Savage 99 extraction problem

yorgi

yorgi

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A friend has a Savage 99 in 300 Savage, the rifle was recently rebarreled because the original barrel was badly pitted.
If feeds and fires without a problem but the empty cases get stuck in the chamber. The extractor seems to grip the cartridge head properly, it's just that the fit of the case is so tight that there's not enough leverage to extract it.
The only way to remove his spent casings (only tried it twice so far) is by tapping it from the muzzle-end with a thin steel rod.
Any ideas as to what the problem may be?
 
Factory or handloads? Handloads developed in the previous barrel? 99's are a bit subject to poor extraction if the pressure is high. Other answers can be valid too and if ammo (have you tried changing) isn't the problem return it to the gunsmith to get it right.
 
Examine the fired cases and the chamber surfaces- is there any indication of rough chambering? If so the chamber may need polishing. Note that with factory loads or with handloads on the mild side extraction power is adequate (but less than a bolt action).

John S.
 
OK how bout a stupid question?
Was the new barrel put on a 300 Savage or a .308 Winchester?
This rifle was produced in both of these calibers and firing a 300 Savage in a .308 Win chamber would cause the type of hold up you have described.
I know these two cartridges are not the same but... in a worn action with just the right ammount of slop this can happen.
We once had a fellow bring us a 7.62x54R Nagant and explain how he was having very hard extractions, he handed the 3 empty 7.62 NATO (Canadian) fired brass to me and I told him to go buy a lottery ticket right now as I considered him the luckiest man in the world. What saved his life??

Scott
Dycor Special Services
 
Short note---Savage 99 rifles do not have a lot of extraction power to pop the case free of the chamber after it has been fired. (compared to a bolt action) To deal with this issue and because they are dealing with high pressure cartridges such as are used in bolt action type rifles they usually run more headspace than you would in a bolt action rifle. A gunsmith setting up a bolt gun is going to set the headspace between "Go" and "No Go" and for a precision rifle or benchrest type it will be crowding the "Go" gauge plus one thousandth of an inch.
A Savage 99 should be set at "No Go" or "No Go Plus" just don't exceed "Field Gauge" or you are building a pipe bomb!.
If you observe the action on your Savage -- it unlocks by caming down at the rear-- you will note that it actually puches forward at the bottom of the breech face against the spent case. -----There must be enough headspace in the chamber to allow the fired case to expand and contract after firing so that this forward push by the breech face does not create a "Taper Lock" in the chamber. You have a tapered case and a tapered chamber and your machinist friend will be familiar with the strength of a taper lock when used to drive machine tools on his lath or milling machine.
When loading for a Savage 99 they work best with full length sizing with Small Base Dies and you are only going to get 4-5 loads before you see case seperation problems caused by this necessary loading practice.
I expect your friend tried to do too good a job and set up his headspace too tight or used a match chamber instead of a Saami spec. chamber .
Its the nature of the beast--give it a little more tolerance to expand and contract the brass in so that after the brass has been fired its loose enough in the chamber that it can be pushed forward slightly by the breechblock without touching and locking it in the chamber. Obviously don't open up into "Field Gauge " toerance or beyound.
 
An easy way to check for excessive headspace is to load a full length sized brass into the chamber and with a piece or several pieces of shimstock , see how many you can insert between the brass and the fully closed bolt. I was able to fit over .020 in my 99. I reduced that to .010 and all extraction problems dissapeared as well as split cases.
As already noted above 99s have almost 0 extracton power with most of the power limited to dropping the bolt down out of the breech before it travels backward. If you pull the buttstock off you can see how the cam works and where you will get excessive wear.
 
You might also try a different cartridge manufacturer. I have found Federal brass to frequently be a bit hard and /or heavier and subsequently it does not retract from the chamber wall after firing as readily as WW or RP brass. I don't use Federal brass in either of my 300's for anything other than cast bullet lower pressure applications.
 
Dang, you guys are explaining to a tee whats going on with my Savage 99 in 284 Win.

Shoots fine but I can't eject the sheel without a really hard pull on the lever. The primers aren't popped out so I'm guessing I've got some kind of chamber problem. It still hasn't made it to the gunsmith yet. Savage did have problems with headspace in the 99's with the 284, 22-250 and the 7mm-08 for some reason but how many of these guns do you find chambered in those anyways.
 
Mad Dog: The 284 and the 308 family operate at higher pressures than the cartridges the action was originally developed for. It is quite easy to tie a 99 up by trying to load these to most recommended maximums. Back off a bit and no problem. Usually not chamber related but pressure related along with little primary extraction power.
 
I'm using factory ammo in it, shot 6 shells and had to reef the action open on all six. Then I called it a day, put the gun away and haven't taken it out of the safe since last season.

I know about the lower loads for 99's, actually the common 99 load is 2 gr,s less than recommended loads. :wink: :lol:
 
Mad Dog: Yep, those are about the right load parameters to avoid problems. Buy new brass and load to that level and enjoy the rifles. I don't need small base dies with my loads but have small base dies to rework once fired factory brass I may come across.

Despite the restricted extraction power the 99 is a strong action. I once tried to blow one that had been damaged to some extent in a house fire (not enough heat to affect springs but wood was heavily charred and metal surface finish was badly damaged ). The case turned to braze without any breaking of the action although it did stretch and set back a bit. It finished it's life in about 40 fathoms.
 
Had a buddy throw a 99 away cause it was in a house fire, to bad, the parts would have still been fine.

Although any Savage 1899 manufactured before the 90,000 serial number was not heat treated and some say they've heard about the frames cracking I've yet to come across a single person that this has happened to. :wink:
 
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