Extremely heavy bolt lift on previously smooth bolt

[MS50]

History of the problem, and what I did: Mod11 receiver - headspacing prefit 223 barrel - 5th time I have replaced a barrel on Savage receivers.
Disassembled Mod 11, removed factory barrel.
Removed trigger group as I want to replace it with a Rifle Basix 1.
Disassembled bolt, cleaned it, replaced hunting bolt handle with standard Savage tactical bolt handle
Installing the prefit barrel went fine, with the exception of extremely heavy, noisy (grinding) bolt lift. I disassembled the bolt and found the recessed area under the cocking pin button to be gouged and worn shiny.
I rotated the cocking piece clockwise and counterclockwise, attempting to stop the heavy lift and grinding. The spring length is a few thousandths over 2.600". The lift is somewhat reduced, but not enough to believe the issue is resolved.
Does the trigger group contribute to reducing bolt lift?
I will stop trying to resolve this issue until I get some advice. I will appreciate any advice.
I will replace the cocking pin.

[Dave Hoback]

Does everything look good with the Rear Baffle & New Bolt handle camming? Does your rear baffle have a set screw for the small bearing balls? If so, make certain it’s not over tight. Does the Baffle spin normally on the bolt body? The cocking piece pin doesn’t add to bolt lift in any way. Is there any material obstruction in the new barrel, causing the bolt head to hang up. No, the trigger has no bearing on it, only the Sear/Bolt Release, as it pulls the cocking piece pin back.

Are you using a Lift Kit? It’s odd that some 110’s are lighter/heavier than others. But also, just changing parts can can Increase/Decrease bolt lift just by a type of tolerance stacking. Perhaps yours was under that threshold before, but now may benefit from a Lift Kit.

These are the tough ones. Unfortunately we can’t see it in action.

[MS50]

Thanks for the feedback Dave. I spent time today attempting to sort out the change in lift force. I was unable to return it to it's condition before I disassembled it. I did install a lift device (detent ball type). No real change. I see an extended bolt handle in my future.

[Dave Hoback]

Very strange… I’m betting it’s something simple. Just without any way of seeing it, no way to really hone in on a cause. All we can do is say check this, check this, check this… Are you able to make & post a short video showing the operation? That might help. Someone here might well see something out of place. Just a thought.

To your ending statement, an extended bolt handle is the first thing I recommend to those dealing with Bolt Lift woes. There are several to choose from: Glades Armory, Anarchy Outdoors are the well known. My favorite is the Titanium unit from Lumley Arms. Matched with the custom Titanium Bolt Knob I machined, provides a great feeling, positive throw piece. I am sorry for your dilemma. I wish I could easily implant my rig’s quite pleasing Bolt Lift into other’s rifles. However, I have put quite the amount of work into achieving the pleasant operation in my own.

[MS50]

To further cloud the picture, I see that the cocking piece pin is canted to the rear of the bolt when in the cocked position. The link below is from a previous forum thread related to this issue. I will hunt around for a replacement cocking pin sleeve and cocking pin to see if it will improve bolt lift. If it's not the sleeve and pin, something else changed when I disassembled the bolt.

https://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?62073-Cocking-piece-pin-tilted-in-bolt/page2

[Dave Hoback]

One remedy is to continue threading the the cocking piece 1/4-28 so the back of the pin is threaded. Then use a small 1/4-28 set screw in the back. Don’t tighten it so the cocking piece can not spin, but just enough to limit play & keep the pin at 90 degrees. I do this with mine.

[MS50]

That's above my pay grade Dave. I ordered a firing pin assembly, cocking pin, and a Glades Armory bolt handle. I'll work on this until I arrive at a reasonable bolt lift for prone shooting. Thanks for the feedback.

[Robinhood]

If it is mounted to the stock, try taking the front action screw out. If that doesn't fix it try polishing the cocking piece and test fitting everything making sure it moves freely. Make sure the cross pin is indexed where the firing pin slides smoothly.

[MS50]

I received the parts I ordered. The firing pin was marked as a "small version". It was longer than the stock pin I have. I tried it in the bolt. It increased the firing pin protrusion by about .010". I polished the stock pin everywhere I could reach with a leather wheel. Scrubbed the inside of the cocking sleeve with Rem 40X on a patch. Replaced the detent ball lift kit, with one machine washer between the Glades Armory bolt handle and BAS. Stripped the bolt head and rechecked headspace with the go gauge. An unscientific test of cocking lift with a Wheeler spring gauge is 6.5lbs. Pin protusion is about .052". I'm happy again. Thanks for the previous feedback.

[Dave Hoback]

Still really long protrusion, but if you’re happy that’s all that matters. Glad it worked out for you.