Gunsmithing TL3 - stiff bolt closing

[kthomas]

Wife just got her TL3, and the movement of rotating the handle down (after bolt closure) feels excessively stiff. It almost feels as if the lugs on the bolt are dragging as the handle is rotating down to the final close position.

It is paired with a Bix 'n Andy Tacsport 2 stage trigger, which supposedly has the correct sear. Bolt exhibits the same characteristics with a regular trigger tech trigger.

Is this a normal characteristic of a TL3 action? Something that will "break in" with time? Or is something else going on here?

 

[danpd]

Even if the Tacsport had the wrong sear in it would make the bolt “stiff” it would just stop the firing pin from falling completely when you pull the trigger.

Are you sure your front Action screw isn’t a hair too long and dragging on the side of the bolt head as it goes into battery?

Also have you greased the bolt lugs and cocking ramp?

 

[buffybuster]

This would be my guess.

Are you sure your front Action screw isn’t a hair too long and dragging on the side of the bolt head as it goes into battery?

 

[kthomas]

It's stiff when it is not even in a stock or chassis, ruling out the action screw.

I have lubed the bolt lugs and cocking ramp.

 

[padom]

I have 3. No they aren't the way you describe. Why not call Bighorn directly? Aaron will answer any and all questions you have and take care of any issues if there are any.

 

[kthomas]

I'll talk with Bighorn and my gunsmith - sounds like what I'm experiencing is not normal. Appreciate the help!

 

[buffybuster]

Maybe not enough bolt nose clearance. Take it to your gun plumber.

 

[parshal]

The TL3 does require a different sear with the Tacsport. Not that this is your issue but make sure you have the correct sear. I had to wait until they'd made the new sear to stop light primer strikes.

If you don't want to wait to hear back from your smith about bolt nose clearance, you could color the end of the bolt with a sharpie and close the bolt. It "might" show you if it's hitting. Or, put a thin piece of tape on the bolt face and see if it gets tighter to close.

 

[texasleftychef]

I may be off on this but I had the problem at first of the action screw going in too far and it binding. I know this doesn’t sound like your problem but I also had the two stage tac sport going off on its own when closing the bolt. This is the first trigger that I have had to adjust and was super surprised on how much of a difference that even the smallest turn would make regarding the bolt being hard to close and it setting the sear off on bolt close.

There is a Bix n Andy video by Chris at Bulletcentral that explains some of the problems he’s been contacted about. IIRC tighten the screw in the shoe to increase the sear engagement and loosen it to offset the bolt close difficulty. You may be able to back it out just a hair and find the bolt closes much easier.

Maybe this helps.

 

[SPAK]

Take the trigger off and run the bolt. See if it feels the same and report back.

 

[kthomas]

In the middle of a move, but once I get settled in I will take the trigger out and find out how it feels. I can't for the life of me remember how it felt without a trigger.

I'm also looking at selling the barreled action to try something else out, as the wife doesn't like the feel of the Bighorn or the bolt binding.

 

[Sheldon N]

Even simpler than taking the trigger out, just pull the quick disconnect firing pin mechanism. The bolt should be ZERO effort, like none at all with the handle dropping closed freely. If there's a problem still there with the firing pin removed then I would agree that it's likely the front action screw being too long. Second choice would be lack of clearance on the bolt nose, which is much less likely. That would be a big goof by the gunsmith.

 

[kthomas]

Unfortunately I'm away from work right now, so I can't check the action without the trigger. However, I have been thinking back to when I was playing with the action when it came in and didn't have a trigger installed, and it definitely didn't exhibit the issues I described in the OP.

Once I get back from work, I will play around with the trigger some more. I think it's definitely operator error on my part. I made a lot of changes to the settings on the BnA Tacsport trigger, just to try and get the firing pin to not fall on closure of the bolt.

I'll see if I can get it figured out on my own when I'm back. If not, I'll call Bullet Central (trigger) and/or Bighorn and get is sorted out.

I've never had to mess around with a BnA Tacsport trigger this much before just to get it to operate correctly, perhaps the wrong sear was installed.

I'll let you guys know what I end up finding out - appreciate all the help!

 

[kthomas]

I just talked with some reps at Bullet Central (who I bought the trigger from), and it appears that they did not ship out the trigger with the right sear.

They are shipping me the correct sear at no cost, I imagine this will fix any issues that I am having.

 

[KZP]

I just talked with some reps at Bullet Central (who I bought the trigger from), and it appears that they did not ship out the trigger with the right sear.

They are shipping me the correct sear at no cost, I imagine this will fix any issues that I am having.

Good to hear, that sounds like an easy fix.