Bolt problems

[tacticalpanda]

I have a Savage 10FP that is giving me a few problems. The two are:

1) the bolt handle get stuck/hard extraction. I shoot mostly reloads (43g of 4064 and 168g SMK's) and at first I thought it was my loads. There are no pressure signs though. Today was the first day a case got stuck in the chamber. Anyone have any idea what the problem could be? I've read that savages have bad extractors but this seems to be more than that.

2) light primer strikes. I ran the gun for a year with no problem using the same load as above. This summer I started getting light primer strikes. It dimples the primer but no ignition. Really annoying. I relaced the firing pin spring with a heavy spring and I still got 6 today out of 40 rounds. My only other thought could be bad primers. I might go buy a new box along with some factory ammo and run that through it. Any other ideas?

[LoneWolf]

You could set you firing pin protrusion out slightly further as well. As for hard extraction you may want to get an after market bolt handle that you provide you with more leverage like the ones from Glades Armory.

[tacticalpanda]

Thanks. I'll try setting it out a little further. I'm pretty sure I know how to do that...

As for the bolt handle I already have the larger one on there, so my leverage is pretty good.

[LoneWolf]

Should only need a few thousandths maybe.

[Robinhood]

With a stuck case in the chamber take a set of feeler gauges and start with a .005 or .010. Place it in between the rear baffle and the action nearest the left side if you are a righty. Try to lift the bolt and extract the case. Then try a .015, .020, .025 etc... If that works you have a Primary Extraction issue. You need to remove the amount of material equal to the thickness of the feeler gauge that allowed you to extract the case from the end of the bolt body. Both the end and the bottom of the slot. Or you could put some small setscrews in the baffle on the action side and use them as adjustable spacers to hold the baffle away from the rear action face the proper distance..

[Robinhood]

One other solution may be to purchase a SSS bolt handle. This works if the factory bolt handle cast was to thin. Length of bolt handle may not be the issue. I don't know if the other aftermarket handles resolve this problem but the SSS ones have solved a minor issues in the past.