Savage F/TR .223 - Light primer strikes

[praveen]

I sent the bolt to Grimstod today and I'm ordering a new Wolff spring. Once I receive the bolts back, the plan is to first shoot some factory rounds to make sure everything is fine.
Then, grab some new brass and load 90 gr. bullets with a reduced charge (reduced by about a grain) and shoot those.
If things still don't work properly, then change the spring and try with the same pin protrusion.
If it still doesn't work, check the firing pin protrusion and adjust.

I'm hoping that'll do it.

 

[RegionRat]

That will cover all your bases. Just one more comment to keep in mind while testing... Factory or reloads had nothing to do with mine, but primer types did.

I didn’t know I had a problem with my rigs for a long time for two reasons. I had only shot my leftover Service Rifle Match ammo in them and those were 100% reliable. I use REM 7 1/2 on those. I also shot leftover Black Hills ammo and those were 100%. No surprise since it is primed the same. So they were 100% with no issues detected till I decided to spool them up for a few varmint trips last summer.

When I tried some Russian KVB primers, I suddenly discovered they would not light most anything but the ones I mentioned above. I found it ironic that Savage told me to test them with Black Hills... When I explained to the young man on the phone the long the list of ones that failed, and that the Black Hills or any reloads using REM 7 1/2 were perfect, they couldn’t tell me what they would do to troubleshoot. I am sure there are folks at Savage who would know what to do, but the circumstances last summer were such that I couldn’t get anybody on the phone at the time.

I got most of the help I needed from here and the Savage Forum. Both of mine were from firing pin springs that were too weak, but that was after going down a list of bolt inspections and bolt to trigger relationship dimensions. There are some other known issues with the trigger safety and you should make sure you check those too.

 

[praveen]

Sounds good @RegionRat, I’ll keep the suggestions in mind.

 

[searcher]

I'm pretty sure your problem relates to potential additional headspace provided with the new PTG bolt face. Your loads will probably return to normal after blowing the shoulders forward to fill the chamber - then you need to reset your sizing die to not push the shoulder back as much. You can see if this was the case by measuring the shoulder to base of the fired cases and comparing them with any fired cases that were shot using the old bolt. The ones with the new bolt should measure a bit longer. The light strikes were due to the round not being contained close to the bolt. The flat primers are from the case slamming to the rear and smacking the bolt.

 

[rsbhunter]

Just had that same problem with a ptg bolt head in the .473 size....light or no fires....replaced the bolt head with a stock head, no problem. Have since bought a new bolt assy, had sent directly to grimstad and had the pin turned and head brushed....BEST money I have spent in many years....100% reliability, primers have 0 ridge, or cratering .....I love custom stuff, but with savage, have it trued (if needed) and shoot.....Russell