Savage BR12 sticking bolt

[mark belitz]

I have a Savage BR12 . Was originally a .308 , but had re-barreled to a .284 . Problem is when raising the bolt after firing a round , I have to give it a little "bump up" at the top of stroke for lugs to completely clear and unlock . It does it with new or used brass . Brass has no marks on it and is not loaded "hot" . Case is not swelling up . Unfired rounds are smooth going in and out , no problem , just after been fired . I use Peterson brass , 180gr Berger Hybrid with 50.8 gr of H4350 , 2850FPS . I have been told that this is a characteristic symptom of a Savage bolt . Any info would be appreciated . Thanks

 

[strut64]

I have have a number of savage rifles. The only time I have a reaction as you describe is due to high pressure. Your load seems OK according to Hodgdon reloading. But every rifle is its own story. I would back down a bit and see what happens. Could your bullets be seated too far out or chamber oily?

 

[Texas10]

You mention the bolt cycles normally with no round or an unfired round, so I'm thinking there maybe some residual cleaning material in the chamber, rather than a pressure issue. However one question that leaps to mind is this: does this problem occur with factory ammo?

I would start by thoroughly cleaning the chamber.

 

[Dgd6mm]

It's a possibility that it's a sizing issue. I think you've missed something. I'm not implying you don't clean your rifle properly but the chamber could be dirty, gummy, sticky, something. I have owned at least a dozen Savage and many extra barrels. If I had an issue like this it usually is in the reloading process, or brass dimensions.

 

[GuitarmanNick]

Not expecting this to be an issue with a Savage, but something to consider.

Does the bolt require the same force to open if you dry fire with no round in the chamber?

If so, you may want to look carefully at the locking lugs and receiver where they contact. A little polishing on those points should make releasing the bolt after firing much easier and still have solid lock-up.

This method cured the issue on my Mosin M-44. Had to hit the bolt handle really hard to open it after the trigger was pulled, even with no round in the chamber. Machining was very rough on the offending areas which was causing it to bind. Bolts in them are very loose fitting which can contribute to this condition.

 

[dminn1]

I have a Savage BR12 . Was originally a .308 , but had re-barreled to a .284 . Problem is when raising the bolt after firing a round , I have to give it a little "bump up" at the top of stroke for lugs to completely clear and unlock . It does it with new or used brass . Brass has no marks on it and is not loaded "hot" . Case is not swelling up . Unfired rounds are smooth going in and out , no problem , just after been fired . I use Peterson brass , 180gr Berger Hybrid with 50.8 gr of H4350 , 2850FPS . I have been told that this is a characteristic symptom of a Savage bolt . Any info would be appreciated . Thanks

It is possible that you could be on the low side of having enough primary extraction on your action. This is controlled by the interaction of the bolt handle, bolt baffle, and rear of the receiver on your rifle. This issue has been addressed by either shortening the bolt body at the rear, adding shims between the baffle and receiver, or installing set screws in the baffle to control its distance from the receiver. As a quick check you can experiment with inserting various thickness feeler gauges between the baffle and receiver while trying to extract a known sticky previously fired case to see if this remedies the sticky extraction issue. There is a lot of info and ideas on addressing this on the Savage Shooters site if you determine this is the cause. I had the same issue with one of my new Savage actions and installed and adjusted set screws in the baffle and cured this in my rifle. Just an idea of one possible cause of your issue. Hope this helps.

 

[Dgd6mm]

It is possible that you could be on the low side of having enough primary extraction on your action. This is controlled by the interaction of the bolt handle, bolt baffle, and rear of the receiver on your rifle. This issue has been addressed by either shortening the bolt body at the rear, adding shims between the baffle and receiver, or installing set screws in the baffle to control its distance from the receiver. As a quick check you can experiment with inserting various thickness feeler gauges between the baffle and receiver while trying to extract a known sticky previously fired case to see if this remedies the sticky extraction issue. There is a lot of info and ideas on addressing this on the Savage Shooters site if you determine this is the cause. I had the same issue with one of my new Savage actions and installed and adjusted set screws in the baffle and cured this in my rifle. Just an idea of one possible cause of your issue. Hope this helps.

^^^^^ l have to admit, I forgot about this. It is also a possibility.

 

[wkdickinson]

A couple years ago I bought a used 243 Win built on a Savage "target" action, with a Criterion barrel. This was my first Savage. It came with a Forster neck die and a bunch of used Lapua brass. The guy also gave me his load recipe. The load shot great, no pressure signs, but I had the same problem as you with difficult extraction. I shimmed the buffer, which helped, but didn't fix the problem. Fortunately, I read an old post on here about the cause being incorrect case sizing. I thought that strange because I had no problem closing the bolt. But I'd run out of fixes, so I bought a Redding Type-S Full Length resizing die and set it up to bump the shoulder back .002" - problem solved!

I removed the baffle shim, sold the neck die and all is well.

 

[MGYSGT]

I put a new barrel on my Savage. Same chamber reamer as the previous barrel. Brass started sticking on extraction. Drove me crazy. Finally used a small base sizing die. I had been using a body die before that and sometimes only neck sizing die. Anyhow, the small base die sorted out the problem. I have given up neck die sizing now.

 

[caihlen]

Front action screw binding the lugs?