Stiff Bolt Lift-Help please

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pyscodog

Active member
Recently posted about my new to me 788 Remington rifle. Its a 22-250 and in very good condition IMO. My problem is I have a very sticky (hard to open) bolt. When I first purchased it, I shot some old reloads that were pretty hot loads and stuck a case in the chamber. I got it home and it tapped out very easily with a cleaning rod. I took it to my smith and he noticed a bit of rust in the chamber and polished the chamber and we figured it was OK. I shot two factory loads and the bolt opened fine. These are the only factory bullets I have fired. I have resized all my brass, tumbled them clean, and trimmed all to length according to the book. My load is 33.5 grains of AR Comp,Fed 205M primer and a 50 grain V-Max. Any suggestions? Should I break down and buy some factory stuff to see what happens? I'm a little stumped!
 
Yes, made sure they chambered nice and easy. The rounds chamber really well, no force what so ever. Well away from the lands, seated to fit the mag. Its just after firing. Almost sounds like a pressure problem, sorta??

Just double checked, load is about a grain under max.
 
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If it shoots factory ammo without a problem, but reloads seem to have a problem, I would suspect the reloads and perhaps pressure, try a lighter load.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogNeed to buy a box of factory fodder I guess. Maybe the best place to start?????

Good move - when ever I get a gun and it is showing a problem that I can't figure, I go to basics with a good (rem or Win) factory load.
 
I have had this problem with my 788/22-250 But it was with rem factory loads. real stiff bolt lift after firing. gave the gun and box of shells to a gun guru buddy to see if he could help me out.He fired the same shells in his rem 700 varmit(70's) stuck the shell so bad he had to remove barrel from the action to get the shell out. Ihave only shot reloads since and with varget and 4064 at near max published loads and I have had no issues. Rumor has it that the 788's can't take pressure like the 700's. I have 6 788's that I load for and push the limit on published load data and I have not had any signs of pressure. those rem shells must of been way hot. I know this probably didn't help you out much. Stay with it I bet its not the gun
 
Check the brass after fired for concentric. Maybe the chamber is a touch oblong, making it not want to turn in the chamber. This may translate to a stiff bolt...? And, make sure there aren't any weird markings on the brass, indicating a bur or something.

Maybe this is why it's in such good condition, the previous owner got fed up and just racked it. Lemons happened then just as they can now.

Just tossing some ideas around...
 
And it is entirely possible that this rifle doesn't want the high pressures. It may behoove you to setback a turn and clean up the chamber. It's hard to say what I would or wouldn't do in the situation.
 
I ran out to BPS and snagged a box of cheap Remington 50 grain bullets. Will give them a try tomorrow. If that don't fix it, I'll probably set the tube back and cut a new chamber. Its to nice to just turn it. Maybe save a few bucks and just put a custom barrel on it?

On a good note- I snagged a box of Federal 22LR while I was there...$2.39 for a box of 50. It was all the clerk said was left. He's a buddy so I pretty much believe him. Pretty much?????
 
My 788/243 was doing the same thing when I got it. My target load is over a grain below published max with Varget and a 70 NBT. It didn't stick every shot, just occasional enough to aggravate me. Also, never really stuck bad, just enough to make me slap the bolt up with the palm of my hand, then it extracted freely. I never really hit it hard as I'm aware of the 788s reputation for snapped off bolt handles, true or not.

I sat down one day and spent about 30 minutes lapping all those lugs, afterwards it ran a lot more freely. I still have the occasional light bolt stick, but very seldom. I feel I could lap it some more and stop it altogether but I'm leary of going too far.

It worked for me, maybe it'll work for you. Theres a bunch of lugs there and I figure theres little chance they're all perfectly aligned. Maybe theres one or two slightly off and all it takes is a jolt of pressure, even moderate pressure, to slightly bind them.

It's worth a try.
 
I have not had this problem in mine. Are you into the lands? In my rifle that load has a bit of jump, don't recall how much but I think its in the .0.40" range. And as it was said before, take it easy on that bolt, 788s have been known to break off.

Did you work up to that load and did it give you sticky bolt the other day when you shot them? Max load with a 55gr is 34.6gr comp, with a 50gr its 35.1gr, with a 60gr is 34.1gr all per alliant.

33.5gr was my start load for the 50s and I shot 34gr as well. both shot plenty good enough I didn't feel the need to go further.
 
midwest- just started at 33.5. I loaded 5 at 34 but the 33.5 shot the best so I stayed there. A friend suggested using H-380, said it wouldn't produce as much pressure????????
 
Originally Posted By: CoyotejunkiDoesn't the 788 have the lugs in the rear, unlike the 700's up front? I wonder if there is any galling on the lugs?

Yes.. it has a bunch of little lugs. The rear locking bolt is one of the reasons that the 788 is hard to load for - the bolt body compresses under pressure.

So case stretch is a beeetch, and it is also one of the reasons that bolt lift can be hard.... the bolt compresses, the case stretches, and then the bolt "un"compresses and pushes against the stretched case and wants to lock up the whole works.
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