Bolt Won't Close-Savage 110

[zant]

Friend called me with a problem-bolt won't close-asked what rds he was attempting to chamber-handloads,so he came over and I had a few Rem 150 factory rds-nope,still would'nt close.....He said was working perfectly until he took action off stock to throughly clean--I asked if he tightened action screws to 35inlb-he said he thought so,maybe.....Any suggestions??..Savage 110 FP .308

[RichR]

My guess would be head space-he moved something.

[JLA]

Did he take the bolt apart?? If he Did I bet he got the tension washers in wrong that go between the bolt head and the gas baffle.

[LDBennett]

Did he unknowingly or even knowingly suffer a case separation and part of a case is still in the chamber?

LDBennett

[Snakedriver]

I've got the stainless steel version of the 110 in the model 116 and encountered a similar issue when I swapped-out the Tupperware stock for a nice laminated wood one. The action screw can actually penetrate the rifle's chamber up under the bolt and create a drag on the bolt to where it won't operate properly. A properly sized washer or two under bolt head will easily fix the problem.

If the action bolt has been overly tightened or barrel channel has been adjusted any, it's easy for it to get up into the chamber area. I've never seen a rifle that was drilled for the action screw all the way through the action into the chamber like that.

I've also had the dies adjusted wrong and put too much set-back in the case neck when I first started reloading 7mm Rem. Mag. Those first rounds were extremely hard to chamber because of the out of spec case dim's. It didn't take much to back-off the sizing die about 1/2 turn to where it wasn't collapsing the case shoulder. I had to disassemble those first rounds and resize them before they would work right.

[LDBennett]

Snakedriver:

On an unrelated subject, reloading 7mm mag can be problematical and tough on brass, reducing its life substantially.

Most 7mm mag chambers are cut and re-sizing dies made so that the there is a lot of room between the the chamber wall and the shoulder of the case (lengthwise). Since the case is head spaced on the belt and not the shoulder it is not a problem for shooting but is for case longevity if you reload. The belt of the case holds firmly to the chamber while the rest of the case pushes forward to where the shoulder stops on the chamber surface where the case shoulder seats. The stress gets concentrated just in front of the belt and in as few as two or three reloads the case head separates just ahead of the belt.

It is better to raise the sizing die so that the case head spaces (or nearly does) on the shoulder rather than the belt of once fired cases. You can get almost normal wear and tear out of 7mm Mag cases for reloading if you do so. But remember, all that extra capacity of these 7mm Mag case is filled with more powder. Hot loaded 7mm Mag case will suffer from the higher pressures and hot gases more so than regular cartridges like 30-06. This failure is usually burned through necks and you will see that as the demise of most 7mm Mag cases setup to headspace off the shoulder rather than the belt. But case life can be more normal if you do headspace on the shoulder and be reasonable with your load level.

LDBennett

[Jim K]

Snakedriver, are you sure you mean the hole is drilled into the chamber, and not into the locking lug recess? The former is very unlikely, the latter no problem - just trim down the screw.

Jim

[Snakedriver]

Originally Posted by Jim K

Snakedriver, are you sure you mean the hole is drilled into the chamber, and not into the locking lug recess? The former is very unlikely, the latter no problem - just trim down the screw.

Jim

Jim the hole for the action screw goes all the way through the action and comes out under the bolt in the chamber mouth. If the screw is too long or the recess in the stock isn't a perfect depth, it allows the action screw to penetrate up into the chamber mouth. That obstructs the bolt from sliding in and out of the chamber as it should by dragging on the bottom of the bolt.

You can also create this condition by over tightening the action screw. The perfect set-up is when the screw is flush with the chamber mouth's floor. As you say, you can shorten the screw's length or in my case I put a single small washer under the action screw head and solved my problem.

[soundguy]

i have a buddy that put a scopy mount on a 30-30 lever gun and put too long of screws onto the base mount and hung the bolt..

[zant]

Appreciate the "possibles"-I'm going to take apart tonight and see what's up.

[JLA]

Yes the front action screw could potentially protrude into the breech area beneath the bolt preventing lockup. Loosen the screw first. If the bolt then closes easily get a lock washer for that screw. i believe they are 1/4-28 so youll need a 1/4" lock washer.

If it doesnt fix it Im bettn he took the bolt apart and put it back together wrong.

[zant]

You can't use a 1/2" torque wrench with a 3/8 adapter to a 1/4" adapter to get an accurate inlb.....She chambers now.Thx for input....

[JLA]

No you would need an in/lb torque wrench. As to the action screws and the bolt nut I just tighten them as tight as i can get them with one hand.

[JLA]

What ended up being the issue?

[zant]

Action screws were too tight-she cycles and chambers now...

[LDBennett]

zant:

Were the action screws somehow protruding into the bolt way and stopping it or was the receiver in a bind from the over tightening of the action screws?

If it was the latter then there is a potential accuracy problem here. If the stock can put the receiver in a bind by distorting it (bending it) then accuracy will not be good at all. Perhaps you need to bed the receiver into the stock or use pillars to limit the stock from distorting the receiver. The pillars are epoxied into the stock and sized in length so that, when the action screws are tightened, the stock can not stress the receiver. If the receiver is under a bending stress during firing it will never be accurate at least for very many shots. Fitting the pillars for length can be critical and if you have any doubts about your ability to do it then take the gun to a known to be good gunsmith. Brownells sells the AccuGlass epoxy and the pillars that need to be cut for the length (They actually have ones that screw together so no cutting is needed....The epoxy glues the threads together once the length is set right.) The pillars have an outer surface that is not smooth to aid the epoxy in holding them in place when glued into the stock.

LDBennett

[JLA]

I personally would shorten the action screws a tad so I could tighten them fully.