can't get Rem 700 to feed correctly

[bluebayou]

I have been tinkering with Rem 700 short action for last 2 years.  I has never fed correctly.  It is SPS that I put into blind magazine Classic stock. 

Fred pointed out a year or more ago that I had the flat spring in upside down.  That correction kept the cartridges from nosing down in the magazine......but it still won't feed the left side of magazine consistently.  The bolt slides over the left rounds 50% of the time. 

This rifle is the most accurate that I own.  It is 7mm-08 and a great all around rifle.  I don't feel confident with it this season because of the misfeeding issue.  What should I try?

I was thinking to put a shim in the bottom of the magazine to increase the effective spring rate.  There isn't anything really to adjust.........I am at a loss. 

[LaOtto222]

Do you have the follower in correctly? On mine the raised portion is on the left side. If that is correct, you may try to bend the lip of the magazine well just slightly to let the case raise up just a little. It probably will not take much, if it is feeding part of the time. The case head has to be up just enough to catch the bolt and be pushed forward as it passes. Does it do it with a full magazine only or does it do it when there are only two cartridges in the magazine? If it feeds correctly with only two in the magazine, then I suggest to only put two in it. Three shots should be plenty, one in the chamber + two in the mag.

[bluebayou]

Huh,
It will feed two rounds.  (the follower is high on left side)  First round goes in right side of mag, second goes in the left.  It feeds those two fine.  If I add a third round then the follower tilts up in front.  If I add a fourth round then the follower tilts enough that the bolt strokes over the brass. 

What the crap?  Why is it doing this?

[gunnut69]

Did the rifle have a floor plate originally? The blind magazine version of the 700 action uses a mag box that is screwed to the underside of the action. Also the magazine depth of the blind box may be too deep allowing the spring to squirm around as pressure is applied. Try affixing the bottom leg of the mag spring to a shim to keep it from moving as the mag is loaded. In the past I've used a thin piece of metal with a loop for the bend of the bottom leg to catch on and a slight cut to position the cut end of the spring. The idea is to keep the spring centered in the mag well through out its travel.. I doesn't sound as if the lips need opening as it feeds sometimes.. mode likely the follower is diving because it is moving in the mag well.

[warrior1]

i had three ruger autos 44 mag and all three jammed on me if iloaded 3 rounds. two rounds she worked fine. bottom line i went with two rounds
never had a problem.

a few years later my buudy got his dad the same ruger. first time he took it out he loaded 3 rounds and it jammed. from that point on he loaded 2.

so laotto's suggestion is probably your best solution this year. then worry
about the problem and fix it it before next year's opener.

with my bolts i sometimes only load 1 round. that way at hte end of a hunting session i only got to unload 1 bullet.

one last thought would be to give remington a call.
good luck this year, dan

[1marty]

I have a rem sps in a 7-08 and have had problems in loading. The first couple go in fine then the others start jamming up.  I put some dummy rounds in the rifle and let it sit for 6 months. It appears  to have helped the loading. I found holding the rifle on a 45 degree angle they seem to load much better. I suspect your problem may be the same as I was having in that the bullets are not sitting right after you load them.

[bluebayou]

Did the rifle have a floor plate originally? The blind magazine version of the 700 action uses a mag box that is screwed to the underside of the action. Also the magazine depth of the blind box may be too deep allowing the spring to squirm around as pressure is applied. Try affixing the bottom leg of the mag spring to a shim to keep it from moving as the mag is loaded. In the past I've used a thin piece of metal with a loop for the bend of the bottom leg to catch on and a slight cut to position the cut end of the spring. The idea is to keep the spring centered in the mag well through out its travel.. I doesn't sound as if the lips need opening as it feeds sometimes.. mode likely the follower is diving because it is moving in the mag well.

You impress me once again. 
This rifle was a BDL-style, SPS rifle with the hinged floorplate.  I sold the SPS stock and put the action into a Classic stock that I had previously. 

As you have all pointed out the rounds are nosediving as the bolt slides over them.  This makes them go forward a bit and then down enough for bolt head to pass over base. 

That is a great idea about fixing something to the base of the spring.  I considered that the flat spring was sliding around in the magazine inlet.......but never did anything about it. 

The box is the SPS box, I think that I sold the older ADL style box that I had....can't remember.  If I can find it then I will look for a screw to stake it to the receiver.  I know that the box is just loose in the inletting right now.  I made effort to keep the receiver off of the box when I epoxy bedded the action.  I bet that there is a gap.....

As of right now, I KNOW that it will cycle 3 rounds so for this deer season it will only be loaded with 3.  If I can fix it between now and then, then I will.