Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Houston, We Have A Problem!!!

Uh oh! Loaded it up with five 150 grain rounds to function test it. Half the time the bolt got stuck and wouldn't close all the way. On closer inspection, the bolt was riding loose, and coming up too high to make it under the upper lip of the forward receiver opening. That little projection on the forward upper part of the bolt face was hitting above the slot designed to accept it. What's going on here? As is, this rifle is useless. Is this an easy fix? Fill me in. Very worried. After expenses, I've got about $800.00 into this rifle.

That would be the extractor, sounds like the spring is shot. Ya gotta return policy or was it as is. See your local gunsmith, should be an easy fix. Les

I have a three day inspection. The man has a good reputation with you Savage collectors, so I don't think he'd cheat me. I've already shot him an email on it.

No, the extractor rides to the right of the bolt face. I'm talking about the projection at 12:00 on the bolt face. It's supposed to ride into the female cut out in the receiver. Instead, it's riding right into the steel above the cut out. The bolt rides loose and high as it goes towards the chamber opening. You can push it down so it fits into place as it rides forward, but otherwise it usually rides too high the first two or three times. This is due to increased spring pressure pushing up on it with more rounds in the mag.

Sounds to me that the Bolt may be wore slam out. Les

Uh oh. That would be a deal breaker. I guess I will have to send it back.

That rifle ain't wore out you moron.
Peel the stock off and let's have a look. Something ain't the way it's supposed to be.

Sounds to me like someone didn't quite reassemble correctly. Bolt shouldn't ride that high.

If I hold my finger on it, it rides correctly. The spring pressure from the fully loaded mag pushes it up.

How do you take the stock off?

Yer probably right, was hoping he would send it back so I could try to get it on the cheap.............Moron, c'mon Jed, you know me better than that.

Shouldn't be any spring pressure from a loaded mag Hawk.

I big screw in the center of the buttstock, pretty easy to do, just have a long BIG flat tip screwdriver. Les

Maybe shouldn't be, but it does. It will work fine with three round in the mag, but put four in and the first round will not chamber. The upward magazine spring pressure, as delivered to the bolt by way of the top cartridge, pushes up on the bolt, causing it to tilt upwards just enough so the 12:00 bolt face projection cannot clear the 12:00 notch in the receiver above the chamber.

I let one of the folks that know how to adjust that tension help. Les

If the bolt is not coming back into battery, the lever bite might also be off. The second half of the throw brings the bolt back down if I remember correctly.


Mike...

That sounds right. The problem seems to be connected to the lever, because as I push down on it and the cartridges in the mag, I feel and see the lever move too.

Here are some pictures of the problem. Here I loaded four rounds in the mag, causing the bolt to tilt up just enough not to clear the notch in the receiver. I hope these help.

TRH--are you pushing the cartridges down and back towards the stock as you load the mag?

The grooves on the mag are not in line with the bore and I've had rifles refuse to close the bolt if rounds aren't pushed to the rear of the spool as they're loaded, usually involving loading more than three. HTH

Yep, all cartridges are going in the mag as far back as mechanically possible. That's not the issue here.

well, dang--was hoping for a simple fix

if you have the base of all the rounds down and the bullet ends up with the cartridges pushed to the rear then they're aligned with the spool grooves and the bolt should close

Will all 5 fit in the mag?
I want to think the rotor might be wound too tight.