One for the gunsmiths

Brad Y · Post by **Brad Y** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:43 am

I got a remington bolt in 223 last week so I can change calibres for FS.

The action came as a 308 and the 308 bolt has been trued up with the action and it shoots nicely.

However the 223 bolt wont close in the action. We have measured from the tang of the bolt handle to the rear of the lugs and have found it is 38 thou short to one lug and about 16 thou short to the other lug. This is compared to the 308 bolt.

Obviously we could remove the bolt handle and shave some off the back of it and move it back a little, but we would still have to shave 22 thou off the other lug and this would make both the lugs uneven in size.

To me it looks like this is a complete dud and needs to go back to get something that is square (if that term applies) But what would everyone else do? Oh and no I wont be getting a barnard to replace it :roll:

bartman007 · Post by **bartman007** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:47 am

Hi Brad.

I suppose the first question is: which end is really out of alignment?

If you were to rotate the bolt in a lathe, and put a dial indicator on the back of the recoil lugs, and measure, will the delta be there, or is it actually at the other end where the bolt handle is?

That would highlight if there was really an issue with the lugs or not.

If you measure to the front of the lug bearing surfaces in the action, do you find consistency there?

I would expect the back of the bolt lugs to be within 1 thou, not out as much as you indicate.

If you had a Barnard, then we wouldn't be solving this problem :wink:

Brad Y · Post by **Brad Y** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:46 pm

Agreed about the barnard.

Anyway, I havent had the bolt in the lathe, but there is about 3 thou difference in bolt lug thickness (front to back) between the left and right lug on the new bolt. Obviously when checking the 308 bolt there is not.

From what I can guess, I could move the bolt handle back 22 thou and remove that 22 thou of overhanging material from the back of the bolt handle, but that still leaves 16 thou to lap off the back of one lug- left side from memory. That would leave 13 thou difference between the two lugs in thickness- though that should leave them both bearing evenly. It wouldnt matter if the front of the lug was slightly shorter on one side as its not contacting anything. We couldnt take the bolt handle back any further as then we would have one lug floating and not taking up any bearing. Unless we built the back of the lug up and squared it up.

Basically ive taken measurements from back of lugs to bolt handle on the 308 bolt and compared it to the 223 bolt which wont work.

That is my train of thought anyway. Would always appreciate input if Im totally wrong. To me its looking like there is a fair bit of work involved if I go ahead with it. Hopefully Raytrade have another bolt in stock that will be closer to my action size. I forgot to mention, this is a left hand remington 700 action.

bartman007 · Post by **bartman007** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:56 pm

Brad,

The key reason I was suggesting putting it in a lathe, is that you can then remove the issue that the bolt may be bent, or that each end is out of true with the center line of the bolt. You would be able to do that with a dial indicator.

I'd suggest going back to Raytrade and compare with another bolt.

Good luck.

Brad Y · Post by **Brad Y** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:06 pm

Yep thats what we are doing mate. If they cant get me another bolt that measures up better than this, I will leave the 223 and just stay with the 308.

johnk · Post by **johnk** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 2:34 pm

I'm not a Remmie person & don't know dimensional specs, but are both bolts for the same action designation (700 long, 700 short, 7, 722 etc)?

RAVEN · Post by **RAVEN** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 2:46 pm

PT&G do great after market Bolt I got one fro my 7mm Rem long action this would need to be fitted by a smith but the results would be better than factory spec bolt.
Highly recommend visiting their web site and check them out
Cheer

RB

Brad Y · Post by **Brad Y** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:00 pm

Yes the bolts for short actions should be the same, whether its 223 or 308 face. Long action should all be the same. Dont know why there is this much variation.

I did look at the PTG bolt, but would have to do all the import forms etc. IfI was doing 10 bolts, then maybe, but 1 it drives the price way up. A trued remington will shoot really well with factory bolt so I figured the cost wasnt worth the effort. Unless anyone knows who may have some left handed 223 remington bolts in aus? Im trying Dave Kerr over here as well.

macguru · Post by **macguru** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 6:50 pm

I once put the 308 savage bolt in my 223 savage varmint by mistake and shot it

it felt perfectly fine, no headspace problems, of course the fired shell would not extract until i tapped it out with the cleaning rod....

cheers andrew

johnk · Post by **johnk** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 7:16 pm

Andrew,

You confessing or apologizing?

I once inherited a 96 Mauser that my great uncle was reputed to have inherited from a farmer in South Africa. It had a 32/40 round up the spout that hadn't popped. We Oirish ain't all that high brisance.

John

richmac · Post by **richmac** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 9:55 pm

Hi Brad....have you thought about puting a sleeve inside your 308 bolthead to fit the 223?
Cheers Rich