Please school me on this. I have a .280 Rem model 700 Mountain rifle. Bought it new in '90 or '91. Worked normally until 2000 when on an elk hunt I shot at a bull, cycled the bolt, went to fire again and nothing happened. Upon further inspection I noticed the firing pin did not cock. Thankfully, after a few cycles of the bolt it did cock, and I ended up with a bull, however, it nearly cost me big time.

I tried to troubleshoot the .280 but had no luck. I disassembled the bolt completely, thinking it was dirty or gunked up, but after a thorough cleaning it made no difference. The non-cocking issue is random. I never know when it is going to work, or when it won't. At the time I had a new .300 RUM on order (even before my beloved .280 began to fail me), and since that time I've been using my Ultra Mag. I cleaned the .280 and it's been in my safe ever since.

Now my kids are old enough to shoot/hunt and I want to figure out the .280 issue. Like I said, the non-cocking is random. I can cycle and dry fire the rifle 8-10 times no problem and then on the next cycle it won't cock. Or maybe it will work for 3 cycles and then not on the 4th. No pattern.

What do I need to do? Please help!

Thanks in advance

Have you replaced the firing pin and associated parts? Now may be a good time to pick up the Ti pin and springs. If you've cleaned everything out, and detail stripped the bolt, I'd replace those parts, and then look at other related wear points.

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The bolt assembly may not be the problem.

I have seen this condition on a 700 and a '84-era 78 Sportsman when the trigger is adjusted too lightly (or the adjustment screw works loose) or the sear engagement screw is mis-adjusted. The trigger return spring is between the adjustment screw and the trigger body so the more the trigger is lightened, the weaker the trigger return gets. The weapon does cock when the bolt is raised but when the bolt is lowered the trigger and the sear "miss" each other and the weapon de-cocks.

On the older 700 trigger group there's a hole on the right side of the group behind the safety lever that serves as a little window on the engagement point between the trigger and the sear. Try this, raise the bolt, push the trigger forward, then lower the bolt. If it engages every time when you do that then one (or both) of those screws may be the issue.

kendall