Remington 700 Tactical with bolt problem

J

jazzpicker

Guest
I have a new .223 Rem M-700 tactical that craters every primer that it shoots, reloads, factory etc.

In the past cratering was thought to have been caused by excessive pressure but now the current thinking is "gun problems" cause cratering. More specifically it is caused from a weak firing pin spring or excesssive clearence between the firing pin and the firing pin hole. Using magnum primers according to speer reloading manual will sometime correct the problem but getting the rifle fixed is the cure.

I called Remington and they are sending me a new firing pin and all other internal bolt parts but one of the advisors candidly told me it may be the way the face of the bolt is cut and replacing parts probably won't help.

I have 2 of these guns one in .308 and the other in .223. THe 308 is normal in all respects and both rifles are accurate sub moa.

I'll rebuild the bolt when the parts arrive next week and hope that is the cure. As far as getting magnum primers-good luck. I'll take any primers now.

Can anyone think of a downside to having cratered primers or should I go along and shoot the rifle normally and not worry?

I've been shooting model 700s for 40 years or more. It seems Remington should have the ability to build a problem free bolt by now.

Sorry for my first post being so long but I'd be interested in hearing your opinions.
 
I would ship the bolt off to Greg Tannel and have him bush the hole and turn the pin down to fit. He can also check the bolt face for square with the bolt, and clean it up if needed.

Others can do the job, but for what Greg charges and his turnaround time, why bother. You won't have anymore problems.
 
I'll second what Wayne wrote.
Your bolt will be fixed and its cheap and fast.
 
As ugly as a cratered primer looks, unless it ruptures it is harmless. It really is not a problem in itself and it seems Remington feel the same about it.

I think Remington have produced quite a few rifles with a chamfer on the firing pin hole. Yours is not the first I have heard with this cratering "problem".

That being said having the firing pin hole bushed is the easiest fix.
 
Hrm.

Is yours the Remington 700 Light Tactical Model? It should have the "H-S Precision" glass-filled nylon stock with the aluminum bedding block and the 20" heavy bbl. I own one in .308, and had the same problem until I turned the bolt face concentric with the chamber. As for checking firing pin protrusion, I think Remington deliberately leaves them a bit long so as to facilitate a wider variety of ammunition/primers. I could be mistaken about that, however. I know the chamber is cut to a pretty loose tolerance.
 
You guys are correct in saying that Greg is one of the best, however he has just moved so double check with him about the turn around time.

Don
 
Stock and primer cratering are unrelated...

zomgwtfhaxxors said:
Is yours the Remington 700 Light Tactical Model? It should have the "H-S Precision" glass-filled nylon stock with the aluminum bedding block and the 20" heavy bbl. I own one in .308, and had the same problem until I turned the bolt face concentric with the chamber.
Click to expand...

Just for clarification, H-S Precision doesn't make a "glass-filled nylon stock". See their stocks here: http://www.hsprecision.com/new_stocks.htm

Regardless, the problem of primer cratering, if you want to call it a problem, is in the bolt action, which comes off the Remington production line by the dozens, and it matters not what stock would ultimately be mated to an action.
 
My rifle has a hogue rubber stock (nerf?) Shoots well except for ugly primers.
 
Thanks for all the valuable info, I appreciate your replies.

I got in touch with Greg Tannel and will ship the bolt to him to bush the hole and turn the pin. $60 something and a 2 day turnaround.

I won't be happy unless the bolt is functioning properly. I don't think that cratering primers will decrease accuracy although some people say it does. The money is worth the peace of mind.
 
Jazzpicker,

Tap, tap, tap, tap...(sound of one drum tapping their fingers on a table)

So what's the verdict!!! I wanna learn!!!!

Did it fix the problem? How much better does it shoot?
 
I've got the exact same rifle with the Hogue stock and I just looked over some fired brass to see just how much primer cratering there was. I couldn't even tell there was any with the naked eye but under a 10x magnifier I could see an ever so tiny amount of cratering so evidently something gives with your rifle or you have a substantially hotter load. Whatever the case Greg Tannel does good work quickly and for a reasonable price. I sent another bolt to him last year and had it back within the week. I don't really know how it made it there and back so quickly let alone him having time to bush the firing pin. You'll not be able to use primer extrusion as a hot load sign as well as before though. Good luck!
 
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