very very slight Sticky bolt (chambering round, not ejecting)?

[Bigeclipse]

Just re-barreled my wife's rifle with a new 7mm-08 barrel. This is my 3rd rebarrel on a savage rifle. Anyways, I did the usual with a go and no-go gauge. Everything went smoothly. Bolt closes on go and does not close on No-go. Went shooting yesterday and noticed something. When I chamber a round (factory rounds), there is the slightest bit of stiffness to the bolt. It closes fine though and seriously, you do not need much force at all to close it. We are talking just enough more force to close it that I can just barely notice it but it is there when compared to closing the bolt on an empty chamber. I shot it about a dozen times and everything looks fine. The cases show no ejector marks or bulging primers. There is no severe shoulder stretching leading toward indications of case head separation. The primers are a touch flattened (not bad though) but I have had that happen with a few factory rifles over the years with factory ammo (I do plan on reloading for this rifle). The cases all ejected fine and did not seem sticky at all when ejecting. I am thinking this chamber is simply a tight chamber. What are your thoughts? Anything I need to worry about?

Thanks!

 

[Barrelnut]

New brass or was used brass resized?

 

[Bigeclipse]

New brass or was used brass resized?

these were hornady factory loads... not my reloads yet.

 

[Barrelnut]

Maybe resize the fired Hornady brass and see if it fits better. It could be a tight chamber. If so another brand of brass may fit better. Not all brands of brass are the same size at the web.

 

[Bigeclipse]

Maybe resize the fired Hornady brass and see if it fits better. It could be a tight chamber. If so another brand of brass may fit better. Not all brands of brass are the same size at the web.

im not terribly concerned with the fitment as the cases did not stick after shooting. Not even close to sticky after firing (and I have felt what a really sticky bolt feels like after a hot load). I just wanted to see if there was any sort of safety issue at work here with a slightly tight chamber? Again, when chambering these factory hornady rounds there was just a very slight amount of extra pressure needed to close the bolt. I could still easily close it but just wanted to check here that there wasn't anything I missing as far as safety was concerned. Thank you for your comments and I will definitely ensure the new brass I use for reloading fit the chamber well. Thanks again!

 

[Barrelnut]

Don't think there is a safety issue. I am a Savage barrel swap guy too. Using a go gage and a no go gage to verify, I think negated safety issues.

 

[Bigeclipse]

Don't think there is a safety issue. I am a Savage barrel swap guy too. Using a go gage and a no go gage to verify, I think negated safety issues.

thanks for your comments. that is what I was thinking.

 

[Punisher]

That is a common problem with factory ammo. It is not produced to as tight of specifications as most people want. It is usually shorter. Look, if you want to get really technical, you could still be .001" off on your headspace.

But as far as real world application, what you just described is exactly what I go for on all of my loads. Just barely feeling it.