cleaning/removing any foreign matter or a tiny burr. It's one place you can't see without removing the barrel. Maybe just cleaning, a little grease along with working the bolt would be enough to eliminate any possibilty of ? ? ? something being there. Thus, ruling out a possibility.

Here's a couple of questions for woofer. Is it five seconds of putting steady pressure on the bolt and then it gradually releases? OR - Is the first attempt stiff and then it's the second attempt at turning the bolt that's easy? See where I'm going? Is it really five seconds that it takes for the bolt to release or a second try that does the trick?

"Nother" thing. If you chamber a fired case and pull the trigger is the bolt easy to open? Does it take a second try?

OK. Now I'm thinking and writing out loud. Just because I want to.

Five seconds? What could possibly change in five seconds? I can't come up with an answer for that. Heat or pressure bleeding off? Nope, no way.

Jiggly once, jiggly twice. Yep, maybe.

Just throwing things out there.

took some quick pics of brass (nickel) also the remington stuff looks the same.... no extractor marks. no doughnuts. grrrrr.

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the primers are a tad flat but i cant think of anything else other than an out of spec reamer. chamber looks great. just wondering if shoulder neck area is a little snug. all signs point to pressure...

dunno'

woofer

The primers and pressures look fine from what I can see. Have you always used nickle plated brass? I've seen nickle plated brass hang up in highly polished chambers. Perhaps that's the problem. I prefer a more "cross hatched", honed looking finish in a chamber than one that is highly polished. I like using a standard, grocery store bought, green, Scotch Brite pad to finish my chambers, coupled with a high lathe speed and a rapid back and forth with the mandrel.Try standard yellow brass. BTW, brass, and nickle plated brass, contracts as it cools.

malm. that is how i polished it looks like a fresh cylinder hone. have both fired brass and the nickel stuff. 5 seconds seems fast to go from no lift to open ok.. pull the tube and take a peek i guess....

woofer

Just a wild ass guess- but try taking the ft. action screw out and see if its long and rubbing a little on the bolt lugs??