SSS bolt head kits

[jlsbassman]

I'm having ejection problems out of 5 or 6 of the 15 Savage rifles that I have. Seems like they just drop the cartridge just before getting to the port. I see SSS has an improved bolt head kit. Have these solved this issue for others that have used them? Does this kit also fit the Axis bolt head?

[drybean]

Try a .140 extractor detent ball, yes the bolt head are the same

[psharon97]

Yes I have 2 of their ejection kits, one in a .473 bolt head and one in a magnum bolt head. It will fling brass into the next county.

[jlsbassman]

Sounds great, that's what I'm looking for. Do you think it's the ball size or is extractor made differently or both.

[psharon97]

If the Savage extractor is a problem, the round simply wouldn't be extracted from the chamber. The ejector is the weak link as the metal pin that is pushed in when the bolt closes and has a metal spring trying to push the round out and away. The metal pin isn't made exactly to the dimensions of the hole, and this is what the SSS kit is fixing.

After looking and studying many different custom actions, I have started to really appreciate the extraction and ejection system that Mauser and Springfield have come up with, and wish companies would get away from the ejector being in bolt head, arguably the absolute worst place to put an ejector.

[Texas10]

You've probably noticed that it's the smaller caliber cartridges that fail to eject properly. For me, it's the 223, 22-250, 6mmBR. The 6.5 CM and 308 eject fine. It's been my observation that as the spent cartridge is withdrawn from the chamber, it smacks against the bolt head abutments, many times putting a dent in the side of the brass and jarring it sufficiently to cause the extractor to lose it's purchase on the rim. I could count the number of times a particular piece of brass had been reloaded by the number of dents in the case wall in my 223. I have since learned to round off and polish the offending sharp corner before installing a new barrel, to save wear and tear on the brass.

Since I mostly shoot targets off the bench, I removed the ejector pins from my bolt heads in all but my 308 field gun. Now i just pick the brass off the bolt head and place it back in the ammo tray as I pick up a new round. This is fine for single shot exercises, but not so good for magazine fed events. YMMV.

[Texas10]

Sounds great, that's what I'm looking for. Do you think it's the ball size or is extractor made differently or both.

They machine off much of the extractor lip, transforming it into a small "tooth" that has more gripping power. I purchased two of their kits but haven't had the need to install them yet.

FWIW I changed out all the extractor balls with slightly larger balls, with only some success before I gave up and removed most of my ejectors.

[Deadshot2]

Yes I have 2 of their ejection kits, one in a .473 bolt head and one in a magnum bolt head. It will fling brass into the next county.

Most of the guys I shoot with just hang an extra ball cap from the elevation turret on their scope. Catches the brass and can easily be brushed out of the way to load the next round.

All my rifles now have DBM's so I just have to "empty the hat" when changing mags. :p