Quote Originally Posted by Dave Hoback View Post
They are made with either stampings or cast ingots. So please enlighten.
You say that like it's a matter of fact, but nothing is farther from the truth. They are neither......They have always been machined from billet stock from day one. In 1988, they started using extruded profile stock to cut machining time. The material used is 41L40, heat treated to 35-42 Rc. Currently there are 3 different vendors who supply bolt heads to Savage, 2 use profiled stock, the other uses round stock. Despite the fact that they come from 3 places, these bolt heads are THE most consistent component of all the parts that goes into a Savage rifle. I know, because I measure hundreds of them. PTG bolt heads are the most inconsistent part that I have ever seen from an aftermarket vendor. They not only vary from part to part, but have specs that do not work to anybodies advantage. I have a lot of customers that send a PTG bolt head to use on their build, so I get to see a larger cross section of samples than most users on this board.
Most of the time I will not use a PTG bolt head just for the fact it takes more time and effort to make them work correctly, and as good as a OEM part. For what they cost, you would expect an advantage, but there is none. I'm partial to what works, and if there was an advantage, I'd have them in all my guns.