Browning A-Bolt issues

[Hatrick]

 

[Lnewton]

I am bringing this back up in discussion. I finally was able to get my small range set up and have targets at 100 and 225. We are getting ready for an elk hunt in January and decided to go shoot this past Sunday. My browning a-bolt is doing it again. I thought I had fixed the problem and it is not as bad as it was but it is still difficult to open and eject the spent cartridge after the 3rd round. I was able to shoot 14 rounds but each casing after the first 2 were difficult to get out. The new rounds were very easy to cycle from the magazine into the chamber for the next shot however. The rifle still shoots well and is very accurate for my abilities but it is still very frustrating that it is having this problem. Any other ideas?

 

[Valek]

I still think that there may be a fine burr inside the bolt. I mentioned that very early on in this thread. If the bolt has not been stripped and the components polished, please give that a try. The worst thing that could happen is that you have a nice clean bolt. In my case, it solved the problem.

 

[Lnewton]

I will do that this weekend, thx for the reminder.

 

[Wv shooter]

And I say it is a ruff chamber and as you haven't shot it in a while it may have oxidized in the chamber I think you had it polished the last time try polishing it again I bet is clears up this has happened to me in the past it can't hurt Merry Christmas and God bless

 

[Valek]

And I say it is a ruff chamber and as you haven't shot it in a while it may have oxidized in the chamber I think you had it polished the last time try polishing it again I bet is clears up this has happened to me in the past it can't hurt Merry Christmas and God bless

Whether it's bolt or chamber, I liked your closing phrase, Wv. And I wish the whole bunch of LRHunting readers the same: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God bless.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Would you mind posting some pics of the spent brass casings?

 

[Lnewton]

I will do that first opportunity

 

[jeff29414]

I also have an A-Bolt 3 (in 308 Win) and have a similar issue (bought it new in Jan 2020). I'm a reloader though, I am using once fired military brass that is cleaned, polished, and fully sized to spec. My first 30 rounds were using a 165 gr Hornady Interlock softpoint, taper crimped to the cannelure at 2.725. Cycled and fired flawlessly. Then I loaded same brass type with 150 gr Federal Power Shok softpoints seated at range from 2.810 down to 2.730 (in 0.010 increments) to find best seating depth. Tried a couple, but neither of them would chamber (even though all measurement are within spec) and the bolt got stuck at about 90 % loaded position - had to put the butt on the floor and hit the bolt with my hand firmly about 4 times before the bolt finally opened and ejected the cartridge. next cartridge was same so I went home to check. No visible issues in bore, chamber, or on bolt face so I tried my mock ups for previous 165 and 168 gr rounds and they cycled flawlessly - just the Federal 150 causing issues. I unloaded/deprimed a cartridge then seated the bullet deeper until I could finally chamber a round (2.687 - which seems pretty short to me), then I reseated 5 more and tried to cycle them. 2 of the 5 were still very tight and hard to close the bolt fully and the bolt actually came all the way out of the action on the return stroke for those 2 - past the stop without the release being pressed. Then I reseated 5 more and tried again - bolt got stuck on 2nd one and then when I got it free it also came all the way out of the action.
I have contacted the closest service center to get it looked at. I found a couple other posts with the sticking bolt or bolt coming out past the stop, but no one mentioned unable to even chamber a round that didn't exceed any of the measurements....

 

[Lnewton]

I have never reloaded so I have not experienced that, but the bolt coming out is frustrating. I have found my rifle does better with 180 grain federals than any other brand. I am going to get some 205's and try them out too. I have decided to replace the bolt sleeve on mine and see if that does the trick. I took a bolt out of another magnum and it works perfect in my rifle. Think this will fix mine up for now.

 

[jeff29414]

Hey LNewton - I found part of the issue - the bullet (150 gr Federal Power-Shok softnose) will not chamber into the Browning. I tried seating it with the taper crimp in the cannelure at 2.690 and also seated as low as 2.680, but it still jammed. The AB3 doesn't like this bullet. I made a mockup with the Nosler 150 gr BT (my new hunting round seated so the crimp is in the cannelure at 2.741) and had no issues - worked smooth as silk.
Just doesn't like this 1 bullet, but also the bolt coming out concerns me - If something happens and I have blowback that bolt coming at my face is a major concern - I mean it shouldn't because the bolt should be locked, but....
I still haven't heard back from the factory service center either and that is concerning to me

 

[Chadp82]

Hope you can figure this out.

I have an A-Bolt 280 Remington and it shoots great! I will say I reload. First time loading for it, checked fitment and cycling with a couple of seated bullets, no powder or primer, and everything was good to go... or so it seemed. I had two issues, which seemed to be related. First issue was at the range, shot through 10-15 reloads, then I would get an occasion where I couldn't get the rifle to load from the magazine. Everything was fine if I loaded as a single shot, so determined something with OAL or something with the feeding. Then as single shot it started to do what you mentioned. When I got home I checked OAL, was right at the max. Removed the magazine and pushed the round forward with my finger and realized the edge of the case was hanging up slightly. A little polishing on the edge of the magazine at the point it was catching seemed to resolve this but the tight bolt/extraction after shooting was another issue. I was not loading hot but thought maybe a pressure issue. Loaded some up at lowest level with another powder (that would yield lower pressure). Went to the range again. magazine issue resolved, but occasional tight bolt. I tried some factory ammo and same thing. I cleaned thoroughly and inspected some unfired cases. I found some of my reloads were .001-.002 over trim length, but still within the range for case length. Since then I have made sure to run them right at trim length and double check deburring. I inspected the factory loads and noticed there were very slight deviations in length of case as well. I did two things to resolve my issue. Slightly polished ramp and feed area with a scotch brite pad, as I did not see any burrs or irregularities, cleaned chamber very thoroughly, and I do a more through check to make sure the case length is dead on trim length. Since this, no issues. I think part of this is due to break-in and another part was my attention to detail on the trim length. Since you don't reload, if you have a friend that does, it may be worth borrowing a caliper and checking the ammo you are using for case length irregularities. This solved my issue, but not sure if it will help you. Mine is sensitive to case length it seems. Now that it is well broken in, I have not had any issues resurface. Good luck!

 

[jeff29414]

Hope you can figure this out.

I have an A-Bolt 280 Remington and it shoots great! I will say I reload. First time loading for it, checked fitment and cycling with a couple of seated bullets, no powder or primer, and everything was good to go... or so it seemed. I had two issues, which seemed to be related. First issue was at the range, shot through 10-15 reloads, then I would get an occasion where I couldn't get the rifle to load from the magazine. Everything was fine if I loaded as a single shot, so determined something with OAL or something with the feeding. Then as single shot it started to do what you mentioned. When I got home I checked OAL, was right at the max. Removed the magazine and pushed the round forward with my finger and realized the edge of the case was hanging up slightly. A little polishing on the edge of the magazine at the point it was catching seemed to resolve this but the tight bolt/extraction after shooting was another issue. I was not loading hot but thought maybe a pressure issue. Loaded some up at lowest level with another powder (that would yield lower pressure). Went to the range again. magazine issue resolved, but occasional tight bolt. I tried some factory ammo and same thing. I cleaned thoroughly and inspected some unfired cases. I found some of my reloads were .001-.002 over trim length, but still within the range for case length. Since then I have made sure to run them right at trim length and double check deburring. I inspected the factory loads and noticed there were very slight deviations in length of case as well. I did two things to resolve my issue. Slightly polished ramp and feed area with a scotch brite pad, as I did not see any burrs or irregularities, cleaned chamber very thoroughly, and I do a more through check to make sure the case length is dead on trim length. Since this, no issues. I think part of this is due to break-in and another part was my attention to detail on the trim length. Since you don't reload, if you have a friend that does, it may be worth borrowing a caliper and checking the ammo you are using for case length irregularities. This solved my issue, but not sure if it will help you. Mine is sensitive to case length it seems. Now that it is well broken in, I have not had any issues resurface. Good luck!

Hey Chadp82, I also reload and have been having major issues (see my 2 replies above). I have done the following to try and fix the problem, but have resigned myself to not using the specific bullet causing the jamming - Federal 150 gr Power-Shok softpoints.
I tried trimming cases to 2.000 (.010 less than max), seating bullet from 2.810 down to 2.630, tightening crimp, deburring cases before, etc. All measurements are in spec according to both Speer #9 and several online listings for 308, but this 1 bullet continues to jam when trying to chamber it.
I heard mention that Brownings are known to have tight chambers, but this is rediculous - I can only figure that because the ogive is farther forward (the bullet is short and fat) it is pressing into the lands earlier and that is causing the jamming. I don't want to have to seat the bullet down to short and have other issues...

Other issue I have is cleaning the recessed open area right before the chamber - how did you get in there? I found some small pieces of barss in there I think are from the jamming - they are scratching my cases. I cleaned as well as I could, but only way I could get in there was wrapping a cleaning swatch around a bronze brush and trying to swirl it around in there - not totally effective and I think I'm going to have to make a special tool just for this gun to clean that area out. I like how it shoots, but am getting frustrated with all the special issues I'm finding with it....

 

[Lnewton]

I just called the service center and they were very helpful. Walked me through the process of shipping my rifle to them. Give them a call and maybe they can check out your warranty and see if they can help you. Email is too slow most places right now.