Advise sought on bolt release

[280Ackley]

Need some help.

Brought home a new to me Model 700 classic in 35 Whelen last weekend. Took it out today to mount a scope and run some patches through it. The bolt release was sticky and required some pushing to depress far enough to release the bolt. Now it will not reset. I tried to remove the stock and while the floor plate came off easily, the receiver and barrel will not drop out. I can see no sign of bedding, but the stock looks very tight around the edges on top. No visible gaps. Advise sought. I don’t want to damage this gun. I looks like it has been hunted, but it obviously belonged to a guy that took very good care of it. Only minor scratches on the stock and some wear on the blueing. Bore was bright and shiney and I got a clean patch on the first one. Do I need to remove the stock to fix my problem? What do I do to get the bolt release to reset?

Thanks

Jeff

[B R Shooter]

You can try shooting some light fluid down into and along the side of the trigger on the left side. Lighter fluid is excellent to clean and lube a trigger, nothing else needed, or wanted.

If you have the stock screws out, try putting the bolt in partial way, and use it and the barrel to see-saw the barreled action, front to back, while pushing pressure against the stock and it should lift out. If it doesn't, somebody has been doing something. I suspect it has been bedded, and the recoil lug was bedded tight with no clearance. The see-sawing should get it to lift.

[waksupi]

When I have a barreled action stick in bedding, I pad the bench, and give the barrel a whack to knock things loose. That can be risky, as you could damage the stock.
Another way to go about it, is to put the rifle in a deep freeze over night, and try tapping it out with a wooden mallet in the morning.
Another method is to remove the bottom metal, and use a piece of dowel or punch to tap on the recoil lug and tang screw.
It sounds like it was bedded. I suspect there was no clearance allowance made in the bedding. Especially important on the recoil lug.

[Cactus Farmer]

I have had a several "bedding" malfunctions brought to my shop and I have used a punch in the front screw hole that fits all the way to the bottom of the hole. Support the rifle on the sides of the stock with wood and tap the action out with the punch. Only once did it require freezing the rifle. A goodly abount of scraping will loosen the action without affecting the accuracy. Reassemble with some past wax to ease the removal next time.

[lmcollins]

Guys: I think you are missing the point, he said "bolt release." He means the little deal that you activate to remove the bolt from the rifle.

Remove the action from the stock. If it hangs up something is bent. Fix that. If it works out of the stock easily, you have a problem with the bedding impinging on the safety mechanism.

Take it out of the stock and try it.

[Bren R.]

"I tried to remove the stock and while the floor plate came off easily, the receiver and barrel will not drop out."

[GabbyM]

If it’s been epoxy bedded. Usually a heat gun to the steel will detach the receiver.
This is how the bench rest glue in stocks are taken apart. A hair dryer may even do it but I’ve not tried that. Trick is we don’t know what epoxy was used. With luck it’s one that only takes a couple hundred degrees to break tension.

Another option. If it’s zero temps up in Winnipeg. Set it out in the shed to freeze up. Then give it a light rap. I’d remove scope first in any method.

[B R Shooter]

You can't use a heat gun very well without burning or affecting the finish on the stock. When a glued in BR gun is pulled apart, a clothes iron is turned to it's highest setting, and is simply set on the top of the action. In 10 to 15 minutes, enough heat will get through to loosen the epoxy grip. No damage either.

I've never tried the freeze part, although I'm sure it would work too.

[725]

I ran across a bolt release sticky problem once that was caused by the rifle to stock fit being off center. It was a Rem 700 and there was some rotational play when screwing the two together. I know they are supposed to fit together like a hand and glove and always return to the fitted relationship. Actuality, however, was it could be misaligned upon reassembly. It would bind and the release button wouldn't spring back and sometimes the mechanism would bind. The bolt stop wouldn't set and the bolt would come out with every cycle of the bolt. Took some tinkering to clear a space for the bolt release to work and the internals to slip past each other.