Remington 700 Bolt Question

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Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by Rod_outbak » 31 Jul 2018, 4:45 pm

This might be a freaking stupid question, but I cant seem to find an answer to it anywhere...

In the Remington 700, am I right in thinking they have a Short action, a Long action, and a Magnum-length action??

So, in the case of the Long & Short actions in the Rem 700 actions, are the bolts physically the same, or is the Short-action bolt shorter than the long action?
[In the Tikka T3, the 3 actions lengths use the same bolt, and simply have a different bolt-stop to set how far the bolt slides back.]

A mate's brother in law, is resurrecting an old Rem 700, which is chambered in .25-06. It seems the bolt is buggered after being flooded(dont know exact details), but the rifle is salvageable.
So, my mates BIL is now looking for a replacement bolt, and was quoted a figure of somewhere around $600 for a new replacement bolt.
Again; I dont know the details on who quoted that figure, but I was going to point my mate in the direction of a few places to inquire about 2nd-hand basket-case rifles, or bolts that have been stripped out of chopped rifles.

My question is about whether the same bolt fits both Long & short action (as does the Tikka), or is the long-action bolt the go??

Cheers,

Rod.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by Tiger650 » 31 Jul 2018, 7:52 pm

Certainly different bolt lengths between SA and LA, no idea re the magnum action.

A long action bolt to suit the '06 round would be available and cheap ex the US I reckon, beware of importing one without a "go-between" mate in the US.

Any order ex a firearms dealer in the US to Australia will probably be refused at source due to malevolently imposed bureaucratic obstructions.

A 700 bolt is certainly not an illegal import/export but if you have a mate who will trans-ship have him describe the goods on Customs Declaration Form as "bolt" rather than "rifle bolt".

My very good mate in the US could go to jail for shipping me the wrong thing, I insist that he open all packages and satisfy himself that all is good before forwarding.

.
Last edited by Tiger650 on 31 Jul 2018, 7:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by sungazer » 31 Jul 2018, 7:57 pm

You can purchase aftermarket bolts for them still not cheap as you have to buy the other internals firing pin ect separate. PTG do one can be purchased from Delta Tactical. You will probably need a gunsmith too fit the bolt to the action and recheck the headspacing.

Cheaper option and better would to be have a gunsmith rework the existing bolt. Bush the firing pin hole turn down the firing pin ect. Stops the Rem 700 primer crater / blanking problem.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by straightshooter » 01 Aug 2018, 7:36 am

As others have said Rem 700's come in two action lengths and two bolt lengths.
In the original poster's case he would need a long action bolt with a standard boltface.
It seems then that it is possible to remove the bolt from the action so a competent gunsmith should be able to repair the bolt if the only problem is that it is seized due to rust from immersion. That would be your best course of action.
If on the other hand your only option is to replace the bolt, then the best and cheapest approach is to sell the existing rifle for an appropriate sum and buy another.
"Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about."
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by SCJ429 » 04 Aug 2018, 3:10 pm

The PTG bolt is under $400, but as said you will need your gunsmith to set it up for you and also supply a bolt knob.

Are you sure the existing bolt is beyond repair? Take it to the gunsmith and you may be surprised what he can do for you.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by SCJ429 » 04 Aug 2018, 5:30 pm

If you cannot recover the old bolt, keep in mind that you can buy a Howa barrelled action from $469 or a complete Howa rifle from $549.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by Rod_outbak » 05 Aug 2018, 6:15 am

[quote="SCJ429"]The PTG bolt is under $400, but as said you will need your gunsmith to set it up for you and also supply a bolt knob.

Are you sure the existing bolt is beyond repair? Take it to the gunsmith and you may be surprised what he can do for you.[/quote]


As I said in the original post, this is a query on behalf of a mate, and the actual rifle is owned by his Brother-In-Law.
I've never met the person in question, nor seen the rifle.
I was asking this forum, to ascertain which Rem 700 bolt fitted the action in question, and possible sources of bolt suppliers.

[When I listed options to my mate, Option 4 of the 9 options I could suggest, was for the old bolt to be taken to a competent gunsmith for assessment.]

Cheers,

Rod.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by Rod_outbak » 05 Aug 2018, 6:49 am

[quote="SCJ429"]If you cannot recover the old bolt, keep in mind that you can buy a Howa barrelled action from $469 or a complete Howa rifle from $549.[/quote]

Why do you think would this be an option for someone looking to resurrect an old rifle?
The gent in question is looking to resurrect an old Rem 700, so I'm thinking it has some history relevant to him.
Neither of the options you suggest here are going to make use of the existing rifle, and the first will require a lot more money to have a useable rifle.
It's not like you can use any of the old Rem 700, if you buy a Howa action or rifle.

I could understand if you were suggesting prices for a replacement Rem 700 action or rifle (which was one of the options I suggested to my mate), but why buy a completely different action and/or rifle?

I appreciate the intent behind the suggestion, but it's hardly a solution for someone looking to resurrect an old rifle, is it?

Rod.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by SCJ429 » 05 Aug 2018, 12:55 pm

Sorry Rod, not trying to stir you up. I was pointing out that if the original bolt cannot be refurbished then it is expensive to replace the bolt on a standard action with a factory Rem barrel in 25/06. If it were my friend I would tell him to take a look at a Howa and cut his losses on the Remington. At the end of the day it is your friends decision and money. If he got the PTG bolt, rebarreled the action and replaced the trigger he would have an awesome Remington.
I have seen second hand Rem long action bolts come up for sale on used guns but they sell for around $350. You could put up a wanted add and see what bites you get.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by sungazer » 05 Aug 2018, 7:42 pm

Taking this of track a bit, but even if you went for a PTG bolt you still have the large firing pin and not sure on the firing pin hole in the PTG bolt. Reason I say this is that if you use small rifle primers the firing pin is only just smaller than the primer. Speaking with a gun smith about bushing mine and he said that a lot of people have problems with the 700 and SRP with them being pierced / blanked and its because of this firing pin size and the primer size.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by Rod_outbak » 06 Aug 2018, 8:09 am

[quote="SCJ429"]Sorry Rod, not trying to stir you up. I was pointing out that if the original bolt cannot be refurbished then it is expensive to replace the bolt on a standard action with a factory Rem barrel in 25/06. If it were my friend I would tell him to take a look at a Howa and cut his losses on the Remington. At the end of the day it is your friends decision and money. If he got the PTG bolt, rebarreled the action and replaced the trigger he would have an awesome Remington.
I have seen second hand Rem long action bolts come up for sale on used guns but they sell for around $350. You could put up a wanted add and see what bites you get.[/quote]


Yeah, Sorry; Bit touchy. My bad.

I left the mate with about 9 different options I could suggest, and he passed them on to the BIL. One of those was investigating the old bolt being refurbished.

However, I havent seen the rifle in question, or met the owner. However, my mate did suggest it was something of a family heirloom, so some sentimental value, so the first option was to resurrect it.

You know, in all of the options I suggested, I didnt actually think to suggest they advertise that they were looking for a LA bolt on usedguns wanted section.

Thanks for that idea.

Cheers,

Rod.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by SCJ429 » 18 Aug 2018, 2:02 pm

There is a 700 LA bolt from a 30/06 on abused guns for $250. Should be just the thing to get your mates 25/06 back in service.
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Re: Remington 700 Bolt Question

Post by Rod_outbak » 19 Aug 2018, 4:10 pm

[quote="SCJ429"]
There is a 700 LA bolt from a 30/06 on abused guns for $250. Should be just the thing to get your mates 25/06 back in service.
[/quote]

Many thanks for this; I've been away the past week, and only saw this post this morning.

I have passed this info on to my mate, and he was most grateful.

Thanks again for the heads-up.

Cheers,

Rod.
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