Just curious how tight a CRF bolt should hold the rim? SHould it be fairly tight or should there be a little room for the rim of the case to easily slide under>

Tight enough to hold the round against the boltface when the bolt is out of the gun...

BaxterB,

homebrewer got it right!!!

The extractor should hold the round on the bolt. Too tight and you will have problems feeding, too loose and you will drop the cartridge before ejection.

Headache

Homebrewer, a question about your bolt there...

Is there pressure from the ejector blade on the rim of the round? For example, on mine (which willdo the same as in your pic) if I hold the round tight against the bolt face, there is a space between the 'top' or forward part of the rim and the ejector blade. So.. how much space should there be? I am comparing the thickness of the rim and the distance from the bolt face to the hearest part of the ejector blade.

That bolt is from my stainless MRC M1999 300WSM target pig. The ejector is fixed in the rifle itself. The Montana copies the original Winchester design. There is a narrow cut on the bottom of the bolt. The ejector blade slides into this cut as the bolt is fully withdrawn (case is still held captive on bolt), the blade hits the case and ping!-- out she goes. The extractor holds the case tight to the face in a CRF design. My rounds fairly "pop into" the whole system there, so much so that I can clip a case against the bolt, insert bolt and case into action, slide over magazine follower and turn bolt into locks. I have to do this with every case I resize to make sure they fit the chamber. I have but .002 inches headspace. I can't be too long from head to shoulder or I will gall up my lugs. If you'd like, I can try to take some more pictures if you'd like to see it from different angles. As you can see, that picture is not too much in focus. Hard for the laser to focus on such a small target...

just my opinion ...

NOT tight enough to hold it perfectly inline, for a hunting rifle .. that tight PREVENTS you from being able to over-ride .. and this DOES happen in the field ..

not loose enough for the round to fall off .. but it shouldn't be perfectly inline ..

if you short stroke it, jam a case into the chamber infront of the extractor, if you can't override, you now have a stuck chamber, hunt over man

I'll post a pic of it tonight. It may be totally fine, but was just wondering about it because i'm innately curious about why things are the way they are. From your description home brewer, i'd say your setup is fairly tighter than mine.

jeffeosso, i get yer point and would think likewise re; a misfeed etc.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
just my opinion ...


if you short stroke it, jam a case into the chamber infront of the extractor, if you can't override, you now have a stuck chamber, hunt over man

Ummm OK?

It isn't that hard to work an extractor over a rim. Even if it isn't set up properly from the get go to do so.

In the original Mauser 98, both military and sporting rifles, the extractor should move 0,004" outside when the cartridge is in. That`s is the correct tension, for the Mauser extractor.
Regards

PH

So that if you put a cartridge or empty case against the bolt face with the extractor into the groove in front of the rim... you can hold the bolt upside down an twirl it (not too hard) and it will stay put.

.004" of give with the extractor will get you right there.

Heres a few pics to better explain the measurement I am referring to. In the first pic, its basically the distance from the bolt face to the nearest side of the extractor (red lines for clarity) the second pic with the round in place, the arrow point to the gap between the extractor and rim of case.

quote:

hunt over, man

Not if you carry a takedown cleaning rod...

quote:

Originally posted by homebrewer:

quote:

hunt over, man

Not if you carry a takedown cleaning rod...

Or have a hand that works.