Always double check your work!!

[Axis II]

I pulled my bolt apart to do the lift test with finding the lands on my savage rifle and put it back together and it fit and cycled just fine and it went back in the safe. Well we had some decent weather Monday so I ran to the range and fired my handguns and was so excited to test 5-6 different bullets with the rifle. I adjusted my front rest, parallax, rear bag, loaded a round and popped the safety off and the 2lbs trigger didn't break so I figured I didn't take the safety off but double checking showed I did! I think to myself what in the world? I load another round and same thing! I notice that the little pin on the back of the savage bolt isn't protruding so I grab my other savage rifle and sure enough the pin is protruding on that rifle. I took the bolt out and pushed the catch in to make sure I put the firing pin back in and checked that off so pulled the other savage bolt and ill be damned I put the bolt handle on backwards!!!

I was a little POD so just set it aside and fired the other savage which shot 5 50gr V max I could cover with a nickel. Not bad for a savage axis version 1 standard barrel! I then said well ill take the bolt handle off and switch it around and no Allen keys in my range bag!! I just packed it up and went home after that!!

Always check your work guys! First thing I thought was man what if I was out hunting and this happened? what if it was my defense handgun? I feel like a complete idiot and almost didn't share this with you guys but my excuse is this is the first time I've ever taken a bolt apart so I don't want to hear it!! lol.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I managed to over- rotate the striker on my vintage Marlin bolt during a detail strip.

Took it to the range, chambered a round- click, no fire. Then, surprise, the bolt was locked closed! Drove all the way home- very gingerly- gun in the trunk, with a live round in the chamber and a tripped sear!

Turns out there was a tiny ledge that was supposed to keep the striker centered in its channel which had worn smooth over the last 80 years or so. I had to take the action out of the stock, stick the muzzle in a bucket of sand, then jam a screwdriver into the bolt to keep it from firing while I lined the striker back up and was finally able to open the bolt. A few passes with a file fixed the problem and it has worked perfectly ever since.

Good times, but it could have been avoided if I had done a quick function check after servicing the weapon. Good advice!

 

[entropy]

I pulled my bolt apart to do the lift test with finding the lands on my savage rifle and put it back together and it fit and cycled just fine and it went back in the safe. Well we had some decent weather Monday so I ran to the range and fired my handguns and was so excited to test 5-6 different bullets with the rifle. I adjusted my front rest, parallax, rear bag, loaded a round and popped the safety off and the 2lbs trigger didn't break so I figured I didn't take the safety off but double checking showed I did! I think to myself what in the world? I load another round and same thing! I notice that the little pin on the back of the savage bolt isn't protruding so I grab my other savage rifle and sure enough the pin is protruding on that rifle. I took the bolt out and pushed the catch in to make sure I put the firing pin back in and checked that off so pulled the other savage bolt and ill be damned I put the bolt handle on backwards!!!

I was a little POD so just set it aside and fired the other savage which shot 5 50gr V max I could cover with a nickel. Not bad for a savage axis version 1 standard barrel! I then said well ill take the bolt handle off and switch it around and no Allen keys in my range bag!! I just packed it up and went home after that!!

Always check your work guys! First thing I thought was man what if I was out hunting and this happened? what if it was my defense handgun? I feel like a complete idiot and almost didn't share this with you guys but my excuse is this is the first time I've ever taken a bolt apart so I don't want to hear it!! lol.

I'm not going to say I've never done it, but I did check them before they were fired.

 

[Poper]

I got a call one day from my younger brother. He was cleaning his Parker Hale .270 Win. and his wife's Ruger .243 Win. Compact at the same time and while not paying attention, inadvertantly stuck the Ruger's bolt into the Parker Hales receiver. It slid in but the bolt release wouldn't let the Ruger bolt out. As he is 2k+ miles away, all I could do was tell him to take it to a gunsmith. $40 later things were back the way they were supposed to be.

 

[boom boom]

I pulled my bolt apart to do the lift test with finding the lands on my savage rifle and put it back together and it fit and cycled just fine and it went back in the safe. Well we had some decent weather Monday so I ran to the range and fired my handguns and was so excited to test 5-6 different bullets with the rifle. I adjusted my front rest, parallax, rear bag, loaded a round and popped the safety off and the 2lbs trigger didn't break so I figured I didn't take the safety off but double checking showed I did! I think to myself what in the world? I load another round and same thing! I notice that the little pin on the back of the savage bolt isn't protruding so I grab my other savage rifle and sure enough the pin is protruding on that rifle. I took the bolt out and pushed the catch in to make sure I put the firing pin back in and checked that off so pulled the other savage bolt and ill be damned I put the bolt handle on backwards!!!

I was a little POD so just set it aside and fired the other savage which shot 5 50gr V max I could cover with a nickel. Not bad for a savage axis version 1 standard barrel! I then said well ill take the bolt handle off and switch it around and no Allen keys in my range bag!! I just packed it up and went home after that!!

Always check your work guys! First thing I thought was man what if I was out hunting and this happened? what if it was my defense handgun? I feel like a complete idiot and almost didn't share this with you guys but my excuse is this is the first time I've ever taken a bolt apart so I don't want to hear it!! lol.

Glad you're ok.

The Ross rifle was notorious for being able to put together the bolt incorrectly with sometimes fatal results.

 

[Axis II]

Glad you're ok.

The Ross rifle was notorious for being able to put together the bolt incorrectly with sometimes fatal results.

With the bolt being completely backwards it wouldn't cock or fire. Not being a smart butt but how would this have caused a safety issue?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

There were more than one model of the Ross straight-pull bolt action rifle. One could be assembled in such a way that the bolt head would not rotate as the bolt closed, so when it fired, the bolt was blown back til it hit the bolt stop at full rear open position. There are were Youtube videos showing what happens and how to avoid it.

 

[boom boom]

With the bolt being completely backwards it wouldn't cock or fire. Not being a smart butt but how would this have caused a safety issue?

What Carl N. Brown said. In the dark, in the trenches, it was somewhat easy to do. The shame is that the Ross had fine accuracy and on average was much more accurate than old SMLE.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

"The shame is that the Ross had fine accuracy and on average was much more accurate than old SMLE."

I have read that the Ross was pulled from general issue as Lee-Enfields became available, but Rosses were retained by designated snipers (who usually can baby their tifles more than the average infantryman and his rifle). Lee-Enfields chewed up trench mud and spit it out when other guns gagged.

 

[Axis II]

Well i finally got around to fixing my bolt issue and what a cluster mess!!

First the bolt was completely turned around so i flipped the bolt knob and then noticed i put the bolt face on backward also so i had to take the firing pin and springs out of it and noticed that the springs looked a little off and noticed that i put the springs on top of each other without putting the washer between them. I reassembled everything and racked the bolt and click. Going to shoot it today!

 

[entropy]

Well i finally got around to fixing my bolt issue and what a cluster mess!!

First the bolt was completely turned around so i flipped the bolt knob and then noticed i put the bolt face on backward also so i had to take the firing pin and springs out of it and noticed that the springs looked a little off and noticed that i put the springs on top of each other without putting the washer between them. I reassembled everything and racked the bolt and click. Going to shoot it today!

Glad you got it working.