Remington 700 NIB, What to do Before Firing?

[MISteve]

Hi all. Thank you for having me on your board. My name is Steve.

I just bought a Remington 700 ADL and it is in the box. I am looking for suggestions as to what I should do prior to firing.

I am familiar with taking down shotguns, cleaning, lubing and reassembling but my 870s and sx3 seem more forgiving than what the 700 manual suggests.
Basicall, I just don't want to damage anything and read a lost of "opinions on the web...

So, let me lay out what I think I need to do and you guys can beat the newbie up and teach him the though love way:

1. Field strip the gun.
2. Spray the Barrel with Remoil, let it drip, soak and wipe off the factory/display filth.
3. Spray it again with Remoil and wipe it leaving an nice thin coat like my shotguns.
4. The stock is synthetic... wipe it with a damp cloth?
5. Service the trigger and receiver group as laid out in the manual OR just leave it for now? On a semi auto shotgun I would leave it out of the box, on an 870 I would clean/lube it.
6. Lube the bolt like this: http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/bolt-maintenance-methods-materials/
7. Re-assemble and decide if I should do the serious break in 3 shot clean repeat procedure or not.
8. Try to adjust the x-mark trigger and see if I like it.

Am I missing things or doing them wrong? Your help means a lot to me. This is the first large bore I have bought myself new and I just want to make sure I don't do anything stupid. I have two bokes of Rem Corelokt 180gr to zero it in with this weekend.

thanks again all.

[Art Eatman]

I'd merely remove the stock and do a wipe-down with RemOil. For whatever reason, I don't like to spray oil onto a rifle. Doesn't seem necessary, really.

I'd run a patch through the barrel and examine it for "grunge". If none, I'd consider it ready to shoot. If shooting is to be at a later date, I'd spray some oil on a patch and run it through. End of worry.

My Rem700 Ti calls for 60 inch-pounds of torque on the stock screws--five foot-pounds. That's about a good heavy twist with a screwdriver. :)

[Brian Pfleuger]

I agree with Art. Quick rub down, patch the barrel, clean if necessary.

I do use a break-in procedure of cleaning after every shot for 1st 5 and after every other shot up to 11 and then after again 20th. After that, I clean when accuracy degrades, which is rarely.

Much controversy on breaking-in a barrel. I always have and I always get sub-MOA guns. Maybe coincidence, maybe not but what I do certainly does t hurt, so why not?

[MISteve]

Thanks for the replies guys. I really appreciate the feedback. My biggest question is about the bolt action. It came dry. Do the greasing instructions I put there seem reasonable with the thin layer ov moly grease on the lugs and cam? Shoule I put any oil on it or leave it dry? Sorry if this seems silly. This is a 30-06 hunting rifle I expect to go to 250 with maybe a little more but not a match rifle. Still I want to treat it as well as reasonably possible.

And I have read a lot of the back and forth on the break in... I think I will take the time to follow the longer process since I can;t go back if I change my mind later.

Any other advice you have on the bolt action would be great. I am mainly a shotgunner.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I'd check the owner's manual or Remington's site for information and lube it (or not) according to their instructions. If they don't specify exactly, I don't see any real problem with your method.

[MISteve]

Thanks again, the book says nothing about bolt lubrication unless I missed it.

Your name is making me go take a couple of casts at lunch.

[Brian Pfleuger]

:D

They are my father's, mother's, uncle's, as best I can tell. :)

[dgludwig]

I take it they don't live in Akron, Ohio anymore? :)

[Brian Pfleuger]

The family was originally in Western NY. As I understand it, a brother or two went down to Ohio and started the company and at some point a couple more of them were headed down to help and were killed in a car accident. I'm not really sure though, never been able to verify it, even that we're related for sure. My father's name is Ernest though, which is the name of the guy who started the company and my grandmother said dad was named after him.

Kind of a mystery. There's also a side story (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/h/e/Christine-L-Sherman/index.html) (verified) that my great-great grandfather was the tax collector in a small town in NY ( Cattaraugus, then called Black Rock) and at some point he stole the tax money and left. Census records then show him in Ohio, so I always wondered if there was a connection there.

So... guns... uh, yeah.... lube that rifle!

[JimPage]

I'd be very cautious about lubing the inner workings of the bolt. There numerous stories of firing pins not moving because of stiffened oil in cold weather.

[big al hunter]

My hunting buddies son was in camp a few years ago. He was visibly upset when I returned for lunch. He had tried to sight in his bolt action rifle that morning and it would only fire every 3rd or 4th time he pulled the trigger. I asked him to show me the cartridges that did not fire. Each had a light strike. I asked him if he cleaned it recently. "Yes every time I shoot it I clean and oil it." I asked if he oiled the bolt and firing pin. "Every time I clean it". I asked if he wanted to keep it, or sell it. (I don't have a 270) He was going to sell it to me for 40$. I couldn't rip him off like that, so I showed him how to clean the bolt assembly and explained that oil collects dirt and becomes thick. Problem fixed. Don't oil the firing pin, a light coat on the outside of the bolt is advisable.

As for things to do before shooting a new gun,....kiss the wife and say thank you.:D. If you have one.
P.S. it was 60 degrees that day.

[MISteve]

Well I didn't catch anything at lunch with my Pflueger President but I enjoyed the story. :p

So there is no confusion I don't pan on taking the bolt down or oiling the pin. Just the lug surfaces on the outside of the bolt assembly... is that unnecesary?

I should have taken more time when I posted this: http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/bolt-maintenance-methods-materials/

I was just going to do the part under "bolt lubrication" since it is new and skip the first part of the write up. Thanks again everyone for the fast answers.

I think this about sums it up?

"As for things to do before shooting a new gun,....kiss the wife and say thank you" :D I do. She rules. Won't shoot a 20ga. like the rest of "the girls and kids".

[warbirdlover]

Just run a patch or two with solvent down the barrel (toward the end of barrel) and then dry ones. Then one with a little oil on and then a dry one after that. DON'T oil or grease anything on the bolt! If you get in cold weather it won't function (freeze up)! I use the KISS method (keep it simple stupid).... :D

[ndking1126]

A few wet then dry patches down the barrel, a few dry fires to get used to the trigger and make sure the safety works properly.

Get to the range, load a few bullets and get us a range report.

Have fun and be safe!

[natman]

The links shows the important spots to lubricate a bolt: the rear of the lugs, the cocking cam, the extraction cam. They should all get some grease.

The firing pin should get a drop or two of oil. It's not 1937 any more, it's not hard to find an oil that won't gum up in any weather. Try Triflow (http://www.triflowlubricants.com/Tri-Flow_Superior_Aerosol_Lubricant.html) or Breakfree (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/770845/break-free-lubricant-and-preservative-gun-oil-4-oz-liquid).

You should give a new gun barrel a thorough cleaning to get all the manufacturing grit out of it before it gets mashed into the barrel by firing. I once pushed 16" of red grease out of the barrel of a new Zastava 223; I hate to think what would have happened if I'd fired it first!

[MISteve]

Excellent guys thanks again. I will give you a report but I will note, I am a good hunter but not world beater marksman.