I'm honestly thinking I'll need to gouge everything out and start over.
Box and bottom metal are clear of the receiver, no binding. Box is integral with the bottom metal. Rear screw doesn't spring, neither does the front. Now that it's "unglued," it drops right in and pops out as it should, clickety snickety and lays dead as the screws seat.
Scopes are/were a Simmons 8 32 44, brand new replacement for another that was dropped and bent, being new and unproven, I decided to pull it just to get rid of an unknown; current retired scope is a Trashco 8 32 50 that has been on my Savage 10 FP for about 18 years. Not the finest optics, nope, but it's always kept zero and actually tracks properly. So I need to center it up (Millett rings) and fire a couple of groups somewhere on the paper, see if there's a change on paper.
If not, I've got a "test bed" Mauser stock I use to initially shoot barrelled actions before getting all excited about finish stock work, bedding, load development, et cetera. It's all hogged out except for a couple of big aluminum pillars, pillar holes big enough to clear the usual bolster at the screws and let the lug seat. So, that's on the list of things to try, too.
The tragedy of all this was...I'd just put on a new Lilja on the original action, and the third load I tried shot a 261, the first two had been in the 400s. Next shot, with a different load, I dynamited it. Got off lucky, just a little blood, the action killed itself to save me, basically. I was working on a big forestry article, so dummy me, there I was at the range, and DISTRACTED. I left my bullet kissy feely rod in the barrel, never did find that. Cut the barrel off about four inches, got it X rayed, bore scoped it, no APPARENT damage, bought another 98 action, did the usual to that action before mounting the barrel, but it's just never really shot like a Lilja. As I said -- a hard luck rifle, and quite the teaching instrument. If I ever get it to shoot, it will be a master class in Murphy's Law.
