Gunsmithing Savage Bolt slop fix?

Awag1000

Awag1000

Interstellar Weapon Systems
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Jan 17, 2020
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#1
howdy all, I have a savage 110 (long Action) that I've been dry fire practicing with. I've noticed that if I run the bolt fast while closing the bolt it'll hang up. I've also noticed that there is an awful amount of slop/wiggle while the bolt is open. is there any way to fix this/ tighten it up? This hasn't effected the accuracy of the rifle at all but its just annoying when I run the bolt it'll hang up and move the rifle off of the bags/rest.
 
#2
Save your money for a different rifle. Every penny you put into that savage is a penny lost and it will never be as nice as just about any other action on the market. I know because I dumped money into a Savage one time. It was a complete waste.

Savages are best appreciated for what they are, which is dirt cheap rifles that shoot good but don't do anything else good.
 
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#4
Yes, there are things that can be done (if you find a gunsmith willing to do them) like a sleeve.... But as said above- it is not worth doing. With the floating bolt head of the savage it doesn't really matter that the bolt is loose on the back of the action.

Savage rifles just don't run smooth... So just use it as is. You will figure out how to run the bolt different so that it works better.
 
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#6
Awag1000 said:
howdy all, I have a savage 110 (long Action) that I've been dry fire practicing with. I've noticed that if I run the bolt fast while closing the bolt it'll hang up. I've also noticed that there is an awful amount of slop/wiggle while the bolt is open. is there any way to fix this/ tighten it up? This hasn't effected the accuracy of the rifle at all but its just annoying when I run the bolt it'll hang up and move the rifle off of the bags/rest.
Click to expand...

I've noticed that long action 110's suffer from this. Short actions, not so much. I wonder if some gun grease in just the right places would help.
 
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#7
After a few barrels worth of shots it will just start to smooth up.
A really thorough cleaning then coating bolt and action with Hornandy dry lube helps.

PTG does make oversized bolts but that can get into some fitting and possible smith work.
 
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#8
Awag1000 said:
well I already have the rifle and I plan on using it till the barrel wears out (shouldn't be that hard using 300 Win Mag)
Click to expand...
Don't let anyone fool you. Savage 110 rifles do what they are made to do. They shoot great right out of the box. I've never seen one that didn't shoot sub-MOA with the right ammo. Some of them, waaay sub. They come in the synthetic accu-stock system, that once you get it fitted to you, it's a "set it and forget it" system. And, they have a great adjustable trigger. They are made to be beaters that shoot great, and not closet queens. I went through two Remington 700's that I ditched for a myriad of reasons from crappy triggers to never being able to find ammo that shot with any accuracy worth mentioning. And, I always heard the "Oh, but you have to get the Wizbang trigger and the XYZ stock job.." etc. When I was in the market for a new truck gun, I went for the Savage 110 Tactical and all I had to buy was the gun and ammo. I never looked back at the Remingtons. Yeah, I have much more expensive guns than the Savage. I even have one that shoots a bit tighter. Of course, it cost about four times as much, and I've already had to repair it once. But, when I'm bouncing down the cow trails on my place, the Savage is the gun riding in the slip case on the floorboard behind the truck seat. And, when it comes out, it likely gets flopped down over a bag across the hood or bed cover of my truck. And, it's going to shoot with sub MOA accuracy.
 
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#9
Think of it as a trainer to teach you smooth straight bolt throw. Why are you needing to run a 300 win mag bolt super fast? Relish in the fact that you have a gun that (likely) is very accurate for very little money compared to a 5K rifle. Lots of savage hate on here but I am always amazed at the accuracy they produce. Your trade off is a clunky action and typically a squishy stock. I'd rather have that trade than a nice action with 2 minute accuracy.
 
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#10
Like already covered above, you need to learn how to run the bolt on the savage long action. You do it right and it doesn’t hang up at all. Other than that, your best recourse if you are after a super smooth bolt is to buy a different rifle. Try a Tikka for that.
 
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#12
Yep. Kinda ironic that the dastardly SAVAGE! requires a bit of a gentle touch. I can run one pretty quick, the old lady trained me to have a fast gentle hand when needed. I think most of the hate comes from guys that are all pissy when they get out shot by one that is a $500 rig and theirs is 5K, but damn if theirs doesn't have a smooth action! I really think they are hard to beat for the money.
 
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#13
Savage makes a great hunting rifle that’s a Great Value as far as utility and accuracy. They are great shooters until the clock becomes a significant part of the equation.
There are many better actions for competition.
Shoot the Savage to your heart’s content, understand that there are limitation once time and precision are significant to you and upgrade at that point.
 
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#14
The action on my Savage 10 FCP-SR improved dramatically when I put it in a chassis and started using AICS magazines. Don't know it that would help in a Long Action or not but suspect it will. It'll never be as nice and tight as a higher end action but the gun is a .75 MOA $2000 gem including glass, bipod, rings, vertical grip, butt stock, muzzle brake, etc. I'm not worried about putting the money into it as I'll never sell it so don't have to worry about resale value.

Athlon2.jpg


Savages are what they are...mine is my first precision rifle and my nephew/shooting partner and my brother both shoot my FrankenGun Savage better than they shoot their high dollar, super duper rifles. They bitch about the level of smooth and tight but when it comes to the shooting part they are pretty amazed. Bang for the buck it's worth a try to put yer Savage in an MDT chassis and see if you can use the better magazines to tighten things up.

VooDoo
 
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#17
Most production rifle bolts have what appears to be a lot of play then the bolt is all the way back. It's because the bolt is only being supported by perhaps 25% of its length.
 
#18
Savage bolt heads don't "float." They might flop around, but that's a bit different and it's a consequence of low effort manufacturing.

You have a cylindrical body sliding inside a cylindrical bore. You then have a firing pin moving inside the two of them. A part that by design won't work right if stuff is not both concentric and on a common axis.

The clearance between the two is by design so they go together easily. That's it. For a truly "floating" bolt head to work it would need to be a ball/socket and then you'd still have to solve the firing pin issue.

Call it whatever, but your not gonna make this pig anything close to pretty regardless of the makeup used.
 
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#19
Look around your industrial supply houses, bearings, belts, etc. Try to pick up the smallest tube of open gear lube, (some call it crater grease), Use VERY sparingly. Back of bolt lugs, primary extraction ramp, and firing pin cocking ramp. It won't help the bolt stroke, but it will help the lock unlock part. FYI, this stuff never comes out of clothing! Moly/ graphite paste, the grease is just to carry the stuff . I use a match stick to dab it on. Maybe it will improve the feel of your bolt until wear laps it in. At least it won't gall and stick from friction.
 
#27
A couple of years ago, I figured out that the best thing to do was to put the money I would have spent on upgrading my 12 LRP Savage towards buying my Tikka...
Never been happier and I don't have to make excuses.

My 2011 production 12 LRP is a shooter, but it ain't the same as a Tikka. The world has changed since 2011.
I contemplated new bottom metal and / or a chassis for the Lurp, but the cost of the upgrades were getting closer to the cost of starting over.

I look at it as first wife vs. second wife.
There's a long list of reasons as to why I divorced the first one and I knew what I did and didn't want when it came time for the second one.
Was it cheap or easy ? No. but worth it in the long run.
 
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#28
I'm not sure if you fixed this yet, but I had the same problem with my short action 6.5 creedmoor. What I did is start by ordering a set of pin gages from .699 up to around .703. You can get them on Amazon individually: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BHHSORA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I'm not sure what the standard raceway diameter is for your gun, but once you figure that out, order pin gages that are a bit smaller and a bit bigger than that. Next I ordered a custom Savage short action bolt body from Pacific Tool & Gauge: http://pacifictoolandgauge.com/savage-short-action-bolts/1044-short-action-sa-savage-bolt-body.html. They also make a long action bolt: http://pacifictoolandgauge.com/1452-savage-long-action-bolts. Basically what you do is take your pin gages and find the one with the least slop by running them into the chamber from the back with the bolt removed. I found that .701 was a perfect fit. I originally followed the company's recommendations and ordered a bolt by subtracting .002 from the measured size. That did NOT work for me. I ended up with a bolt that was no better than the factory one. So, I ordered a second bolt and told them to make it as close as possible to the size I measured with the pin gages (.701"). It fits perfect and the slop is totally gone and it doesn't hang up. Also, don't be drawn in by the fancy fluting. It looks cool, but it will not help your problem. Hopefully this works for you.
 
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#29
Oh...and in the meantime, one thing you can do to help is put your thumb over the back of the bolt when running it forward. This will help you run it straight (rather than angled sideways). I used to run my bolt with my whole hand on the bolt handle. Once I shifted by thumb over the back of the bolt, that helped a lot.
 
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#30
WilburForce said:
I'm not sure if you fixed this yet, but I had the same problem with my short action 6.5 creedmoor. What I did is start by ordering a set of pin gages from .699 up to around .703. You can get them on Amazon individually: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BHHSORA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I'm not sure what the standard raceway diameter is for your gun, but once you figure that out, order pin gages that are a bit smaller and a bit bigger than that. Next I ordered a custom Savage short action bolt body from Pacific Tool & Gauge: http://pacifictoolandgauge.com/savage-short-action-bolts/1044-short-action-sa-savage-bolt-body.html. They also make a long action bolt: http://pacifictoolandgauge.com/1452-savage-long-action-bolts. Basically what you do is take your pin gages and find the one with the least slop by running them into the chamber from the back with the bolt removed. I found that .701 was a perfect fit. I originally followed the company's recommendations and ordered a bolt by subtracting .002 from the measured size. That did NOT work for me. I ended up with a bolt that was no better than the factory one. So, I ordered a second bolt and told them to make it as close as possible to the size I measured with the pin gages (.701"). It fits perfect and the slop is totally gone and it doesn't hang up. Also, don't be drawn in by the fancy fluting. It looks cool, but it will not help your problem. Hopefully this works for you.
Click to expand...

So you spent $250 to fix just this one problem on your savage?

See my post above...
 
#31
Mordamer said:
So you spent $250 to fix just this one problem on your savage?

See my post above...
Click to expand...

It's a great rifle that had one problem. I passed the FBI rifle qual with it, but it was frustrating. I fixed the problem for what SHOULD have cost me less than $150 actually ($99 for the bolt plus shipping and around $35 in pin gages), which is a lot cheaper than buying a new rifle. It was my mistake for ordering the wrong size bolt originally.
 
Last edited:
#32
You can use a jewelers file to break the edges on the rear of the action. Be sure to keep the angle low. You can also use a ADM diamond hone and polish the raceway. Red is good. I have found this to minimize binding on more than a few Savages.
 
#33
800 yards!! Savage 110 tactical desert 6.5 creedmoor 130 vld 42.8 stable 6.5 Hornady brass br-2 primers and about 45 minutes each to carefully make everything perfect as possible SD 6 ES is in the teens this was the first of consistent sub inch and a half group's 800 yard group's it shot after load development was done.thers 5 shot's in there hard to see in picture.my kid shoots those groups I'm not that good yet maybe never will be lol people stop talking to me when I tell them about this they assume I'm just making it up
 

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#34
point of impact at 800 is less than a inch off once we got it diled in.not all my savage rifle's shoot this good and this one shoot's anywhere from 3/4 to 1.5 moa with factory ammo but with careful load development it shoots better than any sako Or tika that I've ever shot.my 22 250 Savage Axis with a JB weld filled stock and Timmy trigger shoots 3" at 600 yards after load development but it shoots 1.25 moa and bigger with most factory ammo I'm a fan of savage but they require very precise load development you can't just load 10,000 off the lands and expect them to shoot it's 80-200 shot's to find it's full potential
 
#35
Jordo said:
point of impact at 800 is less than a inch off once we got it diled in.not all my savage rifle's shoot this good and this one shoot's anywhere from 3/4 to 1.5 moa with factory ammo but with careful load development it shoots better than any sako Or tika that I've ever shot.my 22 250 Savage Axis with a JB weld filled stock and Timmy trigger shoots 3" at 600 yards after load development but it shoots 1.25 moa and bigger with most factory ammo I'm a fan of savage but they require very precise load development you can't just load 10,000 off the lands and expect them to shoot it's 80-200 shot's to find it's full potential
Click to expand...
Consistent handloads tailored to the gun make a world of difference. That, and perfect shooting conditions.
 
#36
Jordo said:
800 yards!! Savage 110 tactical desert 6.5 creedmoor 130 vld 42.8 stable 6.5 Hornady brass br-2 primers and about 45 minutes each to carefully make everything perfect as possible SD 6 ES is in the teens this was the first of consistent sub inch and a half group's 800 yard group's it shot after load development was done.thers 5 shot's in there hard to see in picture.my kid shoots those groups I'm not that good yet maybe never will be lol people stop talking to me when I tell them about this they assume I'm just making it up
Click to expand...

Savages are inexpensive guns, but have a history of good barrels and chambers for the money.
 
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#37
I think you just have to accept it for what it is. If it bothers you that much, you are better off getting a different action compared to dumping money in it. If you keep shooting it, you will get used to it. This is coming from someone who is dealing with the same thing with a TL3. Lots of play/slop while the bolt is open, at first it bothered me because the slop can make it easy to bind the bolt, but a couple of days of dry fire practice and "problem" will disappear.
 
#38
I’ll try and offer something helpful. I open the bolt normally, and i find if I use my thumb, and push directly on the bolt head, it will avoid the hang ups. I just rotate my hand a bit after the round is ejected, so my thumb can reach the bolt head and I still have control of the bolt knob
 
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#39
I know I’m late to the party, but this thread was the one that made me finally register.
Don’t let anyone tell you savages aren’t any good, or are limited to “what they are”. When I was younger I let someone more seasoned convince me of this.
My uncle who is an avid elk hunter and has hunted just about every game animal in North America laughed at my (unsubstantiated) opinion of savages, and let me borrow his 10 FCP HS precision. The very first day I shot his rifle, I was hitting an iron 25lb player at 760 yards in the Nevada desert in July. The scope wasn’t mounted for my build, I was adjusting to my uncles.
Had it not been 105 degrees out by 11am, and had some quality ammo, I’m sure I would have range 800+ yards.

Yes, the bolt has a lot of tension on it during the upper half of the rotation to cycle, yes it has a touch of wobble and running fast I have jammed. But I was trying to run the bolt fast way sooner than I should have not having developed my technique with this rifle.

Anyone who throws shade at savages is either a tikka or remi fanboy, or as mentioned above, has hate for a economical system that can shoot just about as good as any $3000 system.
 

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#40
Yeah, Savage action's are pretty rough when they are on the new side, but put a few thousand rounds out of them and they are pretty damn slick. I've got a couple old Staggered feed Savage action's that are smooth as warm butter. They are just as smooth as any of the custom action's I have, it just took a lot of use to get them there.
I have 8 Savage action's because being a LH shooter, finding LH action's or rifles was always easy to find with a Savage. If I shot RH, I probably wouldn't have ever bought one.
 
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#41
Awag1000 said:
howdy all, I have a savage 110 (long Action) that I've been dry fire practicing with. I've noticed that if I run the bolt fast while closing the bolt it'll hang up. I've also noticed that there is an awful amount of slop/wiggle while the bolt is open. is there any way to fix this/ tighten it up? This hasn't effected the accuracy of the rifle at all but its just annoying when I run the bolt it'll hang up and move the rifle off of the bags/rest.
Click to expand...
Simple fix, grease the bolt.Did this to mine ,difference between daylite and dark...Runs smooth now..
 
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#43
Instead of the bolt knob, try pushing the bolt forward using your thumb pushing forward on the back of the bolt; direct energy in the intended direction. Then swat the knob down using 4 fingers.

Might not work for you but it's free to try.
 
#44
Awag1000 said:
View attachment 7315024View attachment 7315025dont get me wrong, my 110 is pretty much as good as its going to get. I guess im just so used to my Savage 10 FCP-SR bolt (well broken in +2,000 rds) being nice and smooth that my 110 just feels rough and sloppy.
Click to expand...
I know this is an old thread but I do love me some good old IMR 4350 I use it in my 25-06 all the time with great success
 
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