Bushing a Savage Bolt body

R

Rustystud

New member
Normally I would not waste the time an bush a Savage Bolt, but I have a customer who is let handed and owns four Savage model 10 rifles. He shoots LR prone using a sling. Being a High Master shooter he both practices and shoots a lot. Savage rifles are desiged to handle about 3000 rounds in an average lifetime. My customer goes through at least one barrel per year in each gun. This rifle has about 9000 rounds through it not counting the dry firing. He recently started having some unexplained flyers. He addressed the normal issues causing flyers. When I received the rifle to recrown the barrel I noticed an excessive amount of slop in the bolt/bolt race. I had some of Dave Kiffs Savage bolt bodies in .701 They felt real good in the bolt race but they were right handed bolts. I called PT&G to order a couple of left handed Savage bolt bodies but they were going to be at least three weeks out. I ordered a new factory bolt body. It was just as sloppy as the original bolt body. It measured .696. I decided to make a bolt sleeve for this bolt. I took a piece of stock and drilled and bored it long enough to fit the length of the bolt between the action bridges. I turned the bolt body between centers to accomodate the sleeve with a shoulder in the back of the bolt body. I put the sleeve in my mill and drilled/reamed the holes for the bolthead cross pin. I then set the sleeve up on centers and turned it to .702. I then turned it polishing it with 320 grit paper. I got the sleeve to a proper finish. Now the bolt has no slop. My customer has a 1000 yard match in three weeks. It will be interesting to see if this gets rid of those flyers.

Rustystud
 
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Like they say in Brooklyn, Ayyyy, can't hoit! But I'm betting on the recrown would fix the flyers. How's the firing pin for straightness, and spring tension? I fixed two of my rifles that were starting to open groups with a recrown/counterbore back about 1/4".
 
I'm curious what problem would be "solved" by bushing the Savage bolt? I'm just not seeing the mechanics of the thing.

al
 
Firing Pin Spring

I would check for a problem such as a weak firing pin spring, or something else in the fire controle system.
The Savage design, with the independent floating bolt head, is suppose to negate the maladies that you are trying to fix.
Plus, if the bolt shows no wear,(a new one fits the same as the old one), why, after thousands of rounds, would the Rifle suddenly start throwing flyers. I suspect the bolt body is not the cause.
Of course, as a Benchrest Shooter, the term "flyer" might be different from what your friend is experiencing. In my world, a shot that I cannot explain by a missed condition is a flyer. Exactly how far off of his point of aim are these "flyers"......jackie
 
Savage bolt with over 9000 cycles

The bolt race is .7015 The original bolt is .693 The bolt head and front baffle also have considerable wear. I don't like sloppy fits. I have a Kiff Bolt body ordered. Until then I will have my custumer use the bushed bolt body. We will see how it shoots.
Rustystud
 
It would seem to me that you would need to make a new oversize front baffle
to go along with the oversize bolt body. I think another possible solution would be to machine the front baffle to about 1/2 of it's original depth and then extend the bolt body forward so that it does the centering instead of the baffle.

ETA: Plan B. Thinner front baffle with a custom fit round bushing between the baffle and the bolt head. This would put the support for the bolt head as far forward as possible
 
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Rusty,

This isn't an answer so much as a couple extra questions, if you don't mind.

If I read this correctly, you're saying that Kiff makes/carries oversize bolt bodies for Savage similar to those for Remingtons? If so, thats outstanding news... I have (at least) one with a fairly sloppy bolt body/receiver fit that just drives me up a wall - partly because my other ones don't have this 'slop' to 'em.

Is the bushing that you did something similar to the Borden Bumps I've heard about for Remingtons?

Pardon my ignorance,

Monte
 
Savage Bolt Bushing

Because the bolt handle easily comes off the Savage bolt body I set the bolt body up between centers and turned it down to .600 back to a shoulder that is hidden under the rear action bridge. I drilled an reamed the front to use the bolt head retaining pin to hold the bushing in place. Don't let anyone tell you the Savage Bolt body is just a tube drawn on a mandrel. The steel is harder than a preachers pric. The rifle was rebarreled in 6.5 X .284 and test fired today. All worked well. The bushings are turned round and not ecentric.
Rustystud
 
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Nat
I am curious why you wouldn't just make your own body out of 12L14 and have it case hardened rather than making a sleeve, or do you not have the equipment to cut the cocking ramp? Or is there a concern about it warping when it is case hardened?

James
 
Chisolm response..

Chisolm:

I have a Kiff bolt body ordered but it want be here for 3-6 weeks. My customer has a match in 3 weeks. He is a good customer and I did him a favor. The sleeve is 12L14.
Rustystud
 
Con Cross

How many rounds are fired in a typical lifetime of a hunting model 10 Savage.
I would say the average hunting gun never sees 500 rounds in a lifetime. The great thing about a Savage is that every part is replaceable.

The customer I just rebarreled his 5th Savage with its 3rd barrel. He has averaged about 2600-3000 rounds per barrel. The 6.5 X 284 will be set back at 1000 rounds and he will be lucky to get 1800-2000 rounds from it.

Rustystud
 
Nat,
Thank you.
I was in no way being critical of what you did, I was just curious, as my post stated and thought I might learn something along the way.

James
 
Rustystud, I was interested in this topic when you first posted it because I had just modified my bolt to see what would happen. I have to admit I suspected things would improve or not change at all. I replaced the bolt assembly screw with my own that was hand fitted to the action so as to take up slack when closed. It caused the occasional wild flyer which I never had before. Put about 150 rounds through it and just took it off now.

Any word on how the sleeve made out?
 
I put it back on and the rifle has never shot so well since. Perhaps I was wrong and it was my ammo all along?
 
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