Savage Bolt Issues - Design Issue or Shrill Internet Myth?

[RugerOldArmy]

In another thread a poster stated:

One of my fellow F-Class competitors with a Savage had to quit during a match, due to that 2-piece bolt. He sheared the bolt head retaining pin. No thanks.

I've heard this before, and find it interesting.

The Savage two-piece bolt has a T-shaped two lug bolt head that slides in the bolt body and is secured with a beefy pin, with a hole in the pin, through which the firing pin runs.

I'm curious if any Savage owners had this pin fail. Speak up, yea or nea.

The pin still seems sufficiently substancial, and I can't rule out that the pin could fail.

What I find interesting is what could make this pin fail. Irrespective of the fact that the case was reported in an F-Class shoot, I find it hard to believe that even a hot\excessive load could cause an issue since the force would be on the bolt head itself, and the lugs would be locked (on the chamber side of this pin) and wouldn't be turning since the brass would have expanded against the walls of the chamber. But I've seen competition: Most everybody reloads, in F-Class a lot of slow poor metering extruded powders might be volumetrically loaded on the high side be folks looking for speed. Maybe BL-C2 loads sat in the sun, etc. The engineering of the bolt head, seems to rule out this pin failing due to bolt thrust.

The only thing that would seem to stress the pin in the design would seem to be forces locking or opening the bolt. Perhaps if one had an overly hot load and was obliged to use a lot of force lifting the bolt.

Then again, it could have been a badly machined pin, poor metalurgy, or some guy with a rubber mallet pounding on the bolt to remove a stuck case.

The two piece design would seem to have merits for locking lug engagement and bolt head swaps. Is this an Achillies heel, defective part, or a part abused by an owner?

Anybody ever experience this? Where's the Mythbusters? Fact or Fiction?

 

[skinewmexico]

Shrill internet myth. Probably just a defective pin, like every manufacturer gets now and then. I've been reading the Savage forum for about 5 years, and I can honestly say that's the only problem I've never seen posted.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

*nod* That's my take, but it's always good to remain objective.

If the pin did fail, the bolt head would still remain supported by the lugs. But stated as it was, it sounded like the poster was implying a catastrophic issue, which I don't buy, since the brass would be expanded holding the bolt head locked.

To me, it sounded like a defective pin, or one that was abused by stress/user opening a bolt after, say, a too-hot reload.

Only the bolt turning would put stress on that part, no?

 

[Ash]

That is the strange thing. The bolt head takes the stress, not the pin. Opening and closing could possibly break one, but I have trouble seeing that happen.

Ash

 

[rbernie]

or one that was abused by stress/user opening a bolt after, say, a too-hot reload.

Only the bolt turning would put stress on that part, no?

Yes, and in general for that kind of issue I would expect the brazed-on Remmie 700 bolt handle to be more fragile under stress than the Savage bolt head design.

 

[Master of Arms]

Myth