Marred Bolt Face - Replacement?

[Mike Lum]

That tiny mark at 11:30 in the photo is about typical for a rig with 1500 rounds on it. Can be worse, can be better just depending on your habits with respect to brass and pressure levels.

I see you removed the ejector for the job, which is good to make sure there isn't harmful crud down there that ruins the spring prematurely. Ejector springs and extractors need some love every now and then, as do firing pin assemblies. Glad that had a happy ending.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[RegionRat]

Thanks for the tips!

You are welcome.

Now do me a favor.

I have now seen your other posts, like the one with the inertia hammer incident where you mentioned the blown primers and the loose primer pockets.

I know that was your learning curve and all, but nothing good comes from a rookie running worn out brass or exploring the edges of the pressure map without a mentor right over their shoulder to keep them safe.

If you see a primer backing out in your hammer, why risk the next step? Just stop and call it part of the cost of the learning curve.

Try and play things a little safer. If you think something is sketchy, stop and think a little longer and steer toward the safe side. I would hate to have a kaboom story with your name on it.

Good Luck and play it safe.

 

[BoydAllen]

I have seen bolt faces that were really deeply pitted all around where the edge of the primer was, and IMO that is only an aesthetic problem. They shot fine.

 

[RegionRat]

Agree, no points for being pretty, but you could have some serious pitting there and still have lots of safety margin.

 

[jepp2]

A few years back there were Winchester primers that would blow around the periphery at max charges.

And sometimes at less than max loads. Winchester purchased back what I had and paid to repair my bolt face. Also had the same failure with Rem 9 1/2 and 7 1/2 primers. Really makes you glad for eye protection when it happens. You get a face full of gas.

 

[Old Navy]

Would bushing the bolt face and new brass cure the ailment and the cause?

He didn't mention cratering primers. The few I have blown over the last few years with my Savage were the result of that.

 

[Mike Lum]

You are welcome.

Now do me a favor.

I have now seen your other posts, like the one with the inertia hammer incident where you mentioned the blown primers and the loose primer pockets.

I know that was your learning curve and all, but nothing good comes from a rookie running worn out brass or exploring the edges of the pressure map without a mentor right over their shoulder to keep them safe.

If you see a primer backing out in your hammer, why risk the next step? Just stop and call it part of the cost of the learning curve.

Try and play things a little safer. If you think something is sketchy, stop and think a little longer and steer toward the safe side. I would hate to have a kaboom story with your name on it.

Good Luck and play it safe.

You're right, it's tough to teach a good ol boy new ways after they've crashed through most of life breaking things to find out how they work.. and then how to repair them
Along the way of asking for advice, I created some of these threads here today in a hope my ignorance would help a few folks avoid some of my mistakes, hoping that if they saw the pictures and read the writeup they wouldn't have to repeat my mistakes to learn the outcome.
I appreciate your concern, the hair is grey enough to move onto erring on the side of safety instead of saving a dollar or two.
Don't want to drag politics into a place people enjoy but In Canada liberals have all but gutted the firearms culture, an experienced mentor is not easy to find.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Stripped the bolt as suggested and gave it a good go, cleaner wouldn't touch the fouling and I didn't want to mess around with a wire brush so I did the same I would with a barrel I can't patch out any more.. JB's.

Didn't take much to get it off there, some pitting still showing but it looks like there may still be some life in it..
View attachment 1403684

That looks just fine. Shoot it.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Keep on going. That was your brass, not a problem with you (except for you keeping on using it past its useful life). Just keep on moving forward and be careful

 

[Jeff Porter]

Nothing wrong with that bolt face.

Wish I had taken a photo of the R700 bolt face I had destroyed with some hot loads in defective primers. They pierced at the corners and some leaked at the around the primer. Was not aware of what was going on in an 80 shot match and had a pretty full circle of deep pits. Had to have Walt Krafft bush the pin and reface the bolt. Ended up having to set the barrel back too because the pits were so deep it was out of headspace spec when it was polished out.