Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 1930 savage 99 G Cratered Primers

Noticed yesterday that my newly acquired 1930 99G craters primers slightly with below max loads and had one light strike which fired on the second try. I am thinking weak mainspring. What is the first thing you guys would do? It's a 300 and I'm using 39 grains of H4895 with a 150 Sierra RN.

Tear it down and clean it. When you remove the firing pin assembly, use care not to loose the hammer return spring. It is a small little bugger. Also check to see if the firing pin hole is quite a bit over the size of the firing pin. This can cause crater too.

I have broken down the bolt and am soaking it in Ed's Red. The firing pin hole does not seem oversized. I am wondering if I should change the spring?

Wait to you put it back together and see if there's an improvement. If not then change the spring. Your labor's cheap. Springs cost money.

How dirty was it inside the bolt? Ive taken two apart that had so much rusty dirt in with the pin and spring that I wondered how the gun fired at all.

Was it gummed up at all when you took it apart? I'd give it a try before replacing the spring. How is the firing pin attached? That's the part that gets tricky when replacing the spring.

I can't say it was really gummed up. It was dirty and some old grease in the firing pin channel but nothing excessive. It appears that you drive out a pin to get the firing pin off but I haven't attempted any of that yet. I think I will put it back together and see how it works. Your advice is much appreciated.

Try lighter fluid as the lube for the firing pin channel. It provides sufficient lubrication and will not cause light primer strikes in cold weather.

Thanks for all the help. I will give it a try tomorrow.