Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Remington 700 - who has had a Bolt handle break off ??

Had it happen to my LSS Mountain Rifle. Got it fixed under warranty. Remington's solution was to have me bring (send) it to the "local" service center. Service center only charged me the better part of $100 to ship it back to the factory and return it to me. That one simply peeled off when I flipped the bolt closed with a pulled trigger. A couple others have taken some fair prying at times with sticky loads without failure. Brazing with silver isn't exactly a bad thing......if it's done well.

I explored that route with mine - the one I posted a pic of - and the price seemed pretty exorbitant for "warranty repair". A local smith charged me about $30 to silver solder it on.

What happens, as far as I and the smith could tell (he fixed both of mine) is that the curve of the bolt must match the curve of the handle where it is attached to get a good bond. If they mismatch then all you have is a bond around the periphery of the handle or at some small point under the handle.

The smith ground the handle to make sure the two surfaces mated properly when he silver soldered the handle back on. He told me that when done right the bolt handle would probably bend before the solder joint would give.

Hmmm. Minor issue? The operating handle falls off and it's "minor"? And the internet Kimber haters bitch about Kimber, but a handle falling off a Remington bolt is "minor"? Hmmm.

I'll take a Kimber any day.

As long as one doesn't heat up the bolt during the drilling process to the point where the solder job is compromised, I don't see how a mechanical lock would do anything but help to keep the handle attached.

It happened to my 264WM Rem Model 721 back in the 60's. My dad was using it and someone gave him some reloads that were to hot. He had a machinist solder it back on and never had another problem.

Here's one of three I know of in the first person....

I have several Model 700 rifles and have not had a bolt handle break off.

Never ever, and i've had to beat one open.

Same here

Thats the semi-auto version of the 700 you have there

+1

Silver brazed lap joints don't give me the warm fuzzy feeling.

Brazing isn't a bad way to create a joint if you can test it. The compressor in a refrigeration system has brazed connections. Temperature swings, vibration, pressure, and high duty cycle are working against the brazed joints. But, you know right away if the joint is bad, at least insufficient filler. Psssssssss....

Not so easy to tell if a Remlin bolt handle has been brazed properly.

Might I suggest a hammer test?

[color:#000099]Hammer test video[/color]

If the brazed joint comes from Remlin with insufficent filler material coverage I can see how some people have the bolt handle pop off in their hand. Or the handle comes off when they accidentally drop the bolt on the floor. What happens if you slip and fall on the side of a steep hill and drive your beloved rifle into the earth?

Brazed joints aren't bad per se, but there really isn't any way to inspect them that I know of without applying force. This might not be a bad way to go now that I think about it. A single cycle pull test might reveal a bad joint, at least the ones that pop off early in the gun's life.

You're just left to trust. Trust that Remlin inspected and prepped the parts before it went to the furnace. My guess is that the failures are due to improper parts prep since filler material flows so well.

Or braze it yourself, have a gunsmith do it, or tig weld it.

Now, the bolt head is also brazed?

J

Hmmm, imagine that, maybe Remlin could put the same job as the bolt head on the handle.....

Or better yet, just make it like other mfg. - 1 piece

Sure might costs a few cents extra and the bean counters do not want to increase the price of a rifle a few cents....

"The 700 bolt is brazed together from 5 pieces. The cylinder, or "body" and bolt head are machined from chrome-moly bar stock, while the handle is investment cast.

Sandwiched behind the bolt head is a heavy steel washer to support the ejector and act as a stop when snapping the firing pin. A heavy dowel fits cross-wise into one side of the bolt head joint to reinforce it and index the parts during brazing. The dowel assures that the lugs will seat even if the brazed head joint fails.

This is a very remote possibility, however, as both joints are furnace brazed at high temperature with copper alloy, forming a bond of extreme strength (and also one which is unaffected by subsequent heat treatment).

Following brazing, the bolt handles are tested in a pneumatic press and then punch marked under the shank for verification."

I would hesitate taking an unmodified Rem 700 to very remote areas if it is the only rifle I have with me, especially crossing borders and ending up with a rifle without a bolt handle. I do understand that there are plenty of guys out there that never had such problems but the fact that in only this thread there are several guys that experienced this problem it will definitely be in the back of my mind while I am busy hunting. Imagine sitting in the middle of the desert or Alaska with a rifle that has no bolt handle! I would 'modify' the bolt handle on a 700 before I take somewhere.

I look out of my living room window at designated wilderness infested with grizzlys, and when i hike into said wilderness alone, I'm happier with a M700/M7 in my paws than nine pounds of CRF.

Trust? Screw that...


Here's my own view on it not intending to get anyone riled; but there's a difference(even if just psychological) between being a days drive or hike from the home front, or access to a backup rifle on the one hand, and being 2000-6000 miles from home and deep in a wilderness area at that...and experiencing a mechanical problem with an important piece of gear that simply can't be fixed.

In one situation a mechanical problem is an annoyance and inconvenience(but not beyond help),and in the other it's a complete disaster, leaving you possibly "unarmed"....the variations in logistics is imponderable and impossible to predict in advance.

In the case of a "travel" rifle, it only seems prudent to me to have a backup "plan" that includes avoiding the possibility of the problem WAY in advance, in the unlikely event that he improbable happens.

Me personally of course but for travel and hunting a long way from home I look at the rifle and ask "what can fail?" (which can happen with anything). Some things I can do nothing about (broken stock, say),but a backup scope and provision to mount it is a place to start. From there, most likely to crap out are extractor and ejector systems and triggers....these are most vulnerable to failure.

A bolt handle that COULD or MIGHT, or is known to now and then, pop off, should be dealt with in advance, or left at home in lieu of another less vulnerable design.

To me mechanical reliability is just infinitely more important than fractional differences in accuracy, weight, or other minor stuff because if your rifle suddenly does not "work", you are immediately "sunk"....JMHO and YMMV.

when you step out of the truck and head up the mountain, it doesn't matter if you flew in from halfway around the world or walked from your back door. it is still just you and your rifle on the mountain (except the guy flying in is more likely to have the resources of an outfitter/guide at his disposal)

how that affects you psychologically is your cross to bear

Yes....I know...nothing ever breaks.

When was the last time you hunted 2000 miles from home? Just curious.

I don't suffer crosses; and no doubt, to your surprise, have hunted the west mostly on my own. I try to leave home "ready", without concession to flawed designs...

I generally like what both of you post on this forum but have to agree with Bob on this point. It IS different being thousands of miles from home and being alone in a remote location exacerbates the situation.

My backpacking rifle is a Banser stocked 700. I just had it re-barreled and sent it off to have a Ruger style bolt handle tig welded on (unfortunately USPS lost my first bolt and I am waiting on a replacement � long story). I also carry a spare extractor and tools to disassemble the rifle with me when hunting since this is the other supposed weak link on the 700. My trigger is always well flushed out with lighter fluid before I go. This about all I can do to outmaneuver Mr. Murphy when traveling. Oh, I also bring along a Marlin 44 mag carbine as a simple back-up.