New to the world of Savage Rifles/cracked front baffle

Hello all! I have been shooting for years but have never owned a Savage rifle untill yesterday. I purchaced a used 110e in 30-06. All in all the rifle is in great shape still has old styrofoam and cosmoline from the original packaging. However I did find one flaw after shooting it for the first time and giving it a detailed cleaning. I found a hairline crack in the front baffle. I found a replacement on midway for 4 bucks but I'm wondering if I can replace it myself or if I should take it to a gunsmith? If it's a drop in fix I have no concerns, but if I could possibly affect the head space or bullets ability to seat I would be worried. The gun functions well despite this crack is it something that is not a priority to fix? This is my first center fire bolt and I have no idea. I have made repairs on several of my other guns though. I also am having trouble finding a date of manufacture. The serial number is e806xxx. Also the screw on the bolt is slotted instead of hex. Does anyone know what year this change in design took place? If not I guess I'll just wait until I can call savage this week. Thank you for any and all help.

If possible look under a microscope - it may simply be a scratch or casting/machining mark.

Anyway - no change to headspace and easily changed yourself.

Dan

Most definatly a crack as it expands when pressure is applied to the tabs on the baffle. Is this a crittical peice that could lead to catastrophic failure or just a potential cause of future non-life threatening mechanical malfunction.

I would definately replace it. If it has no scope mount I believe it will have a flat rear partion of the reciever top which requires the correct mount. They are available. With the "E" prefix it is definately an older rifle, probably 1990's era. You make it sound like a new rifle with the cosmoline and packing stuff on it. I dought it is. I believe you will have to redo the headspace if you get a new bolt head but maybe not with the new baffle. Yes on the bolt head due to the manufacturing tolerances in that part. Replacing the baffle is not difficult but to headspace you have to loosen the barrel nut back out the barrel and use a headspace gage. How to's are available in the FAQ section. You will need a nut wrench and a vice with wood blocks to grip the barrel. Screw the barrel into the headspace gage which you put in the bolt like a normal catridge then tighten the nut. If you have any other questions ask. Someone here will have the answers.

El Lobo

Unless I missed something, (it can easily happen); changing the baffle is all he asked about and there is absolutely no change to headspace swapping out a baffle.

It rides behind the lugs to protect from a blown primer or case separation (thus the name baffle"), upon pulling back the bolt, it comes against the stop to prevent bolt removal. Some baffles are extended to "short stroke" the bolt as in 223 or 204 calibers and they are all interchangeable with no effect on headspace. They can also be modified to give a slightly longer stroke.

If you have any questions, just PM or email me - if you check my profile, there is a link to my email and website. Building custom rifles and 10 round Savage mags keeps me busy these days but I can usually answer emails within 8-10 hours.

Dan

[quote=ellobo ]
I would definately replace it. If it has no scope mount I believe it will have a flat rear partion of the reciever top which requires the correct mount. They are available. With the "E" prefix it is definately an older rifle, probably 1990's era. You make it sound like a new rifle with the cosmoline and packing stuff on it. I dought it is. I believe you will have to redo the headspace if you get a new bolt head but maybe not with the new baffle. Yes on the bolt head due to the manufacturing tolerances in that part. Replacing the baffle is not difficult but to headspace you have to loosen the barrel nut back out the barrel and use a headspace gage. How to's are available in the FAQ section. You will need a nut wrench and a vice with wood blocks to grip the barrel. Screw the barrel into the headspace gage which you put in the bolt like a normal catridge then tighten the nut. If you have any other questions ask. Someone here will have the answers.

El Lobo
[/quote

First of all thank you for the info. It does have screws to mount a rail. It also has that flat portion you described. It has a sloted screw instead of hex on the rear of the bolt. All the blueing was excellent with minimal wear marks in the action. When i bought it it was coated in a substance very much like cosmoline. I also found the bore coated in the same stuff with no signs that it had ben fired most strange we the small grains of styrofoam found in the nooks and cranneys of the action. I don't profess to be anexpert on these guns but i dont think this gun was ever fired. I just don't see why some one would go to all that trouble to make an economy gun look new again. Then again what do I know. What do you all think?

Deadeye, I mentioned in my post that he probably would not have to reheadspace if he changed the baffle. The other stuff I mentioned I thought might help him out as an owner of an older rifle. Those are things I didnt know the first time I bought a Savage and wish I knew at the time. Could have saved me a lot of problems with that old rifle. It was due to guys on here giving me info that kept me from scrapping the whole project. It was my first Savage. I try to include some of that info in any post I write to a newby with an older rifle. I am confident I will be corrected if I am wrong.

El Lobo

El Lobo - no problem - everyone thinks differently - maybe your explanation was better than mine. I just wanted to clearly answer his question about the baffle and headspace.

Dealing with customers on a regular basis has turned me the other way - I used to give lots of info but found it left them confused more times than not so I keep it as simple as possible these days.

Dan

I hear ya Dan. One of the finest gunsmiths I ever met gave up because he was spending time being quized by cutomers and had no time left to work. And that was about 50 yrs ago.

El Lobo

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Originally Posted by Riverbravo

Hello all! I have been shooting for years but have never owned a Savage rifle untill yesterday. I purchaced a used 110e in 30-06. All in all the rifle is in great shape still has old styrofoam and cosmoline from the original packaging. However I did find one flaw after shooting it for the first time and giving it a detailed cleaning. I found a hairline crack in the front baffle. I found a replacement on midway for 4 bucks but I'm wondering if I can replace it myself or if I should take it to a gunsmith? If it's a drop in fix I have no concerns, but if I could possibly affect the head space or bullets ability to seat I would be worried. The gun functions well despite this crack is it something that is not a priority to fix? This is my first center fire bolt and I have no idea. I have made repairs on several of my other guns though. I also am having trouble finding a date of manufacture. The serial number is e806xxx. Also the screw on the bolt is slotted instead of hex. Does anyone know what year this change in design took place? If not I guess I'll just wait until I can call savage this week. Thank you for any and all help.

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Changing out the bolthead/and or baffel is something you can do yourself. The following link shows how (with pictures) to disassemble the bolt. Your can order a replacement baffel from Midway. To be safe, I would invest in a Go-gage and No-Go gage and recheck the headspace after you make the repair. Do a search on this site and you will find lots of information on how to DIY.

http://www.switchbarrel.com/BOLTHEAD.htm

Thank you for all the good information everyone. The new baffle is on it's way. The cracked one was so weak I was able to snap it in half with just the pressure from my thumbs. Bad steel? Poor casting? Impurities? Anyway, I'm glad I didn't try to shoot it again. I will let you all know how the repair goes.

Some how the part arrived in two days from midway. $11.00 with shipping and a round up donation to the NRA. Got the bolt together in about 15 min and fired several test shots without a hitch. Thanks again for all the help.