New model 11, hard to close bolt on round..

[Jason161]

So I just got my action back from SSS, its hog hunter. I had a true and time and a new recoil lug and barrel nut installed. Ive never fired it or chambered a round before sending it off so I can't speak to anything about before. I can say it is very smooth now that the work was done. I want to emphasize this has nothing to do with the work I had SSS do as Fred did excellent work in my action.
Anyways I finally bedded my stock and assembled it with the bottom metal dBm to find that when chambering a round, the bolt is hard to close at the last little bit before locking it down to the right. I have to push in on it a bit to get it to lock down. This was with 175g hornady hand loads, and when extracting them there were rifling marks in the bullet. They all extracted.
I tried some 168g factory atomic match ammo that I bought and while a bit easier it did happen still. If I closed it with a bit of speed I didn't really notice it as much but when I went slow or normal I could notice it. Its only at the very end of the chambering right before locking bolt to right/down. It cycles perfectly smooth and effortlessly with no round. I noticed the recoil lug is much thicker and therefore the old iron sight holes on my.barrel are off to the left a 1/4 turn from center as when SSS installed the barrel with new nut and lug.I assume he had to compensate for the lug being thicker to headspace it.. I don't know for sure. I sent them an email to make sure it was head spaced properly. Since I never fired it and this is my first rifle I bought no go and go guages and a nut wrench and action wrench so I can check it in a day or two when they arrive. However I'm not sure if this is normal for a new rifle? Does.it.just need.to wear any little burrs or break in? Is it normal for the bullet to be touching the rifling? I will note that the atomic factory did.not have rifle marks on it. I will thoroughly clean the chamber and see again. I'm thinking maybe the headspace is just too tight? I can adjust for it when I get tools.
Anyways, the only other rifle I fired was a custom built Remington 700 and it was effortless to chamber and extract so I have nothing to base this against.
Also the hand loads were given to me so they aren't specific for this rifle or anything.. Suppose to be close to ggm specs I dunno.
Any advice? Warranty is ****ed now that I sent it in and got work done by SSS so I can't send to savage..
Also I backed off action screw to ensure it wasn't hitting and it did work fine without a round, and there is no scope mount yet so no scope mount screws hitting either.

[J.Baker]

I'll try to address these in order...

1. Bolt closing resistance
The resistance you are feeling is the bullet jamming into the lands of the rifling. This is verified by the fact that you clearly see the rifling marks on the bullet. Seat your bullets deeper and the problem will go away.

2. Offset Sight Holes
You are correct, the thicker recoil lug necessitates re-headspacing the barrel which is why the screw holes aren't on top anymore. If Fred had reinstalled the barrel with the sight holes lined up on top your headspace would be way long and dangerous.

[Jason161]

I figured as much about the iron sights and I don't care as I will devcon the holes before cerakote anyways.. My concern is why it is happening with factory ammo as well when it is not leaving rifling marks in the bullet? If its not hitting with the factory ammo why the resistance?
I mean if in have to seat less then factory.168g how can.I.shoot 175g smk or something? This was to be a 1000 yard.tactical match rifle.
Is this going to limit me or screw me from using bullets like the 175smk? I'm just thinking of being limited to seating lower then factory if that is shooting myself in the foot or anything. I just have a lot to learn so I don't know.

[Hotolds442]

I'd hold off on doing anything until you get your gauges. They will answer most of your questions better than anyone except Fred. Expecting reloads shot in another rifle to chamber reliably is asking a lot, especially if your headspace is set tight. I agree with JB that you need to seat the bullets in a little bit to clear the rifling, you're asking for trouble shoving the bullets that far into the lands as pressures can get out of hand. The Atomic Ammo is built on new brass, difficulty loading it indicates you may be at the low end headspace wise, and the Atomic may be at the upper end, which would explain the bolt closing difficulty. Many others before you have complained that Federal Gold Medal Match rounds are seated too far out from the factory causing the same problems you're seeing with bullets in the lands on newer 308 Savage rifles. Savage may have the throat too short in your rifle also. Be patient grasshopper, for when big brown truck makes it's way to you, you will be rewarded with answer.

[Jetpig]

"Also the hand loads were given to me so they aren't specific for this rifle or anything.. Suppose to be close to ggm specs I dunno"
1. Hope you trust the source of the reloads... I would NOT do that. (You don't know what's in them, you don't know how many previous firings the cases have had)
2. If the reloads were neck sized only (which is what most people do that reload) the casing itself may or may not fit in your rifle.
3. OAL is too long for your rifle with land marks on your bullets.
I would resort to factory ammo unless you also reload. If you reload, salvage components and start over.

[Jason161]

Yeah I planned on just trying them and if not I can at least use the brass and take them apart. I didn't expect them to work really.. I do trust them and the person who made them. In fact we were shooting them from the Remington, but as he sold it he has no use for the 308 so he gave them to me to see.
Thanks for all your help, I'll check the headspace and report back. Hopefully I can get this resolved as I have a long range shooting clinic in April I hope to go to..

[Jason161]

Okay so SSS emailed me back and of course like I figures, Fred did set the headspace using a standard .308 gauge. I figured as much but I will check it when my gauge gets here. Should be here today.. Given that it was head spaced properly, what else might be going on? Is my chamber just too short?
Given this is suppose to be a 1000 yard tactical match rifle, or at least as far as I can push it, I want to be able to shoot 175g ammo and such
If I have to seat bullets deeper will that limit the performance?

[gjscott1996]

i don't know if this will really help, but my 111 does have a little bit more resistance at the last partial turn when cycling the bolt, but, mine does not show grooves in the riflings

[Jason161]

Okay thanks. Well the headspace is fine. The factory atomic 168g ammo doesn't leave grooves on bullet from the rifling. The hand loads obviously are too long. I will try to shoot some of these atomics and see if it gets better.
Anyone know if I will have trouble shooting 175g smk bullets? Or amax? I know I might have to seat them a bit deeper, but will this affect accuracy or anything? I know I will loss a little powder capacity the deeper i have to seat the bullet.. I just don't know the affects on accuracy..
Maybe I should have the throat reamed? I dunno. Can someone enlighten me a bit? I've been reading tons of posts about Remington's and savages having this issue and most end up reaming the throat or they never followed up on the thread.

[josh_m]

Paint a round up with a sharpie then cycle it a few times. It should show you where it's making contact with your chamber. The round may need to be resized a few thousandths shorter to fit a chamber that's bored on the small side of tolerance. My 10p does the same thing with some factory ammo. I had to adjust the die to fix this issue. If your planning on 1000 yard competition, are you gonna reload ?
Get a set of calipers and measure the OAL of the hand loads. From what I've read rem 700 have a longer throat in their chambers allowing for longer than spec OAL on hand loads. Whereas savage does not chamber like this. May need to seat the bullet lower to account for this. Not all 175 grain bullets are the same shape either.

[Jason161]

I did color a few.rounds with sharpie and cycled them and l was wrong, I don't see marks from rifling on the factory ammo. It must have been light machine marks on the bullet before that made me thing that cause I don't see any marks on the bullets. It is still a tiny bit hard to chamber the round fully at the very end but after taking it apart and fitting the new action screws for the dBm it seems a bit better, as I did a good cleaning while I had it apart. I did make sure to back off the screws little by little to test but it continued to happen with no screws in at all.
I guess its just a brand new chamber and a bit tight. I see faint marks on the bullets when I sprin then in my fingers, I guess this is what I thought was rifling marks on the factory ammo.
I am planning to reload, I just got all my reloading equipment. I am reading the ABCs of reloading before I try anything though. This is all new to me.
As always thanks everyone for their help.and advice. I almost got her all together now!

[243LPR]

Pull those reloads apart and salvage the bullets. Start with new brass and see how the bolt closes on a new case w/o the bullet. It may be headspaced just a touch on the tight side,nothing wrong with that if you have brass dedicated to that rifle/chamber. Once you have brass fireformed to that chamber the problem should go away. If the reloads you have were not fired in that chamber and were neck sized or not completely full length sized it is doubtful they would chamber right. Also check the case length,they might need trimmed.

[PAPERKILLER]

I am just finishing my first Savage build and am having a similar experience. I have been shooting a Mauser I installed a short chambered .308 barrel on. I head spaced it using a go gauge and then placed a piece of scotch tape on the end of the go gauge to make it a couple thousands longer. Bolt wouldn't close. So it was a good tight chamber. I did the same thing on my .308 Savage build and found it is even tighter. Some of the brass I had full length sized for the Mauser fit very tight (Bolt is hard to close at the end of the throw). I will have to bump the shoulder back another thousandth or so to make them fit. My guess is you have the same situation. Savage does allow you to adjust the chamber VERY tightly. It's the shoulder on your brass that is holding you up, not the seating depth of the bullet.

[Jason161]

Thanks all. I think your right its just a little tight. I just got m bullet puller and some primers so I can reload and see what the deal is. Going to go shoot for the first time now that I got headspace gauges and confirmed its safe/correct. After cycling a few rounds the atomic ammo is cycling fine now. I am going to go back to range and shoot it tomorrow.

[Blitzfike]

As you are new to reloading, I highly recommend getting a case length gage like this one http://www.midwayusa.com/product/880646/le-wilson-case-length-headspace-gage-308-winchester?cm_vc=ProductFinding This will tell you if your cases are being resized to SAMMI specs. When you adjust your sizing die, the instructions tell you to screw it down to contact the shell holder and then some other adjustment depending on the die manufacturer. Using the case gage will verify that your cases have the shoulder set to the correct dimension and as an added feature, they will also let you know if the case needs to be trimmed. I use case gages on every bottle neck cartridge I load, sure saves brass and potential disasters.. Good luck with the project.

[Jason161]

I did get one with my reloading equipment. I plan on finishing the ABCs of reloading then going for my first runs. Thanks for the input!

[Blitzfike]

One of the best reloading books for a beginner is Modern Reloading by Richard Lee. You can get it at Midway cheaper than you can at amazon.