Bolt handle

[bbradford71]

I shoot a 300 WSM and have noticed then whenever I fire the rifle, even dry firing the the bolt handle lifts up a little when the firing pin snaps. Is this an issue that will effect accuracy or is this something that is normal and should not be worried about. If it is an issue, what can be done to resolve the issue?

 

[blipelt]

don't know what kind of action you have, or how much it moves. Here is a video of timing a bolt handle to the action. Alot of info on in it. Talks about your handle jumping about half way through

link doesn't go directly to video click on link and look for timing and tig welding bolt handles in the left menu

http://straightshotgunsmithing.com/

Brent

 

[J E Custom]

I shoot a 300 WSM and have noticed then whenever I fire the rifle, even dry firing the the bolt handle lifts up a little when the firing pin snaps. Is this an issue that will effect accuracy or is this something that is normal and should not be worried about. If it is an issue, what can be done to resolve the issue?

It is not normal when firing a live round if the head space is set correct for the bolt to lift,
They will sometimes move the cocking piece because of clearance between the bolt and
the reciever.

When dry firing it is common for the bolt to move a little especially if the recoil lugs are not
true and lapped.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Hired Gun]

It is completely normal for the bolt to move a bit on a production rifle. While cocked the end of the bolt is pinned to the top of the bolt bore. The top lug will not even be touching. When the sear is released the bolt drops. When the sear is released on a live round pressure from the pressurized chamber force the bolt back against the lugs. The more clearance in your bolt raceway the more your bolt can induce vibration that will reverberate all the way to the muzzle and can affect accuracy. Neck sized brass can help with this as they require a bit of force to close the bolt and this keeps the bolt resting on the lugs better and will help steady the bolt when the sear is released.

If your handle is lifting when the pin drops I would suspect the handle is touching something as the bolt drops and it is rocking the handle up at bit. If the handle is completly clear it could still rotate from just how the lugs and the rest of the bolt change position when it goes from cocked to relaxed after the pin drops.

When a rifle is blueprinted a lot of these tolerance are tightened up and this can be pretty much eliminated. Sleeving the bolt will eliminate the slop.

 

[bbradford71]

Thanks for all the helpful information