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Gunsmithing Stiller action not ejecting shells??

B

bodywerks

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 19, 2010
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Tucson,Arizona
I have a TAC338 action that is hit or miss on ejecting spent brass, and when it does it just barely does, like it flops to the ground. Any ideas? It's a brand new action that i bought second hand here off the hide. The ejector spring seems to have about 1/3 the compression of the savages I'm used to working on so I'm thinking that's it. I don't plan on doing much magazine fed rapid fire with this 338lm and don't need the shells tossed across the field, but reliable would be nice.
Suggestions?
 
If you can remove the ejector to clean and maybe polish it and the well, it may be hanging up on a burr? I just picked up an AAC 700 and the ejector was protruding less than half as it should. I did what I mentioned and it chucks them out now.
 
Nice! Oh, forgot to say that the ejector is protruding from the bolt face as it should be.
 
I'd call Stiller and get a new spring, most likely someone cut that one so it wouldn't throw brass. I do this on my single shot target actions, brass just drops out, makes for a rodeo when you run an action that's right!
This is assuming the ejector is functioning properly.
 
I thought maybe the limp ejection was a Stiller design. I've got a Stiller TAC 30 that just flops the spent case out of the ejection port. It's been reliable so far and I don't have to chase brass.
 
ShtrRdy said:
I thought maybe the limp ejection was a Stiller design. I've got a Stiller TAC 30 that just flops the spent case out of the ejection port. It's been reliable so far and I don't have to chase brass.
Click to expand...

I think it is how they're designed. Mine has only ejected 20 shells or so to date so it probably just needs to break in a bit. I'm fine with shells just flopping out so long as it does it reliably.
I removed the ejector and found a few micro burrs on it and the spring was reluctant to come out. I polished both and put a little tettra on it. We'll see how it does next weekend.

PCR/XLR/TAC338 http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz53/bodywerks/IMG_20130816_111453_255_zps1b498f0d.jpg http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz53/bodywerks/IMG_20130816_111325_951_zps290ebdd0.jpg
 
bodywerks said:
I have a TAC338 action that is hit or miss on ejecting spent brass, and when it does it just barely does, like it flops to the ground. Any ideas? It's a brand new action that i bought second hand here off the hide. The ejector spring seems to have about 1/3 the compression of the savages I'm used to working on so I'm thinking that's it. I don't plan on doing much magazine fed rapid fire with this 338lm and don't need the shells tossed across the field, but reliable would be nice.
Suggestions?
Click to expand...


A few assumptions:

It's likely got a M16 style extractor (right?)

Assuming it does, are you using optics with a large windage turret?

If so, check carefully to see if the spent cases are bouncing into the turret while ejecting. If they do, this can be a source of your problem. The solution is to grind a teeny bit on the top side of the claw. (side furthest away from the bolt's lug abutment.)

This alters the ejection angle slightly so that the case (hopefully) clears the scope.

Next, if its just weak ejection, pull the spring. Jerry uses factory Remington style M700 ejector springs. Maybe you got a goofy one. You could try "stretching" the spring to see if it improves, but the better option would be to just replace it. At $5-7 bucks its not too bad a cost.

Last, with Big/long cartridges (assuming your running something big since its the TAC 338 receiver) you have quite a bit of mass for that little spring to push out of the way. Again, reverting attention to the extractor may prove beneficial. If it's too "grabby" (meaning it has heavy case pressure on the rim) it might not be wanting to let go so well as the case tries to tip away/out towards the ejection port. It may require a little fluff/buff work for it to let go.

Lapua brass (in 338 LM) is a touch heavier on the rim (thicker) than the Norma stuff. -least the lots I have are. I've had minor ejection issues with plunger eject bolts that magically go away when I jump to Norma. (We've got a sizable quantity of both here)

Just some little tippitz that have helped me out when faced with this.

Good luck.

C.
 
No. Virgin lapua. Found the problem. My scope base has three mounting lugs. The middle one is getting in the way of the trajectory path of the brass. I like the mount so much so I'm not going to change it out. But i might shave the center lug down to hopefully clear the path better
dumeruse.jpg


PCR/XLR/TAC338 http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz53/bodywerks/IMG_20130816_111453_255_zps1b498f0d.jpg http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz53/bodywerks/IMG_20130816_111325_951_zps290ebdd0.jpg
 
ShtrRdy said:
I thought maybe the limp ejection was a Stiller design. I've got a Stiller TAC 30 that just flops the spent case out of the ejection port. It's been reliable so far and I don't have to chase brass.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. After reading Chad's description, I looked at my windage knob and it's buggured up. So I now believe the brass is hitting the knob and falling down to the ground.

Thanks for the insight Chad! - Todd
 
If you grind the edge like Chad suggested life will be good. I know several that made this mod due to large scope turrets and have never had an issue again.
 
Can I get a little more info on the grinding to re-direct the brass? I am having exactly this issue. New rifle built on a Stiller TAC 30 A/W in 260 - at first it was not ejecting the rounds at all - they would just lay in the action. We have replaced the extractor spring and it now ejects really well - most of the time. Now the problem is the cases are hitting the windage knob and about 1/3 are landing back in the action. So, I would like to try re-shaping it, but am a little unclear on where to take the meat off.
 
Shaving the center lug on my rifle(I'm the OP) fixed this issue.
However, I just sold this rifle, and it had performed flawless for roughly 200 rounds.
For some reason, the buyer is having a hard time extracting his factory Lapua ammo. For the life of me, I can't see how the extractor could have been damaged in shipping but it's definitely not working right for him. He sent me a pic of the brass and it definitely appears that the extractor is gouging the rim??
The only thing I could think is the problem was either always there and I never noticed it because any brass I extracted was only after firing the round(he's chambering a loaded round and then attempting to extract it immediately). The only time I have had to do that was when a cease fire was called, maybe a couple times. But that was with once fired, neck sized rounds.
Or
Something's amiss with his brass, but he said he's tried several, including different brass and fired brass.
I'm sure it'll get sorted, but I feel bad that he's having the issue.
 
Hello All,
I'm the guy who purchased the rifle. Just an update, I contacted Brad and Keith with Phoenix Custom Rifles and he said it could be a few things, but not to worry they would take care of me.
 
I have built two rifles with new Stiller TAC338 actions. One rifle worked perfectly and the other ejected cases hit or miss just like yours. To test the action that was hit or miss I tried loading every configuration of ammo I could to see why it was hit or miss. I tried unsized Lapua brass, sized Lapua brass, fire formed Lapua brass from both rifles, minimum to maximum COAL, you name it, and it was all still hit or miss. Fortunately, for me I had my second TAC338 rifle close at hand so I swapped bolts. The bolt from my "perfect" TAC338 ejected every cartridge every time flawlessly while in the "hit or miss" rifle. Then I put the bolt from my "hit or miss" TAC338 into my "perfect" TAC338 action and it wouldn't eject 50% of the time. Therefore, I new it was something with the bolt and nothing else. Next I compared the extractor on both bolts. I noticed the extractor on the bolt that didn't eject reliably was recessed further toward the bolt face such that it was difficult for the extractor to grip the shell case rim and eject it. I decided the extractor was the issue and sent it to Russ at Stiller to repair it. I bought my actions directly from him and he fixed up the extractor right away. Once I got the bolt back from Stiller and tested it out it has worked flawlessly since. So that is my experience with a similar issue as yours.

Other potential issues could be:
1. Improperly sized brass/ unsized brass
2. Trying to shoot fire formed brass from another rifle
3. Chamber is cut very tight and then shooting a hot load that really expands the case makes it hard to extract
4. Debris in chamber
5. Barrel tenon threads not square to chamber or square to action and slight misalignment exists (pretty unlikely)

I would focus on the extractor. You can take a piece of brass and place it on the face of the bolt and under the extractor and see how things fit. It doesn't take much misalignment of the extractor to cause difficulty ejecting such a large diameter and long cartridge. Stiller's website is Stillers Precision Firearms. Russ is the guy to ask for.
 
The section between the rear ring and front ring on the Stillers is thick and can slow down the ejection on brass, we've seen that on 338's and 338 imp's. the other thing is to notch the top of the extractor with a end mill so the "claw" grabs lower on the case, we've done that with great success! Just have someone familiar with the process do it. The info I'm giving you came from Jerry at Stiller Precision.
Hopefully this issue goes away for you.
Chris
Benchmark Barrels
 
It's no longer an ejection issue but rather an extraction issue. He removed the ejector pin and now it extracts fine.
 
Stiller action not ejecting shells??

I sent the bolt back to Stiller. The extractor was slightly out of spec. It now extracts Lapua and Norma brass. Herters / S&B is a no go. They took care if me, turn around time was 2 days.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I had this same problem on my tac30 aw action. Ended up that the bolt(ptg) was out of spec and the corner radius where the extractor sits was not machined enough. This kept the extractor from being into the bolt face far enough to grab and retain the brass through the ejection cycle and clear the ejection port window. I relieved the corners and relieved the sharp edges of the extractor itself and it throws brass like champ now.
 
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