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Remington 700 BDL Muzzle Crown Damage?

11K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  JBelk 
#1 ·
Hello!
I just recently bought a new Remington 700 BDL in 270 Win from Gander Mountain which was going out of business and basically got it half off. This display model was the only model left, and I have no idea how old it is, but would not be surprised if it's older than 5 years with some of the dings/marks on it along with a surprising amount of rust, especially in the breech where the barrel screws into the action. Hard to believe the gun was not used previously; the preservation seems poor. Anyhow, I took it out to the range and shot about 20 rounds of Remington Core-Lokt 130 gr pointed soft points and also about 20 rounds of Federal Fusion 150 gr. The out-of-box accuracy at 100 yards was dismal as I averaged 3-4 MOA with both of these ammo weights.

It is not a shooter problem as I can shoot MOA with an accurate rifle, also I had another very good shooter there making the exact same 3-4 MOA groupings. I ruled out the scope; I took it off another 1-MOA shooting gun to put it on this BDL and then placed it on another centerfire rifle afterwards and confirmed the scope is not the issue. The mounts were all tight. Inspecting the barrel more at the crown, I realize that there is a significant ding with in
dents on the outside/outer top of the crown:

Crown 6_zpsg9gmlbsl.jpg Photo by abp4363 | Photobucket
Crown1_zps96whca8s.jpg Photo by abp4363 | Photobucket
Crown4_zpsulhlozzu.jpg Photo by abp4363 | Photobucket

Any idea if this marring could be impacting the accuracy/consistency of the rife? Any other ideas?
 
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#2 ·
I can guide you through some repair, but photobucket is not working so I can't see your pictures.

The rust between the barrel, recoil plate and receiver is bluing salts leaking out. It needs boiling in clean water for half hour and then oiled to kill it.

Email me the pics and I'll post them here for you j belk 09 at gmail dot com .Take out the spaces of course.
 
#4 ·
OK, abp4363 sent me several pics but I picked out two and zeroed in on the problems.

Barrel fouling to that extent means closer to the chamber is a REAL mess. Removing that much fouling is going to take work but it IS risky!! You need a 'real' cleaning rod, a rod guide, good brushes and copper solvents.

When you look at the rough bore (dull reamer marks not removed before buttoning), its clear you'll be lucky to get it shooting without serious fouling.

THE CROWN looks pretty good on the inside but wrecked where it makes no difference. I would clean the barrel first and THEN lap the crown, but it won't take much from what I see.
 

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#5 ·
If you have the tupperware stock that might explain it.

You might also have serious rust partway down the barrel that you can't see. Display guns probably won't fare better than the average person's guns for maintenance and cleaning. Most gun show guns have serious dust buildups at the muzzle if pointed up.

Dust plus humidity = rust.

Some production guns have the chamber cut rather non-concentric, and there are some photos that crop up occasionally of gashes in a bore that will have your head scratching while asking "how did someone do THAT?"

Can you access a bore scope?
 
#6 ·
.

If the original warranty card came with the rifle, fill it out & send it in - then in a week or two, contact Remington Customer Service with the SN and see if they'll make it right under warranty.


If there's no warranty card, contact CS anyway - what do you have to lose ?

.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Forgive my ignorance here in asking about the reply; is the "fouling" referenced just a copper fouling alone? With regard to copper fouling in general, how do I know it's actually a problem or built up too much, just by the presence of ANY copper streak at the muzzle? I noticed the slight copper streak, but was curious if this is a normal, everyday byproduct of shooting jacketed bullets or if it was actually fouling.

The gun is the BDL "classic deluxe" so it is outfitted with the hi-gloss walnut stock. I don't have a borescope, but plan to set up an appointment with a gunsmith so he can check the internal barrel integrity.
 
#8 ·
There is enough copper and carbon flaking off the bore to know its' REALLY caked on. There will always be 'some' copper that clings to steel, but not enough to eventually fall off. ;)

Before you start chasing after accuracy, give the rifle a chance to be accurate by being clean. Then at least you have a base line to work from.
 

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#9 ·
Those are some pretty rough tool marks in the grooves. Might also be on the lands when the bore gets a good scrubbing. Classic situation for some bore lapping. Shame that rifle received the rough handling and storage at the dealer's shop for being a "new" firearm.
 
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#11 ·
I'd give it chance to come around. The Savage I'm using now as a prairie dog rifle had marks from the reamer so bad the lands looked threaded. Kept cleaning the jacket material out so the bare steel was exposed and it eventually became my most accurate rifle.
 
#12 ·
I'd be inclined to send that one back to customer service. Throw a note in the box saying something similar to "Do not return until you are proud of your work. No time limit! If you can't be proud of it, recycle it."

Your response then depends on theirs. Go shoot something else in the meantime.
 
#13 ·
Cheezywan--- "Customer Service" has no option but just replace the barrel. Parts are made to spec, not a degree of excellence or pride!! Remington has never had a gunsmith on staff and still don't. Just stick another part on it. That's why some rifles with real problems are sent back many times and are still not 'repaired'. Just rebuilt using the same bad part.
 
#18 ·
Really? Never?
They probably have at some time in the last 175 years but not since WW-II anyway. There were always customer service guys that were really sharp on Remington guns but 'analysis of a failure' is not part of the process at all.
 
#19 ·
They probably have at some time in the last 175 years but not since WW-II anyway.
That's a rather bold statement.

As kdub says it's a shame that poor rifle was subjected to it's rough storage for being a new firearm.

RJ
 
#20 ·
I can certainly understand a master gunsmith who's not high on repair/warranty work done at a maker's facility. But not all of us are equipped nor skilled enough to dig into a NIB rifle exhibiting problems. Most, also, certainly are not interested in paying a good local gunsmith $50 an hour for his (her) time to perform repairs either.

I sent a NIB rifle that was also dated 4-5 yrs old at my time of purchase back to Remington's Ilion plant for repair. (mine happened to be a Marlin). Within 25 days I received the rifle back repaired correctly including an issue not associated with the "flaws" (broken rear sight) on their dime.

I'd certainly suggest packing it up and shipping it back along with a detailed explanation as to what the problems are as a first course of action. FWIW, I took the polite route in my message and it's tone. Their response was more than professional IMHO.
 
#22 ·
I'm NOT being critical of Remington or any other plant that builds guns, I'm just stating a fact. All the post war documents are open source now so you can read what I've been reading for the last 25 years and be as amazed as I am! The business is much DIFFERENT from what I thought for many years and is thought by shooters now. They are run by accountants and marketing people and it shows.

I would be very interested in seeing what Remington would do with the OP's rifle. Especially after this discussion because some gun companies have para-legals that print and file everything I write on this site. :)
 
#25 ·
"Factory Service" is staffed by people that stand out for their work ethic and probably show initiative and talent in doing repair instead of the mind-killing production work that is normal in a big plant. I'm sure it takes about a week to see 99% of the work and how to best accomplish a repair for it.

SO, if you return a gun for being "inaccurate", that service guy might see a bedding problem when it takes it out of the box but he's SURE to see anything that is not "normal". Whatever that abnormality may be gets replaced and it is assumed that the first thing found fixed your complaint. There is no 'range time' and rifles that are test fired are shot from a padded 'shooting jack' into a bullet trap for function only.

The Custom Shop, or whatever they might call that section at Remington now, has some good people with a better than average understanding of what makes a great rifle. Mike Walker ran that shop like the demanding target shooter he was. Mike stocked that section with riflemen that concentrated on the 40X. That caused the ammo section to have to get better to keep up.

A returned rifle doesn't usually go to the custom shop where they can lathe cut a new crown on the OP's rifle. In a case as that, somebody decides to repair or replace with replacement probably taking less time and expense.
I'm anxious to find out what they do.
 
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