Opening Rem 700 Feed Rails

[slickyboyboo]

I had a 280 AI built off of a rifle that started life as a 30-06. The 280 AI will not reliably feed, and won't feed at all with longer projectiles. When the bolt is pushed forward, the cartridge if it is staggered in the mag on the right side it kicks way over to the left and jams, if staggered on the left side it kicks to the right, and jams. If I load the same bullet at the same length in a 280 Rem, if feeds like butter. I am thinking that the feed rails need opening slightly.

Can anyone guide me on this venture? TIA.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

If theres a taper in the feed rails up toward the front start widening that out since youre going to a straighter case

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

If theres a taper in the feed rails up toward the front start widening that out since youre going to a straighter case

Slowly!

I've done several 280 AI's on 700's with no issues at all. As Dusty said, ya might delicately open the front of the feed rails but walk softly. I'd use a cratex wheel on a dremel and just do a good deburr and polish, first. Mine feeds fine but not quite as smooth as the donor 06'. Straighter case walls and no rail work on that one. That's typical and no issues, normally.

Just smooth things up with a little more attention toward the front and see what it acts like.

Also...KISS! Look elsewhere before removing material from the rails. Check the ejector plunger and simple stuff first. It should've worked without rail work, ime.

 

[slickyboyboo]

Slowly!

I've done several 280 AI's on 700's with no issues at all. As Dusty said, ya might delicately open the front of the feed rails but walk softly. I'd use a cratex wheel on a dremel and just do a good deburr and polish, first. Mine feeds fine but not quite as smooth as the donor 06'. Straighter case walls and no rail work on that one. That's typical and no issues, normally.

Just smooth things up with a little more attention toward the front and see what it acts like.

Also...KISS! Look elsewhere before removing material from the rails. Check the ejector plunger and simple stuff first. It should've worked without rail work, ime.

How would the ejector plunger cause the issue? Especially if it happens on the AI, and not on the standard cartridge?

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

How would the ejector plunger cause the issue? Especially if it happens on the AI, and not on the standard cartridge?

It might not be in your case but I'm just saying to check everything else first for the cause. Thousands have been built over the years that did not need rail work to feed.

But how...by protruding just passed the bolt nose, the ejector could keep the case from sliding over the bolt nose far enough to come out of magazine and straight into the chamber. Obviously you're the one looking at your gun. If you've looked everything over to your satisfaction, grind away.

As usual, I should stick with fixing guns I can put my hands on rather than doing internet repairs on something I can't see and check over. Then again, you did ask.

 

[AccelR8]

...by protruding just passed the bolt nose, the ejector could keep the case from sliding over the bolt nose far enough to come out of magazine and straight into the chamber.

FWIW I am working on a 700 today that has this exact problem. So yes, it can be a thing. In this gun it produces a failure to feed that is just like the OP describes.

 

[slickyboyboo]

Slowly!

I've done several 280 AI's on 700's with no issues at all. As Dusty said, ya might delicately open the front of the feed rails but walk softly. I'd use a cratex wheel on a dremel and just do a good deburr and polish, first. Mine feeds fine but not quite as smooth as the donor 06'. Straighter case walls and no rail work on that one. That's typical and no issues, normally.

Just smooth things up with a little more attention toward the front and see what it acts like.

Also...KISS! Look elsewhere before removing material from the rails. Check the ejector plunger and simple stuff first. It should've worked without rail work, ime.

Yes I did ask, as an honest question. Wouldn’t a plunger issue, only cause the round to kick off in one direction though?

 

[slickyboyboo]

FWIW I am working on a 700 today that has this exact problem. So yes, it can be a thing. In this gun it produces a failure to feed that is just like the OP describes.

Could you post pics or a vid of the issue? Thanks!

 

[drover]

OP - Issues like this is the reason that cartridges have had a taper to them for rather than being more straight sided.
It is simple enough to check for it being a plunger issue. Remove the plunger and see if has any effect on the feeding, if it feeds ok it is an issue, if it doesn't then that is not the cause.
I have had the lips on the magazine box cause similar issues like you are describing, look everything over carefully before grinding - once the metal is gone then it is hard to put it back.

drover

 

[Will Henry]

I would not touch the rails. The cardinal rule is to always work on the cheap piece first. So, messing with the mag box is the first thing to try. It might be necessary to widen the feed ramp a bit but I like to keep alterations to the receiver to a minimum. WH

 

[AccelR8]

Could you post pics or a vid of the issue? Thanks!

Um...too late, already done. Sorry. The issue was the ejector extended just a bit beyond the rim of the bolt face and as the cartridge head moved up across the bolt face, about half the time it would catch on the ejector and stop it's upward movement after it left the mag and cause the cartridge to go nose up and wedge in there sideways. It was just barely catching. Some cartridges were OK, others not. You had to withdraw the bolt a bit to allow the cartridge to straighten up, then go ahead and push the bolt forward. If any of that makes any sense.

It was tempting to just grind the ejector plunger down flush to the bolt head rim without removing it but I did remove the plunger, shorten it, polish the end and touch up blued. So if I showed a pic now it would just look like any other 700 ejector.

You could easily see the ejector extending beyond the bolt, I don't know 40 thou or so. It should be flush.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Yes I did ask, as an honest question. Wouldn’t a plunger issue, only cause the round to kick off in one direction though?

The point is to check all possibilities and look for a simple fix before grinding on the rails. It was not a diagnosis but rather, just a suggestion of one possibility. Having the gun in hand and seeing what it's doing is important to making a correct diagnosis. Since I don't have the gun, and rail work isn't usually needed, I mentioned it only as a single place to look first, not to start any sort of debate. Just trying to be helpful.

The ejector should not protrude above the bolt nose but it's a fairly common modification, to lengthen its stroke. After 20+ years of working on guns, mostly rifles, I've learned not to assume anything and when presented with a quandary, to not overcomplicate things at first, but to start with the most basic and obvious possible solutions.

You may well need to massage the rails on yours but the fact that it's not usually needed for your conversion, leads me to look at every possible cause before doing permanent rail work. But yes, if the ejector stands proud it can cause feeding issues. Some guns have a slight bevel on the ejector to help prevent that particular issue.

Again, the point was to look at all possibilities rather than diagnosing a problem I can't hold in my hands and see for myself.

Good luck with it.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Um...too late, already done. Sorry. The issue was the ejector extended just a bit beyond the rim of the bolt face and as the cartridge head moved up across the bolt face, about half the time it would catch on the ejector and stop it's upward movement after it left the mag and cause the cartridge to go nose up and wedge in there sideways. You had to withdraw the bolt a bit to allow the cartridge to straighten up, then go ahead and push the bolt forward. If any of that makes any sense.

It was tempting to just grind the ejector plunger down flush to the bolt head rim without removing it but I did remove the plunger, shorten it, polish the end and touch up blued. So if I showed a pic now it would just look like any other 700 ejector.

You could easily see the extractor extending beyond the bolt, I don't know 40 thou or so. It should be flush.

Made perfect sense to me.

 

[AccelR8]

gunsandgunsmithing mentioned something I wish I would have remembered before I did this job, and that is some smiths will leave the ejector protrusion but put an angle on it's face to allow the cartridge to ramp over it. I'm thinking now I should have done that or at least tried it first. I think that would be a better solution...I knew about it but just didn't remember...oh well it works now.

but, I didn't mean to hijack the thread. I'll be quiet now!