You guys are over thinking this. It is a known and common problem with the 788 .308. They would jam up and people would break the bolt off trying to open them. It's not hard to find a 788 .308 that has been repaired or is missing the bolt because of this issue. Take the gun to a smith that has knowledge of this issue with this gun. If the smith hasn't touched a 788 take it to a different guy.

I took the bolt out and put some hoppes 9 on the extractor and worked the extractor in-out with a small pick and let it set overnight. I then sprayed the extractor with carburetor cleaner and let it dry. I put a drop of gun oil on the extractor and took it out shot it. It was easier to close the bolt when loading a bullet. But it wasn’t ejecting the shell very well. After about 10-15 shots it was easy to close the bolt and it was ejecting shells properly. I hope this helps someone else with this problem and if not I would have the extractor replaced. Thanks for all your help guys.

Good deal, they need to be free to move.

I always like follow up posts with the results. I have a few 788s so this is good information

Check the serial # on the bolt to the serial # on the receiver for a match. I have seen where people take a few guns apart and mix up the bolts.