Bolt and rifle number don't match - don't matter?!?

melgalvis

Active Member
Well, I was a very happy and excitable boy after collecting my new remy 783 30-06, scope, mod, bases, rings etc. Thinking i could be set up by midweek and target shooting by the weekend.

No such luck...

only a few pages in to the owners manual I come across a section stating the bolt head should display the last three numbers of the rifle serial number and that bolts aren't interchangeable. Well...my numbers don't match!

What does this mean?
Anyone had similar?

i called remy America with no joy and have been punted back to uk supplier. Will also be dropping the RFD a note tomorrow as well as calling supplier. In the meantime, any insight/suggestions/similar experiences would be useful to hear.

Thanks
 
Defiantly take it back to the dealer who you bought it from ASAP. The rifle will have Been head spaced to the specific bolt that is numbered to it and it alone. It may well not chamber standard ammo or even worse have too much headspace in which case you run the risk of case head separating. Don't shoot it.

You have not been sold a new rifle - at very least bolts have been mixed up somewhere in the supply chain.

It will also likely be out of proof and it is illegal to sell a rifle out of proof.
 
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Have you checked that the "other" number is actually the bolt number and not, as on Smith & Wesson revolvers of a certain time an in-house factory inventory/assembly number? Also some shot guns also bear a serial number and elsewhere such inventory/assembly numbers that are a totally different set from the actual true serial number.

I'd take the rifle apart and see if the number on the bolt, the "other" number, actually matches an identical number on other parts of your rifle that is hidden when the rifle is in its woodwork. And that the serial number referred to in the manual is actually that number.
 
Defiantly take it back to the dealer who you bought it from ASAP. The rifle will have Been head spaced to the specific bolt that is numbered to it and it alone. It may well not chamber standard ammo or even worse have too much headspace in which case you run the risk of case head separating. Don't shoot it.

You have not been sold a new rifle - at very least bolts have been mixed up somewhere in the supply chain.

It will also likely be out of proof and it is illegal to sell a rifle out of proof.

If it's a mix up at the factory, then by pure luck (especially as it's a rem) it has the correct headspace, or else it wouldn't have passed the uk proof. That being the case, it's nothing to worry about.
But, if mixed up AFTER proof, it 'could' be a problem, and above cautions apply, take it back anyway

Pete
 
i am so glad i dislike remingtons,

un matched bolt and rifle.................wrong headspace...................problems

leave well alone until this is sorted,

bob.
 
Go back to the shop, and hope they were the ones who mixed it all up.
If it was them it is an easy fix.

Neil. :)
 
If they have several Rem 783s in the same caliber or with .308 base sizes it would be easy to get the bolts in the wrong rifle.
 
Thanks for the advice. It reaffirms my gut feeling of "I aint shooting this til this is sorted"

the guy doesn't stock Remys and got this gun in specially so if there's a mix up my assumption would be it is at the suppliers end. But one shouldn't assume!

will any damage have been caused for cycling through a few rounds with an incorrect bolt? Literally 6 or 7 or would the damage only occur if fired and the bolt is wrong?
 
are factory rifle barrelled actions really matched to bolts?

I had assumed by the sheer volume that the chambering, tenon length, recoil lug and bolt specifications would be produced so that when they are bolted up they are within a tolerable SAMMI spec
or at least that a Go-NoGo gauge check would render it passed QC

I have rifles that either have no serial number on the bolt or have one that doesn't match the barrel/action number
I also have switch barrel rifles that only have one bolt!
 
Cycling rounds would not cause any problems or damage but I wouldn't fire it.
The item as supplied does not conform to the makers manual and it should be returned to the seller.
As mentioned above,the seller may have more than one rifle and just got the bolts mixed up.
They shouldn't have though.
Hope you get on ok, let us know.
Atb
 
If it's a mix up at the factory, then by pure luck (especially as it's a rem) it has the correct headspace, or else it wouldn't have passed the uk proof.

Do they actually check headspace? I was under the impression that it gets a visual check, then (assuming it chambers ok) they fire a proof round. If it doesn't blow up and it passes another visual check then it gets proof?

I could be wrong, but I don't think proofing can be relied upon to prove a rifle is within spec, or even totally safe for that matter. It's a bit like an MOT, it's a one off inspection on the day.
 
i am so glad i dislike remingtons, un matched bolt and rifle.................wrong headspace...................problems
leave well alone until this is sorted, bob.

Over the years I have had several Remingtons and know of many others that have had them too and at one time that was all that was 'over the counter' available at a reasonable price.
Of the millions that must have been made and sold there may be a few problems but I am sure they are nothing like as bad as some people make out.
I still have my trusty Remington in .222 and would not part with it.
Incidentally, a few years back I used a bolt from my .243 in my .308 by mistake and only realised it at the end of the day when cleaning it to put away.
I shot seven Deer that day with no incidence of malfunction.
Even all this talk of crappy triggers can be overcome by a competant gunsmith or shooter with a bit of care too.
The only reason I am now a Blaser user is purely for the breakdown and ease of transportability and not because the Remington rifles could not do the job.
Sorry Bob, I don't know how many or how long you have had Remingtons but I had to jump in as until recently I was a died in the wool Remington man;).
Oh yes, I nearly forgot, I may be a bit out of date now but as I recall, the only rifles used by the military snipers I saw were Remingtons too.
 
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Headspaced before and after firing of proof rounds.

but surely that is just Go - NoGo gauging?

my question was around the use of factory spec components being slapped together to produce SAMMI spec chambers without any requirement for fettling or matched actions/bolts
 
To the OP - If you get the same rifle back - with the right bolt, I'd get it headspace checked before you shoot it. ---- Someone may have re-worked the bolt to make it fit another rifle whilst mixed up.
Better safe than sorry.

Ian
 
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