Bolt Durability

R

ronin308

New member
I have a question for the folks who have owned a bolt action for a long time. Did you find that the bolt loosened over the years? I know that Mr. Eatman has had his "pet -06" for going on 30 years IIRC. I got to thinking about this because I was doing some fast bolt drills with my Mauser based full custom scout rifle (I'll have pics soon) and I was really beating the bolt around.

Dan
 
Sure, it'll wear some and become polished and smoother, like any piece of metal sliding against any other piece of metal. You can even add a little lapping compound if you're trying to loosen things up.

If all you're practicing is operating the bolt over and over without firing, you might consider zip-tying the trigger back to reduce wear on the sear.

Semper fi,
Bruegger out.
 
Bruegger, thanks for the reply. Perhaps I should clarify: I'm not really trying to wear it in as its already broken in and smooth. But I'm curious if it will ever wear out. I wanna know if it will wear out enough to affect accuracy and/or function.

Dan
 
I have a custom Mauser

in .280 Remington Express, that my father built up for long distance (600 yard) competition over 30 years ago...

he shot a DOCUMENTED 20k rounds through it.

I have kilely added another 5k myself!

25k, and the jeweling (yes, he made it "pretty" too) has VERY minor "polish" marks from it's 25k + cycles... (and remember, Dad polished it and jeweled it, removing materials in THESE processes...)

no appreciable wear to be seen, and it CERTAINLY hasn't lost a lick of accuracy either!

good luck with it!


ALSO, I have a neat idea for you customizers... I just conned dad... (gotta love that guy) out of an "experimantal" mauser 95 he built...

he took an ORIGINAL 7mm. mauser, and lengthened the threads on the barrel, and shaved the rear, effectively shortening the chamber.

then he took a .284 Win chamber reamer to it, making a .284 out of a 7mm, using a stock bbl... (he wanted to try it)

he used an inexpensive (choate) 'glass stock, and a Dayton Traister (soon to be a Timney) trigger, and a Bueller safety...

it came out SWEET, shoots a WHOLE lot better than I thought it would, and was built for 400 bucks, TOTAL... (included a mount and scope)

the older I get, the smarter my dad seems!
 
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Hemicuda- Those rifles sound awesome! 25K is a lot of rounds!! I'll start a thread here with details once I get some pics of my rifle to post.

Dan
 
Makes me nervous when folks call me "Mr. Eatman". I look over my shoulder to see if my father's around. :)

Speaking of fathers, Lord only knows how many rounds have gone through his pet Springfield sporters. The rifles certainly weren't brand new when he built them up, some 50+ years ago.

They still shoot just fine; no headspace problems from any wear on the lugs or the grooves within the barrel...

"Clean and lightly oiled" is important, of course.

FWIW,

Art
 
I think one would be hard pressed to wear out a Springfield or Mauser action unless shooting insanely stout loads. Barrels yes, actions no.

Sam
 
Thanks for the replies fellas. I didn't think the bolt or the action would ever loosen but I figured I'd ask anyways.

Art- Being that I'm 20 years old I figure people who are my elders and wiser than me shouldn't be addressed casually, unless they specifically tell me to. At least that's what my parents taught me :) If I got the chance to talk to Jeff Cooper on this board I wouldn't say "HEY JEFF!" and slap him on the shoulder! I guess when some of you guys speak I keep my mouth shut so I can hear what your experience can tell me.

Dan
 
Just an aside - Get an action cleaning kit from Sinclair's, and make sure you put a little bolt grease (grease, not oil) on the backs of the lugs before you reassemble it. Do this every time you do a major cleaning, and you won't get galled lug faces, and everything will stay tighter/smoother...
 
HEY, EATMAN, FRONT AND CENTER! (Better?):D , We just know you got a small game load for your /06 on the books, wanna share it with us? Always looking for a tried and true load....

NDRI...(No Disrespect intended...)
 
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Those action cleaning kits have "caused" galling, etc., in more than a few rifles...

Folks get 'em all clean and everything, get all the crud out, but they don't lube 'em after they're through. You GOTTA do that... Get a syringe of the heavy grease that Sinclair sells.
 
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