Curious how many have experienced it.

I had one in Oct break off my sons Model 7, 7.08.
Broke clean and took to gunsmith. He put it back on in a few days (had to schedule the repair).
He made sure all was ok once repaired with spacing etc but it works fine.
I have 4 Remingtons and never had it happen before although he told me it was common.

Not mine but a companion had it happen on a day hunt in NH; he was unloading at the end of the day and it popped off in his hand.

This was years ago but I remember thinking that was not supposed to happen.

I have

I've had three break off.

One I'll take credit for, I whacked it with a short piece of 2x4 to hammer it open. But the other two just fell off. I opened the bolt normally and the handle just came away in my hand.

Not me.

A friend had one fall off, this year, right before we left out on a hunting trip....

I have NFI how many 700's I've owned, and have had exactly zero handles fall off.

Sometimes despite my best efforts.....

The look on his face must have been priceless. Here I thought these self ejecting bolt handles were an urban legend much like Big Foot.

They made a few 700s over the years. Owned a few dozen and never had it happen.

I have owned or been around probably 100's of Remington 700 rifles and never seen or heard of any first hand bolt break-offs but that being said I'm sure it happens from time to time with the millions of rifles in circulation (more by far than any other make or model) chit will happen.....................Hb

I worked in a gunshop with an authorized Remington Repair center for 22 years. I saw three handles that had come off.

He was pretty surprised and as I recall, not real happy. I was so "new" to everything at the time it never occurred to me that something like that could happen...

I have not seen it since; but a lot of this is being in the right place at the wrong time.

I know of one M24 shedding its bolt handle, a friend of mine soldered it back on.

Guess with over 5 million made something's bound to [bleep] up.

of the ones that fell off i wonder how many may have been helped along the way with a fall or something similar

Had the bolt handle break off on a 600 Mohawk...called Remington. They advised me to ship the bolt/ handle back to them. A few weeks later the same bolt, now repaired, was returned to me. Still have the rifle. Homesteader.

Never even heard of it until the 'net and been around a pile of them. I have quite a few and never experienced it either.

I guess with over 5 million in existence, a few minor issues are bound to happen.

...yet another use for blue tape I guess...

The reports I've read on rem bolts breaking never really made me fret, though I think I'd think twice hunting chit that bites back with one. Would suck to have one break off in the process of racking another round after a so so shot on something that has identified me with the cause for its pain!

yep, 1 this year. My neighbor and hunting buddy brought his .22/250 over with the gun in one hand and bolt in the other. Was still loaded and he wanted me to help him unload it. Sent him to my uncle the gunsmith.

Bob, I'm offering Campfire pricing on 700 bolt upgrades this week only..........Borden Bumps optional..

Yeah, but I can't blame the gun for me doing something really stupid. I fired a shot, smelled primer, but I though I'd pierced one, not blown one clear out of the case head, and in the heat of battle (in other words, the squirrels were charging) just cycled the bolt to pick up another shell. The bolt handle didn't want to go clear shut so I forced it.

Turns out in doing so I squeezed that blown primer into a mortice in the action where it did not allow the bolt handle to lift after firing the next shot. I was trying to tap the handle to open the action to eject that next empty when I busted the bolt handle off. Landed on the ground between my feet.

Sick feeling.

I took the rifle to my favorite gunsmith who unscrewed the barrel to get the empty case and spent primer out of the way, then sent my busted bolt off to have the handle welded.

Backed off the loads a bunch but it still kept blowing primers. Weird thing was, I never had any issues at the rifle range, I could run 20-30 rounds through the gun, but in the field, even with the gun and ammo in the shade, about the 3rd or 4th shot I'd start getting wild pressure indicators. Never did figure it out, sold it to someone who planned to rebarrel it.

Tom

One, thirty years of shooting loading hunting. God knows how mant rem 7-700's I've been aroung . the one fell open bolt about 3' right on bolt handle it "fell" off . I'd still much rather take my chances on a rem. bolt handle than Ruger accuracy

Go a chuckle out of that....

I always got around this issue by carrying a spare bolt handle in my pocket.

I'd be just as pissed, help by a fall or not.

Separating from the bolt is something a handle should not do.

Had to fix a few. Usually from an improperly sized case or hot load. They are just silver soldered on

Probably been all sorts of testing done in Remington labs that failed to have it happen. Most likely when it did happen it was because some idiot had his finger on the trigger or failed to properly baby it in terms of maintenance.

Never even heard of a Ruger bolt handle coming apart. Something to be said for one-piece construction.

I know there were some issues when Ruger was buying barrels but that was decades ago. My oldest Ruger is a 1982 model M77 inn 7mm RM. It may not be the most accurate rifle in the world, but it put 3 into .262� on one target and shot this one in very gusty 40+MPH crosswinds:


This is from a 1989 M77 .257 Roberts I bought in 2004:


Here�s a 2-shot scope check from a used 1984 M77 .30-06 I picked up in 2006:


From a new 2003 MKII .300WM I bought in 2004. First shot was a fouler from an oiled bore:


This from a used 1994 MKII action on which I had my gunsmith attach a used Ruger .338WM barrel in 2010:


All my Rugers shoot well, whether purchased new or used, and most are used. So do the Rugers my hunting buddy and Big Brother have. Even the Ruger American .30-06 Dad gave me is a shooter. I�ve had a couple Rem 700�s and although they are accurate the difference -- even measurable, which I�m not sure is the case -- wouldn�t mean squat in the field. Having a bolt handle fall off would pretty much ruin my day.

That was mean.

Very impressed. Spent the extra coin to have it sleeved.

That yours? What's the story?

The third one.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/5553016/1

The second one.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/473352/1


I don't count the first one since I knocked it off with a 2x4. But both of these just fell off, it didn't even take a big push. Just opened the bolt as I had done hundreds of times before and the handle just let loose.

But I'm not complaining about Remington rifles, I still like them and own six at the present time, including the one with the bolt handle in the picture.

It's karmic payback. I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, am devilishly handsome, have a genius level intellect, a near herculean physique and the ability to please multiple women multiple times nightly.

In return, the Universe has decreed that out of the millions of Remington Model 700's, I should get two with bad handles.

I consider it a good trade.

The last two of mine are still carrying their bolt handles.




It was the triggers that fell off...

I used to think Remington 700's were da bomb but its threads like this one that made me switch over to Ruger. And the 77 does feel like a more solid and better built rifle to me.

one of my own,....seen a couple or three others.

Get JJHack to relate tales of rifles that failed in Alaska and South Africa if you want to scare yourself...

Lol! Got a chuckle out of that. Karma is a bitch!

I will be offering these trick mods to mod 70's in the future, but at a much higher price due to the romantic relationship between their rifles and owners............

Yep,I broke one.Hit the bold release while standing on the concrete in the garage. You guessed it, the bolt hit the floor and the bolt handle broke off. Can't hardly blame that on Remington and its design.

Why not - I would. A bolt should be able to take a drop, even onto a rock or concrete.

SAME HERE !!

I never heard of it before the 'Campfire' and I don't know how many 700s I have and have HAD.

BTW - the M 7 and 788s are NOT 700s.

None. Don't know how many Remingtons I've owned but it has been a bunch. Have two in the safe right now. One is over 30 years old and the other 12 or 13. I believe others who say it has happened to them. As others noted, with several million in circulation it is not surprising that a flaw has shown up. Still will not keep me from buying another.

Jim

I saw this on here a long while back..

The only bolt handle I've personally seen separate was on a Stiller Tac 30 action. It appears to be silver soldered like a Remington bolt.

I've been getting that done on my keeper Remingtons.

Snork!

I've got a couple like that too.

never had one break off. don't personally know anyone who has ever had one break off. it's good to be lucky.

I spoke with a local gunsmith who has been in business for over 20 years about this recently. He said he had seen a few handles come off a 700, but he added he had repaired many 788's whose handle came off. I wonder if the 788 caused the bad reputation on the 700 bolt handle.

Interesting. 1300 views and several failures. Nonetheless I have had one just fall off. Never beat the handle or dropped it. Owned dozens. That said other brands never break bc they cannot. Sako. Howa. Ruger. Oh and I have owned many Rugers. Accurate. Their new bbls are well mfg.

Stuart Otteson says the bolt handles and bolt head are furnace brazed at high temperature with copper alloy. fwiw.

I owned several M700's over the years, and still do, however when the bolt handle came off my SS KS 416 Remington I didn't think of it as a minor issue...

I used to belong to a hunt club in Shenandoah County, VA. Two of the 50 odd members of that club had M600 bolt handles pop off. One of them had a live round in the chamber. Very inconvenient. Never had an issue with my 600, but I didn't have it very long.

If I had one like that one of the screws would back out. I did have a M70 Winchester that the handle came loose and the handle would spin all of the way around the bolt, they are just pressed on.

How many members were there in all, and did any of the non-odd members experience this?

Saw one once. My cousins both got killed in a head on wreck opening morning of deer season. The 700s bolt handle popped off in that wreck.

Any bolt can break, even solid ones, I'd think it rare, but anything can break.

Of course anything thats not one solid piece, and has a method of attachment is more liable to break.

Never stopped me from buying 700s. And I've taken them to places where if it breaks you are done... no backups, no gun stores without hours of flying time etc...

Of course when I say no backups, I never hunt by myself, so there is always a backup, I just rarely am the one carrying it in that instance.

Not me, but I will admit to gingerly tapping a 700 bolt open with a rubber mallet jacking with 85 gr NBT's and RL-19 in a 25-06.

Gunner

I had one break off on a 221 Fireball hand gun that was made in the middle 1970's. I sent it to Remington and they sent it back fixed. kwg

I had the handles on all my "serious" hunting rifles welded on..Never worried about it till I had one pop off..It would have indeed sucked if I was hunting in another state..had them tig'd on for piece of mind.

Cant like the screw on method, can see Murphy coming into play there.

Never had one break off....

Loaned a 700 ss 338 RUM to a friend about 10 years ago for his Alaska grizzly hunt. 1 shot kill on a smallish bear at about 15 yards that his guide thought was about to charge. Went to clean it when he brought it back and the handle came off. Billings Gunsmiths repaired it- said it wasn't the first. I imagine he reefed on it pretty hard after the shot . He declined to borrow it again.

I own a 700, bought it just last year. It's a good gun, but I won't buy another one. The 90 degree bolt throw and its limitations on mounting a scope low really put me off. I will never use this gun for hunting something that could hunt me back, but having a bolt handle fall off would really piss me off. Designs evolve, so after 40 or 50 years Remington should do better. If it were a medical device a few known failures even out of 6+ million pieces built would equal a recall. Just based on the posted samples, there have been more than "a few" failures.

It's not that hard or expensive to build a better mousetrap in this instance.

Okay...next question. How many of you guys that say you've seen 700 bolt handles break off think Mdl 70's are better rifles?

I have and I do. At least a better hunting rifle. For targets, varmints, and gentleman's deer hunting, a Remington is preferable. Give me a Winchester when the stakes go up. YMMV.

Deaths caused by medical malpractice in the U.S. approach 200,000 per year. That's probably not the best comparison as the medical field continues to do the same things the same way in a lot of cases.....

You got your first 700 last year? How old are you?

That's funny stuff!!

Almost as funny as somebody believing that Rem 700's ain't a good thing.

I've had a .243 700 for nearly 40 years, no problem, until I ef'd up and had a stuck case - hammered the bolt handle with a dead-blow.

And a 725 (predating the 700 in manufacturing) for close to 30 years. No problem.

I have re-silver-soldered-on several other than my own 700 bolt handles, all having been hammered open .... None, to my knowledge have had a problem since.

One should probably not do chit requiring hammering open....

That said, there are good soldering jobs and not so good... production oriented jobs may or may not have a higher percentage of the latter.

I refuse to use Remingtons, so it hasn't happened to me. I've seen a few in the gunsmiths shop for repair, he tells me he gets a couple a year. A buddy who was a sniper and armorer in the USMC says they used to knock them off regularly, if you gave him a Remington he would sell it and buy another Mauser.

Agree.

I think Ruger 77's are better than either of them and I've owned a few of each.

What's that ?

WW1 ?

42. Not everybody drinks the 700 Kool-Aid....

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.

djb: It is all about Murphy's law. Rather address an issue before it pops up (or off).

For the record, no Rem 700 has ever given me a single problem.

Nice thing about a Kimber Montana, I have a very light rifle with a screwed on bolt and crf for all those big bad grizzlies that are set on killing everyone here in Montana

"9lb CRF"... I can build an all-up 7.5 lb M70 easily with no fluting. But Kimber MT is just easier...

Me neither unless you count parts lost in the mail

i'd be slow to play the 'miles traveled to hunt' card...

the idea that the farther you get from the game, the more important the rifle becomes may have merit somehow, but I'm not seeing it.

well, maybe psychological, but that's not universal.

a gun nut trying to justify features deemed necessary is a world apart from a hunter viewing the rifle as a tool. the most badass non-resident hunter I've met was carrying a Savage 110 in Tupperware.

never

Big time +1

An easier question might be - "who hasn't had one fall off?

That's what I was thinking too.

I've owned 3 700s and one 7. No bolt handle problems. Did get one of the infamous remington triggers though. BDL 300Mag that would fire by disengaging the safety. It went to the gunsmith then went down the road.

And we're off!!!!

No Remington handles out of over 100, 700's but I did have a Kimber SVT bolt fall off in my hand extracting a fired case.

Jim, if you'll stop hunting when it's -114*F your bolt won't fall off.

Me. But I've never had an issue with Firefox either.

Guess like anything else, QC can suffer when you pump out 5+ million rifles.

Well said, as usual.

In my own case I normally hunt about 5-6 hours from home. Call it a day-long round trip minimum, possibly more if the weather is bad. When a Ruger M77 in 7mm RM was my only bolt rifle (the first 20+ years) I never gave potential problems much thought. Early on Dad gave me a Browning B92 in .44 Mag and, although I took it along and hunted with it at least one day a year for many years, I never needed it as a back-up.

Last year my daughter went on her first-ever hunt and used my Ruger M77 in .257 Roberts to take her first big game animal. After the shot we discovered she couldn't open the bolt without a lot of work and bolt wiggling - the kind of problem that could get you killed in griz country if a follow-up shot was needed but was just an annoyance hunting antelope, especially when other rifles were available. (No, it wasn't a hot load, something with the extractor was sticking. Ruger says they "REPAIRED EXTRACTOR, POLISHED CHAMBER". I was never able to figure out exactly what the problem was.) I wouldn't have thought a Ruger extractor could cause such problems, now I know better. Guess I'll continue to take two rifles elk hunting, particularly since my buddies tend to leave for home days before I do.

I've had exactly two Remington M700's, a BDL .308 Win and a "Special Purpose Wood".30-06. The .308 got sold to fund my first AR. It was a looker with excellent wood and was exquisitely accurate but it didn't provide any practical benefit in the field. I still have the much plainer .30-06. Do I worry about the bolt handle breaking off? Not to the point of obsession, to be sure, but I recognize it is something that has happened to others under purely pedestrian conditions of use. In other words, if the Remington goes it won't be the only one. Same deal as my Rugers.

For those that say something along the lines of "It hasn't happened to me", don't kid yourself - it happens often enough that some people personally experience multiple occurrences. It seems to me that if taking a M700 as my only rifle on a trip far from home, a small investment in screws or welding could prevent what might be a "minor issue" closer to home becoming a major problem.

I wonder how far this guy travels to hunt...

The military provides all manner of absolute chit for our guys to use... lowest bid stuff. That the military uses something often proves/means exactly nothing, except that the Rem 700 is easy to chuck up on a lathe and re-work by anyone marginally qualified to use a lathe, and that a buzillion aftermarket parts are available for it. It's a toilet paper tube you can attach chit to. Perfect for a military armorer, a cheap means to an end.

I have nothing against 700's, just trying to keep a little reality in the conversation.

700's make excellent varmint rifles

When Dave Gentry was alive I asked him about the 700 bolt handle and he told me he re-welded a number each year...

what Dave said means less than zero to me. I have one of his rifles and that was/is the biggest POS in my safe. it is a Winchester M70 and i'll take any of my M700s anywhere long before I take that POS.

how many bolt handles have you broken off, Brad?

I've never had a 700 handle come off because I've only owned a dozen or so 700's and only hunted them lightly... just don't like them, except as a varminter.

Dave was a borderline genius when it came to sorting out a Mauser action... there aren't many guys that could take a chunk of steel and mill it into a finished action. All the work he did for me was top shelf.

Anything else, I can't comment on.

Agreed Rem 700s make good varminters, all of mine are 700s�.and oddly enough they get ten times ( minimum) the usage of any of my big game guns, and Ive still never had a bolt handle fall off�.as mentioned before, I have seen it, in the Remington Authorized repair shop, but only three times in 22 years and thousands of rifles. Im takin' my chances...

Can't buy the distance logic. If I can't trust it at 2,000 miles, I wouldn't trust it at 200.

25-30 years ago I had one come off a 722 Rem,have shot lots of 700s since with narry a problem.Have a 700 in 300 saum thats quickly become my favorite elk rifle. Have zero concerns about the bolt handle coming off

But you might at 20. Or 2. Or hunting out the back door.

nope. my Gentry M70 is an example. I won't take that thing on a groundhog hunt.

Tom, have had a variety of 700's, but my favorites were the 223's, 22-250's and 243's... there's just something about the scale of the shorty 700 action that is "right" with those sized cartridges.

If I ever do another dedicated varminter, it won't be a Kimber, it'll be a 700 SA. Peas and Carrots.

If you're afraid of it ruining a hunt, what's the difference?

None, if you're smart enough to bring a back-up rifle.

Ok I'll Bite. What's wrong with it? Or more to the point, what could be wrong with it that can't be fixed?

I feel exactly the same.

it is the roughest finished and worst feeding rifle I've owned. rougher than the early cast stainless Rugers. it truly isn't worth fixing

How many Leupold scopes break every year, people keep using them


[bleep] happens every once in a while!!

and how many people yap on their cell phones while navigating rush hour traffic, thinking the bolt handle is the real killer?

Was there a pattern of any kind, like for the most part coming off of new rifles after only a small amount of use? Or coming off of older rifles like some accumulated stressing?

Or just random without a noticeable pattern?

Probably the same ones who whine the loudest here about 700's here too.

Promotional posts are reserved for paying advertisers only. Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions.

Thanks for your professional courtesy.

Back in the mid 70's I worked part time for a gunsmith who was getting on in years and needed help. Never had any M600, 660 or M700 come in with handle that fell off. However the M788's literally became a small cash cow. IIRC, the worst offenders were the 22-250. Very popular with the coyote hunters and I'm guessing most loaded some very hot ammo. Got all my serious smithing work done free. Working on those 788's put a sour taste in my mouth for that rifle.
Whenever I do a hunt I always take a back up rifle or two especially when I'm doing an out of state elk hunt with serious money on the line.
As someone mentioned Leupold scopes, I've had three turn toes up on me. Two at the range and one on an elk hunt.
Wierd as hell. Elk was lasered at 350 yards so I held for a upper chest shot (.35 Whelen with 225 gr. TSX at 2710 FPS) Took the shot and the elk fell DRT. The bullet had hit the elk in the neck at the base of the skull. I was positive I hadn't flinched or pulled the shot. Nonetheless that's where the bullet went. A couple of days after I go home I went to the range and bullets were all over the place. Sent it back to Leupold and when it came back they said the entire crosshair adjustments had literally disintegrated. I'm thinking that was the luckiest shot I've ever made in my life.
Paul B.

I've seen it in a test lab. We had 6ea. 220 grain bullets in the barrel resting in front of a 30-06 factory round. We pulled the trigger remotely, in a chamber. The stock cracked and the bolt froze. An idiot broke the handle off even after the others there told me not to do what I was doing to try to open the bolt.

Other than that, no.

But if it happened I'd be quite upset and even more upset when Remington would say that I'd have to pay for repairs. I've owned many Remington 600's, 660's, 721's, 78's, 7's, and maybe 30+ 700's. I shoot them a lot. But I prefer the old ones and don't care for the post Walker triggers, the cheap early plastic stocks etc. if was manufactured after mid 90's I consider them 75% complete or less. They need work, new triggers, new stocks, ensuring the bolt lugs are contacting evenly, polishing the metal and bluing, and with the lack of care the new Remington factory is producing their rifles and their lack of standing behind their product: I have to admit that I'm no longer a big fan of Remington like I had been all my life.

I always bring a spare rifle. Though I have yet to need one.

Do any of you know what other gun companies attach there bolt handles the same way Remington does? Have they had problems with bolt handles falling off?

The Model 700 is my favorite rifle, hands down. I have a safe full of them, and after owning 700's for about 40 years, I've only had one problem. The most expensive 700 I've owned was a XCR Compact Tactical in 223. I had got it, scoped it, and was sighting it in, when after about a dozen shots or so, the bolt handle came off as I was extracting a fired round. I was shooting reloads, and my first thought was that I'd fired a load that was too hot. Apparently, it just came off, with nothing causing it on my end. Had to send it back to Remington for repair, of course.

One, and I have had many Remington 700/7 rifles. I now have another one, we'll see if it was a fluke or not!

One, about 1979 or 1980, after that I moved to Alaska and have stayed strictly with Ruger, Winchester, and Sako. Though I've had a couple of Kimbers but not for long.

Not to uncommon on the 700s

rainierrifleco - IF one was allowed to ADD a Rem M600 to this post then I could say I've had exactly one (1) bolt handle break off since the mid-1970's. Sent back to Remington and it was replaced and returned to me promptly.
Of the other M700's I've enjoyed over the years - zero (0) bolt handle failures. Like the bumper sticker states "S-it Happens". Homesteader.