Remington Sticky Lugs

[Thanatos2203]

I have all but sworn off Remington products but was mildly considering the 16.5" 700 or the AAC Model 7 for a super compact folding stock rifle I was putting together in my head.

I was looking at reviews and saw something that used to bother me with the 700 I had, and that is the lugs on the bolt seeming to get sticky after a few rounds. I see people slapping the bolt handle up or down just to get it to cycle on both 700's and the Model 7's. I thought this was just poor QC and out of spec Freedom Group junk, but then I saw it happen on a Christensen Arms rifle which I attribute to being more highly tuned 700 action.

This is not something I have seen to the same degree with any other manufacturer. Is it just the lugs expanding from the heat of firing the rifle? Is it the casing? What exactly is happening inside the action to cause this?

[thegiff]

Sounds like the classic signs of a hot load or instead could be a rough chamber, probably nothing to do with the lugs.

[JMP]

Sounds like the classic signs of a hot load or instead could be a rough chamber, probably nothing to do with the lugs.

Yes, it is this. Factory R700 bolts are rather loose, so if you use a hotter load (but still perfectly safe), they will get a bit sticky. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the factory bolt knob is ridiculously small, which gives the operator poor leverage to lift the bolt. This actually tends to happen on pretty much all factory bolt rifles that aren't of really high quality. If you apply some lube to the rear of the lugs you can alleviate some of this. However, what most people do is simply by a new over-sized bolt and have the receiver fit to the bolt. That solves all the problems.