Ejection Port Size vs Caliber Change

[Jbullfrog63]

Project started out as a Steven's 200 chambered in .223 Remington which is a short action cartridge. I swapped the barrel to a 6.5 Creedmoor and completed all necessary changes like the bolt face swap and will use this as single shot only for the time being unless I can sort out the bottom metal in the future but this should be unrelated to my issue. The problem is that the ejection port appears to be too small for a live 6.5cm round to be ejected. The scenario being that I load and chamber a cartridge and choose not to fire so I attempt to make safe by ejecting the live round to clear the chamber but the live round gets hung up on the ejection port while its snapped into the bolt face and extractor.

I assumed since both cartridges were short action that this wouldnt be a problem. Is this a Steven's 200 specific problem because I dont recall ever hearing issues about these caliber swaps on the 110's?

Can anyone steer me in the right direction?

[yobuck]

First off, learn not to chamber a round unless you are sure you will fire the round.
Second, assuming for some reason you dont fire it, simply pull the bolt to remove the round.
You can apply some pressure on the case as you do to keep it from rubbing on the action as you remove it.
You can also remove the ejector so that dosent happen, and just manually remove a fired case.
You could also enlarge the port on the back end to allow for it to eject.

[Jbullfrog63]

First off, learn not to chamber a round unless you are sure you will fire the round.
Second, assuming for some reason you dont fire it, simply pull the bolt to remove the round.
You can apply some pressure on the case as you do to keep it from rubbing on the action as you remove it.
You can also remove the ejector so that dosent happen, and just manually remove a fired case.
You could also enlarge the port on the back end to allow for it to eject.

While I strive for the level of perfection you speak of, sometimes it doesnt work out in my favor. I'll try to do better. With that being said, the ability to clear the chamber of a firearm safely is one of the basic functions a firearm should have the ability to perform. Mine is failing to do that. My ability to foresee the future as to whether a shot will be taken or not is something for a different thread.

However, the last portion of your response Is somewhat helpful. How much could safely be removed from the ejection port and still maintain structural integrity of the action? Is this a common modification that people are performing when it comes to these caliber changes?

[Dave Hoback]

Valid point you have bullfrog, as you MAY encounter a misfire FTF at some point, which has nothing to do with your INTENTION to fire the round. But yes, you have a few choices as to remedying the issue. BTW, you may want to chamber a bullet loaded case(minus powder/primer), just to be sure. It may still eject without anything special. I’d check first.

[Texas10]

The only bullet I've had that problem with on my Sav 10 action conversion to 6.5 CM is when I load A-Tips out far enough to seat into the lands. All other bullets will eject properly. Are you loading A-Tips?

[efm77]

There are different size baffles available that go right behind the locking lugs. The right side (assuming it's a right hand action) will be longer or shorter depending on the cartridge it was built for. A shorter one allows for more rearward bolt travel. Perhaps try that and see if it will allow the round to eject.

[yobuck]

Its not all that uncommon when using short actions with cases not originally intended for use in those actions.
As for not loading untill your ready to shoot, it is a common practice for many who hunt long range.
But it still isnt an issue to remove a loaded round if necessary by just pulling the bolt.
One of my guns has no ejector or bolt stop for that reason.
As for opening up the port on the back side, ask yourself where the pressure is on the action?
There is no difference between long and short actions other than length of the port.
Open the bolt fully and see how much space there is between the bolt face and the port.
Then ask yourself why some of that space cant be utilized by opening the port.
Im using 300 Wetherby cases in a short action gun and i can extract the empty cases, but not loaded ones.
And ive been using it that way for about 40 years.
Will it affect the resale value of the gun? yes.

[efm77]

https://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?128-Savage-Action-Lengths

No difference in short and long actions? I beg to differ.

[yobuck]

https://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?128-Savage-Action-Lengths

No difference in short and long actions? I beg to differ.
Technically speaking of coarse you are correct.
But that dosent mean you cant use a short action for a larger cartridge provided you load singly.
All 40X Remington rifles were short actions, even those factory built for magnum cartridges.
And lots of us opened up the ports.

[efm77]

Sure you can use a short action as a single shot for longer cartridges. I never said you couldn't and fully understand your comments about using it as such and pulling the bolt if necessary and even opening the ejection port. But you also did say, "There is no difference between long and short actions other than length of the port.", and that's simply not true. Just didn't want the OP to misunderstand if he wasn't as familiar with Savages as we are.

[Robinhood]

efm77 is talking about the front baffle on a 223 limiting the travel of the bolt. If not cut off, changed or rotated 180 degrees it will limit the length of bolt stroke making it to short for most standard short action cartridges. Best option is to replace the baffle. Modifications make you a Savagesmith. Thats when chit gets real.
https://cdn3.volusion.com/prmzd.wajfn/v/vspfiles/photos/SD325-68-3.jpg
https://cdn3.volusion.com/prmzd.wajfn/v/vspfiles/photos/SD325-72-2.jpg

[yobuck]

Well admittedly im no Savagesmith.
All my Savages are as issued except for the largest one, which is a 25/06 with a shouldered barrel installed by a Regularsmith.
Thank you anyway but i prefer others for the more serious cartridges.
As for enlarging the port, its a pretty common thing to do, at least enough to remove the spent case.
I also enlarged my custom single shot Hart action which was 308 length to begin with.
That gun ended up being a 30x378, and i could extract an empty even of that case length.
I took a factory 700 Rem 270 lefty and had a Regularsmith open up the boltface, install a good extractor, and 9 twist barrel in 7mm chambered for a 300 Wby case. The magazine is bone stock original with zero modifications, it holds 3 of the larger cases and functions flawlessly.
I do need to seat the 162 Hornadys deeper to fit in the magazine, but the gun dont mind that at all.
16 years ago next month when i was only 70, i killed my only Black bear with it at 700+ yds with a good first round hit, and another good hit on the 3rd round to finish the job.
The second shot probably hit a tree limb. lol
And, the 3.5x10 Leupold didnt have any dials on it.
Dont need no steenkin dials anyway. lol
But it did have a very good custom reticle that i was very familiar with.
Sometimes there just aint enough time for foolish stuff, and you gotta decide wether your gonna fish, or just fool around with your tackle

[Jbullfrog63]

Problem Solved!!!

Special thanks to Robinhood. I was able to take a few measurements and ended up shortening the front baffle a little over 1/8" using a cut off wheel on a Dremel tool. After the cut I polished the rough edge with 180 up to 1000 grit sandpaper, then hit it with a dremel buffing wheel and some chrome polishing compound I had on hand. You can hardly tell a cut has been made. The rifle will now successfully eject a live 6.5cm round from the action.

P.S. for those of you that may have been anxiously awaiting the outcome/solution to the problem, my apologies for it taking so long to reply on here. I always have too many irons in the fire.

[Robinhood]

I think efm77 beat me to it. Glad you got it working!

[efm77]

Glad you got it working!