Remington bolt nose to barrel longitudinal clearance?

One way to deal with Remington 700 bolt clearance, which is how Bob Brackney does it, is to sleeve the bolt at the back to tighten fit in the rear bridge of the action, and true up the bolt nose and use its fit in the counter bore in the back of the barrel in front, rather than sleeving the bolt body to a close fit in the front receiver ring. If memory serves (It has been a loooong time.) I believe that he said that he used .001 total clearance on the OD of the bolt nose, and .007 lengthwise. Bob's tuned and sleeved Remingtons shoot well enough that, a few years back, before switching to custom actions (long after virtually everyone else had) he won the four gun at the California State Championship.
 
Boyd Allen said:
One way to deal with Remington 700 bolt clearance, which is how Bob Brackney does it, is to sleeve the bolt at the back to tighten fit in the rear bridge of the action, and true up the bolt nose and use its fit in the counter bore in the back of the barrel in front, rather than sleeving the bolt body to a close fit in the front receiver ring. If memory serves (It has been a loooong time.) I believe that he said that he used .001 total clearance on the OD of the bolt nose, and .007 lengthwise. Bob's tuned and sleeved Remingtons shoot well enough that, a few years back, before switching to custom actions (long after virtually everyone else had) he won the four gun at the California State Championship.
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I used this method on a model 7 a few years ago with good results. It will only work if the receiver threads run true to the receiver bore, so the threads must nearly always be re-cut. The rifle shoots very well, but it is prone to getting sticky if a little dirt or a few grains of powder creep into the bolt nose recess.
 
It's my understanding that the clearance between the bolt nose and the counterbore was part of the gas escape route in the event of a pierced primer or the like. Bringing that fit to a close tolerance closes off that path.

Am I misremembering?
 
spencer313 said:
It's my understanding that the clearance between the bolt nose and the counterbore was part of the gas escape route in the event of a pierced primer or the like. Bringing that fit to a close tolerance closes off that path.

Am I misremembering?
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The system is designed to "close" upon over pressurization. The bolt nose expands to fit the counterbore. Too much clearance compromises the system.Pierced primers won't do it, IME, nor should they...but, they are an example of how gas can properly be metered through the system without damage and hopefully, not injury. It's a good system but no system containing a big enough "bomb" will hold. The hole in the bolt should suffice for a pierced primer.
 
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spencer313 said:
It's my understanding that the clearance between the bolt nose and the counterbore was part of the gas escape route in the event of a pierced primer or the like. Bringing that fit to a close tolerance closes off that path.

Am I misremembering?
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Not mis-remembering but perhaps misunderstanding. The Remington is a sealer. In the event of a castastrophic case failure, the bolt nose is supposed to expand to seal in the counterbore and this is just what it does. Reducing the clearance makes the system more effective, not less.
I have fitted bolts close at the nose since my first Remington barrel job in 1977. In fact, I used to fit them size-on and lap them. Later, I decided this wasn't the way to go so I cut the counterbore .005 over and installed a teflon O-ring to center the nose up. Shoots just the same but I like this system better since it will tolerate dirt. Sometimes. I shoot a dirty gun! At the rear, I used to sleeve but for the last fifteen years or so I have been using dovetailed-in inserts as "bumps" the tighten up clearance when the bolt is closed. I use these insert on all sorts of actions. Regards, Bill
 
Hello Bill
What is a (dovetailed-in inserts as "bumps)? I only ask because I don't know and have not heard the term.

Thanks Chet
 
O-rings

Bill Leeper said:
On my own Remingtons, I fit with .005+ end play. For the side clearance, I used to fit with no more than a couple tenths clearance. A few years back I started cutting the counterbore for .0025 clearance and grooving the counterbore for a teflon O-ring with about .005 compression. Does it work better? Probably not but I kind of like the concept! Regards, Bill.
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I LIKE THIS IDEA.......... GONNA TRY IT.....
bill larson
 
WSnyder said:
He's referring to a 3/8" dovetail material. It's available from Brownells as part #080-770-375 http://www.brownells.com/rifle-part...tail-slot-blanks-sku080-770-375-864-3270.aspx

http://benchrest.com/showthread.php?80321-Action-truing-options

http://benchrest.com/showthread.php?50894-splitting-sleeves-for-bolts
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I have seen bands or sleeves but never this dovetail idea looks pretty good and simple. I am going to try it on one of my old Remington 722 which I have two bolt's for it.

Thanks To All Chet
 
Thanks for the clarification on the Rem 700 "sealing" mode.
 
Shooting benchrest a sterile environment or clean environment? Must not have shot at Phoenix or Midland. That's about like the idea that match conditions are some how better conditions than non match conditions.
 
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