Just curious.............why do you want to lock the bolt ???

tcknight, what vintage of 700 do you have ? If the bolt is milled for the bolt locking safety, a simple swap with an older safety will do the trick. I will try to post pics when I modify my 1997 vintage bolt to lock with the older safety. As far as I know, all 700 receivers are still milled for the bolt locking safety, but I could be wrong. The newest 700 I have is the 1997 vintage one I am planning on modifying.

roklok wrote:

tcknight, what vintage of 700 do you have ?

Not quit sure but purchased it in about 2000 I think. The bolt does not lock on it.

I kid you not, this feature(less) has cost me more than one buck and a few other harvestables.

tcknight, I doubt the bolt will be milled for the locking safety if you bought it new in 2000. I believe the receiver is though. If you remove the bolt and look at the right side of sear assembly from the top, it should have a gap between the trigger assembly and the receiver wall. This milled out clearance in the receiver is what allows the bolt lock to engage the bolt.

If you are not able to find an original older 700 safety with the bolt lock safety, this one is available from Brownells:

www.brownells.com/.asp...ION_SAFETY

It locks the bolt, but has a feature that allows unloading with safety on.

I much prefer a locking bolt for any important hunting, for the reasons you stated. My 270, I have not yet converted, because the bolt is not milled for the locking safety. I plan to tackle the project within the next month, will post the results.

man oh man
most of us kiwis have grown up hunting with a half open bolt I have a great 3 possition safety on my winchester mod 70 lightwieght but the only time I ever use it is when ready to take a shot and pause for some reason, like to wait for deer to move clear of a bush. the rifle stays in half open/closed bolt most of the time unless scrambling through thick crap or climbing with both hands. From memory Ive lost 3-4 rounds over the years from bolt flicking open but never even looked likeloosing an animal by not being fast enough to close bolt and fire. the only thing faster for me is cocking the hammer on a lever.(yea bushy I do miss the 30/30 sometimes)

NULA and Gentry make Winchester type safties for the 700. I see it as a non-issue.

roklok wrote:

I much prefer a locking bolt for any important hunting, for the reasons you stated.

I missed something somewhere .......what reasons ???


I've been hunting with 700's for about 25 years now.........never had a bolt come open on me. Can't understand why so many others seem to have this issue !!!

Me either

chambered221 wrote:

roklok wrote: I much prefer a locking bolt for any important hunting, for the reasons you stated. I missed something somewhere .......what reasons ??? I've been hunting with 700's for about 25 years now.........never had a bolt come open on me. Can't understand why so many others seem to have this issue !!!

I agree with you, got almost 40 years hunting under my belt and have never snagged anything to open my rifles bolt. Been to 8 states in the US plus 2 trips Canada, 2 trips to Alaska and 1 with the wife to Africa for plains game. I have Remington's, Winchesters, Savage and 1 Weatherby and have never snagged a bolt open during hunting.

I have never lost an opportunity because of a bolt coming open, but I have had numerous occasions where the bolt coming open caused issues. On a horseback elk hunt, the scabbard for the rifle secured the rifle by a flap that closed over bolt handle. I was using my Rem 700 before I installed the older bolt lock safety, and the bolt would come open, rendering the scabbards retention device ineffective, with the risk of losing rifle.

On sheep hunts here in Alaska, rifles are often carried on a pack, with a walking or "trekking" stick in each hand. In open areas, I usually carry with chamber empty, but in thick willow brush in the river bottoms, where a grizzly encounter can happen in fractions of a second, I carry with a round in chamber. Many times, after fighting through tangles of willow brush, I have come out on the other side to discover my bolt is open. My .270 is my sheep rifle, and is the one that I plan on modifying the bolt to accept the locking safety. If the bolt was factory milled like my earlier 700s , I would have a bolt lock safety installed on it long ago.

A smaller issue, but a good reason none the less, is that I am a bit obsessive compulsive. I am the type to check 3 times to make sure that my alarm clock is set, stove burners are off, doors are locked, etc. I find that while hunting with rifles without a locking bolt, I am constantly checking to see if bolt is closed. With a rifle that locks shut, I dont have to worry about it. I can spend my time triple checking the rest of my gear

I find it really sad that so many gun owners have sided with MSNBC on this issue. Universally I find that most are uninformed and don't want to hear the truth.

Swampman wrote:

I find it really sad that so many gun owners have sided with MSNBC on this issue. Universally I find that most are uninformed and don't want to hear the truth.

1) it was CNBC not MSNBC

2) only two people so far have sided with CNBC, the rest of us told them to go jump

3) we have gotten off topic because myself and roklok have had issues with the bolt coming open on a hunt...NOT with accidental firing which is what the CNBC story was about.

4) before making comments, it would pay to read the whole discussion from the beginning

chambered221 wrote:

roklok wrote: I much prefer a locking bolt for any important hunting, for the reasons you stated. I missed something somewhere .......what reasons ???

Few entries back Chambered I was ranting about my bolt coming slightly open during hunting which has cost me shots because the gun will not fire unless the bolt is solid closed.

Some have said they never had this problem. Assuming they are using the later models which do not lock the bolt when on safe, then they do not hunt like I do. I have killed somewhere around 140 deer with first my 788 and then my Model 700. I hunt in some of the roughest places on earth, spend many hours crawling under green briar, through plum thickets, wading rivers and creeks, etc. Never been one to sit in a stand and watch a food plot or a feeder. At times, after dragging the gun through some of this stuff, and taking it off safe to make a shot, the bolt will be slightly elevated from tight down, and when the safety is taken off to fire, the gun will NOT fire. I understand most guys don't treat their guns like this in the field. But my success depends on it.

The last duck hunt I was on two years ago, I had to swim a slough to get up on some woodies. Had to pour the water out of my Browning Citori 525 before I could shoot.

Swampman wrote:

I find it really sad that so many gun owners have sided with MSNBC on this issue. Universally I find that most are uninformed and don't want to hear the truth.

I wasn't talking about this forum.