My new AXIS .308 Bolt Problem..

[fla9-40]

Let me apologize from the get-go for being long winded here, but this problem has gone on for two+ months now.
I bought this .308 because I have a .223 AXIS that is a tack driver.

On July 02 I purchased a Savage Axis in .308 caliber. The next day I took it to the range to sight in the scope I mounted. All rounds shot were store bought and not re-load. No sure of how many rounds were fired when I noticed the bolt was getting hard to open and eject the brass. After the second brass that seemed hard to eject I decided I would not shot anymore and contact Savage Arms. I took the gun home and proceeded to clean the gun when I noticed where the firing pin was it looked like chips in the face of the bolt, and a scratch going length ways of the lug. I also noticed it had “Smiley Faces” on the head of the brass. I boxed it up and sent it back to Savage Arms on the 16th of July.

This is the chips I found on the bolt face:


And the “Smiley Faces” :




They sent it back a week later and said they replaced bolt parts (don’t know what) and polished the bolt where the craters were, and test fired it.
I took it to the range and was sighting in my scope again and to try out two different brands of ammo and still have a hard bolt issue as well as the brass on the primmer end has a "Smiley face" which I understand is a head space problem.

Packed it back up and sent it to Savage for them to look at it again and to check the head space. I also included two of the three rounds I fired at the range. One being an S&B brand and the other being a Federal brand brass for their inspection

Got my .308 back from Savage on 9-13. The invoice they sent back was this:
1) Repair
2) Function Fired - PASSED
3) Head Space - GOOD
4) Polished Chamber
They also sent me the 4 rounds they Function Fired with and all 4 had the smiley face on the brass just as mine did.

Decided to take it to the range and sight in the scope and after doing so and about 10 rounds later the bolt would lift, but I thought at one time I would not get the bolt to open!! All brass has the Smiley Face on them also.

Have you any thoughts on this?