Stuck bolt release

Okay, so I messed up. I attempted to disassemble my 116 Trophy Hunter XP without reviewing my manual and made two mistakes: I took the bolt out before disassembly, and I pulled the trigger guard screw instead of the rear action screw. I realized my mistake but it was too late.

Now my bolt release (bottom style) isn't engaging anything so I can't get the bolt back in. It also won't move far enough for me to get to the rear action screw, so I can't take the rifle the rest of the way apart.

Any ideas before I take it to a gunsmith?

I don't quite see the problem yet... is the bolt completely out of the action or just part-way?

To install the bolt, you must pull the trigger at the same time, and safety must be "off".

Also, make sure the front baffle is turned properly on the bolt.

The bolt is all the way out, and I can't engage the bolt release to replace it.

bolt release does not need to be pushed to put the bolt in. See #3 with edits.

I swear I tried that. I swear I did. Maybe I wasn't pulling the Accutrigger blade all the way because this time it worked. Thanks.

LOL I had trouble the first few times, never did figure out WHY I had trouble, though. Sometimes it is b/c the safety is on and I can't pull the trigger, but you don't know you're not pulling the trigger when the safety is on. Oh well glad it's back.

BTW, you can remove the bolt before taking the action off. I always do. Just have to take safety off so you can pull the trigger while pushing the bolt release back out of the way of the action screw.

Okay, now I got it in and took the stock off properly, but upon reassembly the trigger won't cock. Something is preventing it from cocking.

is it on half-safety? It is probably already cocked... look at the back of the bolt. If the cocking indicator is protruding from the back of the bolt, it is already cocked. You probably have the safety on half-way. that allows you to open and close the bolt without accidentally dropping the firing pin.

It cocks when I fully cycle the bolt, and I have to do it fairly quickly. If I just open and close the lever, it decocks on the way down.

Trigger set too light.

Probably, at least it's functional now. I'll get it back to top shape another day when I'm less frustrated with myself.