Savage Mark II F bolt problems - can anybody help?

wincher

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Hey everyone

Another CGNer and I attempted to make a trade deal, with him giving me a Savage Mark II F, which had recently made a trip to the gunsmith for some accurizing. He had not test fired it after the gunsmith trip, but that shouldn't have been a concern.

However, once I brought the gun home, I attempted to fire it, but discovered a small amount of metal had been removed from the front of the bolt, so that it would no longer feed rounds. No matter what I did with the mag, the bolt wouldn't pick up the first round in the magazine. It would clear the lip of the cartridge by about 1/8".

The other CGNer and I reversed the trade, and he brought it back to the gunsmith to try get it fixed. It took a little bit, but the smith soldered some metal on to the front of the bolt, cleaned it up, and gave it back. So we attempted to test fire it together. This time, the rifle fed, fired, extracted, but wouldn't eject the empty casing. If we pulled hard enough (not that hard - just a little harder than you would normally work the action), the bolt would come right out of the action, casing still held fast by both extractors.

So, the other CGNer is taking it back to the gunsmith again, to try figure out what went wrong. In the meantime, could someone post a couple pictures of the underside of their Mark II bolt? That might help to diagnose the problem, and get a resolution from the gunsmith.

(Out of respect, I am avoiding using the other CGNer's name, and the name of the gunsmith. The CGNer has been a stand-up guy, and has done everything he could to straighten this out. If he wants to chime in on this thread, he can. Again, my fight is not with him at all. He's been as respectful and helpful as he could be.)
 
Hey, Jesse here. I've contacted the smithy and will hear him out. In his defence he had told me initially that this would be the first savage he's worked on. I plan to give the bolt and components a good cleaning which may help with the ejector's function. As for the bolt itself, after speaking with a colleague, the trigger assembly is what keeps the bolt locked into the receiver. I will have a look at the internals but it won't be for the next few weeks, I'm up to my eyeballs restoring a 200y/o farmhouse outside Guelph until mid Sept. Will keep you posted but don't wait up, if you decide to purchase another rifle, I don't mind hanging onto this gal.

You've been an awesome correspondent despite the unfortunate circumstances. I appreciate your patience and understanding.
Cheers and all the best.
 
What ammo type were you using and when is the last time the chamber was cleaned? The bolt coming out is weird, but these rifles are notorious for extraction issues with certain ammo. Mine hates Winchester M22, it has a wax that builds up in the chamber and the extractor isn’t strong enough to remove the round. Federal blue box and CCI extract fine every time, could be the ammo
 
In his defence he had told me initially that this would be the first savage he's worked on. I plan to give the bolt and components a good cleaning which may help with the ejector's function. As for the bolt itself, after speaking with a colleague, the trigger assembly is what keeps the bolt locked into the receiver.

There is no excuse for a "gunsmith" that this is their "first time" working on a specific model of rifle. Some things are just basic mechanical common sense! Rimfire actions all generally work off the same concepts for extraction, ejection, and bolt retaining. What differs is, generally, exact part shapes/dimensions and locations. The ejector is a fixed, static component, sounds like it may have been altered and no longer contacts the spent casing to kick it out as it should. To be perfectly honest, it sound like the "smith" altered the bolt, the trigger, and the ejector to the degree that they no longer function. What any of that had to do with "accurizing" is beyond me. I say he owes you a new rifle, at the very least replacement trigger, bolt, and ejector. I'd be willing to have a look at it for you if you can meet at the Galt rifle club, just PM me if that's something you'd like to arrange.

What ammo type were you using and when is the last time the chamber was cleaned? The bolt coming out is weird, but these rifles are notorious for extraction issues with certain ammo. Mine hates Winchester M22, it has a wax that builds up in the chamber and the extractor isn’t strong enough to remove the round. Federal blue box and CCI extract fine every time, could be the ammo

OP stated no issues with extraction, but rather ejection. Ammo is not the issue. The MKII extraction issues are well known, and the root cause of this has been determined. It is detailed in threads here and on RFC as well. The true fix is to file the extractor slot in the breech closer to the chamber mouth.
 
Mark II E Receiver bolt:

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Unfortunately, I doubt the Smith will honour much, having worked on the rifle myself since he had it. Originally he had it for over 4months, due to the germ. The work he was commissioned to do was completed (sloppily) however he must have tampered with the other components mentioned as well, I can't for the life of me figure out why. I'll link this thread to both him and the other gentlemen who have been involved with this enigma of a pickle. Thanks everyone for the input! For the record, I mean no disrespect, just calls em like I see em.
 
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