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Help! Bolt Sticky After Stocky’s Stock Install.

Looking at this again, the front (barrel-end) and back of the bolt handle do not contact the stock; however, the underside does sit flush against the stock. Could there be an issue where the bolt isn't quite rotating closed all the way but the rifle will still fire?


Take it out of the stock, mark the bolt body against the action while closed and reinstall.
 
Looking at this again, the front (barrel-end) and back of the bolt handle do not contact the stock; however, the underside does sit flush against the stock. Could there be an issue where the bolt isn't quite rotating closed all the way but the rifle will still fire?
Possible. That MIGHT change the head space from what it was formerly but it would have to be a significantly different locking position than the factory stock. Look at the factory stock and see if the closed bolt handle was resting on the wood or the receiver. You should be able to see wear marks or oil stains if the bolt handle was against the wood when fired. If it appears the bolt handle was free from the wood and only locked against the receiver, I would carve out the bolt handle channel on new stock till bolt handle is again free from it and resting on receiver when bolt is locked.

I think this is a bedding issue. Something is flexing that shouldn't be when the gun is fired. Make sure the barrel is free floating and bed the action both fore and aft with JB Weld. Lots of videos on the net to help with this. I have used spray on silicon as the nonstick agent. Works well for me and not as messy as some of the other stuff used in videos (e.g. boot grease).
 
If he is using the same ammo as formerly when bolt was not sticking, this clearly is not an issue with ammo. Something is different with the new stock.
 
You didn't by any chance also change the scope mounts? A mounting screw that's too long will go through the receiver and cause the bolt handle to bind.
 
Disassembled everything yesterday and reassembled, cleaned the chamber and bore, removed the firing pin assembly and cleaned and lubed everything. Took it out and chambered a round and ejected it; everything cycled and ejected smoothly. Fired three rounds; bolt lift was much easier but it did feel like some resistance at the start of pulling the bolt back. After the fourth round, the bolt lifted but won't pull back and the empty shell is still in the chamber. Don't have time to try anything else before antelope opens this weekend so I'll be hunting my old faithful 270, but still would love to get this figured out by the time deer/elk starts.
 
Possible. That MIGHT change the head space from what it was formerly but it would have to be a significantly different locking position than the factory stock. Look at the factory stock and see if the closed bolt handle was resting on the wood or the receiver. You should be able to see wear marks or oil stains if the bolt handle was against the wood when fired. If it appears the bolt handle was free from the wood and only locked against the receiver, I would carve out the bolt handle channel on new stock till bolt handle is again free from it and resting on receiver when bolt is locked.

I think this is a bedding issue. Something is flexing that shouldn't be when the gun is fired. Make sure the barrel is free floating and bed the action both fore and aft with JB Weld. Lots of videos on the net to help with this. I have used spray on silicon as the nonstick agent. Works well for me and not as messy as some of the other stuff used in videos (e.g. boot grease).
My concern with bedding it myself is that as little as I know about this I could wind up bedding it in a way that there's some stress on the action and then I can't undo it. But maybe I'm overthinking it...
 
My concern with bedding it myself is that as little as I know about this I could wind up bedding it in a way that there's some stress on the action and then I can't undo it. But maybe I'm overthinking it...
Yes, you are overthinking. There's really no way you cannot undo a bad bedding job. Just carve it out and start over again. Very difficult to screw up a bedding job anyway, in my opinion. It's not rocket science.
 
My concern with bedding it myself is that as little as I know about this I could wind up bedding it in a way that there's some stress on the action and then I can't undo it. But maybe I'm overthinking it...
If you still have your old stock can you put that back on and shoot a couple through it to see how it behaves? Might narrow down if its a just a stock issue or something more serious. Having a case suck in your chamber makes me think you may have bigger issues.
 
Got the stuck case out. Appears to be a scratch a quarter inch or so up from the belt, but with a flashlight down the bore I really can’t see any debris or burrs. And it seems like an odd thing to come up so suddenly…
IMG_1936.jpeg
 
If you still have your old stock can you put that back on and shoot a couple through it to see how it behaves? Might narrow down if its a just a stock issue or something more serious. Having a case suck in your chamber makes me think you may have bigger issues.
I was intending to try that the next time I'm able to make it back to the range, but the stuck case has me questioning whether I should mess with it anymore or just take it to a smith.
 
I was intending to try that the next time I'm able to make it back to the range, but the stuck case has me questioning whether I should mess with it anymore or just take it to a smith.
Agreed, maybe try rolling a q-tip around in the chamber to see if it catches on anything or picks any foreign objects. If you have access to a bore scope that could show something too.
 
How many rounds have you fired through this rifle? Could be a carbon ring that’s causing you pressure issues.
 
How many rounds have you fired through this rifle? Could be a carbon ring that’s causing you pressure issues.
It was given to me by my father-in-law so total round count is unknown but it’s a 1970’s gun that’s been hunted plenty. I’ve put about 100-150 through it without any issues before this year.
 
Is this brass as jacked up as it looks on the rim in this picture or is there an optical illusion going on?
FCBBEB72-0E3D-42F3-B39E-6772205772BB.jpeg

I don’t know what to think.

How did you clean your chamber?
 
Last edited:
Just optical
Is this brass as jacked up as it looks on the rim in this picture or is there an optical illusion going on?
View attachment 295177

I don’t know what to think.

How did you clean your chamber?
Is this brass as jacked up as it looks on the rim in this picture or is there an optical illusion going on?
View attachment 295177

I don’t know what to think.

How did you clean your chamber?
Sorry about the confusing pics, those are just shadows from the shells being directly under the led cabinet lights. Other than the tiny scrape in the single case I posted and the 2 smudge-looking dots just below the belt on the left 2 pieces in the pic you referenced, I don’t see any new marks on fired brass that weren’t there before.

I cleaned the chamber with hoppe’s no 9 and lots of dry patches after using a handgun push-rod I had to get more contact with the outside chamber surfaces. But I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a lot about proper cleaning technique - a couple passes with solvent and a few clean patches had been the extent of my annual cleaning of the bore up to this point.
 

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