Savage Axis II stiff bolt- hard extraction.

[Brother Buckwheat]

My buddy calls me up and said my bolt is stuck, I can't get my fired round out.
So he brings it over and I note the bolt is stiff when I lift it and it won't open up.
So I get a small block of pine 2x and small ball peen and do the tap tap, first tap bolt opens and ejects the empty. That's a good sign. I put the empty back in and chamber it and close the bolt. Same thing, bolt stiff and a little tap and it's out. So I do a clean-up of the bore with Wipe-Out overnight and clean the chamber with some OOOO steel wool and Kroil on a bore mop concentrating on the neck area as it seemed gritty on the empty cartridge neck. The empty is still tight when rechambering and hard to pull back initially but I don't need to tap the bolt. Chamber and bore are now oil-free and dry as is the bolt.
The rifle is chambered in .308 and has at most 60-100 rounds through it, most of those 7.62x51 as that was what was available when he bought the gun. I used 7.62x51 in my .308 (pre 64 Win) and never had a problem, just for trigger time. I'm wondering if it's just a tightly cut chamber at the neck or just the cheap ammo.
Being at home I don't have the luxury of testing the gun without driving to my cabin, but live factory rounds chamber and extract as they should and the original empty round is now in a box of empties of about 100+ I have in the shop so I don't know which is the original.
A zone starts this coming weekend, we'll test it Friday with factory monos and hopefully, the problem is solved.

 

[tobnpr]

Probably the ammo.
7.62 NATO has a more "generous" chamber than .308 by design- allowing for the multitude of manufacturing variations across NATO countries and reliability in semi and full auto platforms. Hard bolt lift is a common issue using NATO ammo in a .308 chamber, some will work OK, some not...

Run some .308 in the rifle for your answer.

The empty is still tight when rechambering

You'd expect that, when you didn't resize the brass, no?

 

[Brother Buckwheat]

You'd expect that, when you didn't resize the brass, no?

Yes, after thinking on it without the neck being resized

Anyways the ammo was Igman and we will run Federal .308 through it.

 

[HSmithTX]

I have a Savage that will show severe pressure signs in about 80 rounds. It copper fouls really badly from the throat to the crown. Clean it and pressure is gone, it shoots really well after a few foulers, and will shoot really well until bolt lift becomes stiff and pressure signs start again. May just need cleaned.

 

[Boomer3]

I bought an Axis ii in 350 Legend on black friday. Took it to the range for the first time today and from the very first round the bolt was stuck after firing. Eventually I was able to run about 12 rounds through it (from 2 different boxes of the same ammo), but every one took moderate to way too much pressure/tapping bolt handle to pull the bolt back. I was using 150gr Winchester Deer Season XP rounds, which is what i found to be the most recommended ammo for this gun. I will call savage tomorrow, but im mostly wondering if anyone has fixed this issue or found a resolution? I see this problem on alot of forums with the Axis but I haven't seen the solution.

 

[Brother Buckwheat]

I forgot about this thread, so an update.
Shooting Federal monos- no problems.
Win white box 7.62- no problems.
Back to Igman, stuck bolt with a little tap-tap to open.
I'm impressed with the accuracy he's getting from this gun as is he.
I did my part in bringing a 62-year-old into the shooting world. And he sure likes to burn powder when time allows.

 

[tankgijohn72]

I bought an Axis ii in 350 Legend on black friday. Took it to the range for the first time today and from the very first round the bolt was stuck after firing. Eventually I was able to run about 12 rounds through it (from 2 different boxes of the same ammo), but every one took moderate to way too much pressure/tapping bolt handle to pull the bolt back. I was using 150gr Winchester Deer Season XP rounds, which is what i found to be the most recommended ammo for this gun. I will call savage tomorrow, but im mostly wondering if anyone has fixed this issue or found a resolution? I see this problem on alot of forums with the Axis but I haven't seen the solution.

I have the same rifle. If you chamber a live round will it eject easily? Shot federal, winchester, Hornady all would be a little tight closing bolt on live round and if u tried to eject without firing it would stuck or difficult to cycle bolt. I assume it's from a worn reamer when chambering. I say that because I did figure out a fix. I use a lee collet crimper on them and issue completely disappears. Savage did say that they would take it back and look at it, but I am avoiding the shipping hassle, by taking on the hassle of running factory ammo through the die. Shoots pretty good groups at 200yd with Hornady American.

 

[Boomer3]

I have the same rifle. If you chamber a live round will it eject easily? Shot federal, winchester, Hornady all would be a little tight closing bolt on live round and if u tried to eject without firing it would stuck or difficult to cycle bolt. I assume it's from a worn reamer when chambering. I say that because I did figure out a fix. I use a lee collet crimper on them and issue completely disappears. Savage did say that they would take it back and look at it, but I am avoiding the shipping hassle, by taking on the hassle of running factory ammo through the die. Shoots pretty good groups at 200yd with Hornady American.

Live rounds cycle no problem. I was wondering the same thing so I filled the magazine and cycled through a couple full mags with no issue. It seems to only happen after being fired. I did not end up calling Savage yet because we only had a couple weeks left of season and I figured I'd just get thru to the end, then deal with it. But I will likely be sending it in.

It does shoot really well with those Win Xps out to 200 also, but regardless of it being an inexpensive rifle, it should function correctly and I'm sure Savage will make it right.