Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing 700 action.... bolt release sticks when depressed

WD40 works great in bolt stops!

Curious here, but how many times did they make you repeat a few grades in elementary school??

Make sure the release is not hitting the guard.

SwampAzz drove in the shortbus..he was/is special.

Did you buy that from Swampy?

Some part of the mechanism is rubbing somewhere on the side(s) of the trigger well--this is not uncommon with M700's, epecially after bedding/modifying or installing a new stock.

When depressed the front of the bolt stop goes down, and often will hit the front of the trigger well.

Or the bolt stop release that slides along the trigger housing could be rubbing, or the little tab on the release that engages the bolt stop sticks out some, and could be hitting the side of the trigger well.

Aw heck--that looks like original Remington assembly lube......

Naw, WD-40 is fine, you just douche the hell out of it every month to keep it loose. Loosens up the motor oil you dumped in there too. If a little oil is good, more must be better - right?

Sure as hell won't take much!!!

Someone is making a huge assumption here

1) Sell gun on 'fire classifieds

2) buy Win M70 or M98 Mauser

By following these two steps, you're assured of no more problems !

Rem 700 bolt release levers can be finicky to say the least. I had the same problem as you but with a little patience you should be able to fix it.

1st, as was already mentioned here, make sure the rear trigger pin(which holds the bolt release lever in place)is not bent. If it is bent it will need replacing($2 or $3), try midwayusa or brownells.

2nd, as was already mentioned here also, make sure there are no burrs on the side of the release mechanism that slides along the side of the trigger housing. If there are, remove the burrs with very fine sandpaper(600+ grit) and then polish with buffing compound or 0000 steel wool and oil until very smooth. Next, clean all remnants of oil with alcohol. To lubricate I liked the graphite idea given earlier or any type of dry film lube that won't gum up would be my choice if you are worried about corrosion(point is, this part must pretty much be able to slide frictionless along the side of the trigger housing to work properly). Having said that, any lube used must be used very sparingly and needs to not be wet( like oil/ WD-40) or it might cause excess friction which will create problems with proper function.

Also(and I've experienced this), there is the possibility that the side of the release mechanism(again,the part in contact with the trigger housing)has been bent slightly causing binding as it moves up and down along the two guiding pins. This part must be straight to function properly.
It takes very little in the way of a bent part to cause problems. Having said that, it also may only take a very slight bit of straightening to fix the problem(I've used needlenose pliers to straighten this part successfully but only after covering the sharp jaws of the pliers with several layers of masking tape. If you scratch this part up you will be starting over from square one.).

I've also run into instances where the two holes for the guiding pins on the release mechanism weren't machined quite long enough which prevented the release mechanism from moving upward far enough. When this happens the actual bolt stop itself does not depress enough to allow the bolt to be removed from the rifles action(another very frusterating situation).

Another scenario is when the notch on the bolt stop that comes in contact with the bolt release mechanism is not deep enough. If this notch isn't deep enough it might not allow the blade of the bolt stop( the part that actually contacts the bolt lug) to rise high enough in the raceway to insure good contact with the lug which is what keeps the bolt from flying out of the action when one cycles the action quickly.

Sorry for the long dissertation but if I've impressed upon you the necessity for all of the parts of this Rem 700 bolt release/bolt stop mechanism to fit properly for good function then I've succeeded.

It can and usually functions flawlessly but if one part of the puzzle is out of whack(sometimes even just slightly) it can be a real headache to remedy.

Leftybolt

The M700 bolt release is the worse design out there. A simple button on the side of the recveiver works wonders.

I have to say, of those Remington's which come through my shop with a bolt release issues, the majority of the problems can be traced directly to lack of proper maintenance. The remaining few are the result of someone not knowing what they are doing. In fact, most of the problems that seem to plague the Remington 700 can be attributed to maintenance issues.

There was a sign posted outside the door to our Company Armory that read: "A clean, properly lubricated and maintained rifle, loaded with clean ammunition will fire when needed". That saying should be tattooed on some peoples foreheads.

AMEN

this same maintenace rant goes to many 700 trigger issues

I had the same problem WHEN I BEDDED THE RIFLE. (Check it and dremel away what is needed, in case you have epoxy and not just wood+metal.)

Swampy, the 'developed by NASA' bit is the old wives tale....do your homework before posting your normal bullshit.

Second thoughts.... just keep going the way that you are, it's entertainment that can't be bought.

I've had this happen, I'd make certain it wasn't this before doing anything drastic....like squirting WhyDamn40 in a firearm.

WD-40 will dry and create a thick mess that takes some work to remove. Fixing the problem is the answer, not spraying something on the problem. If one has to spray something, use Ballistol. It was developed by the Germans many years ago. Not a petroleum product and good for leather, wood, etc.

WD-40 is a sloppy attempt to solve a problem, not too unlike most of Swampy's other advice. I say "most" because a stopped clock is right twice a day...