Question about older Rem. 700 BDL

tesoronut

I re-aquired one of my old rifles, a 700bdl that was made back in the early 80's(I think). It's an older one, no doubt. I mounted another scope on it today, but was wondering...did these rifles have the feature in which the bolt handle won't raise when the safety is on? This one in particular will open in either safe or fire. Some of my older Remingtons will, and some won't, so I didn't know if ALL BDL's should have this feature or not. I sold it earlier to the boss, and agreed to buy it back if he didn't like it(dumb me).I remember him telling me that he didn't like that feature, but can't remember if it did or didn't before he got it from me.In other words, could it have been tampered with while in his posession? I've never been real fond of that feature, either, but if it's something to worry about, I'd like to know. Thanks for any comments.

tsr1965

I believe the ones you are referring to that willnot raise the bolt handle when the safe is in the on posistion are the model 721, and 722. To my knowledge, there has never been a bolt lock on the 700, and you can safely unchamber a round with the safe in the on posistion. I once too had an early 80's BDL in 300 Win Mag...wish I still had it.

Bert H.

I still own a 1964 vintage Model 700 BDL (7mm Mag). I will have to check it later this evening to see if the bolt opens with the safety on... I don't remember ever trying it.

freddbear4

I have one,(700 BDL 6mm varmint) Mfg 78 or 79. The bolt will not open in the safe position. The other one (700 classic 6mm) Mfg about 5 years later will open in the safe position. It seems to me that last year Remington offered to convert the older ones for $25 if you took it to a authourized Remington service Rep prior to Jan 1, 2008. Maybe someone else will come along with more info.

tesoronut

Thanks. I have a couple of old 788's, and they have the bolt-lock. I also have a Sportsman 78 that I bought new in '85 that doesn't have it. I just wish I could remember if the 700 locked before letting the boss have it. Should it matter as far as funtionability goes?

tesoronut

Never mind. I think you guys have answered my question. Thanks again for the help!! I do appreciate the info.

JustC

rem 700's were produced BOTH ways. It all depends on the year of manuf.

perry shooter

Hello the the early 700's Lock the bolt is the safety is on this is a very easy fix I took the action out of the stock on all my 700 ADL's & BDL's you will see the safety lever is mounted on the right side of the trigger group. The bolt has a slot in the body and the safety lever has a tap that locks the bolt closed. The safety lever is held on by a very small E CLIP and detented by a small ball . If you remove the E clip and catch tke small ball you can either cut or grind a small amount off of the safety lever tab. it will take less then one minute[^]. I did not like the fact that one had to CYCLE all the ammo out of the magazine of the ADL as most time you unload your rifle when you get back to the truck and other are most likely very close to you while unloading with out the safety being on . Remember to be careful to not lose the small E clip and Ball[:p]