Thread: Bolt action smoothness

Originally Posted by Beavis

Shoot a Nagant for a while then go back to the offending rifle.

aint nothing wrong with a nagant.

just stop drinking so much soy latte and you will stop noticing it.

You mean a Mosin-Nagant, acceptably abbreviated to Mosin. A Nagant is a revolver. A very bad revolver.

The bolt on mine isn't actually that bad. It is pre war though.

Originally Posted by Savage .223

Best way to make bolt slide more smoothly in action? Other than repeatedly cycling action

800-1200 grit wet and dry and just rug away on all the edges bolt and receiver take you time it will come up mint.

If its a Remington 770 it will never be slick no matter what you do, sell it to some muppet on TM and buy something else like a CZ!

Originally Posted by Beavis

The bolt on mine isn't actually that bad. It is pre war though.

mines nice nd smooth as well, its also prewar so probably got cycled a lot

Originally Posted by Konev

mines nice nd smooth as well, its also prewar so probably got cycled a lot

With a bit of 'wet and dry' mud in the action too I imagine!

You can lap the bolt with very fine valve grinding paste , but never lap the lugs, including the rear lug if your action has one , as you can increase the headspace . Using wet and dry works in places but you have to be very careful not to polish it unevenly . I use a very fine little stone on rails etc . You can degrease the whole thing and use flitz or some such polish and sit watching TV and work the bolt for a few hours . Some rifle designs will never slick up .

A bolt is designed to be pushed straight in and pulled straight out and needs proper guidance for this to happen. When you work the bolt hold the bolt nob between your thumb and forefinger , like a ball and socket , and push the bolt straight in and pull it straight out ,holding the nob at all times ,with no upward or downward pressure, do not use the palm of your hand to work the bolt as it can push the bolt up causing friction and sometimes causing a jam . My old training Sargent used to call palming "waving at the enemy "

Originally Posted by Savage .223

Best way to make bolt slide more smoothly in action? Other than repeatedly cycling action

What are you wanting to achieve by making it smoother?

Originally Posted by mucko

800-1200 grit wet and dry and just rug away on all the edges bolt and receiver take you time it will come up mint.

Spot on and do the raceways as suggested earlier but be very careful with your bolt lugs.Strip your bolt right down. Clean it with a good degreaser. Use Kroil lightly and it will track so much better than any other lubricant.

I find kroil stinks too much

Originally Posted by Beavis

I find kroil stinks too much

Originally Posted by Dangerous Dan

What are you wanting to achieve by making it smoother?

Not a lot really, I know I wouldn't notice it while hunting but when I was cleaning it the other night I thought I might as well attempt at making it smoother if simple to do..

all you want to do with the wet and dry is to round off the edges to reduce binding. no need to mess with any area that would effect head space. try it you will see.

kimjon and druid are onto it, I used fine valve grinding paste on the bolt raceways of a remington mohawk to smooth it up and worked really well,
cheers
Ray