10 BA Stealth Bolt won't open

[bcarr]

Have a Model 10 BA Stealth in 308 about 1-1/2 year old. Initially had trouble feeding rounds from factory mag but they replaced it and it works better as long as I pull down on mag after inserting it.
Last time I took it Coyote hunting, I returned to the house and went to unload it but I could not pull the bolt back to clear the live round in the chamber. Bolt handle lifted up fine, just could not pull it back, no matter what position the safety was in. This is a 3-position safety which I like because I can clear the chamber without putting safety in the "fire" position. I had to go back to the field, fire the round, then the bolt came back just fine. Bolt was very smooth. Loaded another round as a test and again the bolt would not pull back. Fired the round and again the bolt was freed up.
Sent a message to Savage Support from their website 4 days ago but have not heard back.
Anyone heard of this before?
Thanks,
Bill :noidea:

[wbm]

Factory ammunition?

[bcarr]

Yes, Federal Premium

[SageRat Shooter]

I've had a similar issue with my 22-250 Axis in the past. I found that there was some dirt or dust buildup in my chamber. I used some "action cleaner" and a .410 shot gun cleaning swab. (the soft fuzzy ones) gave it a good 10 strokes or so, then ran some dry patches to remove the moisture from the chamber.

I was shooting reloads however, and was only neck sizing at the time. Now I FL size everything... Can't guarantee that's your exact issue... I know you said factory ammo, but if your ammo has been sitting for 1.5 years perhaps your brass has gotten dirty or has gunk on them...?

I know coyote hunting would have a tendency to be in the dusty desert. I use my 22-250 for Sagerat shooting... even off the bench with ammo in ammo boxes, that dust got in there.

[bcarr]

It's the Gold Medal 168 grain Sierra Match King. Bought it when I bought the gun. Think I have 5 or 6 left of original box. Leave the box in my gun safe. I clean the gun every time after shooting, maybe 4 times total. Hard to believe the chamber or the ammo is dirty but I'll check.
Thanks for the reply. Hopefully I will hear back from Savage at some point. Gun is very accurate but has been a disappointment so far.

[SageRat Shooter]

It's the Gold Medal 168 grain Sierra Match King. Bought it when I bought the gun. Think I have 5 or 6 left of original box. Leave the box in my gun safe. I clean the gun every time after shooting, maybe 4 times total. Hard to believe the chamber or the ammo is dirty but I'll check.
Thanks for the reply. Hopefully I will hear back from Savage at some point. Gun is very accurate but has been a disappointment so far.

I am pretty consistent with cleaning mine too... If you have a .40 cal nylon or brass cleaning brush, you might want to spin that in your chamber a few times too. If you've got some dried solvent or some kind of cleaning residue stuck to the side of the chamber, it will bust that loose.

[Robinhood]

If you are puting the safety in the middle position to extract the un-fired round. The solution is simple.

We have also seen short throats that will jam the FGMM rounds making it hard to extract unfired.

[sharpshooter]

Front action screw hitting bolthead?

[tenth_gen]

Have a Model 10 BA Stealth in 308 about 1-1/2 year old. Initially had trouble feeding rounds from factory mag but they replaced it and it works better as long as I pull down on mag after inserting it.
Last time I took it Coyote hunting, I returned to the house and went to unload it but I could not pull the bolt back to clear the live round in the chamber. Bolt handle lifted up fine, just could not pull it back, no matter what position the safety was in. This is a 3-position safety which I like because I can clear the chamber without putting safety in the "fire" position. I had to go back to the field, fire the round, then the bolt came back just fine. Bolt was very smooth. Loaded another round as a test and again the bolt would not pull back. Fired the round and again the bolt was freed up.
Sent a message to Savage Support from their website 4 days ago but have not heard back.
Anyone heard of this before?
Thanks,
Bill :noidea:

Have you ever used steel cased ammo? If you have, it's coated with lacquer that when it comes in contact with a warm chamber can peel off and stick to the walls of the chamber. When the chamber gets warm again, anything that comes in contact with the chamber walls could get "glued" in place

[Texas10]

I suspect that what you are experiencing is the bullet jambing into the throat and or lands. 168 gr FGGM in my Shilen Select match barrel is .005 into the lands, not enough to stick like what you describe, so perhaps what you have going on is a carbon buildup in the throat. I take a bronze brush dipped in a carbon removing liquid, screw it on a section of 3 piece cleaning rod and spin it in the chamber and throat area with an electric drill. Careful observation before and after with a borescope indicates this will not harm the barrel steel.

If you don't have a borescope, or borescope camera, you might consider getting one. It'll let you see what is going on inside the barrel, and how effective your cleaning regiment is. Teslong makes an inexpensive yet very good quality model that works in conjunction with your phone or laptop.

Please write back with your progress and solution.

[Stockrex]

you can buy an endoscope camera (usb) for less than $20 on amazon, it will probably be 5.5 mm in diameter.
snake it down and see..

[jonbearman]

Sounds like maybe your freebore is short for long bullets which will stick into the rifling and hence the bolt wont open. Open the bolt after you put on in and pull on the bolt and bounce the gun on a solid surface , it will open. Then look at the bullet with a magnifier and see if it is engraved with rifling marks which is probably what is happening. You can have a gunsmith throat your barrel for longer bullets. I have seen this quite a few times like my 30-06 doesnt like 180 grain ammo and I just seated the bullet a litle deeper to get it to cycle normally.

[bcarr]

Heard back from Savage and accepted their invitation to send it back to them 2 or 3 weeks ago.
Appreciate the responses and the advice. To reply to a few of them: No steel case ammo, only Gold Medal 168 grain Sierra Match King, def not dirty. Have shot no more than 15 rounds total through it and cleaned it after each session. Tried ejecting in second postition as well as "Fire" position; neither worked. Have not tried spinning brush or swab in chamber but if problem persists after return from Savage will try that. Hard to believe 168g is too long in a 308 chamber but anything is possible

[Fuj']

Does the bolt give you any hint of closing hard on a round ??
If it does, stop as it starts to happen, pull it open and inspect
the bullet. If nothing, repeat the process by closing a little more
each time. Basically what has been mentioned already. The ammo
is probably loaded on the long side for your chamber.

[bcarr]

Texas10 and Jon were correct. Received the rifle back from Savage. The no-charge service invoice stated that they "Reamed tight chamber" and polished the chamber. The 168 grain Federal Premium bullets were evidently too long. Glad I did not try 180 grain. Thanks for the informed replies. Hope I did not lose any accuracy, it was excellent before this.
Bill

[charlie b]

When chambering new loads I always do a dummy bullet and 'paint' it with a black permanent marker. Then, if the bullet gets close to the lands it will show up.

[GrenGuy]

I would be willing to bet the kids inheritance the 168grn FGMM was not too long. Your chamber was too short and out of SAMMI specks. This has been an issue with Savage in the past. When a shooter buys ammo off the shelf, it is supposed to meet SAMMI specks, and fit in a SAMMI speck chamber. NOT EVERYONE RELOADS. The fact that Savage fixed the chamber as described, at no charge, is testimony to this reoccurring problem. Although inconvenient, You did receive good customer service from Savage, and this is encouraging.