Do newer Target Actions have less bolt lift effort?

Do earlier Target Actions possibly have stiffer bolt lift than later ones? I own 2 TA's I bought last year (J serial numbers) and they have what I feel is very reasonable lift effort. I recently bought a used one (SN starts with a G) and I noticed the bolt lift was quite a bit stiffer than my actions. I talked to the seller about it who said he had put a stiffer firing spring in to deal with primer cratering, accounting for the heavier lift. I replaced the heavy spring with a stock spring but it made no difference, still had the same stiff bolt lift. I also noticed it was rough/ratchety compared to my other actions. I looked at the lugs on the bolt and inside the action and there was significant galling. Despite the old bolt being galled it operates smoothly with light lift when cycled in my newer actions. Conversely when I cycle one of the newer bolts in the old action it shows the same heavy and ratchety lift.

I would post pictures of the galled lugs on the action and bolt but don't see an option for adding and attachment.

I am hoping that SSS can repair this thing. I appreciate your thoughts.

Phil

The bolt assembly is out of time.

Probably need to take the barrel off and check the receiver side bolt lug area. It may be damaged along with the bolt head.

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Originally Posted by LongRange

The bolt assembly is out of time.

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Correct me if I am wrong:

If it was out of time it should not work in his other rifles (light lift)

Conversely, if the bolt lug engagement area is damaged then it would do what its doing, i.e. his other rifle bolts acting badly in the old one.

I have owned and played with and assembled and parted-out and reassembled maybe 200 Savages, new and used over the past few years. Some have heavier bolt lift than others. Some are smoother than others. Some Accutriggers are more adjustable than others. Old or new, there is no telling what you're gonna get. They all shoot well, but they don't all function or feel the same. A good time and true job by Fred at Sharp Shooter Supply will make any old action better than any new action. Considerably better, but I don't know that it will shoot any better when he's done with it. The only thing I can say about the new ones is the safety is much nicer, smoother and easier to operate than the older styles.

Having said that, if it were mine, and I was not happy with it, I would simply send it to Fred to have him do a T&T job and know that when he's done it will be much, much better than any Savage action you've seen that hasn't been done. I would not even try to do it myself or bother having anyone else do it. (There might be others who can improve it, but not as well as he, and you can rest assured, when he's done, its as good as it will ever be.)

I found that the regular trigger axis I bought last year has the best bolt lift

That action has a bunch of machine oil just about everywhere

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Originally Posted by foxx

I have owned and played with and assembled and parted-out and reassembled maybe 200 Savages, new and used over the past few years. Some have heavier bolt lift than others. Some are smoother than others. Some Accutriggers are more adjustable than others. Old or new, there is no telling what you're gonna get. They all shoot well, but they don't all function or feel the same. A good time and true job by Fred at Sharp Shooter Supply will make any old action better than any new action. Considerably better, but I don't know that it will shoot any better when he's done with it. The only thing I can say about the new ones is the safety is much nicer, smoother and easier to operate than the older styles.

Having said that, if it were mine, and I was not happy with it, I would simply send it to Fred to have him do a T&T job and know that when he's done it will be much, much better than any Savage action you've seen that hasn't been done. I would not even try to do it myself or bother having anyone else do it. (There might be others who can improve it, but not as well as he, and you can rest assured, when he's done, its as good as it will ever be.)

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The problem is as I read it, the bolt lock lug cuts on the receiver are damaged.

How much is it going to cost to correct that? I believe its either non repairable or far to costly to do so.

Would have to look at it, I guess. SSS may be able to true it all up.

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The problem is as I read it, the bolt lock lug cuts on the receiver are damaged.

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Can you explain this further?

The OP is reporting that when he runs his the bolt out of the project rifle in the new rifles, it works fine, despite the galling on the lugs.

Conversely when he runs his new bolts in the donor rifle, they do not work fine despite a new clean bolt lug surface.

What they have in common is the bolt lug cuts in the receiver.

I would do a close examination of the receiver bolt lug cutouts, that would seem to be damaged.

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Originally Posted by foxx

Would have to look at it, I guess. SSS may be able to true it all up.

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Pretty sure that Dan of DarkEagle Custom does the same job as SSS

And probably faster as well 😉

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Originally Posted by RC20

The OP is reporting that when he runs his the bolt out of the project rifle in the new rifles, it works fine, despite the galling on the lugs.

Conversely when he runs his new bolts in the donor rifle, they do not work fine despite a new clean bolt lug surface.

What they have in common is the bolt lug cuts in the receiver.

I would do a close examination of the receiver bolt lug cutouts, that would seem to be damaged.

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You are correct RC20, the lugs are damaged in the action which can be clearly seen from the threaded end of the action. When I first discovered the problem I took photos of the damage and sent them to the seller who insists the action was fine when he shipped it to me and claims I damaged the action. I have never even threaded a barrel on it. The seller is unwilling to entertain any resolution and is a despicable crook who happens to be a shooting forum owner! Anyway I sent the action to SSS. Lisa said she looked at it and thinks Fred can clean it up. I sure hope so.

I am pretty new to Savages and was wondering if some of the extra bolt lift effort was because the design was older.

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Originally Posted by Ratbuster

The seller is unwilling to entertain any resolution and is a despicable crook who happens to be a shooting forum owner!

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Amazing . . . .


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Good reason to use Gun Broker as there is some resolution there.

I don't have a problem with dealing with known people, some you get a good feeling for and about, lot of crooks out there sadly.

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Originally Posted by RC20

Good reason to use Gun Broker as there is some resolution there.

I don't have a problem with dealing with known people, some you get a good feeling for and about, lot of crooks out there sadly.

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RC,

In general I agree with you. A few months ago there were no Target Actions available anywhere so I posted an ad on several forums looking for one. I was contacted by the seller who was asking a steep price but I agreed to buy. He told me it was in good condition, seemed like a stand up guy and being the owner of a shooting forum I felt pretty safe with the transaction.

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Originally Posted by Ratbuster

RC,

In general I agree with you. A few months ago there were no Target Actions available anywhere so I posted an ad on several forums looking for one. I was contacted by the seller who was asking a steep price but I agreed to buy. He told me it was in good condition, seemed like a stand up guy and being the owner of a shooting forum I felt pretty safe with the transaction.

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So would I but as you can see you almost never can thrust anyone unfortunately

And guys like him only stimulates it in the negative sense . . . .

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