Safari 550 in 416 Rigby. Feeds and ejects fine, but the bolt slide could be smoother. I've used anything from toothpaste to jeweler's rouge in the past and sat there and cycled, but other than sending it to a gunsmith, any suggestions, please?
J
I have made "lapping sticks" out of maple and polished the lug ways with 600 grit Clover compound. It takes about 30-40 minutes to get them slick. When done with the lapping wash it all off super well with a strong detergent in hot water, and oil the receiver. The bolt gets cleaned up and re-polished on my buffer to a bright finish so it looks new.
Believe it or not but they smooth out fairly quickly through "normal" use - but I guess "normal" use may vary between individuals. When I bought my CZ in 375H&H mag brand new, I would put about 20 rounds through it each weekend while I was working out reloads for it. Initially the action was very rough and the magazine guide rails would score the brass but luckily I'm lazy and ended up not doing anything about it, and it came good by itself. Ultimately the brass was otherwise undamaged and lived a normal life to expire of the usual neck crack.
Mine in 9.3X62 was a bit rough at first, with use it is now fine. They will get better with age..
I’ve had lots of 550s and currently use them exclusively. No need to polish...they wear in relatively quickly with normal use.
Just cycle more. They are wonderful guns. Now with a .416 you might not want to shoot as much because of cost and recoil so sit in front of the boob tube and work it. Keep some lube on it, never dry.
In addition to smoothing the bolt raceways clean up the top edges of the magazine box, the follower and the feed ramp. Someone told me manipulating a CZ 416 Rigby was like driving a garbage truck and after I bought mine I couldn't agree more. I had to slightly roll the forearm so that the longer bolt would clear my face. As I aged the 10 1/2 pound weight got tiresome walking back to the Land Cruiser after chasing buffalo all day. I replaced it with a 416 Ruger. Incidentally I have a Talley peep sight (discontinued) that fits on the integral rear base of the CZ receiver. Makes a nice back up for Africa. PM if interested.
Regarding practice I bought cast lead gas checked bullets which allowed all the practice you want at a reduced cost.
In addition to all of the above recommendations I found that after I treated my bolt and receiver (but not the chamber) with Dyna Tech Gun Coat the actions always ran smoother this and a little moly grease on the back of the bolt lugs. A polished race way and then a Black T finish on the bolt is slicker than owl sh*t.