Hi everyone. I had a question regarding my new .243 build. Used the search feature and couldnt find anything that helped. I just installed a new barrel on my savage axis .243. Whenever closing the bolt on the go gauge the bolt closes perfectly smooth, and doesnt close on the no go gauge. I thought perfect until i went to chamber a federal 100gr blue box round and the bolt still closes but is kind of stiff. I have never encountered this after using a set of gauges so i was wondering if my headspacing could be too tight and is the rifle still safe to fire? Any help would be greatly appreciated
Gunsmithing Savage bolt hard to close on round
- Thread starter Jb1289610
- Start date
Any markings on the projectile itself? Sharpie the shoulder on the brass and the bullet to see what's contacting.
Like ledzep said, determine where the interference is. Not uncommon for ammo to be at or slightly longer than a Go gauge. Also not uncommon to have cartridges with a large neck/shoulder radius, which can interfere.
I know this probably isn't what you wanted to hear ... but this problem will be harder to solve with "factory" ammo. If you were building your own cartridges, this would be a breeze ... find the spot (neck, shoulder, body, base, etc), and fix the problem. It's a little weird that Go and No-Go worked flawlessly, and factory ammo won't work. I'll "lurk" to see how this resolves.
You could also reset your headspace a couple thousands, see how your gages fit, and then see if the ammo chambers easily.
Also, did you try a few rounds from that box of ammo, or just the one?
How tight is it really? Hard close, or slight friction?
Also, did you try a few rounds from that box of ammo, or just the one?
How tight is it really? Hard close, or slight friction?
Tried several from the same box but somewhere i have some hornady rounds i will try. Its not like crazy tight to close but it is noticeably stiffer going down with the bolt than with the original savage barrel but only with the live rounds ive tried. Go gauge cycles perfectly normal. Mainly i want to make sure im good to fire it because this has never happened to any other rifle ive had and was hoping for input. I will try the sharpie trick tonight and see if i can tell where its contacting
I did the sharpie trick and there a couple hairline streaks going lengthwise which i assume is because its a new barrel and it may have some kind of roughness, then there is another very light mark all the way around the very base of the shoulder. No marks on the projectile.
Tight headspace is a functional issue. If they chamber and you're OK with a little resistance, you shouldn't have any issues other than the resistance.
You should also have a window between GO and NOGO... So you could screw it down on a NOGO, mark a sharpie line on the nut and barrel, then do the same with the GO gauge and make a new sharpie line on the barrel to see what the window is. Bump it 2-3 thou over GO and you'll lose the squish. 7 degrees per thou roughly.
As long as a NOGO doesn't close when you're done with it.
You should also have a window between GO and NOGO... So you could screw it down on a NOGO, mark a sharpie line on the nut and barrel, then do the same with the GO gauge and make a new sharpie line on the barrel to see what the window is. Bump it 2-3 thou over GO and you'll lose the squish. 7 degrees per thou roughly.
As long as a NOGO doesn't close when you're done with it.
What do you mean by Go Gauge cycles perfectly?
You did remove the ejector when setting headspace?
I mean the bolt closes smoothly
The question still remains.
Did you remove the ejector prior to headspacing?
Do you think this is somehow necessary? My thought is you want to simply identify/set headspace for your rifle in a firing condition. I know the stripping of the bolt has been something that was done for years, but I would like someone to explain why is is required in any way.
It removes the extra force required to close the bolt. If youre paying close attention to feel(for any reason), removing it will improve your sensitivity. The ejector causes thrust on the bolt. In my opinion you dont need to remove it for GO/No-Go gauge test.
Yeah, I just go by my "GO" and "NO GO" gauges.
I will add. Recently installed a new Shilen 30-06 barrel for my father. Same situation, go gauge has no drag, no go doesn't go. Same box of factory loaded ammo. Some rounds have a slight drag on close. But some doesn't. So I just chalked it up to factory being factory. Finally having great weather this weekend so we are going to go shoot this Sunday. I am not expecting any issues. Leaning towards a tighter chamber.
Side note ... I never really understood the whole "Remove Ejector" thing before using a Go/No-Go gauge. I realize it's kind of cool to watch the bolt just "gravity drop" on the Go gauge, but what I'm looking for is how my finished cases will seat in the real world where they're being seated with a bolt that has an ejector. I mean ... can anyone share a situation where removing the extractor gave you a different testing result, than "not" removing the ejector? I've tried it both ways, and the result was always the same, so I've stopped removing the ejector for my last couple of barrel changes, and the gauges work just fine. Has someone else here experienced this differently?
I've seen dinged extractors from hitting a sharp corner on a hard steel gauge. Ejectors can make it hard to snap the gauge under the extractor then feed it into the chamber.
If you're a half step away from being asleep a guy could falsely head space on the extractor because the gauge rim geometry doesn't allow the extractor to snap over....
But if you're paying attention I don't believe it matters if you leave them in unless there's a design that has some specific exemption.
If you're a half step away from being asleep a guy could falsely head space on the extractor because the gauge rim geometry doesn't allow the extractor to snap over....
But if you're paying attention I don't believe it matters if you leave them in unless there's a design that has some specific exemption.
Have an update. Went ahead and said screw it and shot the rifle after quadruple checking the headapace with gauges. Barrel break in couldnt have gone better. Consistently the rifle shot a 1 inch group using crap .243 federal 100gr powershock. After a few rounds the cases got much easier to cycle and no signs on the fired cases of issues. Very happy with the build overall. Now time to develop a good load for it.
use some clear tape stuck to the case head .does the bolt face rip it off or just scratch it?
