Remington 700 Failure to Extract

W

Wolfsburg1

New member
I have recently built three new rifles. All are stock Remington actions and McGowen Remage barrels. The first two (a 280 AI and 260) worked out fine. I am having an issue with the third which is a 7mm-08.

I have installed and headspaced the barrel (and checked it twice). The bolt closes on the go gauge and does not close on the no go gauge (same Forster gauge I used for the 260).

The issue is that the barreled action fails to extract. It's not even close; new empty brass and new factory ammo does not budge from the chamber. I have inspected the extractor and ejector and they look fine. I also installed the bolt from the 260 and it also fails to extract.

Any suggestions? Is there something wrong with the chamber? What could be causing the problem?

Thanks,

Wolfsburg1
 
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I'd check head space again or it could just be a bad extractor. Did it extract before the new barrel? How hard is it to get the chambered round out? You might measure the neck of a new case and one that has been chambered. You may have gotten a tight neck chambered barrel.

Lots of questions but maybe a place to start looking.
 
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If I read it right your 260 bolt works properly in the 260 but not in the 7-08. Have you tried the 7-08 bolt in the 260. If your 7-08 bolt works properly in the 260 also, but neither work in the 7-08 chambered barreled action, I would probably be looking somewhere other than the bolt.
 
Psycodog,

It's a brand new action and this is the first I have tried since assembling. The case is not tight at all. It's not a matter of being stuck; the extractor simply does not grab the case.

Thanks,

Wolfsburg1
 
AdamT,

Why didn't I think of that? The 7mm-08 bolt fits in the 260 and extracts and ejects like a champ. The 7mm-08 bolt (extractor/ejector) apparently is NOT the issue.

Thanks,

Wolfsburg1
 


You have to sit down and spend some time analyzing what is going on. This is a very simple process, the bolt pushes the round into the chamber until the shoulder hits the front of the chamber and stops, a continued push on the bolt handle forces the ejector back and the extractor over the rim of the cartridge (you should feel it click over the rim). If you don't feel the click something is seriously wrong!

Did you remove the ejector when head spacing? If not check to see if the ejector is stuck or stronger than you would force back when headspacing the barrel, that would give you a false headspacing and the case head wouldn't go into the bolt face far enough for the extractor to click over the rim. the same thing would happen with the other bolt as that ejector would push the round too far into the chamber for the extractor to click over the rim. Check to see if the head space gauge fits into the face of the bolt.

Were you sure that there was no firing protrusion when you head spaced that barrel, I wouldn't force a bolt hard enough to push the firing pin back when headspacing a barrel.

These are some of the reasons why it is suggested that the bolt be stripped to headspace the barrel, a lot of times we take shortcuts to get the job done, myself included.

 
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AWS,

Thanks for the insight. I agree that it's a straightforward process and the only thing I can think of if that the headspace is way off (too long).

I always remove the firing pin and ejector when headspacing. I have not removed the extractor in the past and maybe that is my problem. I have not done this before and worry that I might not be able to install the new extractor.

I do NOT feel the extractor engaging with case rim.


Thanks,

Wolfsburg1
 
Originally Posted By: Wolfsburg1Psycodog,

It's a brand new action and this is the first I have tried since assembling. The case is not tight at all. It's not a matter of being stuck; the extractor simply does not grab the case.

Thanks,

Wolfsburg1

My Grendel wasn't tight either. I could tilt the barrel upward and the case would fall out but it wouldn't extract until I snapped the trigger. My rifle was new/unfired also. Go figure. Not saying its the same with your rifle but sure had me scratching my head.
 
If its all new, I bet its going to be something simple that was just over looked when you installed the barrel. I'm curious to know what you find out. Good luck!!
 
All,

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I am not sure why but it turned out to be a headspace issue. I reset the headspace with plenty of resistance on the no-go gauge and the empty case now extracts.

The gauges must not have been properly seating on the bolt face when I initially tightened up the barrel nut and this time (third time) I got it right.

Thanks,

Wolfsburg1
 
Originally Posted By: Wolfsburg1All,

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I am not sure why but it turned out to be a headspace issue. I reset the headspace with plenty of resistance on the no-go gauge and the empty case now extracts.

The gauges must not have been properly seating on the bolt face when I initially tightened up the barrel nut and this time (third time) I got it right.

Thanks,

Wolfsburg1

For future reference, on Rem 700 actions with the ejector removed the go gauge can often be placed up against the bolt face and it will "hang" in there while you carefully slide the bolt into the action. If you tip the action and bolt a little to the left it helps.

For hunting type applications I usually put two layers of scotch tape on the back of the go gauge. This will in effect increase your headspace by about .004 to .005.

I set headspace so I can feel resistance when closing the bolt. I remove the two layers and then check with one layer of tape on the back of the gauge. It should close without resistance giving you about .002 headspace.

Jim
 
I usually only purchase a "go gauge" and head space to it and then a piece of tape on the back of the go gauge to make sure the chamber is snug. Any changes for looseness for functioning of brass for hunting or target shooting I take care of with my sizing die. That way all my rifles are chambered to spec and ammo is pretty much interchangeable between them.
 


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