Axis .223 fires when bolt is cycled

[LoneWolfPatriot]

Hey all, when I cycle my bolt firmly on my Axis .223, it will occasionally cause the rifle to fire. I know - EXTREMELY dangerous. So now I need to find out what might be causing this. If I cycle the bolt and follow through gently it never happens. Only when a firmly cycle the bolt - which is how I normally do it. Let me state that I did the YouTube special Axis trigger mod. :o:( I cut a coil off of the spring, could this be the culprit? What about headspace? I've done the safety checks since I cut the coil. Engaged the bolt then slammed the butt of the rifle onto a padded floor to see if it would fire, etc...
Thanks

[LoneWolf]

I would say that the trigger spring mod is 100% the culprit! When you do a mod like that you should work with it only cutting about 1/4 of a coil off at a time as not all rifles are the exact same with how they'll react.

To fix it you could go two ways. Get an actual after market trigger either the Timney or Rifle Basix. Or a couple of the guys on here have picked up a new spring from their local hardware store.

Personally, I'm running the Rifle Basix Trigger on mine as I believe the internal workings of a firearm should be modifiied with products designed for said firearm. It's much safer in the long run.

[LoneWolfPatriot]

OK, that's kind of what I was thinking - not good - I'm happy to say I had the rifle pointed in a safe direction when the discharges happened. I was thinking about getting the Timney, I'll check into both the Timney and trigger basix. Is there any particular reason for choosing the trigger basix over the timney?
Thanks

[GMC-AT]

you only cut 1 coil off?

[LoneWolfPatriot]

I may have cut more than one, but if my memory serves me correctly - yes, I believe it was one. Could have been two - really can't recall.
At any rate, never shot the rifle until I did the "coil cut mod". I dry fired it many times and didn't like the trigger at all. Then I came upon the YouTube -ers doing the lightening up by cutting the spring.
Could it be anything else that is causing this?
Thanks

[GMC-AT]

Could be... but I know tons of folks cut the spring only 1 coil and never report issues. I have done it to both my axis rifles. I do think if you cut more than 1 coil ( like 2) that is dangerous.

[LoneWolf]

The Rifle Basix and Timney are practically the same. I think I found the Rifle Basix for a few dollars cheaper, but I can tell you it only took me about 15min to install and set to about 2lbs (in the factory stock) with my then 4month old son in my lap. I now have it very close to 1.5lbs set in the SSS ProTac Stock.

[LoneWolfPatriot]

I love the rifle - the most accurate centerfire rifle I've ever owned - bar none. I dremelled a bit out of the barrel channel to give me more of a free float due to the flexible stock. If I do my part and the conditions are perfect the rifle shoots ragged holes at 100 yards and about half moa at 200. The trigger (after cut coil/coils?) is very light, but dangerous. I suppose I'll buy which ever (rifle basix or timney), I can find the cheapest.

[GMC-AT]

sounds like to me you cut into that trigger spring a little too much. Go get a new trigger or spring and you should be good...

[LoneWolfPatriot]

Ya, I think I'll just get an early Christmas present and go with either the rifle basix or timney. Nothing like a light crisp trigger...

[LoneWolf]

It's a good investment! Directions are easy to follow and everyone who has fired my rifle loves the trigger!

I've shot a lot of remmy's and the only better trigger I've used was on a Marine Built M40A5.

[steveNChunter]

Lonewolfpatriot- I did the same thing you did with the factory trigger spring, cut just a little too much and made it dangerous.

I fixed mine by breaking loose that yellow epoxy stuff that they put in there to hold the spring in place, then unthreading the spring, coating it with blue loctite, then threading it back into the hole not quite as far as it was.

For the trigger to be safe, in my opinion, the top of the spring needs to at least touch the part of the trigger assembly that is attached to the bottom of the receiver while the bolt is opened. The spring should be pushed against that peice while the bolt is closed, but if the spring is too short it will not hold the sear down far enough and it will not engage the notch in the trigger like it's supposed to. That allows the sear to fall past the notch in the trigger as soon as the bolt closes, giving you the unintended discharge.

I also did a little polishing on the trigger and sear but that's another thing that can make the rifle unsafe if you get carried away. A very slight bit of bolt grease applied between the trigger and sear helps to smooth things up too.

Disclaimer- I am not suggesting anyone perform these modifications to their rifle. I am simply stating what I did to my rifle that worked for me and made the trigger safe in my opinion. You're rifle/trigger may vary. Anything you do to your rifle/trigger is done at your own discretion and your own risk. I assume no responsibility for anything you do to your rifle/trigger

Theres nothing wrong with getting an aftermarket trigger, I just figured I'd share my experience in fixing my slight screw up.

[GMC-AT]

Steve, how much did you end up cutting Off the spring?

[LoneWolfPatriot]

I agree with your disclaimer. LOL All jokes aside, too much could lead to a deadly mishap... I did a trigger mod to my Mosin Nagant 91 30 that I sporterized. Did some filing and polishing, and now it's right at 4 lbs. with not a whole lot of creep. I guy that goes by iraqveteran8888 on YouTube gives a great tutorial on the Mosin trigger mod. Sorry for getting off subject... I may try fixing the - too much coil clipping - before I go and spend 100 bucks on another trigger. I'll see how it comes out. Safety is the biggest concern.

[Mach2]

Test by cocking and placing the safety ON. Then pull the trigger. Now turn the safety off.
This is to test and see if it fires at the moment the safety is turned off. Accidental discharge.
Simply doing a bump test is not enough.

[Hotolds442]

Test by cocking and placing the safety ON. Then pull the trigger. Now turn the safety off.
This is to test and see if it fires at the moment the safety is turned off. Accidental discharge.
Simply doing a bump test is not enough.

This will work on an empty chamber, too.
and a lot safer

[steveNChunter]

Steve, how much did you end up cutting Off the spring?

I cut a coil and a half off to start with, I should've stopped there. I end up taking two coils off and when I tested it I could tell immediately that I had messed up. It dry-fired every time I closed the bolt. After backing the spring out a little and loctite-ing it, it is as safe as it can be IMO. I've done the bump test (very hard), tried to pull the trigger with the safety on and then flipped the safety off, it passes both tests every time. IMO the trigger is as safe as it was when it came from Savage, just alot smoother and lighter. When I first bought the rifle I thought about getting an aftermarket trigger for it, but as good as the trigger is now I don't see the need. I estimate the pull to be about 2 pounds and it's smooth as butter with no creep. The polishing and slight amount of grease helped the creep and smoothness factors.

[fla9-40]

Rifle Basix in all my Savage's..GREAT trigger.

[fgw_in_fla]

I have a question or 3 for LW Patriot...
If you take the bolt out of the action, hold it by the shaft or bolt head & tap (not slam) it on the edge of the bench, does it drop the hammer?
When you slam the bolt shut in the action (without a round in it), you say it releases and slam fires?

Have a look at the notch in the bolt body where the cocking pin locks in. Make sure it's (the notch) deep enough to hold the cocking button there.
The bolt on an Axis I have drove me crazy with this situation. If I removed the bolt from the action & bumped it, it would release the firing pin.
I refer to a brand new Axis I used for a 25.06 I built. It had to be this way from the factory. I used a small diameter file & Dremel to cut the notch a little deeper. By "little" I mean about a snootch worth. (1 snootch = approx. .005"). It didn't take much to correct it. If it wasn't for the accutrigger safety, the hammer would drop if I closed the bolt too fast or hard.
Have a look at that before you start swapping out triggers. It might be your problem.

PS - If you do have to cut the notch deeper, make sure it's a very little at a time. Don't confuse a snootch with a tad. Taking off a tad might be too much.

[Dummos]

I put a whole lighter spring in mine and polished the sear beyond what any youtube video would dare suggest. It is now a 2 pound pull and is very safe. (I had a spare trigger on standby so I was just seeing how light I could get it safely) I have smashe the butt on the ground and slammed the bolt shut as hard as I could many many times and cannot get it to slam fire. Id say your spring has just run Pout of travel so try either stretching the spring or preferably grab a lighter spring that is longer from anywhere (mine is from a large ballpoimt pen) and see if thay solves it.