Bolt Hard To Close 03-A3

[psteinmayer]

I just purchased a Remington 03A3 that seems to hang up a little also (Guess I'm just used to the buttery smooth Krag bolt). Like Allen above, I find that it moves somewhat jerky/sticky unless I am very straight with it. I used some white lithium grease (ala Garand lubrication) on some of the sliding parts, and that seemed to help some.

The smoothness of the bolt is one of the areas where the Krag has it over Mauser designs in spades!!!

[Sunray]

"...Rifle is like new..." That mean it's recently built/assembled?
"...Best guesses..." Like m1903rifle says, it's bad headspace or bad ammo. Bad headspace may be caused by the chamber not being finish reamed correctly.
Bad ammo will be determined by what ammo it is. Isn't as likely as bad headspace though.
Check both before you start doing anything else.

[usmc69]

[QUOTE=IditarodJoe;453860]This isn't entirely clear. Does the hangup happen even when the magazine is empty? When there are cartridges in the magazine but before the bolt contacts the case head? After the bolt contacts the case head? Does it happen on all five rounds from a full magazine?

QUOTE]

What isn't clear? I wrote that it tries to hang up as the bolt starts forward. It hangs up in the first 1/2 inch of movement, before it contacts the case in the magazine. What in the first 1/2 inch of movement is liable to make the bolt hang up?

[usmc69]

"...Rifle is like new..." That mean it's recently built/assembled?
"...Best guesses..." Like m1903rifle says, it's bad headspace or bad ammo. Bad headspace may be caused by the chamber not being finish reamed correctly.
Bad ammo will be determined by what ammo it is. Isn't as likely as bad headspace though.
Check both before you start doing anything else.

"Rifle is like new" means just as it came from the factory. No this isn't a recent build.

Headspacing and bad ammo are not the causes. This is happening in the first 1/2 inch of the bolt going forward. Once past there it is smooth and flawless in operation.

[chuckindenver]

indexing can be an issue.
if the extractor cut is off a bit, it will drag on the extractor and or bolt.
try removing the extractor, no round..and see how well it works, if it works smoothly, then install the extractor and check again..hangs up?
the extractor cut may have a bur or be off a bit

[IditarodJoe]

I think I understand usmc69, and I get your frustration. I've been sitting here working with two 03A3s trying to figure out what might be causing the hangup you describe

Starting with the bolt all the way back, during that first half inch of forward travel there are three points of contact: (1) where the guides in the receiver bridge contact the locking lug on the left and (2) the locking lug & sides of the extractor on the right, and (3) where the bottom of bolt rides on the receiver. (I'm assuming these points where metal slides on metal are well greased, right?) Unless the extractor is out of spec or misaligned, it would seem to have to be a minor dimensional issue with either the receiver or the bolt (or both).

Unless . . . hmmm, about a half inch into its forward travel but just before the bolt face contacts a case head, ejector passes into a slot in the left locking lug. Watch as you slowly close the bolt and see if that's possibly the point at which the hangup is occurring. Is that slot clear? (Chuck, would it possibly be that the ejector blade is a bit too long?)

[JimF]

Could be the extractor COLLAR causing the binding.

I've had to tighten quite a few over the years, due to the collars "compressing" a bit as it passes under the bridge of the receiver.

When Bubba removes this collar, it almost NEVER gets re-installed correctly! --Jim

[PhillipM]

Could be the extractor COLLAR causing the binding.

I've had to tighten quite a few over the years, due to the collars "compressing" a bit as it passes under the bridge of the receiver.

When Bubba removes this collar, it almost NEVER gets re-installed correctly! --Jim

I did that once. Bolt would not close.

[Randy A]

Same here on the extractor collar, but most likely out-of-round. The extractor can also cause a similar drag as you proceed forward and it is passing through the rear ring. There is usually a bow in the tail of the extractor and these will sometimes drag.

Here is the easiest way without any special tools. Take a black felt marker and blacked the extractor collar, run the bolt a few times and the high points will show and usually reveal where it is out of round. Remove the extractor and gently expand the collar just enough to get the tip of a small (1/8 in wide blade) screwdriver under the edge of the "low spots". Using a pair of slip joint pliers gently compress the collar until the collar is round again, may take a couple times. Makes a big difference in bolt operation (and a rapid fire). Clean thoroughly under the collar and add a couple drops of oil before reinstalling the extractor. A properly fit collar will not bind during bolt operation and will not have any rotational drag either.
Let me know if this helps

[Viking Guy]

I once had an ejector that gave me the same problem. It turned out when I swapped it and the pin with a spare, the problem went away. I never could see anything on the faulty ejector or pin but I could feel a binding. I'd suggest removing the ejector and running the bolt back and forth to see if that fixes your issue. Easy to do and only takes a minute and will eliminate or confirm one more component.

VG

[Darreld Walton]

USMC69, when my rifles have done this, it's usually because some hammer mechanic stretched the extractor collar when he/she installed it, increasing the length, and dragging in the bore of the receiver. It also has the effect of making the extractor itself drag on the wall of the receiver. If it's there, you'll quickly notice that the extractor is scuffed.
I'd wager that is where your problem lies.

[purple]

A related question; what's the best way to remove an extractor collar and replace without stretching or buggering the collar? I just bought an SC barreled action with a jewelled bolt collar and extractor. Fortunately the bolt body finish wasn't messed with. The jewelling is deep enough that I'll need to polish it out prior to sandblasting for reparkerizing. I'll need to take the collar off to clean it up and may even need to replace the collar if it doesn't come out OK.

[Parashooter]

A related question; what's the best way to remove an extractor collar and replace without stretching or buggering the collar?

Here's how they did it at Springfield in 1917 -



I imagine one could accomplish the same with propane torch and appropriate pliers.

[oldtirediron]

Further thought's on this matter--I have worked on many 1903 series rifles over the years that the bolts felt sticky or had resistance on closing--After being befuddled and got tired of swapping parts with no avail, I unscrewed the barrels--most of the rifles had barrels that were over torqued, in other words,when the barrel was screwed into the receiver the barrel did not qualify properly-- usually whomever put the barrel on did not properly fit it before tightening it. On the barrel cone the barrel has a heavy scratch on it where the front edge of the bolt lug was hitting it--So after refitting the barrel-- by turning the barrel shoulder back on the lathe, and buffing the rear barrel cone down to remove the scratch, the rifles worked properly. Some of the barrels were screwed into the receivers by whomever and were screwed in so tight, I needed a six foot extension bar to unscrew the receiver from the barrel--I have never torqued a Springfield barrel on with anything over 60 lbs of Torque and never had one come loose in over 40 years of working on them-- After removing the barrels and re-fitting them, every action was smooth as silk, ever the 1903A3's Another commonality was people putting early 1903 SHT bolts,to make the action slicker-But not a smart thing to do--

[louis]

I agree with you some if these barrels are so tight a huge gorrellia I suspect did it. I have one now that is extremely tight. But on your opinion of the early bolts they where never deemed dangerous. You can use early bolts no problem just the early receivers.