Savage bolt gun problem - Any ideas????

[IEShooter]

Bought a 10FCP-K about 6 months ago. First two times out, the chamber was very, very tight. About 20% of the time, fired cases would stick in the chamber requiring me to whack the bolt to eject them. I was shooting Federal GMM and Black Hills match along with some Hornady match in an effort to find out what it prefers.

Finally, the bolt would not close fully on a freshly chambered round, or even without a round in the chamber. Something had broken.

Sent it back to Savage and their repair order said "replaced mis. bolt parts and polished chamber".

Took it out yesterday for the first time and now, the gun chambers FGMM and Hornady Super Performance match and ejects them smoothly. No problems there.

However, after about 30 rounds it did the same thing where the bolt would not fully close on a fresh round in the chamber. Tried about 10 times and no go. Bolt slides home and the handle rotates down about 1/2 way, then no further.

Brought it home intending to ship it back again, and while cleaning it, noticed that the bolt will now close on a chambered round. I'll probably take it out again today to see if it is okay.

My question is, what is the likely cause of this? Is it something that I can fix or perhaps buy a replacement part for?

Worst case is I'll send it back to Savage a second time and once I get it back just sell it. I'd really prefer not to as the gun shoots very accurately and I like the set up with the brake, fluted 24" bull barrel and soft felt recoil.

Any ideas?

[dynamomark80]

I would have Savage fix it again or replace it. Urge them to replace it for a new one but they may want you to add some money.

I would not sell it like this or after it is supposedly fixed for the 2nd time. Just bad karma to sell a possibly defective gun. If you do sell it clearly state it has had problems while you owned it.

[baih777]

Go to ammo bros and pick up two boxes of americn eagle. 308. I have the same rifle. This ammo and PRVI match does not do that in mine. When i shoot surplus ammo it happens. Also after shooting scrub the chamber area as well.

[BSlacker]

Tight chamber. Shoot until it is sticky remove that round and then remove the bolt and clean the chamber. If the sticky round now chambers well then there you go. A tight chamber plus a little junk.

[IEShooter]

Chamber

Go to ammo bros and pick up two boxes of americn eagle. 308. I have the same rifle. This ammo and PRVI match does not do that in mine. When i shoot surplus ammo it happens. Also after shooting scrub the chamber area as well.

What are you using to scub the chamber?

[baih777]

What are you using to scub the chamber?

I just happen to have a brush from my pistol cleaning kit that works. When it was new i actually put a light film of oil on the cartidriges.

[Rust]

Sounds like it's set to minimum headspace and as fouling builds up on the shoulder area of the chamber it's causing the bolt to stick. Normally that's something a shooter would look for since if you're reloading for it your brass will get worked less and last longer. And it will likely shoot a little better since there is less room for the case to move around causing misalignment with the bore. Chances are what Savage did the first time was to replace the bolt head with one that would give a tiny bit more headspace but sounds like it's still on the tight side. If thats the case it will break in a little with firing/cycling the action as the bolt lugs and lug recess set back from recoil. But the set back will be minimal so it may not cure the problem on its own. When you're cleaning try to get a brush or some q-tips into the lug recess in the receiver and make sure you're getting all the fouling out of there too as it will only compound the problem.
Mechanically the only thing I can think of off the top of my head that would cause those problems would be a sticking extractor or ejector. But I doubt either of them are to blame. Try covering a fired case with sharpie and chambering it. Run the bolt up and down a few times without pulling it back, then eject it and see if you can see any rings where the bullet was contacting the chamber. Likely it will either be rubbing right at the neck/shoulder junction or on the shoulder itself (where the headspace is actually set off of).

[IEShooter]

Sounds like it's set to minimum headspace and as fouling builds up on the shoulder area of the chamber it's causing the bolt to stick. Normally that's something a shooter would look for since if you're reloading for it your brass will get worked less and last longer. And it will likely shoot a little better since there is less room for the case to move around causing misalignment with the bore. Chances are what Savage did the first time was to replace the bolt head with one that would give a tiny bit more headspace but sounds like it's still on the tight side. If thats the case it will break in a little with firing/cycling the action as the bolt lugs and lug recess set back from recoil. But the set back will be minimal so it may not cure the problem on its own. When you're cleaning try to get a brush or some q-tips into the lug recess in the receiver and make sure you're getting all the fouling out of there too as it will only compound the problem.
Mechanically the only thing I can think of off the top of my head that would cause those problems would be a sticking extractor or ejector. But I doubt either of them are to blame. Try covering a fired case with sharpie and chambering it. Run the bolt up and down a few times without pulling it back, then eject it and see if you can see any rings where the bullet was contacting the chamber. Likely it will either be rubbing right at the neck/shoulder junction or on the shoulder itself (where the headspace is actually set off of).

My instincts tell me that this is the issue. When shooting yesterday I did notice that the action now cycles much more smoothly than when new. This, after Savage polished the chamber. I went and cleaned it really well and checked the spent brass. It all looks fine with no dents or markings on it.

Took your advice and painted a spent case with a sharpie and cycled the bolt 5 or 6 times then ejected it. Almost no marks on it at all, but there was a very faint and uniform ring at the shoulder where it meats the main body of the case.



Unfortunately, I didn't make it back out today, so it'll have to wait until next weekend.

[Rob454]

Took your advice and painted a spent case with a sharpie and cycled the bolt 5 or 6 times then ejected it. Almost no marks on it at all, but there was a very faint and uniform ring at the shoulder where it meats the main body .

My savage does the exact thing with ammo. Leaves a ring. Does it both with or brass or steel ammo. I guess you can have a gunsmith readjust the head spacing. It doesn't seem to hurt the gun. Back when my gun was chambered in 30-06 when I shot any surplus brass ammo I had a heck of a time opening the bolt. With more modern ammo I had no issues. I just swapped to 308 barrel and it now leaves a ring on the ammo. I haven't shot it yet been too busy with work and stuff.

[wweigle]

Does your rifle have a barrel nut or is it pressed into the receiver. I believe if you have the barrel nut method of attaching the barrel like the 110 series rifles you can adjust the head space slightly, rather than having to ream the chamber to enlarge it.

[Rob454]

Does your rifle have a barrel nut or is it pressed into the receiver. I believe if you have the barrel nut method of attaching the barrel like the 110 series rifles you can adjust the head space slightly, rather than having to ream the chamber to enlarge it.

Mine has he barrel nut. Yeah I can adjust it slightly the head space is pretty tight right now