Savage Enfield chipped rail

toebako

toebako

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My lucky son was just given his great grandpas 303. Savage action with a sporter barrel and stock. 6 round mag. So we got it covered in rust and he just spent the day cleaning all the rust off. Now we put it back together and the bolt hangs up right near the opening in the rail. We noticed some damage at this point. We were confused as the gun worked better rusty. I put the mag in and it works fine but I think a repair is in order to keep the old girl in the action. Has anyone fixed one of these or know where to send it to be fixed.

Thanks
 
If I am following you, you've found a chip missing from the bolt guide lip, just behind the opening into which the bolt head is inserted to catch under that lip. I have a No. 4 with the same issue. I'm also interested to hear how that might be repaired - I was guessing to build up the missing area with TIG weld, but no idea how one would go about shaping that weld on the underside of the lip. On mine, the rear of the bolt head was damaged, and needed a couple swipes with a needle file to get a bevel that largely avoids the hangup as the bolt head passes through the opening, but it is a bit fiddly...

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This is why the Brits didn't like Long Branch and Savage rifles much...they much preferred their own invention of removing the bolt head at the rear.

As for the OP's rifle...chipped rail, covered in rust...

You can buy clean sporters all day long for like $200.

Yes, it has sentimental value.
 
You see threads about this on the Lee Enfield forums all the time. Fixable by a good welder but probably not something worth doing with a sporter. Quick fixes to just keep it shootable (as this isn't any kind of safety issue) include putting a wrap or two of plumbers thread seal tape around the tenon on the bolt head which will tighten it up enough to stop it rotating out of the notch. There may have been enough rust/ gunk in there pre-cleaning to have worked this way. Also, as Potashminer suggests, put bevels on the leading edges of the bolt-head to help it pass the notch. These don't seem to have been originally manufactured with bevels for the Savage and Long Branch Mk I*'s but many of the heads in my stash have had bevels added.

milsurpo
 
Sorry for my poor description. You guys nailed it though. Yes it’s not that valuable $ wise but being a family gun I thought I would try to fix it. I will look into the bevel to help the old gun live a little longer. Tape on the threads of the head makes sense as it does seem to roll up right when it gets to this opening. I see the advantage of the No4 mk2 now.
 
i have one or two such actions here. Plan on eventually try this. Very short spot weld with my mig welder. Then, careful and skillful use of a dremel with small cut-off disks to reshape that corner.
 
I have tigged a couple of these with success. I stick a copper shim in the groove and that keeps the weld from building up where you don't want it. A very light bevel on the face of the grooves on the bolt head helps. It is not worth getting done if you have to pay a lot for it but for fun and the hobby, why not.
 
milsurpo said:
You see threads about this on the Lee Enfield forums all the time. Fixable by a good welder but probably not something worth doing with a sporter. Quick fixes to just keep it shootable (as this isn't any kind of safety issue) include putting a wrap or two of plumbers thread seal tape around the tenon on the bolt head which will tighten it up enough to stop it rotating out of the notch. There may have been enough rust/ gunk in there pre-cleaning to have worked this way. Also, as Potashminer suggests, put bevels on the leading edges of the bolt-head to help it pass the notch. These don't seem to have been originally manufactured with bevels for the Savage and Long Branch Mk I*'s but many of the heads in my stash have had bevels added.

milsurpo
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I’ve got one with the same problem. I should try these options too. One thing that I’ve found, mine does not get hung up when cycling an actual round, just when cycling empty. I guess the extra pressure/tension of the round keeps the bolt head from rotating.
 
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