Hard to close bolt on new breech plug

[robertb]

I have two breech plugs...The new one is the hex style and the old one uses the traditional savage tool to remove it. When shooting recently, I noticed that the hex style plug made for a very difficult camming down of the bolt to the point where the back of the bolt was galled against the receiver. The original breech plug did not exhibit these same issues.

Do I have a bad breech plug? I had it in as tight as it would go and there was no garbage in the primer area.

Would someone mind posting a pic or two of the back of their bolt? Is it normal to have some level of scratching on the back of the bolt where it cams against the receiver?

[rossman40]

For some reason Savage doesn't pay attention to that area. With the centerfires the bolt lugs do the work but with the 10ML the bolt cams at the tang cutout and most 10MLs I see have a sharp edge and even the stock may interfere. A bit of polishing with a dremel or even one of your wife's emery boards on the tang will help.

First things first,, The big test is it as hard to work without a primer compared to when with a primer. If it works hard with and without a primer it is probly a headspacing issue. If it only is hard with a primer then the primer recess is the culprit. With the breechplug out try putting a primer in the primer recess of the questionable breechplug. Federals are bad for this, they seem to be larger. You may have to get a "C" drill bit and drill it a tad. Then maybe polish it a bit.

[Richard]

OK, every Savage I have worked on has this sharp edge on the side of the receiver where the bolt handle recesses. If that is the cause, it would have done it with the old BP also. If it just does it with the new plug, then as Rossman indicated, it could be either of the two problems he listed. In any case, that sharp edge on the receiver should be filed slightly round. Or, just cut the sharpness. Now, carefully watch the under side of your bolt handle and see if it is contacting the wood right along side that sharp edge. If it is, file it off until the bolt no longer hits it. Also, keep a dab of grease on that part of the bolt handle. If you look at the opposite side of the bolt handle you will see another "cam". That rubs or "cams" against the opposite side on the action to extract your primer. Put a slight radius on that edge also and keep that part of the bolt greased. Now, getting to the part where head spacing might be in order....This binding will occur with no primer as Ross mentioned. Since you have been able to get the bolt closed, it is probably only a matter of a few thousandths. If I did not have a barrel wrench or want to get overly involved, I would remove the BP and take a fine file or some fine Emery cloth on a flat piece of metal and lightly sand/file the very end. Go slow, re-install the plug and try it. If it gets easier, then you are on the right track. Go a little more until it closes with normal resistance (like you old plug does). Done! Oh yeah, get rid of any burrs that might be on the inside that would impede the primer going in.!
Richard

[robertb]

Thanks for the response guys. In this case, the bolt is only hard to close when a primer is inserted. Where there is no primer, the bolt closes filne. I have also noticed on the "bad" plug that the primers have a hard time with extraction after being fired. I do have to admit that I'm using Federal primers....The reaosn for using the Federals was that I could not even get the CCI Mag 209s to seat in the plug when attempting to close the bolt.

[DBinNY]

Take the C drill as Rossman recommends and carefully give the primer chamber some additional depth. Take just a small amount at a time and check it with your preferred primer. Repeat until your bolt closes as it should. You're done.