Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Help! 99 lever very hard to close bolt.

The very last part of the lever stroke that closes the bolt is so tight that sometimes the but slips from my shoulder. I know that this has been addressed somewhere but I can't seem to find it with the search function. Seems like it involved a rubber mallet and striking the lever but that is all I remember. Thank you for any help,
Goat

It's not often someone complains of one being too tight.

Look in the "Misc. Good Info" sticky post for lever adjustment.

I'm not sure I'd fix it though...

Is this when empty, or only when chambering a live round? Some of mine close tightly when chambering reloads.

Rotor tension too high?

Nothing to do with the carrier. It's a lever/bolt/chamber kinda thing.

look at your brass, if it is when loading it.

Yeah George, just coincidence I was working on a 284 that wouldn't feed right last night. Seemed like rotor tension was contributing to my problem, but ended up needing a little wood relieved inside where the bolt was not quite fully retracting. New stocks... Got it now.

Excellent!

The lever is difficult to close whether rifle is empty or if chambering rounds and ejecting them. In fact, since I posted, I removed the rear stock and and took a look at things. The back of the bolt is dragging so hard that the back of the receiver had actually cut the bolt rolling up a slight amount of material and cutting a horizontal groove where the bolt stops in full battery.
I took some 600grit paper and pollished the back of the bolt trying not to remove material but to pollish the surface only since it would appear that this would also affect on headspace. This seems to have helped but is not a cure since I doubt I have yet fixed the cause of the cutting of the back of the bolt.
Thanks for your help,
Goat

Something to keep in mind is that unlike the Winchester lever guns the last bit of travel with a 99 tends to get tighter. There's a small hump in the receiver that needs to be overcome in order for the bolt to go completely into battery. Thus that last bit of movement closing the lever is the hardest.

I would like to see a picture of that

norm

Be advised that even the act of polishing steel with very fine abrasives you are indeed removing metal to one degree or another. Be very careful when doing it on a surface as sensitive as the back of the bolt. You're right to think that the cause of that galling needs to be determined.

I'm thinking the lever arc is completely malformed. I would start by opening it up some and see if the bind diminishes. If it's wearing away the back of the bolt there is something very wrong.

What is the SN range of this thing??

Why don't you take your gun to a qualified gunsmith??? Its not as expensive as you might think.

I've said this enough, I think most of these guys have me on ignore.

When dealing with Savage lever actions, things can get kinda "sticky" ----

they don't call me old thread killer for nothing :):):)

"I FIXUM '99's !!!"

good one..lol.

Need to know what model. Early ones it could be a bent cross screw that the bolt slips on to. These early models had no round nut on the right side, would work loose, and bend. If it has a cocking indicator IN the bolt, I have seen that jam things up. The early bolts had a different firing pin cocking set up and could cause problems. Might be the cam on the lever is too high (Someone may have replaced the Lever). The cartridge guide on the bolt may not be aligned with the notch in the barrel. As Norm99 said, we would have to see it.

Savage99E serial number on the bottom of the receiver 1053XXX. Top left,front of receiver:Savage Model 99E. Proofmark appears doublestamped and is unreadable, might be "SP". On barrel: SAVAGE ARMS CORPORATION
WESTFIELD, MASS, USA
Right side of barrel near receiver:
HI-PRESSURE STEEL - PROOF TESTED
The back of the bolt no longer seems to be galling after many hundred shiftings while sitting in the recliner. The main "drag" I think I feel now is the cocking of the "hammer" and the final push of the lever on the back of the bolt.
I have only owned one other 99 and that was a few years ago. It seemed to have a much better final finish on all machined surfaces. This 99E seems much more crudely done ,or most likely , left undone.
If I continue to have issues I will indeed seek the services of a gunsmith but I doubt seriously the have ever seen the inside of a 99 because they are seldom seen at all. I have never even heard of but one person who actually hunted with one and that was a friend "rifle nut" like me. Thanks,
Goat

the pre one million guns are how they got a good reputation, just like winchester. I would send it down the road. you just got some valuable experience.

Goat,
Where are you from? 99's are seldom seen? You are right about not taking it to a gunsmith you don't know. I have seen some guns over the years that were already worked on. 99's are not for Gunsmiths that just replace parts. The older you go with a 99', the more of a hand fit gun it becomes. It is true that most of the guns brought in to a Gunsmith have never been worked on by him before. The ability to work on and figure out an unknown gun is fast becoming a lost trade. Not a whole lot of technical knowledge on the 99' in print out there.