The rifle came in and since we had just changed our follower design we put a new one in and sent it back. I was never told of any other issues other than it needed a different follower. Then we get an email about the ejector not working. When I recieved the pictures of the ejector there is NO DOUBT whatsoever about how it happened. Someone had taken the extractor, bolt stop and extractor ring off the bolt and then put the bolt back into the receiver. Then not understanding the functions of the action tried to pull the bolt out of the receiver. Well without the extractor ring on the bolt the ejector will pop up into the slot on the bolt, keeping the bolt from coming out of the receiver. The only way you can get that out is by pushing the ejctor down as you pull the bolt back. But without knowing this someone hammered it out which is exactly how the ejector got bent and looks.
PS. I just spoke to your gunsmith (who is a good guy by the way) and he is on the same page as I am. So I think that a lot of this may be either fabricated or just trying to pit us against each other?
Gee It's pretty hard to believe that my gunsmith is on the same page as you when this is the email he has sent to me:
What he says is true enough. However, this would only be true if someone were checking feeding without the extractor in place! You can not check feeding without an extractor!
Jeff skirts around the issue of the blade being too soft. He is right about the hardness of the action and bolt, but the ejector blades are not hardened. Truth is, they probably use soft steel because it machines, or stamps easier. All I do know is that I can bend the three different ejector blades I have from their actions by hand, and I can't bend the Winchester model 70's. Certainly I have not done the design or engineering of these parts, that's not my job. It could well be that you don't need an ejector any more rigid than what theirs is. However, it seems Winchester thinks they should be.Yes, I could have gone to Montana to get the replacement parts for this rifle. I am sure they would not cost you or I anything. However, every rifle I work on I pretend it is my own. Well, I think you know what I would do. Hell, right now I have 4 rifles in my shop built on Montana actions. One is my own .416!!! The other three are "spec" guns that are either finished or nearing completion. I guarantee these rifles will not be sold without me personally going through each and every one. I WILLreplace each ejector for sure. I will probably replace magazine boxes, springs and followers, maybe even bolt stops. What I find on your rifle will certainly influence what I do on the others. Certainly, the experience we have had with this rifle, and with the responses you have had from Montana, have helped make up my mind as to whether we use, sell, recommend, or even look at, another Montana action.
