Remington 700 308 bolt ?

[beenawhile]

I have a 308 bolt from an action I bought a couple of years ago from brownells that I am going to swap for a PTG. My question is , is there a market for these OEM bolts? Or should I just hang onto it?

[LynnJr]

Sell it.
That way you recoupe half the price of your PT&G bolt.
They sell for $125 on the gunboards and $150+ on E-Bay.

[beenawhile]

Ok, follow up question. Is the factory firing pin etc. worth keeping or sell it complete?

[LynnJr]

Sell it complete.
If you don't have the new bolt from PT&G yet order it with the 0.062 firing pin and the Lawton bolt shroud which is a tighter fit than the factory shroud.
No Remington should have anything but a 0.062 firing pin.

[beenawhile]

Thanks Lynn!

[Kwikvette]

Well I'll dive in;

Lynn, tell me the benefits of ordering your recommended bolt/firing pin versus what's in my R700 AAC-SD.

I found 1 piece and 2 piece bolts, different bolt face options (I'm shooting .308), and extractor cuts.

I'm browsing through Pacific Tool & Gauge's website and there are too many options for me to make sense out of.

I don't reload yet by the way.

[FourT6and2]

Well I'll dive in;

Lynn, tell me the benefits of ordering your recommended bolt/firing pin versus what's in my R700 AAC-SD.

I found 1 piece and 2 piece bolts, different bolt face options (I'm shooting .308), and extractor cuts.

I'm browsing through Pacific Tool & Gauge's website and there are too many options for me to make sense out of.

I don't reload yet by the way.

Smaller firing pin hole means you won't run into any pressure issues with certain ammo/loads/calibers/primers. And it works just fine on everything else. No reason not to get it. That's why people "bush" stock Remingtons.

[LynnJr]

FourT6and2 nailed it.
I am not a big fan of the one piece bolts but they are technically better.
The handle won't break off and I have broken more than my fair share.
But if you plan on keeping the action for a long time and you shoot out alot of barrels you need to cut the bolt handle off then turn the stub off in a lathe and attach a new handle.
When the action gets used a lot the back of the lugs and the lug abutments in the action gall or get scratched up and when a new barrel goes on they get trued up.
With a one piece bolt you can't move the handle so you have to chop it off. If you don't the bolt gets harder and harder to open and extract your brass.

[Kwikvette]

So one shouldn't bother with a new bolt if the barrel is far from being shot out?

I'm asking this in order to be informed and to get an idea of what will be needed when I re-barrel later down the road.

[LynnJr]

You can buy the bolt now and hang onto it for a new barrel.
Or if you are having primer popping issues swap it out now.
Primer popping is when the primer blows out a circular piece where the firing pin strike is located.
The little pieces will get inside the bolt or into the locking lug recess.