Thanks for the info!
Here's the story. I just bought this rifle at the local pawn shop cheap. it is a 25-06. It is my project gun for my first re-barrel. I am going to build up a 6.5x55. Anyway I did get a box of 25-06 ammo as part of the deal so off to the range. I ran 10 shells through it and the group size was a ridiculous 5.5 to 6 inch group. Oh well, I'm thinking there was a reason I got it cheap and a reason why it got to the pawn shop.

The whole problem with the bolt turned out to be that the from receiver screw was too long causing the bolt to lock up when tightened. I was unaware that could cause the problem I was having. (Thanks again Guys) So that was the reason I found it loose on first dis-assembly. I didn't want to shorten the bolt so I decided to knock out the stock plastic for-end bushing/spacer/washer and dropped in a metal washer as a spacer. This made the bushing stick out past the edge of the for-arm about the thickness of the washer so I then sanded the plastic piece down to get it back to the right length. This worked perfect and was simple to do. Just make sure that you sand the outside of the bushing and not the inside.

Torqued the stock on and went to the range. The group size shrunk to 2.5 inches. It really didn't like the front receiver screw being loose.