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Let's talk about the Remington 700 family of rifles and the bolt throw, because a lot of people out there have trouble with the throw of the bolt. I'm talking about the operation of the bolt, of course. In the video above, you see me operate the bolt smoothly with my fingertips, without rushing it.
You want to make sure that the pressure is applied to the correct location. The Remington 700 receiver design requires the bolt to ride along the raceway correctly. So, after you open the bolt and you retract the bolt handle backward to eject the casing, usually the issue comes when you are loading the new round. In order to get a smooth throw forward, you want to make sure that you have the pressure pushed inward towards you if you're a right-handed shooter, and then push forward. That works especially well if you have a low spring pressure magazine to push inward slightly with about 30 percent of your pressure and the rest is pushing forward. That smoothly operates the bolt going forward. I'm using a broken-in Remington 700, but even on a non-broken-in 700 that helps with the operation.
Now, if you are working with a magazine that is a full magazine with a lot more spring tension, let's say 10-rounders if you use an AICS detachable type system, one method you could employ is the thumb-over-firing-pin method. As you cycle the rifle back and eject the spent casing you push forward with your thumb, directing the linear force forward through the back of the bolt, and pushing the cartridge from the magazine into the chamber. That helps relieve some of the pressure that is placed on the bolt, so you have a smoother ride.
What you want to avoid as you're cycling the bolt is pushing outward and forward, because even on my broken-in Remington 700 that is binding enough where it pushes my entire rifle forward instead of letting the bolts go home. One of the things that people do, and that I find less efficient than using this technique of applying correct pressure onto the bolt, is to grab the knob like a ball, or like a shifting gear knob, and just try to ram it as hard as they can forward. While it is a technique, it lacks the finesse that works well with the mechanism of this particular rifle.
--9-Hole Reviews
