Bolt face diameter's

Some times when considering a re barrel and chamber or cartridge change you need to know what round will work without bolt face and extractor work.

I have a cheat sheet/ready reference and thought I would share it with every anyone
that is interested.

All of these groups of cartridges should interchange without bolt face and extractor
work.( some work on receiver rails may be needed to improve feeding ).

As far as wild cats what ever the parent case was it should work in the action listed.

I know this list is not complete but it's close. I up dated the list with some of the newer cartridges to help decide.

Short actions with a bolt face .Dia of .384 +/-
17 Rem, 204 Ruger. 222 Remington, 223 Rem, 20 Nosler, 22 Nosler, and 24 Nosler.

Short actions with a bolt face .Dia of .470 +/-
225 Winchester, 22/250 Remington, 6mm Norma BR, 243 Win, 6mm Creedmoor, 250 Savage, 260 Rem, 6.5/284 Norma, 6.5 Creedmoor 7/08 Rem, 284 win, 300 Savage, 308 Win, 338 Federal, 35 Rem, and the 358 Winchester.

Short actions with a bolt face .Dia of .540+/-
223 WSSM, 243 WSSM, 25 WSSM, 6.5 x 300 Weatherby, 6.5 PRC, 7mm Rem saum, 7mm WSM, 300 Rem saum, 300 WSM, 325 WSM, 350 Legend and the 350 Rem Mag.

Long actions with a bolt face .DIA of .470 +/-
220 Swift, 6mm Rem, 240 Weatherby Mag, 257 Roberts, 25-06 Rem,
6.5x55 Swedish, 270 Win, 7x57 Mauser, 7x64 Brenneke, 280 Rem, 30/06 Springfield, 8mm Mauser, 338/06 A Square, and the 35 Whelen.

Long actions with a bolt face .Dia of .540 +/-
257 Weatherby, 264 Win Mag, 270 Weatherby Mag, 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm Weatherby Mag, 7 STW, 7mm Rem Ultra Mag, 300 H & H, 300 Win Mag, 300 PRC, 300 Weatherby Mag, 300 RUM, 303 Brit ,8mm Rem Mag, 338 Win Mag, 340 Weatherby Mag, 338 RUM, 375 H & H, 375 Weatherby, 375 RUM, 416 Rem Mag, 458 Win Mag, and the 458 Lott.

Long actions with a bolt face .Dia of .585 +/-
30/378 Weatherby, 338 Lapua, 338/378 Weatherby, 378 Weatherby mag, 416 Rigby, 416 Weatherby Mag, 460 Weatherby Mag, and the 470 Nitro Express.

I hope this information helps in deciding what your next build will be and minimize some of the cost.

J E CUSTOM

that was vary good I was going to do something like that but cant afford it going to re crown it. The question I got is? What does lapping the lugs do and what about a jeweled bolt

Hey you forgot the PPC

Thanks for the info, saves a lot of thinking, which in my case isnt a good idea

cva54 said:

that was vary good I was going to do something like that but cant afford it going to re crown it. The question I got is? What does lapping the lugs do and what about a jeweled bolt

Click to expand...

Lapping the recoil lugs increases the contact to 100% between the bolt and the recever.
this helps prevent the bolt from moving when fired and distributes the loading of the bolt
and recever equally improving accuracy.

It also smoothes the surface so the bolt will ingauge and dis-ingauge easer.

But I don't recomend lapping unless you can lapp before final head space or you will increase
head space to an unexceptable amount.

If the head space "Is" tight then lapping will loosen it .

Jeweling the bolt helps hold oil/lubricants on moving parts and also makes it look better.


J E CUSTOM

eddybo said:

Hey you forgot the PPC

Thanks for the info, saves a lot of thinking, which in my case isnt a good idea

Click to expand...

Thanks Eddybo !!!!

The reason it's not on my list is because it is based on the old 220 russian case and falls
between the bolt face dia of .384 and .470 ( it is .445 and is to loose in the .470 face )
so you must open up the .384 to get proper extraction.

Thanks
J E CUSTOM

Thanks for posting this thread... Very useful

J E -

A quick question...what is the estimated cost to change a .540 bolt face to a .470 bolt face, say on a LA Winchester Model 70? I'm shopping for a Win Mod 70 stainless steel to build a 338-06 AI on and I'm finding a good many 7mm, 300 WM and .338 WM versions for sale. Not finding too many used SS 30-06, .270, 25-06, etc.

Thanks!

Scott,

You would actually have to replace the bolt. You can remove material from a bolt face, but cannot do the opposite.

There are companies like PTG make replacement bolts for Remington push-feed rifles (700, etc...). You may want to contact them to see if they could manufacture a bolt for a Model 70. if it's a post 64 push-feed, I bet they could.

I would definately wait for a .30-06 to come along to build off of if you are wanting a .338-06. The cost of a replacement bolt is very high.

Savages are a good choice from going to a larger bolt face to a smalller one, they hace a pinned bolt that is able to trade the bolt head. A convenient and successful design.

Dan

Scott S said:

J E -

A quick question...what is the estimated cost to change a .540 bolt face to a .470 bolt face, say on a LA Winchester Model 70? I'm shopping for a Win Mod 70 stainless steel to build a 338-06 AI on and I'm finding a good many 7mm, 300 WM and .338 WM versions for sale. Not finding too many used SS 30-06, .270, 25-06, etc.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Scott

I would'nt consider any welding on the bolt face area because of the heat damage
potential.

Not much can go wrong with a mod 70 action so if you find a used hunting rifle the
action should be in good shape ( Most hunting rifles will have less than a 1000
rounds fired in them no matter how old they are).

Find an action with the .540 bolt face and you will be set. Or depending on how much
you have to pay for the action you might want to check on an after market bolt.

When opening up a bolt face you don't change the metallurgy or the strength of the
locking lugs .

welding or soldering on the back of a bolt ( Like bolt handles )under controled conditions
is ok because they don't take the stress that the recoil lugs and bolt face does.

J E CUSTOM

Thanks,

Great information to have.

Paul

Thanks Dan & J E. I appreciate the responses. I don't have to have one today but I'd like to try to locate a used .270 or 30-06 to build the 338-06AI on in the next couple of months. I currently have a Win Mod 70 CRF featherweight in 30-06 but I want to keep it. Besides, it is a blued gun with wood stock and is a very nice rifle. I want to go with a stainless action and barrel this time with a composite stock. The 338-06AI will allow me to use my 30-06 brass and will also give me a good punch with a 200-250 gr .338 bullet.

I like the Savage's but really prefer a CRF rifle and don't want to go with a Ruger. I've got about $1200 to go towards it, not counting the scope, so I hope to find a used rifle for about $600-$700.

Guys, on the Rem 700, can one simply swap bolt assemblies to go up or down in bolt face dimensions in the same action or is there something to prevent this? Of course the lugs would have to be lapped in the new action, but as long as a new barrel will be installed (and head spaced) afterwards, is there any other concerns that would make this undesirable?

rm76 said:

Guys, on the Rem 700, can one simply swap bolt assemblies to go up or down in bolt face dimensions in the same action or is there something to prevent this? Of course the lugs would have to be lapped in the new action, but as long as a new barrel will be installed (and head spaced) afterwards, is there any other concerns that would make this undesirable?

Click to expand...

None as far as the bolt if it is a good fit and all the other work you mentioned is done.

Depending on what round was used in the action you might have to open up the rails.

J E CUSTOM

J E Custom said:

None as far as the bolt if it is a good fit and all the other work you mentioned is done.

Depending on what round was used in the action you might have to open up the rails.

J E CUSTOM

Click to expand...

Thanks. Can you elaborate some on your last statement? What are the considerations for what rounds need an opening up of the rails and why?