Gunsmithing learned a new screw up today

[eddybo]

I bought a PTG bolt and had the bolt handl tigged on. This week I took the action and trued it using the PtG kit and reamed the raceway. Everything went okay and I got done chambering and assembling the rifle a day or so ago. Today I finally got around to shooting it. About round 16 the bolt would not open. It would cam up and pull back about 1/4 inch then would not budge. Rather than trying to hammer it open I decided to pull the trigger and take a look. Nothing was amiss. I then decided to pull the barrel to see if I could tell what was wrong. That is where I found it. That little pin that holds the extractor in had slid 1/2 way out of the bolt and was hanging on one of the lugs. Took a few minutes and a few improvised tools but I finally got it shoved back in enough so that I could run a tiny punch through the action screw hole and tap it back in place.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what caused it to slip out like that. I am guessing that I went just a tad too far when I tapped it into place the first time, but it felt normal. Anyway it was a new way to screw up that I had never heard of, just thought I would pass it along in case it happens to someone else.

 

[USMCj]

Re: learned a new screw up today

How did the rifle shoot?

 

[eddybo]

Re: learned a new screw up today

It shot okay. It is a 300 whisper and I was not expecting better than an inch using a 4x scope. It did a little better than expected considering I was using ammo loaded for my last whisper. It may or may not do better with a little load work.

 

[Dans40X]

Re: learned a new screw up today

I stake/peen the bottom/thru hole of ejector retainer cross pin holes to eliminate/defy gravity.

 

[xs hedspace]

Re: learned a new screw up today

A friend of mine had the same thing happen with a new Ruger 77. Once I figured out that the ejector pin was what was jamming up his bolt, I whacked the side of the action with a plastic mallet, and the pin went back in by inertia(empty was still in the chamber, so the ejector was not bearing on the pin). To keep it in, I center punched the edges of the hole lightly.