sticky bolt and pressure signs on savage model 14 270wsm

[jladams]

I bought this rifle new earlier in the year and finally got around to shooting it. Using 130 grain Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips, after firing, the bolt is very difficult to open. It takes maybe 20 pounds of effort on my part to turn the bolt open, then a fair amount of effort to slide it back. The strange thing is that this did not happen on every cartridge but on each I noticed some tightness in the bolt when trying to eject a spent case. I have no problem closing the bolt on an unfired round or ejecting an unfired round.

Looking at the Winchester case after firing I see that the primer is flattened, there is a pronounced extractor mark inside the rim and there is a pronounced "wipe" mark in the case head stamp area.

I don't know if this is a problem with the ammunition or not. However, I just fired 2 rounds of a different brand (Federal Powershok 130gn) and had no difficulty opening the bolt with none of the aforementioned pressure signs, save for maybe a slight flattening of the primer.

Any ideas? I am thinking I should return the rifle to Savage. Unless Winchester has a problem with that particular ammunition.

Thank you,

Jack Adams

[Don - LongRangeSupply]

This isn't the first time I have read about Winchester WSM ammo giving high pressure signs.....some guys are getting stuck cases in addition to the pressure signs on the case.

I believe the WSMs are loaded to a max of 63,000 psi which would explain why in some guns there are issues.

If the other ammo doesn't give you the problems then perhaps just avoid the Winchester stuff.

You might also check the headspace by using some scotch tape. See how many layers of scotch tape it takes to prevent easily closing the bolt on a few new loaded rounds. Be sure of course to do this in a safe place / manner. Excessive headspace can contribute to brass deformation and primer flow issues, but is easily fixed on the Savage without having to send it back to the factory.

[RKG]

You may also have a COAL issue with that ammo.

Savage rifles tend to have much shorter chambers than, say, Remingtons. You might want to get a Stoney Point guage and see what the COAL is that puts the same bullet that Winchester is loading on their factory rounds up to the lands. Then compare this COAL to the factory ammo. If the factory ammo is less than 5-10 thousands off the lands, this could result in some of the pressure signs you're seeing.

[MZ5]

Does Federal actually make WSM ammunition? It was my understanding that _only_ Winchester makes WSM brass, but that they put Federal's headstamp on some for them. Whether they make the entire cartridges or simply the brass is a different question, but frankly only 1 of those two options makes immediate sense to me.

I have had a recent experience that make me question the integrity of some 270 WSM component brass. I have no way to verify whether it's a brass issue, rifle issue, or load issue, though, because I'm forming it into .264 WSM so there's no factory cartridges to compare to.

I'd definitely contact Winchester, but I'd definitely contact Savage at the same time. Something's amok, and _both_ of the companies need to help out here, while at least one of the two companies needs to make a correction.

[jladams]

Another piece of the puzzle: I also tried Winchester 150 grain power-point with the same results as the 130 grain BST. The BST case is nickel plated the power-point case is not. If I chamber a spent case it is difficult to close the bolt and even more difficult to open it again. I have no problem at all with the federal ammo that I tried.

So two different versions of 270 WSM ammo from the same company cause the same problem. :-(

Jack

[Elkbane]

jladams,
I have had four WSM's (still have two), all 300's and they exhibited the same symptoms. Extremely sticky bolt lift with Win ammo, but shot fine with Federal. I think the issue is the Win cases are "short" to the shoulder creating quite a bit of headspace, combined with a stout load and maybe a lack of elasticity in nickel plated cases. When fired, the firing pin drives the case forward in the chamber until it hits the shoulder of the chamber, while the violent exlplosion of the powder ignition drives the casehead back to the boltface. Rapid and excessive expansion in lenght causes the sticking (that's my theory).

If you can, repeat your mesurements on before/after to see if it's a headspace issue, but you'll need to do two things:
1. deprime the fired brass - if your primer is sticking out a little or if you have firing pin flash around the pin strike, it can affect your measurement.
2. If you don't have a stoney point tool, use a deprimed fired pistol case (like a 40 cal) to slip over the neck so you are measuring at the datum line on the shoullder (about the midpoint of the shoulder), then zero you calipers for the length of the pistol case.

I often see 7 thousands length expansion on new WSM cases, and get some heavy bolt lift on first time fired cases (they come short from the factory), but they shoot great second time through the reloading cycle, after sizing to correct headspace in my dies....

In factory ammo, they're loaded stiff..... And you may want to stay away from the nickel plated stuff - the case is not as elastic as brass.
Elkbane

[dwm]

I think Norma makes WSM brass and the Federal brass is quite possibly Norma brass with Federal headstamp.

Win brass is quite hard and the Federal brass is softer, I don't think the Federal brass is made by Winchester.

Also, try this, it is good advice, I have a couple of WSM also ...


You might also check the headspace by using some scotch tape. See how many layers of scotch tape it takes to prevent easily closing the bolt on a few new loaded rounds. Be sure of course to do this in a safe place / manner. Excessive headspace can contribute to brass deformation and primer flow issues, but is easily fixed on the Savage without having to send it back to the factory.

[jladams]

More Info:

I looked closely at the Winchester Brass from the 150 grain factory load. Every case shows where the case neck has been engraved by the rifling. This would explain why it is so hard to open the bolt and eject a fired case. Also, the nickel plated cases from the 130 grain ballistic silvertip factory rounds show a small ring around the end of the case neck that looks like it has been slightly crimped.

The federal cases show now such problem.

In measuring the length of the cases they are all in spec prior to being fired.

I am sending a sampling of theses cases to Savage when I return the rifle.

Any ideas why the case neck would extend into the rifling after being fired?

Jack

[sharpshooter]

The case neck DOES NOT extend into the rifling, period. What you are seeing is the interuptions of the crimp.
What you have are hot loads, very common in WSM calibers. It can be caused by the bullet seating length difference between the different brands. There is nothing wrong with the rifle, it's the ammo.

[jladams]

Savage uses the 130 grain Ballistic Silvertip for testing in the 270 WSM. Do you think they would have noticed the tight bolt and pressure signs on the ammo at that time?

Jack

[jladams]

The case neck DOES NOT extend into the rifling, period. What you are seeing is the interuptions of the crimp.
What you have are hot loads, very common in WSM calibers. It can be caused by the bullet seating length difference between the different brands. There is nothing wrong with the rifle, it's the ammo.


You should see these cases. You can clearly see the groove in the case neck exactly match the rifling.

[Elkbane]

Post some pictures of it.

Unless someone rifled your throat, there is no way the rifling in the bore can touch the case neck. Think about it - there's 3/8 inch (at minimum) of bullet bearing surface between the end of the case and the start of the lands. In order for the case neck to reach the lands, you'd have to drive that 3/8" of bullet into the lands when you close the bolt. You'd definately feel that. It would take a jackhammer to close the bolt. And the pressures would be so high when you touched that one off, that you wouldn't get a chance to do it twice.
ELkbane

[jladams]

good point. u are correct i am sure. i will try to post some pics though later tonight when i get out of my stand. i suppose i could just shoot federal ammo until i start loading for this gun. i have it boxed up but have not actually returned it for service yet.

[jladams]

Tried the tape method. It took 6 layers of tape accounting for 0.014". I measured the thickness of the tape by measuring COAL before and after applying the tape. I then measured the thickness of the tape in those 6 layers after peeling them off as 1 piece from the case head and got the same 0.014" measurement.

I could still close the bolt on the Winchester nickel cases but it offered moderate resistance. I tried this amount of tape on the federal cases and it was somewhat more difficult to close the bolt than with the winchester rounds. I did this on unfired rounds only.

Is this too much headspace or is it about right?

Jack



This isn't the first time I have read about Winchester WSM ammo giving high pressure signs.....some guys are getting stuck cases in addition to the pressure signs on the case.

I believe the WSMs are loaded to a max of 63,000 psi which would explain why in some guns there are issues.

If the other ammo doesn't give you the problems then perhaps just avoid the Winchester stuff.

You might also check the headspace by using some scotch tape. See how many layers of scotch tape it takes to prevent easily closing the bolt on a few new loaded rounds. Be sure of course to do this in a safe place / manner. Excessive headspace can contribute to brass deformation and primer flow issues, but is easily fixed on the Savage without having to send it back to the factory.

[jladams]

[quote=Elkbane ]
Post some pictures of it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dgI8iJ1uKOuMY0tiP-GdSw?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/N_l1q46gt17xkhulzgiV0g?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ig1HfGHDce6Q1f-AZ9ap5g?feat=directlink

Here are a few pics. You can see what I thought might have been rifling marks on the end of the case neck in one of the pics. I also posted a pic of all three case heads together as well as a pic of the case head of the case I had to tap out.

Jack

[MZ5]

Dwm is right, Norma does list WSM brass, at least 270 and 300 (but not 7mm??).

I won't comment on whether that amount of tape headspace is 'proper' or not, but what I'm reading doesn't make sense to me:

Back up the thread to your measurements, you measured the Federal cartridges to be much shorter to the shoulder than the Winchesters (0.011" shorter un-fired), but you're also saying that the same amount of tape on each cartridge makes the Federals harder to close the bolt on. That doesn't make sense. Did you list and label the measurements correctly? Is any tape hanging over the edge onto the body of the cartridge?

Your pictures reveal that the marks you're seeing in the necks are unquestionably what remains of the crimp. I didn't realize that Win put un-plated primers in their nickel cases. Never seen that before on any Win cases, and never seen any Win component primers that were un-plated. Is that one a reload?

A thing I can tell you is that, IME, WSM brass is _very_ thick and hard (I'm speaking of Win). Many times you'll get hard bolt lift when reloading too light. This seems backwards, but it's how it works and is to do with what stretches first and in what directions when things to bang. I'm not necessarily saying that the Win loads are too light, just hoping to make you aware for if/when you start reloading for this gun.

In any event, good luck getting help out of Savage and/or Winchester/Olin. IMO, it remains in question whether the issue is the rifle or the ammo.

[jladams]

On a whim I applied the same 6 layers of tap to the head of one of my Win 150 grain 300WSM XP3 rounds and tried to chamber it in my 300 WSM rifle and it is so tight that you can't even begin to close the bolt.

Curious.

[jladams]

Forget those measurements. (In fact I just removed them) They were taken improperly with bad equipment. None of these are reloads and contrary to your experience, all the factory win loads for at least 3 different caliber I have on hand have the brass colored (non-plated) primers. I do not yet have any dies for the 270wsm, so I reiterate, everything is new factory loads.

The tape was trimmed tight to the edge of the case head, none hanging over.

I do not have a good way to measure these cases. All I have is a good set of calipers and a bad set of calipers. (The bad set was used in attempting to make those previously posted measurements). Using the good set of calipers I can not find a significant difference, but I do not have a case gage. I will try to get some measurements with the "good" calipers I now have. I have a empty 357 magnum case. Can I use that to slip over the end of the case to measure to the "datum line" on the shoulder?

Jack



Dwm is right, Norma does list WSM brass, at least 270 and 300 (but not 7mm??).

I won't comment on whether that amount of tape headspace is 'proper' or not, but what I'm reading doesn't make sense to me:

Back up the thread to your measurements, you measured the Federal cartridges to be much shorter to the shoulder than the Winchesters (0.011" shorter un-fired), but you're also saying that the same amount of tape on each cartridge makes the Federals harder to close the bolt on. That doesn't make sense. Did you list and label the measurements correctly? Is any tape hanging over the edge onto the body of the cartridge?

Your pictures reveal that the marks you're seeing in the necks are unquestionably what remains of the crimp. I didn't realize that Win put un-plated primers in their nickel cases. Never seen that before on any Win cases, and never seen any Win component primers that were un-plated. Is that one a reload?

A thing I can tell you is that, IME, WSM brass is _very_ thick and hard (I'm speaking of Win). Many times you'll get hard bolt lift when reloading too light. This seems backwards, but it's how it works and is to do with what stretches first and in what directions when things to bang. I'm not necessarily saying that the Win loads are too light, just hoping to make you aware for if/when you start reloading for this gun.

In any event, good luck getting help out of Savage and/or Winchester/Olin. IMO, it remains in question whether the issue is the rifle or the ammo.

[hogwackr]

The marks you see on the brass are from the factory. Just stay away from the Win. ammo and all will be well!

[jladams]

Tried to measure again. This time using a 357 magnum case slipped over the end. I measured 10 times, each brand, and the average was the same and the extreme spread was inside 0.002". Again, not the best way to measure anything, but the only way I have. The number I got was 1.786" to the "datum line" on the shoulder.

I also measured the case length from the head to the mouth and 2.090" for both brands consistently.

The only difference I could measure was COAL.

Federal: 2.643"
Win: 2.756"

I triple checked these measurements to make sure I posted them right.

Jack