This is a 1967 Savage 99C in .284. Someone, who I would like to kick in the balls, took a file to the front sight base to make clearance for the scope bell. Heaven forbid they get taller rings. But that horrid wound did allow me to buy it for a song. My intention was to either fix the wound or rebarrel it. Rebarreling became the better option, and off I went. Until this other issue came to light. This was my goof up. Full disclosure on that.
I disassembled the action in prep to pull the barrel and in doing so, dropped the breech bolt. It landed on the concrete right on the cartridge stop nub above the bolt face. That little oops sheared the cartridge stop off the bolt nose. An unexpected result, but it happened. So, on to fixing it..........
I didn't photograph the broken nose, but here is what it is supposed to look like (this is another of my 99's in .308). That little protrusion at the top of the bolt just above the face. It's kind of important for feeding.
I took it to the mill and milled off the base of the cartridge stop, and drilled an 1/8" hole 3/16" deep at the base to allow a tenon to be inserted.
A piece of 1/4" O1 drill rod was cut off and I turned the end to a 1/8" x 3/16" tenon, then filed a flat to fit the flat on the bolt that I made with the mill. File and check, file and check. A tight fit is needed for a strong joint.
Both parts were degreased and tinned with solder. Then soldered together. Gasp, you may say. Well, I used 425F solder, so the heat treatment of the bolt is unaffected. Just be quick about it, and pay close attention to the color of the metal. Keep in mind its common to solder reducer rings into bolt faces for caliber conversions, so this isn't a weird practice.
Now for the cleanup work and shaping. The original was cut with either a 3/16" or 1/4" end mill. I used 1/4" carbide mill and it matched the original contour well.
A little file work plus some polishing with 320 grit cloth and it's ready. It will need some final adjusting when the new barrel is finished. I'll have to adjust the height and depth a little for good feeding, but at least I don't have to source a new bolt. The result on the left matches the other one pretty well.
An that is how I spent a couple of hours on Sunday. I also contoured and threaded the new barrel. A Shilen #2 is very close to the original contour, so only a little adjusting was needed. I'll cut the new one to 24" as opposed to the original at 22". No need to worry about collector value. Bubba killed that long ago, so on to making it a fun critter getter.
Jeremy
I disassembled the action in prep to pull the barrel and in doing so, dropped the breech bolt. It landed on the concrete right on the cartridge stop nub above the bolt face. That little oops sheared the cartridge stop off the bolt nose. An unexpected result, but it happened. So, on to fixing it..........
I didn't photograph the broken nose, but here is what it is supposed to look like (this is another of my 99's in .308). That little protrusion at the top of the bolt just above the face. It's kind of important for feeding.
I took it to the mill and milled off the base of the cartridge stop, and drilled an 1/8" hole 3/16" deep at the base to allow a tenon to be inserted.
A piece of 1/4" O1 drill rod was cut off and I turned the end to a 1/8" x 3/16" tenon, then filed a flat to fit the flat on the bolt that I made with the mill. File and check, file and check. A tight fit is needed for a strong joint.
Both parts were degreased and tinned with solder. Then soldered together. Gasp, you may say. Well, I used 425F solder, so the heat treatment of the bolt is unaffected. Just be quick about it, and pay close attention to the color of the metal. Keep in mind its common to solder reducer rings into bolt faces for caliber conversions, so this isn't a weird practice.
Now for the cleanup work and shaping. The original was cut with either a 3/16" or 1/4" end mill. I used 1/4" carbide mill and it matched the original contour well.
A little file work plus some polishing with 320 grit cloth and it's ready. It will need some final adjusting when the new barrel is finished. I'll have to adjust the height and depth a little for good feeding, but at least I don't have to source a new bolt. The result on the left matches the other one pretty well.
An that is how I spent a couple of hours on Sunday. I also contoured and threaded the new barrel. A Shilen #2 is very close to the original contour, so only a little adjusting was needed. I'll cut the new one to 24" as opposed to the original at 22". No need to worry about collector value. Bubba killed that long ago, so on to making it a fun critter getter.
Jeremy
