# Good gunsmith?



## Huntin8 (Jul 15, 2013)

Just bought myself a new Remington 700 in 7mm mag for my elk hunt in October, took it shooting for the first time and the bolt sticks after firing it. It will cycle unspent casings fine, just after each shot it sticks and i cant pull the bolt back to eject the shell with out some effort. Anybody know of a reliable gunsmith around Salt Lake? I am willing to drive anywhere to get this fixed.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

What kind of ammo are you shooting? Sticky bolts can be a indicator of too hot of loads. As this is a new rifle odds are its not the case but still... what do the primers look like of the spent cases? Rounded at the edges or flattened out?

-DallanC


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## Huntin8 (Jul 15, 2013)

I was wondering myself if it could be the ammo. Compared to my spent .223 brass the primers are flat, and the 7mm casings are scratched up towards the primer end of the case.


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## Huntin8 (Jul 15, 2013)

I was shooting Federal Vital-Shok 150 grain


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

You may just have a rough chamber. Unless you want to foot the repair bill yourself you need to contact Remington if it is a new rifle and see what they have to say.


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## Huntin8 (Jul 15, 2013)

I am calling them tomorrow to see what they have to say, I am just looking for an alternative. I would prefer not to have to send it in and have it fixed. The hunt is in 2 months and who knows how long it will take for them to fix or replace it.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

The rifle may also sit at a local gunsmiths shop for that long. This is the time of year that people are dragging out their rifles and finding something wrong with them and taking them in to be repaired.


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## johnny (May 24, 2010)

I had the Gunsmith at Impact Arms in Ogden do some work for me recently. I got the first gun back the same day and the second back in 2 days. I was happy with the work as well.Wouldn't hurt to call a few and see how far they are out.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

This is the second one I have heard of recently. If it is a new rifle, send it back to Remington. You are using factory ammo, aren't you? Send it yourself, you'll get a faster response than if you have a dealer send it. And you won't have to fill out the federal form to get your gun back.


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## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

What model of 700? I bought a Sendero in January (7mm) and had the exact same problem with factory ammo. Tried 2 different brands because i thought one may have been loaded hot. Rough chamber was the issue. Called Remington and they took the rifle and fixed the problem. Turn around was roughly 3 weeks. Now it works fine. I met a guy on the range with a new Sendero 7mm and he had the same issue... Maybe they had a bad string with that chambering. Remington will fix it though.


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## quakeycrazy (Sep 18, 2007)

Huntin8 said:


> Just bought myself a new Remington 700 in 7mm mag for my elk hunt in October, took it shooting for the first time and the bolt sticks after firing it. It will cycle unspent casings fine, just after each shot it sticks and i cant pull the bolt back to eject the shell with out some effort. Anybody know of a reliable gunsmith around Salt Lake? I am willing to drive anywhere to get this fixed.


It's not the ammo at all bro... that much I can promise you. I had the some issue with my 700 in 300 win mag. After dealing with the bs for a few years I finally took it to Nightowl gunsmitthing in Taylorsville about two months ago. He told me he sees the same issues with the 700's quite often which is an issue with the chambering. He fixed it and charged about 80 bucks. Don't waste time worrying about whether or not you are cleaning it right , or using the right ammo because it is the chambering that is messed up. Another reason why I won't recommend a 700 to anyone since Remington did a crappy job letting too many of them go out with problems.


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## Huntin8 (Jul 15, 2013)

Its the 700 CDL. I had a hard time believing I didnt clean it well enough or that it was a problem with the factory loads. Im just hoping I can get it fixed and back in my hands with enough time to head back to the range before the hunt.


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## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

Call them first thing in the morning! Express your situation and hopefully you can get it fixed and back in your hands quick.


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## footprints (Jul 4, 2013)

Huntin8, Couple of quick thoughts. Have a gunsmith check it with head space gauges, and also call the ammo manufacturer about the load. Sometimes loads aren't right. I saw an old win 55 ruined by too hot of ammo. When I fire form wildcat ammo from existing new brass it backs up into the bolt face and causes hard to open bolts and shows signs of hitting close to 70,000 psi. Flat primers, cratering around firing pin strike and extractor marks on the case head are signs of trouble


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

If it is a rough chamber, which it could be, you should see signs on the brass. If you have a macro function on a digital camera, post up some pics, of some spent brass.

Make sure your chamber is dry, after you clean it. An oily chamber does not allow the side walls of the case to grab the chamber walls. This will put additional force on the bolt, that would normally be carried by the barrel. This will cause hard extractions. You can see signs of this on the brass also. Where a rough chamber will cause rough cases, an oily chamber will show smooth, with "hydraulic" dents. These are spots where the oil pools, and creates dents in the case. They can be quite small some times.


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