Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

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Niner
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Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by Niner » Thu Dec 23, 2021 1:19 pm

When I was a a kid my dad had a Remington bolt action .22 caliber Scoremaster 511 he bought for his cabin cruiser as an inadvertently hooked shark killer. I learned to shoot a "real" rifle with it and many a chippy fell from the top of trees as a result of a blood thirsty and not sympathetic to wild life childhood. Years ticked by and I saw a 511 at a gun show and plunked down about $150 for the one I have now...which was about ten times what they first sold for in 1939 when they were introduced. The model was a big hit with the public and was made all the way to 1963. Be that as it may, I discovered a problem.

The problem I found was that sometimes when cocking the bolt handle the bolt wouldn't cock. Sometimes, more significantly, the bolt when cocked would fire with little to no pressure on the trigger. I took it to someone who advertised himself as a gunsmith and he charged me a fee and claimed to have fixed it. Well..... not fixed actually. I put the gun away until the other day, several years later, the rifle and the problem came to mind.

I found what I thought was the problem discussed with a Google search. The problem was caused....said the online palaver... was that the sear wasn't locking into the groove on the underside of the bolt. Said cause was that the soft steel sear was being worn down and not locking in because of rough and frequent use. This was happening on the chiseled front end according to some and on the rounded side top edge according to others.

I found a diagram of parts online and proceeded to take the receiver apart. I also looked online for replacement parts and found some sear/trigger assemblies. But I wanted to have a close look at what I had first before ordering anything. However, after taking the receiver apart, the sear didn't look look at all buggered. I did notice the trigger spring was gummed up with grease, although the spring still seemed strong, and I cleaned it up. I put all the parts all back together again.....lot harder than taking the them apart of course. By the way, the hardest part was getting the trigger pin to punch out and go back in, even though I had some gunsmith punches I bought years ago.

When it was all back together successfully the same problems were evident. Then.... I tried keeping pressure on the trigger pushing forward through the cycle of cock and shoot. No failure to cock, although the trigger pressure to fire was still less than it should be. The spring, although seeming to be strong wasn't....or the plunger part that went into the spring was some how bent or compromised. At least that's where I'm at now. Just have to get parts 70 and 71 in the diagram to see how this works.
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Re: Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by Niner » Thu Dec 23, 2021 1:35 pm

Just ordered the spring and "spring plunger" from Numrich. $7.56 in parts. $4.95 in shipping.
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Re: Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by Niner » Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:41 pm

Got the parts. While I was at it I had some Amazon Christmas money left unspent. After looking at my buggered brass pin tools for pushing out rifle pins I figured I'd step up to a better set with an actual gunsmith hammer with multiple heads. It came today. Looks good for not much money. Even if I hardly ever use it, I like having it.
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Re: Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by DuncaninFrance » Thu Jan 06, 2022 4:32 am

Interesting problem. It will be good to see how your repair works out.
Duncan

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Re: Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by Niner » Mon Jan 10, 2022 3:37 pm

I tried my hand at repair today. I took the rifle apart with a video as a little help on the same rifle made as a single shot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VIYVCh6td4

It wasn't hard to take apart. It was a pain in the butt to get several of the pieces all in line to put a couple of screws through in reassembly though.

The largest problem to start with was that the parts I was sent only looked sort of like the parts that were in the gun. The spring sent was shorter the metal bar that linked with the safety was shorter. In the end I put the old spring and safety link back in the rifle. However, after much fiddling and observing what was happening I came to the conclusion that the reason the cocking of the bolt sometimes doesn't lock isn't the safety spring. I'm beginning to think it is wear to the sear, although visual inspection in inconclusive.

It did give me a chance to play with my new gun tools though.
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Re: Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by Niner » Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:31 am

I just ordered what may or may not be a better sear on a trigger. But.... out of several for sale this one was the cheapest. To be continued....
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Re: Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by Niner » Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:40 pm

I got the trigger with sear along with a few odd other parts that I didn't need. I took the receiver guts out and tried replacing the new to me trigger assembly as received. It actually looked unused oddly enough. The sear needed a little file work to fit into the bolt face track. Not totally unexpected. Got that done ... I thought... successfully.

Then I spent the next three or so hours alternately trying to get all of the part holes lined up and looking for the trigger spring that popped out regularly. Finally.... all together.

Result..... same problem as before. I put the rifle away for another day and another chance at guessing what is wrong with something with as few parts as this thing has. It has to be something simple wrong that needs correcting but I don't know what. I'll try it again next time there is a rainy day and there is absolutely nothing I have to do. Maybe the problem is in the bolt itself....although I can't imagine how that could be. :roll:
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Re: Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by Niner Delta » Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:16 pm

You have much more self control than I do. I can't let something mechanical go until I have it fixed.
For some reason I just can't set it aside like it has beaten me. Yes, that sounds stupid, but maybe it was
all those years of having to make sure it works on the job. Production machinery had to be fixed right now.
Or maybe I am a little OCD, but "Fix it or Fuck It", if it can't be fixed throw it away and get another one.


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Re: Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by Niner » Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:13 pm

My mechanical aptitude is sadly lacking. The connection between one part and another is intuitive to some people but I'm not one of them...most of the time. But... if do something in as many wrong ways possible enough different times I sometimes luck into seeing the right solution...or come to the conclusion the problem must be some place else.
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Re: Remington Scoremaster 511 problem

Post by Niner » Thu Aug 17, 2023 12:06 pm

Believe this or not. My last attempt to tinker with the rifle....last year.... was so frustrating getting it all back together again I just stopped and left the pieces that weren't back in the gun in a plastic bag. Yesterday I remembered this project and put it back together again. Still doesn't work right. Maybe the problem is in the bolt. In any case it's all together. :oops:
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