I purchased a Howa 1500 HS Precision in 300 Win Mag early this summer and finally got it out to sight in this weekend. I has some Federal Premium 180 grain and some Sako Gamehead 180 grain. After my first shot with the Federal, the bolt would not open. I had to use a small rubber mallet to finally get it to open. The cartridge had fed fine but would not release the bolt. When it finally opened, the extractor flipped the cartridge out as it should. This happened on my next 4 rounds. They all fed no problem, but after the shot, the bolt would not open without the aid of the rubber mallet. I then switched to the Sako and had the exact same issues. I put 3 rounds of the Sako through the gun and decided that was enough. After looking online, I gave it a good cleaning including the chamber. Out of curiosity, I tried to feed the fired brass into the gun and the Federal would not even chamber, stopping about 1/8 of an inch from allowing the bolt to close, and then required the rubber mallet again to get it back enough to eject. The fired Sako brass was slightly better and I could get it to load in completely and close the bolt but could not get the bolt open again without really yanking on it. I tried the fired brass in my Bergara 300 Win Mag and it fed and extracted with no issues at all. So it appears that the ammo is not the problem. I have reached out to Howa's warranty department but not heard back. Anyone have any thoughts on what the issue could be? I am fearing the chamber may be out of spec but am I by now means an expert on these things.
Howa 1500 300 Win Mag Bolt Locked and Won't Extract After Firing
- Thread starter allthewayaround
- Start date
Howa claims that it's going to be near perfect but #### happens. As long as you're feeding the correct ammo then it should be fine. I had issues in old rifles that had damaged chambers, have a real close look for debris inside and outside the chamber and locks.
I checked the chamber with a magnifying glass and nothing that seems out of sorts. I also checked the brass and cannot see anything indicating anything is amiss. And the fact that both brands of ammo had the same issue leads me to believe it's not an ammo thing. The extractor is grabbing the cartridge but the cases are getting stuck in the chamber after firing. If i run a round in but don't fire it, it extracts without any problems.
If you bought it at a retailer, I'd take it back, explain exactly what had happened, and ask for either a refund or exchange.
It seems the chamber may not be within spec, as you can chamber a round and extract it easily if not fired. The chamber may be oversized and when the round is fired, the brass is expanding to the point that it's very difficult to remove from the chamber. Can you post a pic of what the fired case looks like compared to an unfired round? If you have a dial or electronic caliber, you can measure the fired case and compare it to one fired out of your other rifle.....
It seems the chamber may not be within spec, as you can chamber a round and extract it easily if not fired. The chamber may be oversized and when the round is fired, the brass is expanding to the point that it's very difficult to remove from the chamber. Can you post a pic of what the fired case looks like compared to an unfired round? If you have a dial or electronic caliber, you can measure the fired case and compare it to one fired out of your other rifle.....
I have reached out to Howa but not heard back yet. I will see about getting the calipers out and check the cases fired versus unfired. I am pretty sure its a chamber issue as well. But they fired brass will cycle in my Bergara no problem so that kind of gets me scratching my head about it being oversized.
Additional Update
I was able to speak with a very helpful rep from Howa's warranty department. He suggested removing the scope and trying it before I shipped it to them as I would need to remove it anyway before i sent it. I did as suggested last night and removed the scope. I also gave the chamber another good cleaning, and to my surprise, the gun fired and cycled. It was still pretty sticky to open but I was able to do it with both types of ammo and a bit of effort (and no rubber mallet). So out of curiosity, I put the scope back on and it fired and cycled, again sticky but manageable. I also was able to cycle the old fired brass in it as well. So I am starting to think there must be some debris or even corrosion in the chamber, but I can’t really see anything obvious. Last night I sprayed some gun solvent in the chamber and left it overnight. I am hoping that whatever is in there will be broken down and I can get it running a bit smoother. I really like the weight and fit of this rifle, so if this works, that would be great. I think it would be best for me to hang onto it for a week or to and see if things improve and go from there.
Both Howa and Tillsonburg Gun Shop have been very responsive and helpful in dealing with this issue, so hats off to both.
I was able to speak with a very helpful rep from Howa's warranty department. He suggested removing the scope and trying it before I shipped it to them as I would need to remove it anyway before i sent it. I did as suggested last night and removed the scope. I also gave the chamber another good cleaning, and to my surprise, the gun fired and cycled. It was still pretty sticky to open but I was able to do it with both types of ammo and a bit of effort (and no rubber mallet). So out of curiosity, I put the scope back on and it fired and cycled, again sticky but manageable. I also was able to cycle the old fired brass in it as well. So I am starting to think there must be some debris or even corrosion in the chamber, but I can’t really see anything obvious. Last night I sprayed some gun solvent in the chamber and left it overnight. I am hoping that whatever is in there will be broken down and I can get it running a bit smoother. I really like the weight and fit of this rifle, so if this works, that would be great. I think it would be best for me to hang onto it for a week or to and see if things improve and go from there.
Both Howa and Tillsonburg Gun Shop have been very responsive and helpful in dealing with this issue, so hats off to both.
Brand new. Just have not had time to get it out of the safe and dialed in since May.
The Howa rep suggested that the storage grease in the chamber may have turned to carbon upon firing and that I should use a carbon cleaner on the chamber. I may not have cleaned it very well originally. I do have some of the Breakthrough carbon cleaner so I will try that as well. It's definitely better but still not good. He also though maybe the scope ring screws were misaligned and interfering but I could see no evidence of that nor any scoring or marring on the bolt or casings that would indicate that. So hopefully it is a cleaning/carbon issue.
I've seen that happen a couple times before. A very thin skim of rust in the chamber is very hard to see and will hold them in there like glue. I put a small split on the end of a wood dowel and put a pc of xx fine steel wool in the split. Chucked it a drill and did a light polish with lots of light oil lube.
