So wanted some opinions on this...obviously i am sending the gun back to savage to have them fix what is going on, but in essence ive send the bold back to them twice in the past month...once to fix the shell extractor that broke, and once to have the retaining pin that holds the extractor head in place replaced (that was broken right out of the box from savage). So finally got it al fixed, took it too the range, 3 shots in, i got the bolt half way closed and the gun went off by itself! Fortunately was in a led sled pointed down range. I did notice the cocking pin on the bolt is slightly bent if that has anything to do with it...ideas? thanks!
Savage 116, 300 RUM firing itself!!
- Thread starter mwurman
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firesky101
Member
"bolt half way closed" So it fired while not completely in the chamber? Any damage to your hands? Did the bolt slam back open when it went off? This sounds like a bad situation. Sorry to ask more questions and not answer any, but if a .300 RUM went off like that I would need some new shorts.
yeah i mean it was halfway down when it fired, so it stayed in place...thank goodness...when it went off. When i said closed, i meant fully chambered with the handle already half down 
So just scared the crap out of me when it went off unexpectedly!
So just scared the crap out of me when it went off unexpectedly!firesky101
Member
OK, a little less scary then. I could not tell you, but I am sure someone will be along shortly. Glad you are not hurt.
o Unforgiven o
Member
What does that have to do with the problem?
Hunterdad
Member
Sounds to me like you got yourself a lemon. I have no clue what would cause that, but I would request a replacement from Savage.
sage5907
Member
Not realizing that the bolt handle was about half way open I pulled the trigger on a FN Mauser Supreme one time and when the firing pin fell all it did was to close the bolt handle down. I had been running through the brush chasing a deer and when I got the shot I didn't realize the bolt handle was up. A few months later a friend had the same thing happen to him with a FN Mauser deluxe action. The rifle did not fire, the firing pin closed the bolt handle. I think what happened to you was that while you were closing the bolt handle the firing pin fell and the spring closed the bolt handle and at the same instant the firing pin pressure on the primer caused the rifle to fire after the bolt had closed itself. You need to git rid of than trigger and install something like a Timney. BW
sage5907
Member
You need to test my theory. With an empth chamber, push the bolt handle down half way, pull the trigger. Did the firing pin spring close the bolt handle? If so, install a new trigger assembly. I could never make myself trust that trigger again even if it was repaired. BW
Arkansas Paul
Member
It has nothing to do with it Unforgiven, but every time someone so much as mentions a magnum cartridge, the magnum haters crawl out of the woodwork to tell them how they don't need it and it's overkill and silly. It doesn't really matter what the problem or question is, that's always the responses.
I will say, WOW. I wouldn't want any gun going off accidentally, but with a .300 RUM, it would be quiet some surprise.
MachIVshooter
Member
Not a damn thing. Arkansas Paul summed it up nicely.
As for your problem, I'm not familiar enough with Savage actions to tell you where to look, but it definitely sounds like a sear engagement issue. This can happen in a Remington when someone (who shouldn't) tinkers with the sear engagement screw; They get it to where is has so little bite that any vertical movement of the bolt causes the gun to discharge. Closing the bolt handle is frequently when they'll let one go.
Have a smith look at it, or send it back to savage.
Thanks for the advice thus far...i did find in taking the stock off that the trigger pin that holds it on was slightly loose...so i tightened it and dry fired it about 20 times, finicking with the bolt, trying to fire it with the handle half down, smacking the rifle while engaged...seemed to be ok...took it to the range yesterday and put 30 rounds through it without incident. I think i will replace the trigger either way though...
As far as the cartridge size...well for one, the gun is 12 years old and at that time (from my understanding) it was quite the round...not that it still isnt awesome. Is it inefficient and overkill? Of course But ive been reloading it for a while now, so ive really got my recipes down pat on what works great in that gun...and it really doesnt cost me much more than say a 300 win mag or equivalent...plus makes for a nice conversation piece at the range and people love to try shooting it! So i personally, i like it...so 
to the magnum rifle haters hahaha
As far as the cartridge size...well for one, the gun is 12 years old and at that time (from my understanding) it was quite the round...not that it still isnt awesome. Is it inefficient and overkill? Of course
But ive been reloading it for a while now, so ive really got my recipes down pat on what works great in that gun...and it really doesnt cost me much more than say a 300 win mag or equivalent...plus makes for a nice conversation piece at the range and people love to try shooting it! So i personally, i like it...so to the magnum rifle haters hahahanastynatesfish
Member
Have you done any trigger work to it? Sounds to me like a light trigger problem.
Txhillbilly
Member
I agree with nastynatesfish,it sounds like the trigger has been adjusted too lite,and the sear is set off while closing the bolt.
But if the OP found a loose nut on the trigger assembly,that could also be the entire problem.
The only bad thing about adjustable triggers is they aren't stupid proof.An unexperienced person can make a safe gun very dangerous with a slight turn of a screw without knowing better.
But if the OP found a loose nut on the trigger assembly,that could also be the entire problem.
The only bad thing about adjustable triggers is they aren't stupid proof.An unexperienced person can make a safe gun very dangerous with a slight turn of a screw without knowing better.
X hunter
Member
Strange coincidence, I was just talking with my neighbor last night, and he told me that a kid brought a brand new Savage to his house and it did the same thing.
yeah mine was definitely a trigger issue...adjusted it and it works like a champ now...still want to upgrade the trigger anyways. as far as the new gun you are refering too...i would definitely get that replaced considering its new...like i said, mines 12 years old, and a 300 RUM is alot of power for the gun to absorb over that amount of time.
GooseGestapo
Member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2003
- Messages
- 6,154
The loose screw that you mentioned was the cause. It allowed the trigger assembly to move under pressure from the bolt, and when you lowered the bolt it pushed the sear out of engagement allowing the striker to fall. Tightening it cured the problem as you noted. Even the factory tech's are human and probably missed tightening the screw when they had your rifle broken down for repairs...
I have a Savage M110 in .300RUM. It was the first Savage I'd ever had and I worked with the trigger until it would do the same thing that yours did. I then increased the sear engagement until it held a 3.5lb NRA trigger weight, which is just right for such a gun/cartridge.
I don't shoot or hunt with mine much, but when I do, I really enjoy it. I've taken deer out to over 400yds on an airport I have permisison to hunt on and you never know where the deer will cross. The .300RUM is tailor made for this mission. I sight mine in w/180gr bullet at ~3,300fps 3" high at 100yds for approximately zero at 300yds. I hold on top of the back and have made DRT kills at 1/4mile.....or slightly more. Mine kicks a lot less since I fitted a "Kickeze" recoil pad to it. That, and filled the hollow butt stock with urethane foam sealant.... helped with the hollow stock sound...
You can reload for it very economically. Get some of the mil-surp. powders available from either www.gi-brass.com or Widners shooters supply from pulled down .50BMG.
I bought 16lbs of WC-860 powder back in 2005 for $50 plus the then $12 hazmat fee. They now have some WC872 which is similar but price is higher. I still have over 12lbs of powder, and I've also been feeding it to a .257wby.
I've found that for general purposes the 180gr Remington Corlokts are about as good as anything and when I bought my bulk purchase were the cheapest bullets available. Not anymore..... you can occasionally get Hornady "blems" from either MidwayUSA or MidsouthShootersSupply.com. Either way, I'm shooting the .300RUM for less than I can shoot the .30/30 unless shooting my cast bullets.....
You can also easily load the .300RUM down to either .300winmag level or even down to .30/06 level. It's impossible to make either of those a .300RUM however....!
Try the 180gr Hornady SST over either 87.0gr of IMR7828 or 92.5gr of RL25, or 100.0gr of Retumbo. You'll likely see 3,350fps or more from that 26"bbl on your Savage .300RUM. I do......!
Be sure to use Federal #215 magnum primers..... and Remington brass. The Federal cases hold almost 5% less powder than do the Remingtons..... And a Remington M700 doesn't have the "free-bored" chamber of the Savage so it gets about 100fps less than do the Savages......
200fps if the Remington has a 24"bbl as some do.... Not bashing the Remington's; got quite a few of them.... just fact.....look at the difference in the Speer #8 data vs. Hodgdon's data..... a real eye opener. With a Remington M700 and 24" bbl, the .300RUM is slower than the .300wby w/26"bbl. However, the Savage with a "Weatherby" free-bored throat (0.375" freebore as the Savage has) and a 26"bbl, the .300RUM matches or exceeds the .30/378wbymag.... FYI.
I have a Savage M110 in .300RUM. It was the first Savage I'd ever had and I worked with the trigger until it would do the same thing that yours did. I then increased the sear engagement until it held a 3.5lb NRA trigger weight, which is just right for such a gun/cartridge.
I don't shoot or hunt with mine much, but when I do, I really enjoy it. I've taken deer out to over 400yds on an airport I have permisison to hunt on and you never know where the deer will cross. The .300RUM is tailor made for this mission. I sight mine in w/180gr bullet at ~3,300fps 3" high at 100yds for approximately zero at 300yds. I hold on top of the back and have made DRT kills at 1/4mile.....or slightly more. Mine kicks a lot less since I fitted a "Kickeze" recoil pad to it. That, and filled the hollow butt stock with urethane foam sealant.... helped with the hollow stock sound...
You can reload for it very economically. Get some of the mil-surp. powders available from either www.gi-brass.com or Widners shooters supply from pulled down .50BMG.
I bought 16lbs of WC-860 powder back in 2005 for $50 plus the then $12 hazmat fee. They now have some WC872 which is similar but price is higher. I still have over 12lbs of powder, and I've also been feeding it to a .257wby.
I've found that for general purposes the 180gr Remington Corlokts are about as good as anything and when I bought my bulk purchase were the cheapest bullets available. Not anymore..... you can occasionally get Hornady "blems" from either MidwayUSA or MidsouthShootersSupply.com. Either way, I'm shooting the .300RUM for less than I can shoot the .30/30 unless shooting my cast bullets.....
You can also easily load the .300RUM down to either .300winmag level or even down to .30/06 level. It's impossible to make either of those a .300RUM however....!
Try the 180gr Hornady SST over either 87.0gr of IMR7828 or 92.5gr of RL25, or 100.0gr of Retumbo. You'll likely see 3,350fps or more from that 26"bbl on your Savage .300RUM. I do......!
Be sure to use Federal #215 magnum primers..... and Remington brass. The Federal cases hold almost 5% less powder than do the Remingtons..... And a Remington M700 doesn't have the "free-bored" chamber of the Savage so it gets about 100fps less than do the Savages......
200fps if the Remington has a 24"bbl as some do.... Not bashing the Remington's; got quite a few of them.... just fact.....look at the difference in the Speer #8 data vs. Hodgdon's data..... a real eye opener. With a Remington M700 and 24" bbl, the .300RUM is slower than the .300wby w/26"bbl. However, the Savage with a "Weatherby" free-bored throat (0.375" freebore as the Savage has) and a 26"bbl, the .300RUM matches or exceeds the .30/378wbymag.... FYI.
gamestalker
member
This is rather unrelated, but I thought it may apply to unintended discharges, or AD's.
I saw a thread a while back in which a guy had bought a brand new Savage Edge that discharged without any trigger pressure involved. He was reloading and had apparently started with too long of an OAL which caused the bullet to get stuck in the lands. So he used a rubber mallet to tap the bolt open with the barrel pointed up, and when the bullet released from the lands, the the bolt slammed against the stop and the firing pin released and discharged the round inside of the reciever, not chambered. What I can't understand though, is why the cartridge didn't get ejected before the bolt hit the stop?
So a couple of weeks later I was in one of my local gun shops and saw a brand new Edge sitting there in the rack. My Son was with me and reminded me about the problem the guy on line had. So I opened the bolt and let it fall against the stop and it released the FP, exactly as the OP had indicated. I went home and tried the same thing with my production 700's one of which has a Jewel trigger with a 20 ounce weight to see if this is a more than isolated risk, none of them released.
Trusting any mechanical device 100% is risky and is why we should focuss on what we can control, the human factor.
GS
I saw a thread a while back in which a guy had bought a brand new Savage Edge that discharged without any trigger pressure involved. He was reloading and had apparently started with too long of an OAL which caused the bullet to get stuck in the lands. So he used a rubber mallet to tap the bolt open with the barrel pointed up, and when the bullet released from the lands, the the bolt slammed against the stop and the firing pin released and discharged the round inside of the reciever, not chambered. What I can't understand though, is why the cartridge didn't get ejected before the bolt hit the stop?
So a couple of weeks later I was in one of my local gun shops and saw a brand new Edge sitting there in the rack. My Son was with me and reminded me about the problem the guy on line had. So I opened the bolt and let it fall against the stop and it released the FP, exactly as the OP had indicated. I went home and tried the same thing with my production 700's one of which has a Jewel trigger with a 20 ounce weight to see if this is a more than isolated risk, none of them released.
Trusting any mechanical device 100% is risky and is why we should focuss on what we can control, the human factor.
GS
What you said at the end is precisely why safety rules exist when dealing with firearms
I couldnt agree more with you. Firearms are mechanical, they can and will fail, and we have to always handle them with respect!- Status
