Remington J-lock

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pyscodog

Active member
I snagged a Remington 243 today and it has a J-lock. I bought it as a donor action and want to get rid of the J-lock eventually. Do I need anything other than a new shroud? I plan on replacing the barrel, either standard 243 or 243AI. Still debating that. Think I'll shoot it first just to see how it performs. Heck it may surprise me..who knows?
 
The firing pin assembly are available from numerous places. Gre-Tan, PTG to name a couple. All are competitively priced with each other.

Its been awhile but Midway carries them I believe. Not sure whose unit they are peddling.
 
That spring inside is really long. You can just replace the shroud to remove the J-lock but the spring is so big, it can drag and slow down lock time.
 
According to Gre-Tan the spring causes considerable drag, like 4.5 pounds just to remove it from the bolt. He says it can cause unnecessary flyers as well. I thought about just buying the shroud but its only a few bucks more to get the whole assembly. Buy once cry once.
 
Any of the non-ISS options are a cheap fix versus keeping the J-Lock. The too long firing pin spring actually came several years before the J-Lock shroud, but the combination is an abortion......

I'm glad that Remington eventually fixed both problems. I bought far more than just one new firing pin/spring/bolt shroud combination years ago when the J-Lock was part of a factory Remington 700 rifle.
 
If your only doing one bolt shroud replacement, better off purchasing the whole assembly(shroud,pin,spring). Main spring tool 30.00, bolt disassembly tool 20-30.0. Plus correct size punch to remove the pin. I use a piece of paracord and a dime, but probably will get the tool some day.
 
Well I ordered the Gre-Tan FP assembly and shroud. Not sure when I will receive it as he hasn't sent me a tracking number yet. Doubt it will take to long though.
 
Bill, you may not need to replace the J lock. ONly for a short time were the springs a problem on the J Lock.

Here is how to tell:

Open the bolt and listen carefully. If you hear a loud crunching sound as the firing pin spring is being compressed, the spring is binding up against the inside of the bolt body. If you do not hear the loud crunching, then the firing pin spring is not in a bind, so no big deal.

When the J locks first came out, everybody was going WILD over how bad they were....new way of doing things.

I called Bobby Hart of Hart rifle barrels and asked him about the issue. He told me the fix above, then qualified the "fix" with the fact that he had built many 1000 yard guns with the J locks on them with absolutely no problems.

Good luck
 
Thanks Keith but the new assembly is already in the mail. Not sure how bad I really needed it but the new assembly is on its way. At least the wart on the bolt will be gone and hopefully it helps with accuracy a little. Its suppose to improve ignition consistency and help reduce flyers according to Greg. I'm not to sure that I will be able to see the difference but I'm sure there are those that can.
 
I received my new Gre-Tan firing pin assembly and got it installed this morning. There was a definite drag from the J-lock spring rubbing against the inside of the bolt body. Hopefully this will give a better ignition. And the wart is gone!!
 
If it helps just a little, I'll take it. Need all the help I can get these days. LOL

Keith, I had already ordered it before you posted. Paid for it to. If I'd read your post sooner I probably would have just ordered the shroud but it was already on its way, may as well use it. Thank you anyway!
 
From what I have read, the scrunched up spring as it rubs up on release causes vibration. I have a J-lock in 300 RUM. I have not fired it yet but would like to change out the guts and improve the trigger, either by getting it tuned or replacing it.

I have a well worn J lock in 300 Win Mag (someone else’s rifle for its first ten years of life) that also could use a better trigger and the “guts change”.

Three44s
 
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I might have gotten by with just a new shroud and got rid of the J-lock but it was half the cost of the complete assembly. After watching Gre-Tans video, I just paid a little more and got the complete assembly. Other than appearance, doubt that I can tell the difference.
 


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