Remington 700AL 30-06 magazine feed problem

[twocan]

I just purchased a used 700ADL in .30-06 caliber that was made in 1990.

The gun appears to have an unsteady spring that pushes the magazine follower up to feed the cartridges. It is almost acts like a see saw.

If I load the shells by pushing down and to the rear (as I do in my Savage Model 110), the magazine follower tends to rock down to the rear and the bolt does not reach the rear edge of the shell to push it into the chamber. When it does catch the edge, the shell tends to misfeed high with the point rising out of the receiver.

If I load it to the front of the magazine the first shell seems to be ok, but after that the rest tend to rock back also.

Could someone tell me if this indicates that the magazine spring (W shaped) has lost its power?

Also, it is difficult to reassemble the stock to the barrel and get the lower end of th spring to stay in the indentation in the stock which would hold the lower end more towards the back.

All of the components (magazine, spring and follower) look like new, but I have been unable to load a full magazine of 4 into the chamber without one or two misfeeds out of the four.

Is this a common problem?

Capt. Art

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[atctimmy]

It sounds like it is in backwards. Try reversing the spring and follower. If that doesn't work see a gunsmith.

[HotGuns]

It is not a common problem.

The leaf spring should be inserted in bottom of the follower.

The follower should be guided by a black metal box. If this box is left out, it will do exactly as described and the shell plate will be very loose, moving all over the place. You can get enough spring tension on it to load a round or two, but after that its really hit or miss and totally unreliable.

The metal box acts as a guide for the follower which will not teeter totter, even when no shells are in it. The box can pop off when the gun is taken out of its stock and if not replaced the follower never will feed like it should.

The first thing to to is to make sure that it is there. If it is, the next thing to do is to make sure it is properly seated.

[twocan]

Comparing photos from another 700ADL I noticed that the correct spring placement was to the rear of the magazine follower whereas mine was all the way forward.

Once I repositioned the magazine spring to the rear, it loads fine.

Thanks for your great advice.

[HotGuns]

The easy fixes are the best kind.