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Win 70 Stuck bolt

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jamesriverrifle

New member
Joined
Aug 23, 2010
Messages
7
Location
Orange Co., Virginia
I have a Winchester model 70, .300 Win Mag and bolt is stuck close. The gun is old, but never fired and in mint condition. The bolt is closed, decocked, and the safety is in the forward position and will not come back to middle or off position. The bolt only rotates about 10 degrees. Any ideas on how to open the bolt?
Thanks for your help.
 
I did some searching on other forums for this problem. It seems to be fairly common and all seem to have ended up at a gunsmith with rust issues. Sorry for the misfortune.
 
Are there scope bases on it? Somes the screws for the rear and front bases are different lengths and if you put the rear screws in the front base you will screw the bolt shut.
 
When the safety is fully forward it is in the "fire" position. The middle positin locks the firing pin--reward locks the bolt and the firing pin. After oiling and letting the gun sit, if it doesn't open with hand pressure, try tapping with a rubber mallet.
 
Is it a 'Classic' action, push feed, CRPFor Pre-64?

Since the bolt rotates, I'm not sure how it could be rusted closed. the scope bases could be the culprit if you're never had it open before.

Since its decocked, you can't move the safety.

I've seen the gas block bind the bolt closed on classic actions. It will rotate just a little, but not open.

The gas block is a small piece of metal that 'floats' in the bolt rail oposite the extractor. Its held in place by the extractor ring. It floats on the bolt rail and stays in the rail as you close the bolt blocking any rearward gas that could escape.

Turn the rifle upside down (sideways, and any other way) and rattle/wiggle it with the bolt in a non-binding position, and try and open the bolt as you do it.

Are you 100% sure it has never been fired, you say its an old gun? Could there possibly be a case stuck in the chamber? I've seen this as well, the bolt will rotate just a smidge but it gets really hard to open all the way because the extractor is trying like hell to pull the case out. If its not a Classic action this would be my second guess.

The problem can likely be fixed with a new extracor ring ($10), but you may need a new extractor that has a tighter slot to hold the ring on if there is too much play in it. You can fix this easy enough yourself, but finding the parts could be tricky.
 
Last edited:
After glass bedding my rifle and putting it back together I couldn't get my bolt to move very far either. I turned it over, loosened the two bolts that hold the action to the stock and PRESTO it moved.
 
It's a control feed and has never been fired. The bolt only rotates by about 10 degrees, not enough to recock the gun. In the decock, fired mode, can you move the safety back to mid position? The gun will be going to a Smith asap. Thanks for your input
 
Check the action to see if there are screws in the holes where a scope mount would go. If there are, remove them and see if the bolt moves. If there are no screws in the holes or the bolt still won't move, then go find that gunsmith who will mount it in a vice and use a pry bar on the bolt handle to lift it and hopefully open the bolt.
 
I played with one of my M70's last night to see what you were talking about. The 10degree of slop is normal, and where yours is hanging up is likely at the re-cocking point in the movment.

I don't think you could get a scope mount screw in with the bolt in the closed position, nor could you get the bolt to close if the screw was put in while open.

It could be a broken safety, something in the trigger/sear area, hard to say. Sounds like it needs to go to the Dr.
 
Rust inside the bolt will bind a model 70 and you may not see any rust on the outside. After liberally oiling the bolt (try to get penetrating oil inside the bolt) and lugs give the bolt handle a sharp hit with a rubber mallet or dead blow hammer.
 
Gun Dog You're right about the rust in the bolt. I removed the stock, padded, and clamped the barrel and action in my vise. I then used a rubber hammer and hit the bolt handle and got the bolt to open. Remember this is an old gun, still in box but never fired. After removing the bolt and disassembling it, I found the firing pin spring and bolt covered with brown stuff. I think it was once grease that had completely dried. After cleaning, the gun functions perfectly. Thanks to all who responded to my questions.
 
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