i have seen these rifles for many years at gun shows here in Oklahoma for sale for about $250 or so. i think they are pretty neat little rifles and i actuallyown a Stevens .30-30 myself. but, i have never seen one that didn't suffer from the same problem.....very stiff bolt operation. every one of these, including the one i own, has what i call a stiff bolt. by that i mean that the bolt does not open smoothly. i have buffed the heck out of mine in an effort to smooth up the mating surfaces, but that has done nothing to help.

my question is this......is there some secret to making this bolt work better or is it just something i must get used to? i appreciate any advice. thanks.