Remington 700 w/ Stuck bolt and live round?

[Joe in fla]

I was at the range last week and a guy there had a NEW Remington 700 VTR in .223. He fired three shots out of it and then tried to chamber the 4th round and the bolt stuck. It appeared that the lugs were engaged but the handle was stuck up in the air and no one could get it to open or close or to move up or down. This is a NEW gun and it was the first time he'd fired it. He was shooting Remington factory ammo. I examined the three fired cases and they all looked completely normal except they all had a gouge all the way down the case but they weren't very deep. We also checked the target and there were three holes in it so there wasn't a bullet stuck in the barrel. I should add that this is a well experienced shooter and he had cleaned the barrel and done all the necessary checks prior to shooting the gun for the first time.

Does anyone have any idea of what might have caused this? I've seen similar stuck bolts on 7.7 Jap rifles. I think that was caused by engaging the safety while the bolt was open. I'm wondering if the Remington uses a similar design and that could be the cause, but I don't know anything about the newer Remington bolt actions.

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

 

[redbullitt]

That should not happen. I wonder how difficult it was to close the bolt on that round? The stuck bolts you usually see come from really dirty chambers and or too high pressures, but that does not really sound like it fits here.

a possible defect?

 

[Jim K]

First, what did he do? Is he still at the range trying to get the bolt open?

No, the Remington bolt design is nothing like the Arisaka so whatever happened it wasn't the same as your experience with the Japanese rifle.

I could speculate until the next snowstorm in Hades, but without seeing the rifle and the ammunition, I can't provide any real answer. I know I would get the bolt open one way or another and not leave a live round in the chamber.

"Yes, Virginia, sometimes brute force really is the answer!"

Jim

 

[Joe in fla]

First, what did he do?

Do you mean before the problem occurred or afterwards? Before, nothing different than usual. Loaded cartridges one at a time and fired them. Got to the fourth one and put it in the feed ramp and tried to close the bolt but only went so far then hung up.

Is he still at the range trying to get the bolt open?

Nope. That was over a week ago. After he couldn't get the bolt open, two more of us tried and failed then the RO tried and failed. The owner finally gave up and took the loaded rifle and put in it's case and put into his car and took it home. I don't know what else he could do. We all tried moving the bolt with all our might but none of us could budge it. I have heard of and seen people (GIs) KICK bolts open on MGs and I half-suggested it but he wasn't willing to do that on a NEW rifle! And to tell the truth I wasn't eager to try it on a LOADED round either! I'll add that we were at a remote firing range and no one had a hammer or other heavy tools. The owner's plan was to take the gun back to the gun shop where he bought it and let them (and Remington) figure it out. I did suggest that he go in without the gun first and tell them the situation BEFORE he brought it into the shop.

 

[gamestalker]

I've had the same exact thing happen and I used a gun cleaning rod to free the bolt. Drop it in with a pretty good amount of energy with nothing on the tip. It will free it.
After going through one round after another, I gave up trying to get factory to chamber in my rifles or extract. I won't ever use factory ammo ever again. I've had problems with just about every make and caliber including shot shells. Bottom line is, I would be more inclined to think the issue is the ammo. That is just me though voicing an opinion from a hand loading perspective. I've never had one single problem, nothing, not even a mis-fire with my hand loads in over 25 years of loading. Unfortunately my experience with factory has been horrible and probably dangerous in some of the incidents. I'm not saying that its deffinitely the ammo, I'm just saying if it were me having the problem, ammo is the first place I would look.

 

[Joe in fla]

Were those LIVE rounds that you were knocking out? What kind of guns/calibers did you have trouble with? I have lots of guns and I can't say that I've ever had anything like this happen to me.

FWIW I would never use a cleaning rod to knock anything substantial (more than cob webs) out of a barrel. I've seen too many that bent and got jammed in the barrel and just made things worse. You be amazed at some of the stuff that I've seen lodged in barrels! I'd use a piece of polished steel drill rod just slightly smaller than the bore diameter.

FWIW I did tell the owner that he could try to push the bolt open using drill rod but he was horrified at the prospect of trying that on a live round. I can't say that I blame him! I'd do it if I had to but someone would have to make it worth my while!

 

[Jim K]

"they all had a gouge all the way down the case"

FWIW, I think there is a clue there, possibly a burr at the chamber mouth, but too late to know now.

Jim

 

[wsm]

stuck bolt

Gentlemen, I am NOT trying to insult any one. DO NOT try to pound the bolt open with anything. Take it to someone with a bore scope. Once in my 63 years I have witnessed something very similar. The fellow at the bench was distracted by his buddies and placed a .223 in backwards. You CAN close the bolt with enough force to force the bullet into the case and crush the case mouth and
shoulder. Please have it borescoped before you try pounding. IF this has happened, pounding on the primer would most likely be very deadly. Be safe.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Call Remington and send it back with a few rounds of ammo. Let them figure it out, afterall it's their gun and their ammo.

 

[wsm]

Shipping

I believe that Federal law prohibits the shipment of any firearm with a live round in the chamber. In most cases the bolt must be removed and verified by the shipping agent.

 

[wsm]

Should be able to open the bolt. Try this. Take the action out of the stock. Remove the scope because when the bolt handle comes you don' want it to hit the eye piece. Wrap the chamber area in heavy fabric and secure it in a padded vice. Now you can take a block of soft wood and a non-marking hammer and open the bolt. The bolt or gun should not be harmed. The bolt is stuck with the lugs only partially engaged. Good luck and keep us up to date.

 

[BADUNAME37]

WSM makes the most sense in (carefully) using a bore scope of some sort to see just what is visible from the business end of the weapon.

Whatever one does, I would not put any part of my body in front of that muzzle, I would treat it like a loaded weapon that has the safety off and could, therefore fire at any moment! Take that for what it's worth.

Oh, I also agree that shipping will most likely involve no loaded ammo in - or with - the weapon as the typical question asked (or stated) is "there is nothing hazardous in this box, correct?" - along with perishable, food items, liquids, etc.

 

[x_wrench]

i have a remington 700 that had a burr at the chamber mouth after a rebarrel. it was an easy fix. a wooden dowel ground on a 45 degree taper with a dab of valve grinding compound on it, spun it back and fourth a dozen or so times, and it was gone. mine scratched the shells, but it wasn't bad enough to lock the action. it was one of those deals, to small of a job to send it back, to big of a problem not to fix it.

 

[a98kdoc]

Gunsmith fix

As gunsmith if this came into my shop.
I would put the barrel in a vice and spin off the receiver.
Just one turn will let me take out the bolt and with the barrel off I can clear the chamber.
Have seen this a few times.

A

 

[wsm]

Hey, Joe. Any resolution yet?

 

[wsm]

It sure would be nice to know that this fellow has resolved his problem without being injured.

 

[Joe in fla]

Yes, it would but I just met him at the range and don't know his name or how to contact him. IF I ever bump into him again, I'll find out what happened and post it here.

 

[wsm]

Thanks Joe.

 

[carl15]

As gunsmith if this came into my shop.
I would put the barrel in a vice and spin off the receiver.
Just one turn will let me take out the bolt and with the barrel off I can clear the chamber.
Have seen this a few times.

A

wouldn't turning the barrel tear the extractor out of the bolt?