Savage bolt won't close....

I had that happen with a savage. The base screws were different length, and I had a long one in the wrong spot. Threaded right thru to the bolt and stopped it from closing. have a look at those base screws.

Lol so basically what Ganderite said....

Duff
 
Ghunter said:
This is a used Savage Model 111 hunting rifle that the action and barrel were sent to gunsmith for barrel work (muzzle Break).
Now I can't close the bolt completely. Everything was just fine before I sent it out. Scope base and action screws checked and nothing changed bolt wise...
Bolt will only rotate 1/4" then there is a solid "click" and that's it. Bolt will actually eject a chambered round too. I'm testing this with barrel and action removed from the stock and no go.
Any suggestion would be much appreciated.
Thx
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Ganderite said:
Are you sure that one of the scope base screws is not sticking down inside the receiver?
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Duffk21 said:
I had that happen with a savage. The base screws were different length, and I had a long one in the wrong spot. Threaded right thru to the bolt and stopped it from closing. have a look at those base screws.

Lol so basically what Ganderite said....

Duff
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OP checked that.
 
Obviously you have a problem that requires the barreled action and bolt to go back to the gunsmith. Hopefully it wasn't an indexed brake (not break) he installed as it sounds like the barrel will require indexing.
 
m39a2 said:
Check that your firing pin sear, the round knob on the bolt body should be in the same position as the bolt head, if it is not then the bolt will not go all the way in.

Scott
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I had this happened to me one time, you may have to manually put it to the back notch before you put your bolt in. There may be an easy trick to do it, but it took me quite a bit of force to jam it back.
 
m14medic.ca said:
Barrels need to be longer than 21" to fit into my lathe with an action attached. And even then, generally it's not a good idea to just have the muzzle sticking out.... how would you square it up if there's only an inch or 2 to work with?

It's a good assumption that barrels get removed for any barrel cuting or threading...

Jihn
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I think about 21 inches is about as short as I can go as well. If longer than that though, one can dial in the muzzle with the barrel in the four jaw and dial in the breech end off a mandrel inserted into the receiver. On the Savage, one could even dial in on the receiver ring and achieve decent alignment. Another alternative is to use a range rod sort of a set-up where you align only the last four inches or so.
 
dand883 said:
I had this happened to me one time, you may have to manually put it to the back notch before you put your bolt in. There may be an easy trick to do it, but it took me quite a bit of force to jam it back.
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For disassembly of Rem 700 bolts, I wrap a piece of paracord around the cocking piece to pull it back while I unscrew it.
I think a piece of paracord around the sear knob on a Savage bolt would let you get it back into the cocked position fairly easy.
 
Well - Since you didn't send the bolt in the first case, the gunsmith would have to ballpark the headspace ..... I presume the bolt closes on an empty chamber.
 
Well. It's holiday long week end.... still waiting for a reply. But here is a pic of what they did to line things up. Bolt still won't close on empty chamber but enough to pick up a chambered round.
413441767.jpg
 
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I don't know for anyone else but I would never take a Savage barrel off without the bolt to re-headspace after the work. Any other shouldered bareel no problem but a barrel nut one you can't guess.

Find someone with the barrel nut wrench and recheck the headspace
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys... but it turns out that the barrel was screwed in too much from the smith. They were helpful and took it back in and paid for shipping both ways.
Was a great learning curve...
 
Ghunter said:
Well. It's holiday long week end.... still waiting for a reply. But here is a pic of what they did to line things up. Bolt still won't close on empty chamber but enough to pick up a chambered round.
413441767.jpg
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Your 'gunsmith' is a butcher. Center punching the barrel, nut, action. and recoil lug to confirm alignment?!
I would be livid if I got my rifle back like that.
 
Even with the butcher marks, the bottom set don't line up.
Olie Crap ............... good smiths don't leaf tell tale marks they were there.
 
Wow a full extra spin around the sun there. What's really scary is what would have happened is you were able to jam that bolt close and shoot it..........

That Smith needs his head checked. He absolutely should have requested your bolt to be sent with the rifle. Not sure why it wasn't.
 
Nothing would have happened because, if the barrel is a turn too far in, closing the bolt is an absolute impossibility. If the barrel is turned in just a little too much, closure would be difficult and, if it could be closed, there would be no issues with firing. If the barrel is out a little far, an excessive headspace condition would exist which could be dangerous. If the barrel was out by one full turn, headspace would be grossly excessive. In this case it is possible the rifle wouldn't even fire but, if it did, a case head separation would undoubtedly occur. Look, the gunsmith did make a mistake and it's difficult to understand how or why but I expect he will correct it. I won't comment on the punch marks except to say that I don't see the point. On a Savage, the lug is located by a notch in the receiver and cannot turn. How much the nut is turned does not affect headspace.
 
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