Ejector and Plunger

I have watched COUNTLESS videos of how to remove the plunger in a Savage 11 so that I can properly headspace my rifle. All videos have stated that a 1/16th punch is needed but a 1/16th punch WILL NOT go in the pinhole. I have tried a 1/32 punch but the pin WILL NOT BUDGE. the extractor was a breeze to remove but the tiny little pinhole is giving me problems.

I put pressure on the plunger and try to drive out the pin and I've hit it HARD, but it will not budge. I rented the headpace gauges so the clock is ticking. What the hell am I doing wrong?!

Put the bolt head in the vice with this side facing away from you
https://external-content.duckduckgo....jpg&f=1&nofb=1You will push the pin out this side and drive it back in from here.

Hard to say without seeing it:confusion: There’s no trick to it...bout as straight forward as can be. The retaining pin is splined to bite into the hole, but it should press out fairly easy. It only goes in & comes out ONE WAY. The pin has a head & splines on one end to keep it from going all the way through. Are you pushing in on the ejector to take the forward momentum off the pin? I always do in habit, as to keep the ejector & spring from shooting out. But I’ve never noticed if the forward weight of the ejector “holds” more tightly to the retention pin.

You don't need to remove the ejector to headspace a barrel.

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Originally Posted by sharpshooter

You don't need to remove the ejector to headspace a barrel.

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:thumb::tea:

But the plunger needs to be removed correct? That was a snap. The ball and spring popped out easily but the plunger pin WILL NOT BUDGE. I feel like I need a 1/32 punch even though everyone says a 1/16th will do it. I CAN NOT get a 1/16th punch in the hole.

I always remove the ejector(you you are referring to as the plunger), when headspacing. You don’t need to remove EXACTROR, and I never do. Guess you don’t “need” to remove the ejector either, but it’s how I learned.

To remove the ejector, you'll need to compress it while driving out the retaining pin. To do this, snap an empty case under the EXTRACTOR and hold the case straight and in place on the bolt head with a finger. Then drive out the ejector retaining pin applying force from the side opposite from the milled flat. Doing otherwise will bend the pin and make it very hard to remove, which may be what has happened in your case.

Nice little trick there TEX.

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Originally Posted by Pcc1421

But the plunger needs to be removed correct? That was a snap. The ball and spring popped out easily but the plunger pin WILL NOT BUDGE. I feel like I need a 1/32 punch even though everyone says a 1/16th will do it. I CAN NOT get a 1/16th punch in the hole.

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I use Starrett punches and the 1/16" worked fine for me. Maybe you have a burr on the edge of your 1/16" punch?

Attachment 6999Attachment 7000
As Texas10 said the retaining pin removes easy if you compress the ejector pin first. I use common nuts on all three sizes of bolt heads. Knock the corners off the nuts until they fit easily up to the bolt face. Squeeze the ejector an spring in a vise. Drive the pin out from the side opposite of the spotface.
My punch is turned down to .059/.060.

Shown in pictures: 10-24 nut for small rifle bolthead, 1/4-20 nut for std "308" head, & 5/16-18 nut for magnum head.

Learned this lesson long ago and ended up drilling out a retaining pin.
For what it's worth I use the same method on assembled bolts including Remington. I have the correct size "flat head" screw screwed in the side of my work bench. I use my stomach to compress the ejector, leaving both hands free for the punch & hammer.

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Originally Posted by mnbogboy2

Attachment 6999Attachment 7000
As Texas10 said the retaining pin removes easy if you compress the ejector pin first. I use common nuts on all three sizes of bolt heads. Knock the corners off the nuts until they fit easily up to the bolt face. Squeeze the ejector an spring in a vise. Drive the pin out from the side opposite of the spotface.
My punch is turned down to .059/.060.

Shown in pictures: 10-24 nut for small rifle bolthead, 1/4-20 nut for std "308" head, & 5/16-18 nut for magnum head.

Learned this lesson long ago and ended up drilling out a retaining pin.
For what it's worth I use the same method on assembled bolts including Remington. I have the correct size "flat head" screw screwed in the side of my work bench. I use my stomach to compress the ejector, leaving both hands free for the punch & hammer.

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My Starrett 1/16" punch measures 0.0595.

I believe in removing any components that affect "feel"/pressure closing the bolt.
This includes the spring-loaded ejector.

I have never removed the ejector in order to head space a barrel on any bolt action rifle,Factory or Custom action. There's no need in doing it,once the Go/No Go gauge is in the chamber and the barrel is screwed down,you can feel when the head space gauge bottoms out against the bolt head.

So I ended up breaking the retaining pin and that was while compressing the plunger. I tried 2 separate brands of 1/16 punches. Both would not go in the hole. I turned the punches down slightly but i ended up breaking one off in the bolt head. I finally got it removed. I have a feeling that this is not normal. I have never had any AR Roll pins ever give me this much trouble.So now I'm waiting for a new retainer to arrive.

Definitely yours wasn't normal. We're you able to salvage the ejector & it's spring? The key was to have it compressed before your first try. When reassembling have the ejector compressed slightly and use a flashlight to make sure you can see "daylight" through the whole before driving the pin in. Do not clamp the ejector tight to allow it to rotate a little while the pin is going by the "slotted" area.
Good luck.

Yeah I was able to salvage the rest of the parts. The barrel nut installation was smooth with no issues.

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Originally Posted by Txhillbilly

I have never removed the ejector in order to head space a barrel on any bolt action rifle,Factory or Custom action. There's no need in doing it,once the Go/No Go gauge is in the chamber and the barrel is screwed down,you can feel when the head space gauge bottoms out against the bolt head.

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If you think difference in resistance/pressure can't affect a measurement by at least a thou or two-even steel on steel- you're mistaken.

What measurement is being effected? It is a go no go.

Headspace.

I set headspace so that I feel very slight resistance on bolt close. Handle will not drop by gravity- but with very light pressure.

Can't feel that with resistance from an ejector. Makes no difference to me whether it's a Savage where the barrel's being screwed in, or an M700 based on chamber depth.
I remove ejectors from every bolt, every time, all the time. I want to know when there is contact, not whether I can force the bolt closed; there is a difference.

Someone else feels that's unnecessary, go for it.

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Originally Posted by tobnpr

Headspace.

I set headspace so that I feel very slight resistance on bolt close. Handle will not drop by gravity- but with very light pressure.

Can't feel that with resistance from an ejector. Makes no difference to me whether it's a Savage where the barrel's being screwed in, or an M700 based on chamber depth.
I remove ejectors from every bolt, every time, all the time. I want to know when there is contact, not whether I can force the bolt closed; there is a difference.

Someone else feels that's unnecessary, go for it.

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This is my method also. On savage & Remington remove the ejector. On Remington also remove the firing pin. On a Savage remove the cocking pin & cocking sleeve. (Reinstall the firing pin to hold the bolt head retaining pin in place.).
Also on the Savage remove the rear bolt baffle.
The bolt is now free to "flop", any resistance will be from the go gauge.

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Originally Posted by tobnpr

Headspace.

I set headspace so that I feel very slight resistance on bolt close. Handle will not drop by gravity- but with very light pressure.

Can't feel that with resistance from an ejector. Makes no difference to me whether it's a Savage where the barrel's being screwed in, or an M700 based on chamber depth.
I remove ejectors from every bolt, every time, all the time. I want to know when there is contact, not whether I can force the bolt closed; there is a difference.

Someone else feels that's unnecessary, go for it.

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I was just interested in your purpose. I measure things with all different types of inspection equipment regularly and could not figure out how you came to your opinion . Putting something solid in a space with as much as .004" clearance and being able to feel the airspace intrigues me. Unless you are looking for minimum headspace exactly. If so what is the purpose of that? Just trying to learn.

I do remove the firing pin. I let the wave washer hold the cross pin in place. To me that has much more impact on feel. The dragging of the bolt lugs and the cock on close messes up the feel for me, The minor impact the ejector has to feel has never even been an issue for me.

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Originally Posted by Robinhood

Unless you are looking for minimum headspace exactly. If so what is the purpose of that?

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Minimum headspace is what I shoot for- because it provides the most "versatility" for those that handload.

If one shoots factory ammo, doesn't handload (or give the brass to someone that does)- it's mostly irrelevant within the typical .006-.010 "additional" clearance from boltface to breech of cartridge that would get you beyond "no-go". Shoot it, ditch the case. Doesn't matter how much it stretched...

https://www.hornady.com/team-hornady...nal-ballistics

For handloaders that full-length size (me)- it's critical to limit the amount that the brass will stretch on each firing. If brass stretches excessively, when FL sized that extra brass is forced to flow back to the neck (the thicker casehead is the area that stretches rearward). So, this requires much more frequent trimming, work hardening of the necks, and shorter case life overall because the casehead becomes thinner and weaker on each firing. Thinned too much, is when potentially dangerous casehead separations can occur.

For those that neck size only, this is less critical, but even those that neck-size still need to FL size occassionally.

It's just "best practice" to maximize brass life. Even for those where minimum headspace may not be important- if the rifle is sold, it might be very important for them. Not a big deal with nutted barrels to adjust headspace, but it is for shouldered ones.

So again, it's just a matter of being able to determine exactly when the bolt face contacts the gauge. Can't accurately do that with resistance from an ejector.

[So again, it's just a matter of being able to determine exactly when the bolt face contacts the gauge. Can't accurately do that with resistance from an ejector.]

Sure you can....That's why I use plasti-gage.

I size my brass to fit my chamber. I don't make a habit of shooting ammo from one rifle in a different rifle. Why would someone want to bump their shoulder back .004" or more if .001"-.002 is plenty? I can tell you do this a lot but what I have found in practice is vastly different from your experience. No right or wrong here...That's why I asked. It is good to know what others reasoning's are. Thanks for sharing that stuff. A lot of guys get pissed when you ask those questions and I appreciate you humoring me.

Speaking to Savage rifles, I don’t remove the ejector, never have. Leaving the ejector in does not mean your going to have 6 to 10 thousands headspace, if you have and mechanical feel at all. I don’t know what My headspace is, but it couldn’t be any less.

lately I have been disassembling the bolt to try to achieve minimal bolt lift.

It is also a precise method to find the lands with zero resistance on the bolt.

Those who feel more comfortable removing the ejector or anything else, no problem, go for it.

We all have different methods to get to the same place. The wave washer holds it in place but if you accidently press too hard against the bolt and drop it part way out it sucks, just like a broken pin.
I use scotch tape on my gauge, with ejector in it has a tendency to "tear up" the tape. I like it very snug on the gauge with 1 piece of tape. With two thickness it is no go. This method has worked for me to get all 5 of my 6.5 CMs close enough to use same bump setting + or - .0005. So it definitely works for my purposes.
However i have set many with complete bolt intact with no consequence. I still double check no go with 2 tape layers (approx .004). Some tape brands vary up to .0005 so best to measure each use.
The "stripped bolt" method can also be used for checking bump on sized brass and where the bullet meets the lands. For checking bullet in the lands the rear baffle has to be used with the detent balls removed. The PE is required to feel the "click" as the bullet is extracted from the lands. The baffle can be lightly taped to the receiver to keep it from flopping around.
If interested it is called the "Wheeler method" and there is U-tube video of it. (Done on Remington or clone).

Edit: the wave washer also adds a small amount of tension between the front baffle & bolt head. Part of the reason for reinstalling the "unloaded" firing pin. The bolt will not fall free with the wave washer in place.

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Originally Posted by Robinhood

I was just interested in your purpose. I measure things with all different types of inspection equipment regularly and could not figure out how you came to your opinion . Putting something solid in a space with as much as .004" clearance and being able to feel the airspace intrigues me. Unless you are looking for minimum headspace exactly. If so what is the purpose of that? Just trying to learn.

I do remove the firing pin. I let the wave washer hold the cross pin in place. To me that has much more impact on feel. The dragging of the bolt lugs and the cock on close messes up the feel for me, The minor impact the ejector has to feel has never even been an issue for me.

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Cock on close?

Correct. The hand off, the drag of the lugs once the CoC takes place etc...


You can remove the cocking piece pin out if you have issues with the cross pin falling out.