Quote Originally Posted by bassnailer View Post
Haven't heard back from Savage yet, but decided to shoot it today. I disassembled everything and clamped the action in a vise (with MDF blocks to protect it). I then milled a bar out of Hickory which matches the lug profiles perfectly, but about .002 small to make room for sand paper. I wrapped it in 600 grit wet or dry paper, then used some WD-40 to lubricate it. I ran the bar back and forth across the race ways to polish them a bit (staying away from the lug surfaces near the chamber). Cleaned everything up, greased the bolt, and put it back together. Bolt runs smooth as silk now, and everything functions perfectly. The deeper of the tooling marks are still visible, but no longer can be felt. I shot the rifle this afternoon, and brand new with cheap Winchester 125 grain White box ammo it is shooting 1/2 MOA. So, now I must decide if I am better off with cosmetic defects on the inside of the action of a gun which shoots great, or if I want to take my chances with a replacement.
You did exactly the right thing by sanding. Now all you have to do is apply cold bluing and you'll never see the repair. The groove on the ejector side is also a problem. I suspect they sped up their EDM process to meet production goals. My BVSS is silky smooth, so they can indeed do a good job when they want to.