Bolt face/breech face nick on .223 Axis

Jet A-1

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I recently purchased a Savage Axis in .223. I have had it to the range to get a few rounds through it and fine tune the zero and have 20 shots down the barrel with no problems whatsoever. My issue though is this: I just finished cleaning it and noticed a small gouge on the bolt face and then checked and sure enough there is a corresponding nick on the breech face that you can clearly see and feel (it is raised and can be felt quite clearly with a dental type pick - it is on the left side). This nick has made a corresponding gouge in the face of the bolt. It doesn't seem to affect the action at all but I am concerned about the guns longeivity. Should I just let this "wear in" where the gouge and nick will wear together and just leave it alone/ Should I go the warranty route? Or take it to a gunsmith for a repair? I was comtemplating trying to return it to the place of purchase and try to simply exchange it. Maybe it is a non-issue and I should just forget about it. What about safety issues?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thx,

Jeff
 
I just finished cleaning it and noticed a small gouge on the bolt face and then checked and sure enough there is a corresponding nick on the breech face that you can clearly see and feel (it is raised and can be felt quite clearly with a dental type pick - it is on the left side). This nick has made a corresponding gouge in the face of the bolt.
Pics would clarify your question. The bolt face is what touches the brass, the nose is the part of the head that would be closest to the breech face or barrel. There should be .010" clearance between these latter two parts and if there were some hard object larger than that stuck between them, well you could end up with marks especially if you chamber a round in a firm manner assuming all was well. I suspect something got in there and it is only a cosmetic issue but again, pics would help.
 
I see what you mean. My terminology is incorrect. I guess the gouge I am referring to is in the bolt nose. I'll see if I can get some pics up to help. As I said though the action is smooth, at least as smooth as an Axis can be :) and it funtions perfectly with respect to feed and ejection.
 
The bolt nose should not touch the barrel face. If nose and face were marked because of a piece of debris caught between them, that was a one time event, and there will be no continuing wear, and longevity of the action will not be affected.
 
Okay, it's nearly pointless to try to get pics. It is virtually impossible to get a picture of the burr on the face of the barrel. It is about 1/8" in length (maybe a shade less) x < 1/16" wide and is situated about half way from the chamber to the outer circumference of the barrel directly to the left of the chamber. It has made a corresponding mark or scratch (which I am referring to as a gouge, although it is slight) on the nose of the bolt. The burr is not debris as it cannot be moved away with a dental pick. I'll be putting another couple of boxes of rounds through it in the next few days so I'll keep an eye on it and determine if it is getting worse. I suspect that the mark will not get much worse once it wears in with the burr and that will be all I can do about it. It is nearly impossible to access the face of the barrel with any kind of file/dremel/sandpaper/steel wool/etc. I may bring it to a gunsmith for an opinion. The pics I took of the bolt do not show the mark very well, certainly not well enough to post. I'll have anpther go at pictures but I'll have to see what kind of close up features my camera has.
 
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