FTF Issues Savage

[Ac338]

Alright I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. Savage 110 receiver and bolt. New criterion .223AI barrel headspaced with .223ai go no go gauges. Bolt face was swapped from .473 to .378. Picked up a box of cheap Winchester 55 grain .223 just to make sure everything was functioning before I started loading my Norma brass. Only 5 of those 20 rounds fired, had marks on all the primers where they were struck but didn’t go bang. I noticed that the ones that didn’t fire the bolt closed very easily and also would lift extremely easy. When I got home I chambered my empty Norma brass and the bolt was tight but would close without too much force. Firing pin protrusion.044 with my caliper measurements. Do you guys think I need to tear it all down and recheck the headspace, possible bolt issue upon reassembly, or could it just be short factory brass in those .223ai rounds. Disclaimer I did all the work myself so it is possible I missed something even though I used the proper gauges and removed ejector when head spacing. Never had a failure to fire when this rifle was a factory 6.5cm. Thanks in advance

 

[HandgunHTR]

Most likely short Winchester loads so the firing pin is pushing the round forward so there isn't enough force to push the primer onto the anvil and therefore FTF. Remember .223 rounds specifically are mostly made to be fired in ARs so they tend to make everything such that the tolerances will be very loose to ensure function in those guns.

Here is what I do whenever fire-forming brass for a new AI type chamber. If you have a tapered expander in .24 cal (243, 6X223, etc). Neck up your Norma brass and then use your 223AI dies to neck it back down just enough that you can get the bolt to close. You are essentially making a "false shoulder". Then fire-form. The other way you can do it is to seat the bullets out so that you are getting 0.010" jam into the lands the first time. This will ensure that the cartridge is held tight against the bolt face during fire-forming. Once that initial forming is done, just adjust your dies so that you are only bumping the shoulders back 0.002" and you will be golden.

The alternative, since it is a Savage, is to thread the barrel in another 2-3 thousandths, which should allow you to shoot all factory .223 ammo too.

 

[Ac338]

Most likely short Winchester loads so the firing pin is pushing the round forward so there isn't enough force to push the primer onto the anvil and therefore FTF. Remember .223 rounds specifically are mostly made to be fired in ARs so they tend to make everything such that the tolerances will be very loose to ensure function in those guns.

Here is what I do whenever fire-forming brass for a new AI type chamber. If you have a tapered expander in .24 cal (243, 6X223, etc). Neck up your Norma brass and then use your 223AI dies to neck it back down just enough that you can get the bolt to close. You are essentially making a "false shoulder". Then fire-form. The other way you can do it is to seat the bullets out so that you are getting 0.010" jam into the lands the first time. This will ensure that the cartridge is held tight against the bolt face during fire-forming. Once that initial forming is done, just adjust your dies so that you are only bumping the shoulders back 0.002" and you will be golden.

The alternative, since it is a Savage, is to thread the barrel in another 2-3 thousandths, which should allow you to shoot all factory .223 ammo too.

Awesome thank you for the insight I’ll go ahead and load up some 77tmk and 75 Eldm into the lands and give that a go. I was really hoping it was just ammo as I really didn’t want to remove all the rails and chassis again. I’ll report back once I get some ammo loaded up. Thanks again

 

[Ac338]

Follow up, was able to get out and shoot tonight and didn’t have a single ftf with hand loads. Looks like the short factor ammo was the culprit. Thanks for the help

 

[Ac338]

Scratch that I spoke too fast. 12 out of 40 rounds failed to fire tonight. Don’t know if I need to load a little longer or maybe headspace is my issue. Coal is 2.31