Bolt Face marks?

[savman12]

You think it has a large chamber at base?

[mikeinco]

for the brass to move there has to be some where to go.
primer pockets enlarge in high pressure and or large chamber base.

[Fuj']

They are endmill tracks......that's the way they were cut way back in the dark days. Most probably that rifle has an E or F prefix serial #.

I stand corrected. Looking again does show that a cutter about 1/3rd
the diameter size of the face was walked around the perimeter.

[Texas10]

Erosion from leaking primers aside, it looks like a poor machining job, possibly while using a broken end mill. Before I'd chuck that bolt head, I take a brass case and stick some 400 grit wet/dry paper on the head using double stick tape, and chuck it into a drill press, or hand held drill. Then remove the extractor and ejector from the bolt head and polish the bolt head with progressively finer grits. You probably won't get all the defects out, but it'll look a whole lot better.

[Kev1Doggy]

And just opened the headspace up somemore!

[mikeinco]

which when adjusted will reduce the bolt to bbl clearence

And just opened the headspace up somemore!

[sharpshooter]

It could be that the bolt head was left over old stock, I've seen this in several rifles that had 20 yr old parts in current production receivers. Most parts are mechanically the same, but cosmetically different. Savage currently uses 3 different vendors for bolt heads and can be identified by a dimple or 2 dimples machined into the tail. If it's an older version, it most likely has the larger clearance hole for the old fat firing pin......but it sure looks like an old version to me.

[savman12]

I'll just get another bolt face.... they are cheap. I would need to check headspace, correct?

[Orezona]

Yes on check the head space. I haven't rented the gauges but there are sources to do so. I've only purchased them.

[Robinhood]

which when adjusted will reduce the bolt to bbl clearence


Unless you sand some of the material off the forward face......

There is nothing wrong with the functionality of a bolt head that has these endmill marks or a few leaky primer holes as long as it did not affect the firing pin or the firing pin hole. It is a cosmetic issue.

[charlie b]

I agree. My .223 bolt head has a pretty good 'ring' on it when I had primer pockets enlarge on me. Still shoots 1/2MOA or better.