Had the same problem. Did all of above. Would watch as I slowly drew back bolt and it would drop into the action. Went through everything repeatedly. Still did it. Then I thought about how I would use it in the field. Tried pulling back bolt rapidly--threw brass across room. Tried again and it worked again. Now if I'm shooting from the bench I retract slowly and pick up brass from action. I told a Remington shooter next to me that this is a custom feature available only on savages. I think there is some drag as the brass exits and smartly actuating the bolt gets it past that and gives it extra "flip".