SmallCaliberCentral

I own a Ruger 77 mkII all weather in 260 rem.The rifle has had about 30rounds fired through it.This year when I went to sight it in I noticed difficulty turning the bolt to open the action after firing for about one out of 5 shots.Has anyone here had a similar problem.The accuracy on this has been fair to mediocre with factory ammo 120gr accutips. Is the one in 12 twist better suited for the 100gr 6.5 bullits.I love ruger actions but am thinking of replacing the barrel.THe heaviest load would be a 125 gr Nosler Partition for Elk and moose and 100gr partition for Deer and black bear but I want the gun to shoot up to the reputation of the 260 rem reputation.All answers and help apreciated.

Normally heavy bolt lift is a sign of high pressures. Is this happening from factory loads or reloads? Sounds kind of strange if it is just one out of how many you were shooting at the time. HTH

This is hapening with factory rem ammo 120 accutips.Ive kept the ammo in a sealed plastic container left over from last year.

Glenn: Have you really cleaned out the chamber with a brass brush, solvent, then mopped it clean and dry with either a bore mop or a few oversize patches?

Sometimes grit and crap can accumulate in the chamber, inhibiting easy extraction. Also, check your fired brass for dimples that may indicate something in the chamber, as it will leave impressions in the brass under the pressure of firing. Somtimes a granule of powder may end up in the chamber, and you can plainly see its imprint on the brass upon extraction.

After proper cleaning of the chamber, holding it up into the light should show a nice, shiny, smooth interior surface, free of any blemishes whatever.

Just a couple of things to consider to narrow the possibilities.

Back in '89, I bought a new M77R in .30/06. It always had extraction problems, sometimes simply not hooking onto the case rim. After about 4 years and several deer, I knew I'd better figure out what was going on, or I'd finally lose a deer, so I took out the bolt and compared it to the one on my .270 (also a 77R at the time), and lo and behold, they had installed a "belted magnum extractor" instead of the typical .473" type. I packaged up the bolt and send it back, asking for a new extractor. Ruger DID replace the extractor, but they weren't happy that I didn't send the whole rifle back. It functioned perfectly after that, and went on to take several more deer, too.

I wonder if you don't have a burr on the cocking piece someplace, you shouldn't be having troubles with factory ammo, though it happens sometimes.