Savage 111 .243 Hard to open bolt after firing

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  • longdude17

    Well-Known Member
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    6   0   0
    Dec 22, 2010
    297
    18
    Baton Rouge
    Gents,

    I recently acquired a Savage 111 in .243 topped with a Leupold 3-9x40 scope for a deal I couldn't pass up. The intent was to give to my 11 yr old son as his first REAL Deer Rifle.

    We took it to the Ibberville range this past Sunday and that's when I realized why the gun was sold to me so cheap. Loading the gun went as expected, it shoots fantastic, but it is VERY VERY hard to remove the spent casing. Upon shooting it, the bolt will lift/turn, but takes ALOT of effort to pull the bolt rearward (I'm 6'3" 220lbs, Im no slouch). We shot 6 rounds through this gun, all spot on for less than 1 moa, my shot the last 3 and loves the gun, but its inoperable for a 11 yr old. In fact the last round stuck so badly that we had to take the rifle home and hit the bolt with a wooden mallet to get it to eject the spent casing.

    Once the bolt will travel rearward, it will eject the casing and fling it just fine. It either does not like the Remington Core-lok ammo (all we could find), or there is a burr in the action, or the barrel is set to tight causing the casing to expand into the throat. Spent casings only had minor scratches, and didnt appear out of the ordinary.

    Has anyone ever ran into this? Anyone know a good gunsmith in the Baton Rouge area that can polish or fix this issue? If not, the scope is worth more than I payed for the rifle, but its a good fit for my son, and would like it fixed for deer season....

    Help!

    DE
     

    dwr461

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    4   0   0
    Jan 23, 2009
    3,930
    38
    Baton Rouge
    When I was a teenager in the 1980’s I used a Winchester model 70 in 243 that would occasionally have the same problem. It came down to the reloader, my dad, not being the best at reloading. So by any chance were you shooting reloads?

    Dave


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    peterf225

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    126   0   0
    Nov 17, 2008
    1,288
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    Prairieville
    If the spent casings seem fine (no cratered or blown primers), it could be the bolt lift is just tough. They do make a bolt lift kit that helps reduce the force needed to operate the bolt. You can google savage bolt lift kits and they are out there.
     

    Magdump

    Don’t troll me bro!
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    163   0   0
    Dec 31, 2013
    9,396
    113
    Hammond, Louisiana
    Headspace issue? Maybe have a gunsmith check the chamber. I’m thinking something is out of spec there. May just need a finish reaming. If it was a burr catching the case you’d see scoring. If it was a burr catching the bolt, it would happen without ammo. Either way I wouldn’t continue to shoot it until it’s fixed. You’ll likely rip out the extractor or break it off at the least.
     
    Last edited:

    rp85

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    11   0   0
    Jun 3, 2009
    318
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    baton rouge
    hello;

    factory or reloads? if reloads, tight chamber might mean a small base resizing die is needed.. if reloads is the resizing die adjusted to full length resize. if factory whole other can of worms. there is another forum on savage bolt action rifles. google savage bolt action "hard bolt lift."
     

    shrxfn

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    1   0   0
    Oct 25, 2015
    855
    28
    SWLA
    It could be just a tight chamber I would try loading and unloading a round without firing to see if it is just tight or the round is expanding in the chamber after firing and is causing the issue.
     

    longdude17

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    6   0   0
    Dec 22, 2010
    297
    18
    Baton Rouge
    Things got busy and I forgot to check this thread, but here are the casing pics. All are essentially identical to these… thoughts??
    2663195955ec1103fc6f512f7eff8a01.jpg

    f5a12a5b6027bf0d7f16a0935988adde.jpg

    1ae5f4ad17e85e689b103a6c9bdee17a.jpg



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    falshooter

    Well-Known Member
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    28   0   0
    May 5, 2013
    713
    63
    Ponchatoula/Hammond
    I saw this happen a few years back to someone sighting in their new scope.. The mount screws were too long and they were hitting the bolt. He could lift the bolt but could not move it rearward. Check your bolt for scratches and mount screws that may be protruding into the bolt channel
     

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