View Full Version : Remington 511 problem
There seems to be some Remington 500 series fans out there. Perhaps someone is familiar with this problem: Years ago I picked up a used 511x for $75. It is wicked good accurate. About every 10th time the bolt is cycled it wants to come back out of the rifle. What is the likely worn part and source to replace?
Thanks! Jebb
"Wicked good accurate?'! Well, they didn't name it SCOREMASTER for nothing. Your issue is likely related to the sear which does double duty serving as the bolt stop too. 1st things 1st, have you removed the action from the stock and degreased, or otherwise cleaned out, the trigger group mechanism and lightly re-oiled? My best guess would be that the trigger return spring & plunger is cruded up with dried oil and old powder/dirt. The sear is connected by a link to the trigger.
when the trigger is fully returned to its resting position by the trigger return spring, the sear is in its full & upright position where it can function as the bolt stop. If the trigger doesn't fully return to its proper resting position the sear is not fully raised and the bolt might not catch on it when pulled back to eject a spent round. If, after making certain the mechanism is cleaned and properly oiled, the problem persists, it could a weak trigger spring not returning the trigger, or that somebody has filed the sear down to the point that it is occasionally bypassed by the bolt even though it is up as far as it will go. Check out the Remington section at www.gunpartscorp.com. They have an online, schematic 511 drawing and most of whatever parts you may need.
Thank you, that makes perfect sense. I looked at the schematic, boy there are a lot of little parts that are enclosed within the box, and not easy to get to. I couldn't find any online videos on disassembly of the 500 family- tho many proud owners posted shooting videos.
Should I do the best I can w/ Qtips and spray in solvent, let dry & spray in Rem oil, or is disassembly easier than it looks? The way it's all enclosed, I can't even see the spring.
Jebb
Thank you, that makes perfect sense. I looked at the schematic, boy there are a lot of little parts that are enclosed within the box, and not easy to get to. I couldn't find any online videos on disassembly of the 500 family- tho many proud owners posted shooting videos.
Should I do the best I can w/ Qtips and spray in solvent, let dry & spray in Rem oil, or is disassembly easier than it looks? The way it's all enclosed, I can't even see the spring.
Jebb
For starters Jebb, I'd just BLAST it out with solvent (my preference is automotive brake cleaner using the "straw" nozzle). Take the bolt & clip out of course, point the muzzle upward and keep the "box" toward the ground, no point in running the crud into the receiver. Spray it good, work the mechanism while it's wet with solvent, and spray again. allow it to dry and lightly spray oil and drain if required.
The mechanism really isn't all that complicated once you get into it. You need to drift out one pin and remove a couple of machine screws. I did it to mine several years ago as I wanted to stone the sear a bit. Nonetheless, if you don't need to take it apart to fix your problem then I wouldn't get into I if all it needs is a good cleaning.
Have you observed if the trigger returns fully forward to its stop point every time you release it? There should be enough force in the trigger return spring so that if you let the trigger slip of your finger when its fully rearward, it should fly forward with enough force to cause and audible "snap or clunk" when it dead ends at its fully forward point. If you observe a sluggish or slow return, or maybe it doesn't even go fully forward, then something is jamming it up, likely crud or a weak spring, the trigger is sticking on the pin that runs through I, ect. NOTE: do you see any evidence on the afore mentioned pin or screws that somebody has been in there previously? While you're at it, you might want to clean out the bolt in the area of the two extractors. NOTE that there is a RIGHT and LEFT extractor. You remove them by tapping out the pin that holds each in place. I don't know if you want to disassemble the bolt further, I'd just flush it out good with a spray blast.
If you determine that the trigger is fully functional and the sear is being properly positioned, then the next thing I'd look at is the sear itself. Looking into the rear of my receiver with the axis of the bore about as level to the ground as I can eye ball it, it looks as though the top of the sear is just about even with the bottom edge of the chamber. The forward edge of the sear has a good point to it so as to snag the inside of the bolt to keep it from coming out. If that forward point has been worn/broken off there could be bevel that allows the bolt to over ride the sear. Of course that would be a sign of abuse as you'd really have to rack the bolt harshly in order to dull or break off that point. I suppose the final thing I'd look at is the under surface of the bolt which contacts the sear point, but I can't imagine that that area could be damaged to the point of being the problem.
Jebb,
If you think that the sear may be an issue, check out the pics on the Gun Parts Corp site. Part Key 36A shows a complete trigger assy with the sear having the forward point I previously mentioned. Part Key # 35 shows just the sear itself, but apparently a redesigned unit in which they've eliminated the "point" and substituted a "flat" stop surface. From the looks of it, the redesigned unit looks to be less susceptible to breakage from abuse. At any rate, those pics give you a good idea as to what a serviceable sear looks like for comparison to your own.
Hello KCW,
Excellent suggestions. I went out this morning and bought the brake spray. Using a really bright flashlight and magnifying glasses, I could look down into the trigger group and see that it was a bit crudded up. I took the scope off and gave it a good double flushing, using Q-tip and dental pick in between. After drying I sprayed w/ Rem-oil. The trigger and sear snap back pretty crisply. I won't know till I put some lead downrange, but I'm pretty optimistic problem solved. If not I will know how to procede. Thanks for all your efforts!
Jebb
Jebb,
I don't believe that this issue requires range time. Assuming that you have the same sear design as my rifle ( with a point toward the muzzle), you'll note that when looking into the rear end of the receiver (with bolt out of course) that the sear rises up fairly tight against the left side of the receiver, but then angles toward the center axis of the receiver. If you then look at the underside of the bolt, you'll note that immediately rearward of the extractors there is a "mullion" about 1/8" wide and 7/8" long machined into center underside the bolt. The rearward end of this "mullion" is suppose engage the point of the sear when the bolt is drawn rearward and effectively stop the bolt from moving any further rearward UNLESS you purposely pull the trigger in an effort to remove the bolt. If you view the bolt from the side in the area of the rearward end of the mullion you'll note the machined wedge shaped slot cut that runs clear across the diameter of the bolt. My understanding is that the point of the sear is suppose to engage into the machined wedge at the rear end of the mullion when the bolt is drawn fully rearward during spent round ejection. I suspect, assuming that the trigger is fully returning to its normal resting position as you note, that either the point of the sear and/or the rear "lip" on the bolt is worn/chipped so that the sear occasionally cams UNDER the rear edge of the bolt mullion , thus forcing the sear downward and releasing the bolt as the bolt is drawn rearward in an attempt to eject a spent round. My hunch is that Gun Part company's apparently redesigned sear (part key # 35) addresses the worn sear point/worn bolt issue altogether by having a flat engagement surface which is far less susceptible to the previously mentioned wear issues. If you do determine that wear is indeed the problem you'll be taking the assembly apart, in which case I'd order what appears to be the updated sear design and be done with it. HOPEFULLY however you're going to find that all you needed was a good cleaning.
Well Sir,
I'll take any excuse to go to the range. The 511 is SO accurate, however the bolt did dismount about 2 out of 50 times, in spite of the cleaning. I already ordered the Gun Digest book of rimfire rifle disassembly and will order the trigger spring & sear from GunParts but it does note "fitting req'd". Not sure what that entails. Any other parts routinely changed out? I guess the rifle is almost 50, a little TLC is warranted. Your information much appreciated.
jebb
Well Sir,
I'll take any excuse to go to the range. The 511 is SO accurate, however the bolt did dismount about 2 out of 50 times, in spite of the cleaning. I already ordered the Gun Digest book of rimfire rifle disassembly and will order the trigger spring & sear from GunParts but it does note "fitting req'd". Not sure what that entails. Any other parts routinely changed out? I guess the rifle is almost 50, a little TLC is warranted. Your information much appreciated.
jebb
I'm not certain as to what fitting is required altogether, but I think that if you're going to order the re-designed sear you'll also need part # 37 -Sear Stud. From the looks of part number 36A,( the complete trigger-sear assembly with the older type sear) the sear stud is actually a soft rivet. If that's in fact the case you'll need to drill out the old rivet from your current trigger assembly and install the new one. (NOTE: Part # 36A, the complete trigger-sear assy, DOES NOT indicate fitting required. This leads me to believe that the installation of the rivet is the issue with the lone sear part) I'd take a good look at the older setup before I proceeded to disassemble it. Obviously, if it is a rivet, you'll want to make certain that you don't mash on it too heavily so as to expand the rivet shoulder that the trigger and sear must freely pivot upon. You might also have file off some excess rivet on the pounded side so that the assembly will slip into the thin space allowed in the receiver. Here again, an examination of the trigger-stud-sear relationship on the original assembly should provide the needed info to proceed. Commonly too, a gunsmith will "stone" the sear engagement surface (in this case the BACK of sear where it contacts the underside of the bolt) to smooth out the factory finish a bit. FYI- The SCOREMASTER was made from 1939-1963 so yours is 50 years old anyway. On the left side of the barrel, just forward of the receiver, you'll find a two or three letter sequence. That's the month an year and manufacturer code, If you're interested in the birthdate of your rifle. post those letters and I'll compare it to the Remington code list.
Sorry for delay in reply, spent a couple days in hospital getting spine surgery. Based on the above, for $10 more, think it wise to get the whole trigger group. I have the .22 disassembly book on order and will make a stab at it, if I have to take a shoe box of parts to the gunsmith, so be it, the rifle is worthy. I did some reading and the 511x was made at he end of the production run, 65-66. The coding on mine comes back to 09/65. I have been getting good input here and am about to soon post about another favorite .22 rifle/tool question.
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