Savage 110FP 223 Slam Fire

[dh1633pm]

Over the summer I was testing loads for my newly acquired Savage 110FP. It is in excellent condition and is showing itself a good shooter.

I was shooting on my own private range doing load testing. During the session I cycled the bolt, upon the down stroke of the bolt handle the rifle fired. The round that went off was fed from the mag. Not sure if it is considered an unintended discharge or a slam fire?

I don't force or move the bolt too quickly. It was a surprise and I pulled the bolt and did a close inspection. Didn't appear to be any issues. So I put the bolt back in and did some more shooting. No other issues. Tried to repeat it by working the bolt harder, but no luck.

Took the rifle home, cleaned it and haven't shot it again. I want to tear it down and look at it more closely. I wanted to shoot F-Class with this rifle, but I don't need an unexpected round going off in public.

Any thoughts?

 

[Reloadron]

Not sure that by definition I would label what happened as a Slam Fire:

A slamfire is a premature, usually unintended discharge of a firearm that occurs as a cartridge is being loaded into the chamber. Slamfires are most common in military firearms that have a free-floating firing pin, as opposed to a spring-loaded one. In the action of a typical semi-automatic firearm,

That said it matters not because you don't want a rifle that can randomly discharge when the bolt is closed. Were the rifle mine I would start with completely disassembling and cleaning the bolt assembly. I would also be looking at the trigger closely when closing the bolt. The only way that rifle should go bang is when the trigger is pulled and that should require some force to get a release.

The problem is that the issue was a one time happening making it very intermittent to say the least. Trying to solve a problem that can't be duplicated is a daunting task. I would start with as I mentioned stripping, inspecting and cleaning the bolt and then move along to the trigger mechanism doing the same.

Ron

 

[Caliper_Mi]

If the trigger on a Savage is depressed while closing the bolt, it may be possible to do this. The force to press the trigger is much less when there is no load on it from the firing pin spring. I'd definitely take a close look at the trigger.

 

[dh1633pm]

Thanks for the comments. The rifle while bought used has seen very little shooting. It is also pretty clean. From shooting F-Class I know for certain that my finger is away from the bolt. My actions are pretty timed in order to not get mixed up.

Fire
Open the bolt all the way.
Collect up the brass
Push the bolt forward and down with hand away from trigger
Acquire Target, then place trigger hand on stock.

So my manner of shooting keeps my hand away from the trigger until ready. I was thinking that the trigger is adjusted incorrectly thereby causing the sear to rest too low? And sometimes the hammer may ride over the sear?

 

[MtnCreek]

Maladjusted trigger. Back off a little on the set screw that controls how much of the sear engages the trigger. Then work the bolt hard and beat on it the rifle with a rubber mallet. BTDT and sent one over the berm...

 

[ironworkerwill]

Maladjusted trigger.

Yep!, MtnCreek has steered you the right way. Probably the #1 cause of your problem.

Some factory Savages are around 9#(older non accutrigger) so we will adjust them to about 5# and it's so much better we try to get them down to 2# and then we get problems.

 

[dh1633pm]

I have not disassembled the rifle since its purchase. I will do just that tonight before the game. I may ask some more questions when I get it apart to make sure I am not expediting my own demise. And thanks for all the comments. It is my first Savage Center Fire Rifle and won't be my last.

 

[Jackal]

You simply do not have enough sear engagement.

 

[Orcon]

I bought a Savage 10 that did this after about 40 rounds. Tore the sucker down and found a fine powder (of some kind, didn't smell or taste like gunpowder residue) build up where the sear engages the trigger. Cleaned the trigger up and it's been right as rain ever since.

 

[eldon519]

I'd consider having a gunsmith look at it just for safety and liability purposes, even if it is an easy adjustment fix.

 

[Orcon]

I didn't adjust anything, just some brake cleaner and qtips. Be-careful not to lose your sear spring upon disassembly though.

 

[dh1633pm]

Thanks Orcon. I will be careful. Like always I don't want to contribute to my own demise. I will look at it carefully and won't shoot unless I am sure it is safe. Off to the basement for some tear down.

 

[Captcurt]

Maladjusted trigger. Back off a little on the set screw that controls how much of the sear engages the trigger. Then work the bolt hard and beat on it the rifle with a rubber mallet. BTDT and sent one over the berm...

Gotta go with this too. I have had it happen without a cartridge in the chamber when making adjustments. It isn't uncommon in other brands of rifles either. Have seen it in Remingtons and in Weatherbys.

 

[MtnCreek]

Dh, I believe savage ships them with some type of thread loc on the set screw that controls sear engagement. If you adjust it, consider putting some finger nail polish on the screw once you get it where you want it.

 

[ironworkerwill]

This diagram shows a MINIMUM sear engagement of .015'' The adjustment screw is 32tpi so 1/2 turn is about .015''

Also the trigger pull spring adjustment screw(#5) must have some (adequate) tension. Else the trigger will not hold up tight against the sear allowing it to skip over the trigger and letting the firing pin protrude on the lowering of the bolt handle.

MtnCreek again gives excellent advise. I'll go one further, clean the whole trigger assembly in a quickly drying solvent to remove all traces of lubricant then apply nail polish(or BLUE lock-tight) to the properly adjusted screws. Re-lube as usual.

 

[Sunray]

"...upon the down stroke of the bolt handle the rifle fired..." Sounds like you had your finger on the trigger with a light trigger pull. Caused by operator failure, not your rifle or ammo. The 'No other issues.' indicates that. It happens.
A slam fire is caused by improperly loaded ammo, not the rifle.

 

[ironworkerwill]

It is probable that the shooter has contacted the trigger upon closing the bolt. The OP obviously knows this is a possibility. If for some reason he remotely thought this was the issue, why would he have posted?

So my manner of shooting keeps my hand away from the trigger until ready. I was thinking that the trigger is adjusted incorrectly thereby causing the sear to rest too low?

I personally think the OP was not touching the trigger. My opinion does not matter because it is not fact based and I was not there to observe the event.

Orcon writes:

I bought a Savage 10 that did this after about 40 rounds. Tore the sucker down and found a fine powder (of some kind, didn't smell or taste like gunpowder residue) build up where the sear engages the trigger. Cleaned the trigger up and it's been right as rain ever since.

This scenario is ever more plausible. It would be quite easy for some debris to enter the trigger assembly and cause a failure.

Any event, it wouldn't be a bad idea to give it a cleaning. Notice whether the adjustment screws have a thread locker present. Then work the action in a faster more aggressive manner than usual to try to recreate the failure.

 

[dh1633pm]

Thanks for the diagram. I found one as well last night on Varmint Hunters. This is what I found when I took my 110 apart. I had never taken the stock off since it was purchased. Yes my trigger looks just like the one in the picture. The sear adjustment was adjust quite a bit. By this I mean the set screw was screwed in a bunch. I backed this out a bit. I also found that the wire (or spring I guess) was pretty loose. So from the diagram I only touched 2 and 5. I backed out 2 a couple turns and checked for creep. It was a nice break so I left it alone after that. I then adjusted five just a bit (half turn) so that there was just a little tension when cocked.

After that I got the rubber mallet out. After cocking and banging and banging and hitting the trigger (on the side) and then cocking and banging again. I felt pretty good about it. I had no misfires. Stick a fork in it, this thread is done.

I say thanks for the help and I mean it. I am mechanically inclined, but that doesn't mean knowledge inclined. Your help plus a little research did the trick. I paid $500 for the rifle and it looks barely used. And its a shooter. Knowledge is key to problem resolution. You all added a fortune of it.

On a side note, as a resident of NY when the safe act was passed I divested a bit in semi's and picked up some bolt guns. I can say it made me a better shooter. Not that semi's aren't accurate, just that these bolts guns make me think a bit more between shots. Got a GSR + a Milspec in 308, a K31, an Enfield No 4 post war model, a Krag, a Roller No 5, Model 7 AAC Blackout, and this 110FP in 223. Expensive semi's sell for enough to buy all sorts of things.

 

[Milt1]

I think I'd let Savage know about this as well just to see if they agree with the trigger set mechanism as previously shown.