22-250 heavy bolt lift and bolt click

[long40shot]

I've shot pounds of Varget in my 22-250 through the years and is my go to powder. 34grns is a mild load.

 

[garandman]

Cases need trimming?

Measure a sized unfired case that chambers / extracts easily vs. A fired case that extracts hard to eliminate this possibility.

A hearty chamber brushing is also recommended.

 

[Edward]

Nothing wrong with using Varget in the 22-250, it’s a fine choice for that cartridge. That’s also a mild load.
I’m betting it’s a sizing issue. Is your die adjusted correctly? I’d be tempted to screw the die into the press a little farther, thus sizing the case a little more.

The press cams over already how far down should I screw the die

 

[B23]

What happens when you chamber a fired and unsized case, particularly one of them that gave you heavy bolt lift when it was fired? Does a fired case go back in the gun and the bolt closes or is there a lot of resistance on the bolt handle when you close it? Are you measuring the shoulders before and after you size your cases and if so how far back are you pushing them.

 

[AckleymanII]

34g of Varget is a minimum load. Federal brass is soft, suggest some SIG brass from Cabela's.

Some of the Savage barrels are rough as a sewer pipe. If this is the case with your barrel, you have a severe carbon and copper build up, and pressures will spike.

Long cases that need trimming can create a crimp on the end of the case causing pressure spikes.

Fire a new piece of brass, examine the brass closely with a magnifying glass for where the chamber is scuffing the brass.

I helped a friend last year with same problem on a savage, the darn thing was carbon fouled and copper fouled to a point to where it was just unbelievable. The barrel was very rough and he ended up with a cleaning/de coppering frequency of 12 rounds to keep the barrel shooting it's best. He bought a lyman bore scope.

 

[Edward]

Nothing wrong with using Varget in the 22-250, it’s a fine choice for that cartridge. That’s also a mild load.
I’m betting it’s a sizing issue. Is your die adjusted correctly? I’d be tempted to screw the die into the press a little farther, thus sizing the case a little more.

What happens when you chamber a fired and unsized case, particularly one of them that gave you heavy bolt lift when it was fired? Does a fired case go back in the gun and the bolt closes or is there a lot of resistance on the bolt handle when you close it? Are you measuring the shoulders before and after you size your cases and if so how far back are you pushing them.

Fired cases are very hard to close Sized case shoulders are .004-005 less than the fired cases

 

[AckleymanII]

Sounds like your chamber is egg shaped, no big deal just full length size them after every firing. Still does not explain the high pressure on minimum load.

 

[Evan]

I haven't followed all the conversation, but have you had the extraction timing checked? If your primary extraction is wrong (bolt handle and caming surfaces out of alignment) then even moderate loads could result in cases that are difficult to extract.

 

[Edward]

At my wits end!! I cleaned barrel, cleaned chamber, reinstalled barrel (.004 between go and no go gauge) and lowered sizing die. the sized rounds chambered easily (except for I factory round) after firing all had a very heavy bolt lift and bolt click. All primers looked flat ( could firing pin be too long?) Could chamber be short ? Would a field gauge solve the problem? If timing was off would I have problems with sized rounds (sized rounds chamber and extract easily) The area between the base and .324 high is scratched(more than just a rub) grabbing at straws now could I be oversizing the brass or Am I beating a dead horse and should I just get another barrel

 

[Evan]

A bolt with timing problems will extract unfired rounds fine. You can find videos on YouTube about extraction timing and try to self diagnose it but you probably won't be able to fix it yourself.

 

[lawman29]

Frank G asked in previous post if

Any evidence or signs of the bullets engaging the rifling?

Did you cycle reloaded and factory ammo through the chamber and check this?
Are there marks on the brass from just cycling loaded rounds?

 

[Edward]

There are light scratches near the base of sized rounds I'm going to take it to a gunsmith. From what I've read here it's either timing or a rough chamber. Neither of which I can fix Thanks for all the help and suggestions Ed