Bolt throw issue

I built a 20 Practical on a Model 10 22-250 I got from a pawn shop; so I have no history with the action. When lifting the bolt to eject, it sticks right before the last 1/16" or so of travel. Often I must hook my thumb over the scope to get the leverage to rotate it the last little bit out of battery to release and pull back. It's quite annoying. I can feel it on an empty chamber, but it's only really an issue with fired rounds.

I'm curious if anyone has encountered this or knows how to address it. I can see this occurs right when the ball bearing on the collar at the back of the bolt needs to pop into a groove on the bolt, but I don't know if that is cause or coincidence.

That is very close to where primary extraction starts. Since it does not happen on an empty chamber it is most likely a function of the case sticking. Try an empty case after sizing. If there are no issues extracting the resized brass, my suspicion in an issue with your chamber, load or brass.

The resistance you feel is a combination of the resistance of the firing pin spring being compressed and the cocking pin on the cocking ramp of the bolt body being out of time with the lug ramps at the front of the action causing what feels like a bind. It's a common and well known timing issue with Savage bolt-action rifles.

Lapping the lugs can help a little, but won't eliminate the issue.
There are "Bolt Lift Kits" that will help a little, but again don't totally eliminate the issue.
Then there's sending your action to SSS to have it Trued & Timed which will properly time the ramps together.

Jim, That was my initial thought but the part where he stated two things:

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it sticks right before the last 1/16" or so of travel.

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and

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I can feel it on an empty chamber, but it's only really an issue with fired rounds.

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...changed my mind. Can you go into this further as I did not intend on giving bad info. Thanks in advance.

Even empty, this particular action hits a "stop" and requires a deliberate snap to complete the rotation of the bolt. It does this empty, with sized brass, and with fired brass, and I can't feel the difference. I just tried all four of my Savage actions, and all of the others

When extracting a freshly fired round the issue is accentuated and often requires the thumb to the scope. This is true even with very low pressure starting loads.

I just tried all four of my Savage actions, and all of the others are pretty smooth and totally lack this hang-up. I do believe it is an issue inherent to this rifle, but the normal tightness of a fire-formed round needing extraction is enough to cause the difficulty.

The barrel is a Shilen, and the chamber is good, I inspected it prior to installation. Guess I can try and shine around where the lugs seat and see if I can spot any deformity. Otherwise I guess I look into the timing issue.

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I can feel it on an empty chamber, but it's only really an issue with fired rounds.

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So this statement was inaccurate?

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Originally Posted by Robinhood

So this statement was inaccurate?

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No.

After more fiddling with it and switching bolts, I don't think it has anything to do with the bolt at all. It was the same with other bolts. I realized it wasn't the fired case that was the issue, but that the bolt was no longer cocked after firing. Ball bearing fix did nothing.

I think it's the Accutrigger. The worst of the effort is right when the center blade is being reset. I ordered a Rifle Basix SAV1 trigger and we'll see what that does.

I'll need to fire it to be sure, but dry firing, the Rifle Basix trigger seems to have made a dramatic difference. It's probably still the heaviest throw among my Savages, but certainly within the acceptable range. I may throw a tactical bolt handle on it and call it good.

It may be a long shot, but is the rear front scope base screw possibly protruding slightly through the action and causing friction by hitting the locking lug?

Crossed my mind as well.

Jumping to a fix before ID problem?

It's the front action screw that contacts the bolt lugs if it's too long. The front scope base screw will just hit the barrel threads.

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Originally Posted by big honkin jeep

It may be a long shot, but is the rear front scope base screw possibly protruding slightly through the action and causing friction by hitting the locking lug?

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Nope. Screw intrusion was one of the first things checked. As posted, the trigger switch made a world of difference. If screw protrusion was the issue, how would this have changed things?

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Originally Posted by RC20

Crossed my mind as well.

Jumping to a fix before ID problem?

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Jumping to a conclusion before providing any useful input?

Guilty.

I am a technician, I have a boss who makes people nuts, jumps to conclusions before the facts are determined.

Call me a bit cranky, call me a lot cranky, ask for advice and then jump around. You say mostly, that means there is still an issue.

I had one a while back that it took me a couple of weeks to sort out. It turned out that the new stock while it worked fine at first had just enough interference on the trigger to cause it to randomly malfunction

Took a bit of poking and prodding, theory, test, and looking to see it, find it and then fix.

But it is fixed with the root cause determined and at no cost other than some time.

Confirmed that something related to the Accutrigger re-cocking was the root issue. Rifle Basix trigger made it mostly as good as my others. Put the 38Spl/bearing fix back in, a SSS tactical bolt handle, and a little grease on the ball bearing and the cocking pin and it's smooth as butter.