Tikka T3 bolt stuck in action

GMC403

GMC403

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
294   0   1
Location
BC
Ok, before the Tikka crowd flames me....... This is just a friendly heads up.

A buddy brought me his kids Stainless T3 and said he couldn't open the bolt to save his life. Sure enough, I couldn't either. After dissasembling the rifle (verified there was no round in the chamber) there was no obvious cause for the stuck bolt, the bolt itself actually had some play in it (as it should).

I put the barreled action in a vise and a snipe over the bolt handle, a little pressure and the bolt cycled open. With some more effort I was able to dissasemble the bolt and found the firing pin assembly completely corroded and pitted. The firing pin on the T3 isn't stainless, and the bearing surface of the firing pin had seized to the inside of the bolt sleeve.

I was able to clean it up and have it be serviceable again, but was shocked how badly corroded it was.

I informed my buddy about what I found, he dissasebled his other T3 and found it was just about as corroded.
The rifle is 3 years old, with 3 full hunting seasons under its belt. It was heavily lubricated all over but the bolt had never been disassembled.

So..... Always remember to remove and clean your firing pin assembly's, especially here on the "Wet Coast"



 
Last edited:
GMC403 said:
Ok, before the Tikka crowd flames me....... This is just a friendly heads up.

A buddy brought me his kids Stainless T3 and said he couldn't open the bolt to save his life. Sure enough, I couldn't either. After dissasembling the rifle (verified there was no round in the chamber) there was no obvious cause for the stuck bolt, the bolt itself actually had some play in it (as it should).

I put the barreled action in a vise and a snipe over the bolt handle, a little pressure and the bolt cycled open. With some more effort I was able to dissasemble the bolt and found the firing pin assembly completely corroded and pitted. The firing pin on the T3 isn't stainless, and the bearing surface of the firing pin had seized to the inside of the bolt sleeve.

I was able to clean it up and have it be serviceable again, but was shocked how badly corroded it was.

I informed my buddy about what I found, he dissasebled his other T3 and found it was just about as corroded.
The rifle is 3 years old, with 3 full hunting seasons under its belt. It was heavily lubricated all over but the bolt had never been disassembled.

So..... Always remember to remove and clean your firing pin assembly's, especially here on the "Wet Coast"
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. I bought a T3 stainless in .308 this past fall but haven't had it out yet.
 
I'd say most bolts have never been stripped down, and the average owner doesn't know how and never will. The chances go way up with the many field strippable designs but don't bet the farm on it. Sako owners are fun, because you can pop their bolt apart so fast that you can pretend you broke it. The look on his face will tell you whether he ever got past polishing the blueing or not. Vanguard owners usually look dumbfounded, but they will likely laugh and ask to be shown how. Sako guys usually look like they can't make up their mind whether to have a heart attack or strangle you. Ahhh; mindgames...................................
 
the guns I ceracote get all the bolt internals done. no corrosion. then I just check once in a while to make sure there clean internaly.
 
I just disassembled mine , it was a scary situation :) . I turned the plastic shroud the wrong way by accident and thought WTF , now I'm screwed. But thanks to you tube , o got it all fixed.. Lol. So a heads up to anybody who's not familiar with the process, if you do a dummy move like I did and turn the shroud the wrong way, don't panic because its undo able .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom