Ignition Tuning and Bolt Maint

[wind gypsy]

I've read comments and watched videos of certain gunsmiths talking about the "Ignition system" and have tried to watch videos to learn more. It seems like it is not something many folks consider.

I watched this video recently and found it helpful understanding the inner workings of a bolt action. I've no idea if what he says/does is the "right" way but it makes sense to me. I know Orkan is a polarizing guy but I found this video interesting and thought others might as well.

If folks have other thoughts or processes to address the concerns covered in this vid, share em up! Taylor stratton had some good vids i've watched in the past, unfortunately i only found them on his facebook.

 

[tall]

Here's a quote from a world class benchrest shooter saying that tuning the firing control system is the #1 thing he'll do to a gun. He goes on to say that the firing control system and the barrel are what make the gun in his opinion.

It's a long discussion but they talk about optimizing shrouds, springs, firing pins, etc... Granted, they're working with Rem 700 style actions. I'm curious if anyone is translating this kind of work onto Tikkas.

Sitting back with a bowl of popcorn to watch the discussion and learn something new. Is this the next level of optimizing minutiae for those of us who like to tinker?

 

[TaperPin]

Good information on how take things apart. I like how he touches on the importance of low friction. Maybe future videos will touch on dos and donts of diy smoothing of contact surfaces.

I have to admit to skimming some of it, but did he ever clean out the interior of the bolt body or ejector hole?

Some might get the wrong idea and use a thicker oil in place of his use of sil-kroil and it won’t “drip dry” and shouldn’t be flooded onto parts like shown. “Lightly oiled” can be accomplished with an oily cloth and carefully covering all the surfaces enough to form a film, but not enough to drip off. Dripping or spraying anything liquid onto a bolt gives me the creeps.

One of the big controversies with hunting guns is a dry firing pin verses lightly oiled. When a wet bolt froze up and the primer required a number firing pin falls at a mulie in the scope I seriously questioned “lightly oiled”. As a test, scraping off a drop of water frozen on the surface of a dry part vs on one that’s lightly oiled convinced me a dry bolt is not the way to go, not to mention friction within the bolt assembly is higher with dry parts. Capillary action will suck water between the firing pin and bolt head, or any close fitting parts, which is cut down with some light oil on the surfaces.

 

[TaperPin]

Very little has been said online about the importance of a healthy firing pin spring. Nothing about when to replace one other than if you have any doubts just do it, or do it every XX years or XXXX rounds. How can someone tell without buying a new spring? If the new spring is a little longer does that alone make a difference or does the spring’s rate decrease with age?