meisterhau
11-13-09, 20:20
Went to the range today with my father-in-law. He was sighting in a couple of rifles in prep for deer season. He said he'd been having issues with one of his varmint guns, an older model 22-250 Savage. I asked him to bring it along... maybe I'd see something he was missing.
The issue, as best as I can describe it, is this - muzzle away, ammo loads right-left-right-left. The right side is secure, and you can chamber without any issue. Left side, the round can be advanced about 1/3 of an inch, then just pops up (loose) before the bullet enters the chamber, gets cock-eyed, and you cannot properly advance the bolt. In other words, if you load 1 round or 3 rounds, it feeds fine. If you load 2 or 4, it mis-feeds. The follower (if that's the proper term for an internal mag) is stepped, left side higher. The right side is concave and cradles the round, while the left is flat. Feed lips seem even on both sides. The spring is tight and has an even push both front-back and side-side. There is a little bit of slop side to side in the follower, and it rocks slightly. I did not disassemble the rifle to inspect the parts.
I am suspecting one of three things:
1) the follower has worn and is cocked to the right, robbing the rounds loaded to the left of some security,
2) the lips have worn/flared a bit. For both issue 1 & 2, he says he hasn't really shot the gun that much (so a round count under 500 for sure).
3) somehow, the plastic follower has been rolled 90 degrees, and it's actually in sideways. He says he's never had the gun apart... and I don't see how it would have on it's own, but, speaking generically, it wouldn't be the first time a mechanical device was improperly assembled by a manufacturer (not calling out Savage by that statement).
Any thoughts?
The rifle shoots nicely, but is effectively a single-shot bolt action. I'd love to get it back into good, serviceable condition for him. I already fixed a failure-to-fire bolt issue he had with his favorite 30-06 for his Elk trip early this month, so helping with this issue would certainly further elevate my status from "son-in-law" to "one of the boys". ;)
The issue, as best as I can describe it, is this - muzzle away, ammo loads right-left-right-left. The right side is secure, and you can chamber without any issue. Left side, the round can be advanced about 1/3 of an inch, then just pops up (loose) before the bullet enters the chamber, gets cock-eyed, and you cannot properly advance the bolt. In other words, if you load 1 round or 3 rounds, it feeds fine. If you load 2 or 4, it mis-feeds. The follower (if that's the proper term for an internal mag) is stepped, left side higher. The right side is concave and cradles the round, while the left is flat. Feed lips seem even on both sides. The spring is tight and has an even push both front-back and side-side. There is a little bit of slop side to side in the follower, and it rocks slightly. I did not disassemble the rifle to inspect the parts.
I am suspecting one of three things:
1) the follower has worn and is cocked to the right, robbing the rounds loaded to the left of some security,
2) the lips have worn/flared a bit. For both issue 1 & 2, he says he hasn't really shot the gun that much (so a round count under 500 for sure).
3) somehow, the plastic follower has been rolled 90 degrees, and it's actually in sideways. He says he's never had the gun apart... and I don't see how it would have on it's own, but, speaking generically, it wouldn't be the first time a mechanical device was improperly assembled by a manufacturer (not calling out Savage by that statement).
Any thoughts?
The rifle shoots nicely, but is effectively a single-shot bolt action. I'd love to get it back into good, serviceable condition for him. I already fixed a failure-to-fire bolt issue he had with his favorite 30-06 for his Elk trip early this month, so helping with this issue would certainly further elevate my status from "son-in-law" to "one of the boys". ;)