Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Anyone ever have this problem with Savage 6

Have a friends Savage model 6 that is firing full auto, intermittently. The way the action works it's befuddled me. There are two bolts, as the bolt that holds the firing pin moves backward it is caught by the rear lug of what is essentially the sear and holds it to rear. When firing the system acts like a teeter/totter. The only thing I can think of is that the rear bolt is not making it all the way back to get caught so is slipping forward and striking again. The cases all have good strike marks whether it's single fire or full auto. The bolt and the lugs are not rounded over and he has kept it very clean. He is the original owner. What makes me think its not fully "Cocking" is that I had three short strokes when test firing it where it ejected and loaded a fresh round, but wasn't cocked. Any ideas?

Yeah, don't fire it near any witnesses and definitely don't let the ATF find out about it. And get it fixed, preferably by a real gunsmith who will testify that he was trying to KEEP it from firing on full auto.

Not a great idea to be talking about it on the internet.

I'm more worried about figuring out what's causing it and getting it fixed. It is a mechanical issue that needs to be fixed, if the black helicopters want to come get me for a malfunction not purposefully caused, let them come. Even with the feds you have to have a culpable mental state and my wife would attest I don't have a mental state sometimes at all

Not being accusatory in the least. It's just that stanger things have happened to innocent people. At the VERY LEAST, it's a headache you don't need. I have no doubt it will be repaired.

Thanks for posting this, Rory. I hadn't heard of this one. Sad testimony to the USA.

ATF doesn't give a damn WHY its firing full auto from time to time. As far as they're concerned if it does it once its a machine gun and if it comes to their attention they'll be knocking on the door. The only agency that might be worse to run afoul of might be the IRS. In the end you may win but by then you'll broke, tired and much older.

...don't be scared...they are only men (BATF), just like you and I..

















****but if you mess with the BULL, you'll get the horns!

The first thing is to clean it in case it�s just not cycling fully � see if you can see or feel any part dragging or catching that might slow the bolt on recoil.

You say it's a model 6, they work somewhat different than the later 6A & etc --- and the 6A's are not that much later, they changed the action almost immediately, possibly due to the same problem you describe happening!!!!!

Both work as you said in a 'teeter totter' action of a trigger with two sears. Timing on the 6 seems to be very critical, much more so than on the later versions. The 'two bolts' actually are one bolt and one striker - it holds the firing pin. The way this is intended to work is when the trigger is pulled the front spring loaded 'sear' raised and catches the striker to hold it open slightly behind the engagement point of the actual sear (on a 6A it catches the bolt and holds the bolt open). When the trigger is release this releases the front �sear� and the rear sear is supposed to raise up enough to catch the striker in the very short distance it travels � this may not be happening consistantly.

I have two of the old model 6�s � one has to have a part replace before it can be shot and the other I just recently acquired and have not tried it yet. I have dry cycled them though and I suspect both will double on me. If I hold the trigger and work the action the striker is held back like it should be, the problem is when I release trigger the striker is not caught by the second sear and will drop, on one if I release it fast enough it will catch, on the other it always drops. At this time all I can do is assume that when I fire the gun it will cycle as it should AS LONG AS I HOLD THE TRIGGER � then it will fire again when I release the trigger! Now what will happen after that is unknown, the striker travels farther to engage the actual sear so if it�s cycling with the trigger released I would be relying on it to catch and hold the bolt with it traveling faster and farther�.. if it�s worn and doesn�t catch then I would have a full auto.. which I think could only be stopped by pulling the trigger???? (maybe) �.. I will not be testing this gun unless I am 100% sure I am totally alone� and will start by only loading 1 round, than maybe 2� and that might be as far as I go!

Top is a 6, then a 602 (22 short), a 6A & a 7 (box magazine fed)


I hope at least some of this makes sense, I just got back from Tulsa left at 6PM and drove through - 11� hours. The only reason I am not sleeping now is that I drank so much coffee while I was driving that I'm still to wound up and now the suns up!! There is a multi-page thread on RimFireCentral on these but I do not know if this problem was ever mentioned.

Thank you Gene I appreciate your help. Sounds like we are having similar issues. I love these guns I have a 6,2 6A's and a 7. You would think that with this set up and as tight as the bolts fit in the action, there would be no chance for the Striker bolt to be able to miss or skip over the rear stop. I kinda hoped you would pick up this thread as we appear to be a couple of old .22 Looney's

Discretion thus indeed being the better part of valor.