NEED HELP BAD!

[762willdo]

I recently had a .300WSM built by a gunsmith locally and the action and barrel were supposed to be melonited (molten salt bath) when i talked about this with them they STRESSED that once melonited no work to the action/barrel can be done, not re-crowned or anything. When the barreled action came back they told me the bolt was "binding" after a couple of weeks they said i could pick up the rifle. when i went to pick it up the bolt was still binding and the action had 1/2" cut of the back off the loading port (the front screw hole for the rear base was right on the edge) when i asked about that he said it was so i could load the rounds and not tilt them? funny thing was when i screwed on the one piece base the bolt stopped binding!!
I think the action was warped when it was melonited
What do you guys think??? am i screwed?
P.S. they reamed the action and cut the action after meloniting and they told me it was a real learning lesson for them!?!?!?

 

[noload]

Actions can get twisted taking a barrel off, might that be the case?

 

[762willdo]

its possible but since it was a throw away barrel why not ruin the barrel and save the action (make a cut just in front of the recoil lug) like i have seen other smiths do?

 

[butchlambert]

He doesn't know what your gunsmith did or was thinking. He just threw out a good suggestion. If you get behind the .0003 case hardening, you can machine the melonite QPQ. It is not a through and through hardening. I have recrowned mine.
Butch

 

[762willdo]

i figured the machining wasn't that big of deal but what about cutting the action 1/2" back?

 

[butchlambert]

Pictures?

 

[dennisinaz]

I'm with Butch- I can't understand what you are saying they did. Did they Melonite treat your action, bolt, barrel all three? I just had one done this year and it the bolt and barrel are fine but the barrel is possibly ruined. The heat they use to treat this is pretty close to the heat treat temps used on the actions and bolts. It shouldn't bother the barrels though.

Photos man!

 

[Jim See]

sounds like it was a SA and the smith cut the loading port rearward to increase it's size for ease of single loading??
Must have ground some off the Bolt stop possibly. Sounds like this was a rem 700 if it encroached on the top screw hole.

The binding is it actual sticking from the bolt bore being tight on the bolt, or from sidewase pressure on the bolt as it closes causing enough tilt to bind, which is more apt to happen when the bolt travels rearward more than the OEM design? I believe the binding is likly the sideways pressure as I can't see warpage enough to bind a bolt unless the fit was less than .0015.

Your screwwwwed, sounds like it got hacked up fer a no good reason.
I be a good decipherer!!!

 

[watercam]

Is it possible the forward action screw might be a tad too long and binding the side of the lower lug? Perhaps when the scope base was installed IT tweaked the action just enough to allow the bolt to clear the top of the action screw. Worth loosening the base and see if it is still binding, then back out the action screw one turn and see if that does it. Then deal with the base...