I just purchased my first weapon, a new 100 ATR 308 the end of February. I took it out of the box and cleaned the barrel, oiled the barrel with Rem Oil, a quick squirt in the magazine and removed and sprayed oil on the bolt. Wiped off any excess oil, worked the bolt several times and it all worked slick as heated ice skate blades on a frozen pond. I did all that based on internet info about new rifles and manufacturing processes and cleaning should be the first thing done. This past weekend (Mar 22 & 23) I went coyote hunting with my friends in south west Pennsylvania. It was 28 degrees in the morning when I shot and zeroed my rifle for the first time.
The first issue was getting 4 cartridges in the magazine, it was difficult and "fiddley", the cartridge had to be in just the right position or it wouldn't go in, then getting all 4 cartridges out. The last cartridge would not feed so I could only put 3 in at any time. After loading only one cartridge at a time and firing 15 times when zeroing the rifle I was surprised to eject a live round, the stuck cartridge.
The next issue was 3 misfires in 10 shots, all the misfired cartridges worked on the second attempt. According to the gun dealer I bought the rifle from and a friend who has alot more experience than I do the dimple in the misfires looked a little shallow. The ammo was Hornady Steel Match 155 grain 308W.
And the third issue was the scope coming loose at the mounting rail. While walking around in wooded areas trying to call coyote for several hours the scope mount came loose twice.
After I got home and the gun had been in the house several hours I successfully put 4 cartridges in the magazine with no problem and worked the bolt to feed and eject all 4 cartridges several times with no problem.
Is this rifle a fair weather shooter only? Was the oil too much? Should I soak the bolt in alcohol to get the oil out? What happened to the magazine? Why would cartridges not feed in the cold and then work fine at home? Should I put thread lock on the scope screws?
The first issue was getting 4 cartridges in the magazine, it was difficult and "fiddley", the cartridge had to be in just the right position or it wouldn't go in, then getting all 4 cartridges out. The last cartridge would not feed so I could only put 3 in at any time. After loading only one cartridge at a time and firing 15 times when zeroing the rifle I was surprised to eject a live round, the stuck cartridge.
The next issue was 3 misfires in 10 shots, all the misfired cartridges worked on the second attempt. According to the gun dealer I bought the rifle from and a friend who has alot more experience than I do the dimple in the misfires looked a little shallow. The ammo was Hornady Steel Match 155 grain 308W.
And the third issue was the scope coming loose at the mounting rail. While walking around in wooded areas trying to call coyote for several hours the scope mount came loose twice.
After I got home and the gun had been in the house several hours I successfully put 4 cartridges in the magazine with no problem and worked the bolt to feed and eject all 4 cartridges several times with no problem.
Is this rifle a fair weather shooter only? Was the oil too much? Should I soak the bolt in alcohol to get the oil out? What happened to the magazine? Why would cartridges not feed in the cold and then work fine at home? Should I put thread lock on the scope screws?
