new to me problem with Rem 700

[DaveTooley]

I've got a SS Rem 700 308 Win here for rebarrel. I went to take the barrel off. It took the usual hernia tearing pop to break it loose. It was difficult to turn. I've run into that before with buggered up threads from scope base screws that were to long. This time it felt different and the barrel rotated about one turn then resistance increased to the point I had to stop and figure out what was happening. I could reverse direction and get maybe an 1/8 of a turn. Reverse again and get an 1/8 of a turn. Soaked it a bit with Kroil. Nothing changed. The temperature of the receiver climbing as I rotated it back and forth searching for answers. It didn't cease up like it had galled. Been there done that. It appears either the action threads are undersize or the barrel is oversize. I'm about to put the action in the lathe and bore out the remaining tenon.

Curious if anybody's ever run into this before?

 

[Roeder]

I've got a SS Rem 700 308 Win here for rebarrel. I went to take the barrel off. It took the usual hernia tearing pop to break it loose. It was difficult to turn. I've run into that before with buggered up threads from scope base screws that were to long. This time it felt different and the barrel rotated about one turn then resistance increased to the point I had to stop and figure out what was happening. I could reverse direction and get maybe an 1/8 of a turn. Reverse again and get an 1/8 of a turn. Soaked it a bit with Kroil. Nothing changed. The temperature of the receiver climbing as I rotated it back and forth searching for answers. It didn't cease up like it had galled. Been there done that. It appears either the action threads are undersize or the barrel is oversize. I'm about to put the action in the lathe and bore out the remaining tenon.

Curious if anybody's ever run into this before?

The one I remember having that experience with was definitely caused by the too long scope base screw. It peeled off a sliver of barrel steel and the resistance just got worse the farther I moved it. I would be interested to hear what you see when you bore it out, if you can tell where the problem is. I did encounter a factory barrel that had tapered threads that locked up just shy of mating the shoulder to the recoil lug. It just contacted the lug in a small area and was very difficult to break loose.That one I was taking apart to try to troubleshoot why it was shooting 10 inch vertical groups at 100 yards.

 

[carlsbad]

not here.

 

[DaveTooley]

Update

I've done this before with a BAT action so the pucker factor was way lower on this Remington. I bored it out and just like the BAT the threads pulled out like a slinky. There is galling on one thread for about 20% of a turn. There was a part of the barrel threads stuck to that area that had to scrapped loose.

Drama over now back to work.

 

[kendog]

One thing you might try in the future when this happens it to loosen the action wrench a little after the first initial crack loose. Sometimes a strong wrench like a Brownells will slightly distort the ring and cause a tight situation. Almost all factory Rems have a glue/tar/muck thread sealant that causes some unscrewing problems as well. Done more than a few and haven't had one gall yet (knock on head, which is definitely wood!). One that nearly did was a Nesika L last month. Acted exactly like you described, the more I loosened it, the tighter it got! Dribbled some kroil into the threads through the scope base holes and she loosened up. Can absolutely relate to the pucker factor with the high priced receivers. Bad enough with garden variety Rems!

 

[carlsbad]

Galling is an indication that there was a defect in the barrel threads causing the pressures required for galling. Since it was just in one spot, it was probably a bad defect.

The very valuable lesson here is to stop and do what Dave did--machine it out rather than ruining the action. Just over an hour an a half between when he posted the problem and already had it corrected (via correct solution). If he had kept going with a bigger cheater, he would have almost certainly have ruined the action.

--Jerry

 

[Ggmac]

Only once after the owner fired a 7 mag full of the wrong powder .
Was not salvageable, neither the receiver , bolt or barrel . It is the only Rem 700 that I've seen demolished .
Somehow it was expanded oblong .

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Ive seen it with blasting media that went into the screw holes on the stainless models

 

[Eddie Harren]

Stainless on Stainless = Galling Anyone remember the AMT Hardballer?

You'd think that Rem would use anti seize instead of glue.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Next time try warming the joint with a propane torch and drip moly d into the joint. The heat will pull the moly d in. I have had joints that where stuck solid that spun right off after this. I am not recommending this for a high dollar custom action. But that moly sure stops a gall from doing more damage.