Ruger M77/44 bolt insertion

[Balrog]

I just unboxed a new Ruger M77/44. I am trying to insert the bolt. The rear locking lugs are perpendicular to the rails on the front of the bolt that slide into the receiver. As a result, they hang on the receiver of the gun when trying to insert bolt and bolt will not go in. I can rotate the rear of the bolt about 1/4" in either direction, but not enough to get the locking lugs to line up so the bolt can be inserted. What I am doing wrong?

The only other thing that strikes me as odd is that the tip of the firing pin protrudes about 1/16" from the face of the bolt. It has no movement.

 

[Gtscotty]

Kinds of sounds like the bolt has slipped into the fired position, maybe you need to manually move it to the cocked position first?

 

[Balrog]

It does look like the bolt is in the fired position. How do I manually return to unfired position?

 

[M1key]

pull out and turn. try not to pinch yourself. or use a vise

M

 

[Balrog]

Nothing seems to pull. What part do I pull on?

 

[M1key]

clamp bolt head in vise, pull hard and turn til it locks back

 

[LoonWulf]

you need to rotate the back of the bolt clockwise....or hook the silver thing....cocking piece that stucks out below the bolt on a table edge and pull and turn.

I assume bolts are similar between the 77/22 and 44
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-kAfc5K2Ek

 

[Balrog]

I have tried everything to pull/rotate and nothing is budging, not even a little.
Here is what the bolt looks like. Notice the locking lugs are perpendicular to the direction I think they need to be in:

 

[M1key]

see post #6

M

 

[CoalTrain49]

Engage the bolt release found on the left to the rear of the action. It isn't easy to find.

That is preventing the bolt from being returned to battery.

 

[Balrog]

What does the bolt release look like? I am not seeing it. Are you talking about the bolt release in the receiver?

If so, it is not the problem. The bolt won't go into the receiver because the rear locking lugs are turned the wrong way and hanging up on the rear of the receiver.

 

[Balrog]

M1key
What part are you calling the bolt head?

 

[LoonWulf]

coals talking about the bolt release in the reciever, Mikeys talking about the FRONT part of the bolt


your bolt is in the "uncocked" position, youll need to cock it, by turning the back of the bolt clockwise...as your looking at the back of the bolt

In your first picture, you see the little thing sticking down just up from the bolt handle, if you snag that on a table edge then pull the FRONT of the bolt towards you you will compress the spring...there is a little hole towards the back of the bolt (you can see it in your picture aswell) you can stick a paperclip in to catch and adjacent hole in the firing pin, cocking piece thing, or what ever its called. that will allow you to rotate the back of the bolt freely

its also under quite a bit of force, so its not gonna want to move very easily. I usually use the edge of a vice solid table counter to catch that latch when i need to dissasemble my bolt guns.

 

[Balrog]

OK so I clamp the bolt face end into the vise, and then what part on the rear do I pull and turn? The bolt handle? It looks to me that the bolt handle is already turned as far clockwise as it can be turned. Sorry to be so dense on this, I do not have much experience with bolt actions and have never had this kind of problem with the few I have used.

 

[LoonWulf]

If you clamp the bolt face in the vice u need to turn the back of the bolt, behind the handle clockwise. Pulling on it wont help unless u pull on the cocking piece which is the small part oposite the flat side.of the back of the bolt.

 

[LoonWulf]

If your still stuck when i get home ill take pictures of how to do it with my m77

 

[M1key]

Thx Loon, I should have been more specific

M

 

[adcoch1]

Don't feel bad, it's hard to explain and hard to realize what everyone is talking about without labeled pictures. Once you see it done once it will all make sense.

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk

 

[LoonWulf]

Yeah, i much agree...im going back over my instructions thinking...well it made sense when i thought it...

 

[Another_Kelley]

Hold as such....


Turn the bolt shroud on the left - clockwise, to this position...


Dunno bout the 77/44, but my 223 bolt turns with relative ease by hand, no need for a vise.

 

[LoonWulf]

Yeah, if you can get it to turn by hand that would be ideal.

 

[Balrog]

Thanks for the photos.

I have tried to pull the back of the bolt. I don't think I am weak, but this thing just isn't budging at all. I can slightly rotate the back of the bolt but it will not pull back even with extreme force.

Any idea what could possibly be going on?

 

[LoonWulf]

After looking at the disassembly video i posted above again...... it LOOKs like the bolt head (front of the bolt), and the bolt shroud (back of the bolt) are connected. They seem to be held inplace with a relatively loose pin. Watch the first thing the guy does at 23seconds. That pin hes pushing out, may have come out a bit on its own and locked up the rotation.

 

[Balrog]

Well I guess I will call Ruger Monday and tell them my problem. I tried messing with the pin you are talking about. I can only see the pin thru one of the holes. When I look at the other hole, I see a piece of metal which I guess must be the firing pin, but I don't see the other end of the pin. So I cant push that pin out, and when I tapped on it with a punch, it didn't move. It won't seat any further, nor can I remove it.

It's a shame Ruger would ship a gun with the bolt in the wrong position for insertion and apparently jammed to the point that it can be recocked manually. Not real happy right now!

 

[kanook]

It's a shame Ruger would ship a gun with the bolt in the wrong position for insertion and apparently jammed to the point that it can be recocked manually. Not real happy right now!

It's a shame to blame Ruger for a shipping problem. It's alo a shame to blame Ruger for your lack of knowledge on how a bolt works.

Take it back to the store you bought it and have the gunsmith show you how to take apart a bolt. You will need to know this for basic maintenance/cleaning.

You are going to feel silly when you see how easy it is.