110 BA 338 lapua problems

[placek59]

A friend of mine recently purchased a new 110 ba in 338 lapua and is having problems with it. I have never shot, but have handled it a couple times. Anyway, the bolt is really hard to work... whether opening, closing, even with an empty chamber. He shot it a little bit and didnt think it felt right, so sent it in to savage. They sent it back and said everything is within spec. At some point he realized that after extracting a live round, the bullet has been pushed down in the case about .040". He is shooting factory Hornady 250g ammo. Should he send it back again? He said that he talked to a local smith that can ream the throat out to be able to shoot the heavier vld and hybrid bullets. I said to hold off on that because it would probably void any warranty.
-- Again, like I said, I have never shot the rifle and this is all second hand info from him, I just thougt I would ask if anyone here had the same problem or one similar. If this topic has been covered, sorry, but I couldn't find it, please post a link to the thread. Thanks and Happy New Year!

[Blue Avenger]

i had one .25-06 that had a shallow chamber and a deep head. the bolt head rubbed the barrel at the same time it headspaced. might be where your friction is coming from. another place to check is the action screw that could protrude into the bolt raceway if to long and bind or stop the bolt from closing. put some black marker on and see where in rubs off.

[mpearcex]

I remembered when I changed to a bell&Carson stock the fwd. action bolt was too long and rubbed the bolt head when locking the bolt forward.

[eric_monster]

Could this be a continuation of the extraction issues that have been reported and not really resolved by the factory?

[seanhagerty]

I had a bolt that seemed to drag on closing, once I bedded the action it now seems to close a lot smoother.

Maybe worth a shot.

Also, I would not be unhappy about a short throat. I would love to be able to seat my reloads to the lands easily.

[warthog97]

Sounds like the BA could have two issues, one with the bold drag (since the issue seems to happen even when cycling empty) and the bullet set-back resulting from a short throat. I've seen the short throat on a couple of savages. A buddy of mine had a 30-06 with a short throat. The throat was short enough that factory 150 gr Winchester Powerpoint bullets would stick in the lands when chambered. When a live round was 'unchambered', the bullet remained in the lands, powder spilled into the mag and cursing ensued from my buddy. I handloaded some 165 gr Noslers BTs specifically for his rifle and all was good. If your buddy wants to use the 300gr vlds, having the throat cut specifically for the load probably is the way to go.

I then e-mailed Savage customer service about the issue and got crickets; recommend calling them instead.

A few years ago, I bought a Savage combo package that was priced so low it would have been a crime not to buy. That 30-06 had a similar problem with a short throat. I don't mind jamming bullets into the lands on my F-Class Savage, but have no intention of doing that on a repeating hunting rifle, but thanks to Stoney Point, I simply measure the chamber and set the bullets back accordingly. Chalk another advantage up to handload vs factory ammo.

[Jetpig]

Could be something as simple as a scope mount screw too long and rubbing the bolt or even one of the action screws wrenched down too tight and rubbing the bolt.

[dksac2]

If it's not something simple like a bolt too long in the chamber, ask to talk to Joe DeGrande. Your problem will be fixed, no run around at all, you just have to know who has the pull and this guy has more than anyone short of the CEO.
He gets things done and is 100% customer oriented, great guy.

John K

[cheezie]

Warthog97 - when you say "simply measure the chamber" what exactly do you mean to measure, with what device??
Cheezie

[Blue Avenger]

Warthog97 - when you say "simply measure the chamber" what exactly do you mean to measure, with what device??
Cheezie

you have to make a cast of the chamber and then measure the cast plug

[cheezie]

Thanks.