Bergara B14R Bolt striker spring

[TAZ1960]

I read a thread somewhere on here number 77, talking about reducing firing pin pressure. My ammo gets hit hard and deep unlike my Savage with a little rectangular impression. I believe there is no need for all that force, and with less force my Bolt would close easier.
Airgu Shawn had mentioned a spring of different material, SS?
Could I get a part number from McMaster Carr? I would really like to try this out. Thanks for anything you have, much appreciated.

 

[TAZ1960]

I read a thread somewhere on here number 77, talking about reducing firing pin pressure. My ammo gets hit hard and deep unlike my Savage with a little rectangular impression. I believe there is no need for all that force, and with less force my Bolt would close easier.
Airgu Shawn had mentioned a spring of different material, SS?
Could I get a part number from McMaster Carr? I would really like to try this out. Thanks for anything you have, much appreciated.

Sorry, forget to mention my make and model, bergara B14R.

 

[Bgriff008]

Curious to follow this thread. I have a B14. And I agree. The bolt closes pretty tight.

 

[Bgriff008]

Crossroads Precision Rifles makes a lighter spring kit for the B14.

 

[357Max]

 

[Bgriff008]

Yes I’m very interested in this. Waiting for them to reply to questions I had.

 

[357Max]

On mine the hard close has little to do with the striker spring. The action timing is the problem.
When closing the bolt the cocking sear drops off the ramp and slams the trigger sear before the lugs are fully on the closing ramps. In essence it half uncocks & then has to recock as your closing the bolt.
Lighter spring will help some sure, but it’s not the main culprit.

Please post your results if you try the lighter spring kit.

 

[chevy_man]

Quit running the gun like a little kid. Run the bolt firmly and without mercy.


Nice firm strikes are not bad. It's a hell of a lot better than light strikes with a rimfire.


I have several Marlin and Savage .22's for the kids. None of them are half as smooth as my Bergara.


If you want something better, it's time to find a Vudoo or Rim-x.

 

[TAZ1960]

Sorry I can't find any website on Crossroads Precision Rifles for ordering parts, only Facebook stuff.

 

[tnc]

[email protected]

I found this email address for him

 

[Bgriff008]

Sorry I can't find any website on Crossroads Precision Rifles for ordering parts, only Facebook stuff.

Correct. FB page is all I found. They have email and phone number to contact them.

 

[TAZ1960]

Thanks, I will try [email protected]

 

[shoot4fun]

Thanks, I will try [email protected]

I looked at his FB page for CPR and he posted on January 6 that he had a heart attack. It gives a phone number and name of a guy to contact in the meantime. No indication of what the kit costs but watching the video makes it seem like an easy job.

 

[huntingskeetman]

FYI the springs are available but not cheap, he wants $133.00 for the kit ! Debating spending that much for a lighter bolt close.

 

[Bgriff008]

FYI the springs are available but not cheap, he wants $133.00 for the kit ! Debating spending that much for a lighter bolt close.

Yea he sent that to me as well. He also says the kit reduces slop when rotating. Not sure how though. The bolt has a throw to it to open and close. I don’t see how it would open and close faster or with less movement.

 

[shoot4fun]

FYI the springs are available but not cheap, he wants $133.00 for the kit ! Debating spending that much for a lighter bolt close.

Well, the real problem as I see it is that the bolt is two-piece. The Ruger 77/22 is two-piece and no matter how much you spend on tinkering with them they will never be a Vudoo. Of course, just my opinion.
I have read, IIRC, that even a small amount of dry-fire will cause the B14R firing pin/striker to break. Wondering it the CPR kit will help alleviate that?

 

[TAZ1960]

Doesn't sound like a bad deal, but they don't ship to here in Canada yet. Can't wait.

 

[Bgriff008]

Well, the real problem as I see it is that the bolt is two-piece. The Ruger 77/22 is two-piece and no matter how much you spend on tinkering with them they will never be a Vudoo. Of course, just my opinion.
I have read, IIRC, that even a small amount of dry-fire will cause the B14R firing pin/striker to break. Wondering it the CPR kit will help alleviate that?

He said it does reduce and make for a lighter primer strike but not too light to fail to fire the round. Unless it’s eley ammo. Lol. I have some eley ammo that struggles to fire the first go around. But that’s the ammo. And yes it won’t be as smooth as a vudoo but still an improvement if the bolt action can be made to move easier. I will most likely order it and give it a try.

 

[WeeHooker]

My bet is that a home spun improvement shows up soon ( to include spring info) . Following.

 

[Bgriff008]

Ok so payment was sent. I’m gonna give it a try and see how it works.

 

[Bgriff008]

So I received the spring and shroud from Crossroads Precision. Went out and shot for the first time. It shot great and the reduced spring does help. I also cleaned up and polished the ramp. And cleaned up the locking notch as well as mentioned in the video. The bolt does feel lighter with less resistance making working the bolt easier.
Ok now on to the negatives. For whatever reason, the shroud provided has tighter tolerances and actually makes closing the bolt much harder to do. It grabs and forces the gun to lean right in the bipod. I went back and forth between the new shroud and original shroud to see it it was my imagination. Nope, every time with the new shroud, it took way too much effort to close with the same grab feel which forced the gun to lean right in the bipod. So I am running the original shroud with new spring. It feels great. I may polish the ramp even more and remove a bit more material from the notch to make it even smoother. So basically I spent $133 on a lighter spring. The spring is definitely an improvement but it’s a bit steep in price with the shroud making things worse. The only thing I can think of doing is removing material from the inside of the shroud to reduce the tolerance and friction/binding. It’s the only thing I can think of at this point. I sent an email to CRP to let them know what I’m experiencing. That was Saturday and I have not heard back.

 

[TAZ1960]

Thanks so much for the info. Since they don't ship to Canada, I'm going to figure out a lighter spring. Somewhere on these posts, I read McMaster Carr might have one similar and when it's made out of SS it's 17% lighter.

 

[shoot4fun]

So I received the spring and shroud from Crossroads Precision. Went out and shot for the first time. It shot great and the reduced spring does help. I also cleaned up and polished the ramp. And cleaned up the locking notch as well as mentioned in the video. The bolt does feel lighter with less resistance making working the bolt easier.
Ok now on to the negatives. For whatever reason, the shroud provided has tighter tolerances and actually makes closing the bolt much harder to do. It grabs and forces the gun to lean right in the bipod. I went back and forth between the new shroud and original shroud to see it it was my imagination. Nope, every time with the new shroud, it took way too much effort to close with the same grab feel which forced the gun to lean right in the bipod. So I am running the original shroud with new spring. It feels great. I may polish the ramp even more and remove a bit more material from the notch to make it even smoother. So basically I spent $133 on a lighter spring. The spring is definitely an improvement but it’s a bit steep in price with the shroud making things worse. The only thing I can think of doing is removing material from the inside of the shroud to reduce the tolerance and friction/binding. It’s the only thing I can think of at this point. I sent an email to CRP to let them know what I’m experiencing. That was Saturday and I have not heard back.

So, IIRC, doesn't the YouTube video from CPR tell you that you will likely have to do some slight filing on the bottom of the shroud?

 

[Bgriff008]

So, IIRC, doesn't the YouTube video from CPR tell you that you will likely have to do some slight filing on the bottom of the shroud?

Yea but I don’t think that’s the problem. CRP did get back with me and gave two options. To remove material on the flat side like you stated and to back the shroud out one full turn as opposed to backing it off until it finds the detent. When installed the shroud bottom side does make contact with the chassis and raises the backend of the bolt up a bit. But does not bind. So it’s possible the interference is causing the higher resistance when closing the bolt. Anyway I will try his two options. He did offer to refund my money if his options did not work. He also mentioned that one other person did experience the same thing I experienced but did not state what that person did to fix the problem. Unless the two idea he provided did fix it. But he said he wasn’t sure what was going on with my rifle. I will say this. The spring is an improvement and so is polishing the ramp and area stated to remove material from. The shroud was more to remove slop. Honestly they should have an option to buy the spring only. The shroud isn’t necessary to get the best benefits that the spring offers.

 

[shoot4fun]

Yea but I don’t think that’s the problem. CRP did get back with me and gave two options. To remove material on the flat side like you stated and to back the shroud out one full turn as opposed to backing it off until it finds the detent. When installed the shroud bottom side does make contact with the chassis and raises the backend of the bolt up a bit. But does not bind. So it’s possible the interference is causing the higher resistance when closing the bolt. Anyway I will try his two options. He did offer to refund my money if his options did not work. He also mentioned that one other person did experience the same thing I experienced but did not state what that person did to fix the problem. Unless the two idea he provided did fix it. But he said he wasn’t sure what was going on with my rifle. I will say this. The spring is an improvement and so is polishing the ramp and area stated to remove material from. The shroud was more to remove slop. Honestly they should have an option to buy the spring only. The shroud isn’t necessary to get the best benefits that the spring offers.

I haven't tried the CPR "kit" but seems like the guy is very willing to please. I would expect, judging from what I've read about other Bergara issues in general, there to be some tolerance stacking that could prevent the shroud from being "drop in".
You are correct on the last part; I would not really care for anything other than the spring myself.
My bolt was very stiff early on but I did some liberal use of lithium grease and some time just working the bolt to get it smoother.
I have already had the action in two different chassis (a Bravo and a legacy AICS) and working on setting it up in a Bergara B14 stock now where, hopefully, it will stay. I had zero issues feeding in the AICS but, as KRG states, not so much with the Bravo.

 

[Bgriff008]

I haven't tried the CPR "kit" but seems like the guy is very willing to please. I would expect, judging from what I've read about other Bergara issues in general, there to be some tolerance stacking that could prevent the shroud from being "drop in".
You are correct on the last part; I would not really care for anything other than the spring myself.
My bolt was very stiff early on but I did some liberal use of lithium grease and some time just working the bolt to get it smoother.
I have already had the action in two different chassis (a Bravo and a legacy AICS) and working on setting it up in a Bergara B14 stock now where, hopefully, it will stay. I had zero issues feeding in the AICS but, as KRG states, not so much with the Bravo.

So I tried both options suggested by CRP and neither of them helped. The bolt still closes with way to much force required with the shroud CRP provided. So I will just use the original shroud. I sent an email to CRP letting them know.
I did some more work to the bolt ramp as suggested from the video. Makes a big difference. My bolt moves so nice. Just feels like a lot less force to open and close the bolt.

 

[WeeHooker]

At some point somebody will measure the kit spring and post those specs. Shortly after someone else will surely post a link to a $6 substitute at Macmaster-Carr. Good things come to those who wait.

 

[obx22]

You folks seeking the smoothest bolt cycles should gut and clean your parts, then relube the shroud threads, cocking ramp, lugs, basically all high-load/low-speed areas with molybdenum disulfide high pressure grease. It will make a phenomenal amount of difference in how smoothly the bolt cycles.
Yer talking removing metal, are these parts heat treated all the way through? If not and you break through the heat treatment you will see excessive wear.

 

[Bgriff008]

So I have an update to CRP B14 kit. I talked to both Joe and Russ. They will start offering the spring only for purchase. They have had about 3 issues out of 150 with the shroud causing binding. Mine being one of them. You will have to call for spring price. We got distracted in our phone call that I didn’t get a price on the spring.

 

[Bgriff008]

Spring only is $25 which includes shipping. They refunded me for the spring and shroud kit. Then I sent them money for the spring. So I still have the shroud. But I think I will have to remove way more material to get it to work properly. Again, they have only seen issues with the shroud on 3 of 150 they have sold.

 

[Russ D]

So no one reverse engineered to find out what spring they are using?

 

[WeeHooker]

So no one reverse engineered to find out what spring they are using?

Well, I'm about 1/2 way there. Based on dimensions I've gotten on the factory spring and the $25 aftermarket replacement spring, I've come up with something that should be close ( if not identical) . Those would be a 1mm thick x10m dia x 50mm (or 60mm) long spring readily available on Ebay from a vendor known as 3y-parts. I ordered several of both lengths for $1 each to test . The springs arrived within a few weeks but I've put the test on the back burner while I mess with other things.

 

[WillR]

Anyone tried these ebay springs yet?

 

[Bgriff008]

Well, I'm about 1/2 way there. Based on dimensions I've gotten on the factory spring and the $25 aftermarket replacement spring, I've come up with something that should be close ( if not identical) . Those would be a 1mm thick x10m dia x 50mm (or 60mm) long spring readily available on Ebay from a vendor known as 3y-parts. I ordered several of both lengths for $1 each to test . The springs arrived within a few weeks but I've put the test on the back burner while I mess with other things.

Way to keep everyone waiting. . Man, I haven’t been on the forums or posted in over a year.

 

[WeeHooker]

Way to keep everyone waiting. . Man, I haven’t been on the forums or posted in over a year.

Way to keep everyone waiting. . Man, I haven’t been on the forums or posted in over a year.

Yea, this project has been cold burnered for now. Since receiving my springs, I've had online conversations with several people who said that abovementioned kit springs ( not the eBay substitute) the new spring alone, did little to lighten the throw. At least two people, thought that they were having some inconsistent striker hits as a result. Both took the kit spring back out and went back to factory.
Meanwhile, I did some polishing of the faying surfaces in the bolt and it runs much smoother now. ( I also took the paint off the pillars around this time too.) My B14r is now shooting and running better than it ever has. I'm not in a hurry to mess with anything. Maybe this winter if I get bored....

 

[Bgriff008]

Yea, this project has been cold burnered for now. Since receiving my springs, I've had online conversations with several people who said that abovementioned kit springs ( not the eBay substitute) the new spring alone, did little to lighten the throw. At least two people, thought that they were having some inconsistent striker hits as a result. Both took the kit spring back out and went back to factory.
Meanwhile, I did some polishing of the faying surfaces in the bolt and it runs much smoother now. ( I also took the paint off the pillars around this time too.) My B14r is now shooting and running better than it ever has. I'm not in a hurry to mess with anything. Maybe this winter if I get bored....

That’s unfortunate to hear that some had issues with the CRP spring. I’ve had no issues with primer strikes on SK ammo. And I feel the spring has made the bolt feel a bit lighter. I also polished up all the ramps and filed material like in the video. Only issue I had was the shroud.
Going back to light strikes, I have had issues with Eley ammo. And that was with the factory spring. The thing is, the firing pin made a nice mark in the Eley ammo the first go around but failed to fire. A second try almost always fired. Again, no issues with the CRP spring and SK ammo. Haven’t shot any other ammo since I know it’s what my gun likes.