Bolt handle movement

I was looking at my model 12 I got and noticed that when the bolt is in the gun with the firing pin not in the firing position it has lots of movement. I compared this to my Remington 700 and found that it has some movement but not nearly as much as my Savage. Now this is not a new gun but only has about 40 rds. through it. Is this normal for a Savage? When I mean movement I am talking about when you walk with the gun you can hear the bolt handle slapping around. Other than that I love the rifle but was wondering about this one thing. Thanks

Nothing unusual about that. Some do, and some don't. Unless you hunt with an empty rifle, it's nothing to worry about.

Stick a round in the chamber and see if it goes away.

Carefully.

Don't forget to remove it when done.

I have not placed a round in the gun yet ( when I said it had been fired it was not by me) but I have closed the bolt with the firing pin in the firing position and the movement is not there when that is performed.

There is a little mod for use when the bolt is too sticky to cock comfortably. It is a ball bearing mod thing. It may also work to solve issues of a bolt with sloppy tolerances to provide smoother operation. I forgot what it is called or who makes it but it is very commonly used by Savage owners. I think it may solve your issue.
Maybe you have seen this mod or somebody may chime in.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/143...-savage-10-110

Here is the mod I mentioned. I had no idea it was this pricey so maybe somebody can recommend a cheaper solution.
This particular kit comes with a new bolt handle. That would account for the price. Maybe there is a way to solve your issue that lets you keep your present bolt.

http://www.stockadegunstocks.com/4.html

Ok here is the bolt lift kit I read about. Sorry to mix stuff up. This mod is $15 so it is no big deal if it doesn't help your sloppy bolt but it should offer smoother resistance

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Originally Posted by nissantech

I have not placed a round in the gun yet ( when I said it had been fired it was not by me) but I have closed the bolt with the firing pin in the firing position and the movement is not there when that is performed.

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That movement is the amount the bolt body rotates until the cocking piece pin is picked up by the cocking ramp to begin compressing the firing pin spring and moving the firing pin rearward.
Its not there when the cocking piece pin is in retention at the top of the ramp when the bolt is in it's cocked position or it's control has been transferred to the sear-trigger when locking the the bolt to battery.

BTW, a bolt lift kit will do nothing to correct it .

Bill

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Originally Posted by BillPa

That movement is the amount the bolt body rotates until the cocking piece pin is picked up by the cocking ramp to begin compressing the firing pin spring and moving the firing pin rearward.
Its not there when the cocking piece pin is in retention at the top of the ramp when the bolt is in it's cocked position or it's control has been transferred to the sear-trigger when locking the the bolt to battery.

BTW, a bolt lift kit will do nothing to correct it .

Bill

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Bill he needs to add some resistance to stop the bolt handle from flopping around. I cant think of anything else for him to try. Any bolt action can have a little slop to it but his action seems to be more than the norm.
I suppose he could bubba it with a piece of tape inside the rear bridge.

That slop may have something to do with the fit of the rear baffle. It seems that the slack between the bottom face of the baffle and the top of the tang is where the slack is recognized. Combine that with a loose fitting baffle to bolt body fit and you have a "floppy" bolt handle .

It is normal and that is the skinny of it. All mine are sloppy when not under tension.

It should be noted that the bolt lift kits referenced above will not work with the new Savage bolt/FP design. On the newer models the rear of the fire pin is visible in the center of the large bolt (BAS) that holds the bolt handle to the bolt body. The fire pin is also not adjustable.

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Originally Posted by jonbearman

It is normal and that is the skinny of it. All mine are sloppy when not under tension.

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Same here.
Every 110 based action I own will rattle a little bit when in the "idle" mode. Shove a round in the chamber and the rattle goes away. Don't forget to put the safety on when wandering the forest with a hot round in the chamber. I don't want to hear about any accidents like you tripped & torched one off blowing a hole through your wallet of something...

Ive got three Savages and a couple of non Savage bolt actions but none flop around. If one did I'd fix it. Dunno how I'd fix it right now but heck if I'd put up with a rifle that rattled.
What is the number one rule to hunt by? Be vewy, vewy quiet. If it makes noise it's gotta go.
"They all rattle? BS!
And saying "that aint gonna work" is not going to fix anything.

I don't see where the problem is. Any bolt action rifle that is decocked and has an empty chamber is gonna be loose.

Sharpshooter I just tested 3 unloaded, uncocked Savage centerfires. None have floppy bolt handles. Even my clunky Yugo Mauser doesn't let the bolt handle move.
I'm thinking he has a problem out of the ordinary range. Almost like hes lost a piece out the bolt assembly or a piece is broken.
He needs to do a very good inspection before he shoots it again.

OP has 2 posts Mach 2 you have 6. Are you sure you didn't log on as nissantech to get help? :behindsofa:

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Originally Posted by Robinhood

OP has 2 posts Mach 2 you have 6. Are you sure you didn't log on as nissantech to get help? :behindsofa:

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Sometimes I am more interested in a solution than the OP. I went through all my bolts to check handle movement. I have 9 rimfire and 4 centerfire bolt rifles. And besides: it's raining here.

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Originally Posted by Mach2

Sharpshooter I just tested 3 unloaded, uncocked Savage centerfires. None have floppy bolt handles. Even my clunky Yugo Mauser doesn't let the bolt handle move.
I'm thinking he has a problem out of the ordinary range. Almost like hes lost a piece out the bolt assembly or a piece is broken.
He needs to do a very good inspection before he shoots it again.

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That tells me that your guns are out of the ordinary. Not being "looser" in that condition is not normal.

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Originally Posted by sharpshooter

That tells me that your guns are out of the ordinary. Not being "looser" in that condition is not normal.

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I doubt my rifles are anything special. However I can make by bolt wobble around if I back it out a little from being in battery. If this is what the OP did then I gotta wonder why he asked his question.

Sometimes it's kinda hard to diagnose a problem with no more than a poor description, especially coming from someone inexperienced and not using the correct nomenclature.

Wow I did not know that we were all gunsmiths. I did place some rounds in the magazine and the bolt doesn't have a lot of play but still some. Also I was inspecting everything and see that the bolt lugs are the tightest in the action that I have seen. I don't know why all this bothers me so much but I did pay a lot for this rifle and expect more