The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Gunsmithing Savage Extraction Problem/ReplacementGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I love my Savage .338 Lapua, but it suddenly stopped extracting my standard load (88 gr Retumbo with a 285 ELD). Even lowering the charge 2 grains didn't help. The Savage extractor is made of sintered metal; perhaps a bit broke off, but I can't tell. Sharp Shooter Supply markets a replacement kit with a bigger "bite" and a .140 detent ball, but they don't answer their phone or emails, and have tons of complaints thru the BBB. Anyone have any suggestions? I don't think you can install a SAKO type extractor, but I am not a gunsmith. Texted mine but waiting on an answer. | ||
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The Savage extractor is stronger than the Sako. It's a sheering style extractor. It could be that the extractor is stuck, or that the cases are sticking in the chamber. If the extractor is tearing bits off the rim or if you have to knock the case out with a cleaning rod it's a bad chamber and has to be polished or simply to much pressure. Powders primers and bullets all change from lot to lot so top loads can turn into overloads pretty fast. Plus, that case should never have been designed. It's too large in diameter for those actions at those pressures. When I was a kid. I had the stick. I had the rock. And I had the mud puddle. I am as adept with them today, as I was back then. Lets see today's kids say that about their IPods, IPads and XBoxes in 45 years! Rod Henrickson | |||
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Savage extractors are tough , everyone was so fast to replace the savage factory one just to find out it wasn't the problem . The savage extractor should be made of berrilium copper , it's not the copper you usually find . Did something in your reloading change , did you start annealing your brass , change anything and you should start from near scratch . Check your chamber with the Borescope . Have you ever had a case neck or body split , shoot in sandy conditions ? Just some to look for . | |||
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And to back Speer up; your problem ain't your extractor. It is your loads, in That rifle. Lapua should fall out of the chamber. Max pressure is supposed to be 61K psi which means your working pressure are below that. And Lapua brass is very thick and strong. I have an ArmaLite AR7, the first one made, with the same extractor you have. No issues. So If your brass is sticking. Look elsewhere first. | |||
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 Mmmmm, some times those extractors will get a bit of grit in the T slot and then they just stick open Tom. If I actually charged for every one of the Winchester model 70 and Savage extractors that I just sprayed with oil and tapped on (removed and cleaned after triage) I'd be a multi fawking gazillionair by now. The Don would be calling me looking for money management advice! It happens pretty regular like. People should post close up pictures. When I was a kid. I had the stick. I had the rock. And I had the mud puddle. I am as adept with them today, as I was back then. Lets see today's kids say that about their IPods, IPads and XBoxes in 45 years! Rod Henrickson | |||
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Thanks guys. My loads are way below published loads. But, I just noticed I am trimming to 2.732 inches and new brass is 2.710. I am getting the brass cutting sometimes Speerchucker. I am not getting primer cratering nor am I getting an ejector marks. I also started annealing the cases with my AMP machine, and definitely noticed my necks got tighter on older brass. However, I developed that load with relatively new brass. But it is one thing that changed. The powder is the same 8 lb keg I have always used, and the bullets are the same lot. I have another Lapua, a Stiller action, that shoots 96 gr of RL33; I get stuck cases with 93 grains of RL33 in my Savage, and that is way below published maxes... I think I will shoot some factory rounds this week and see if I get the same issue; if I do, perhaps I need to get the chamber polished. I don't recall getting a case separation, but in a different rifle I had a case separation that "burned" into the chamber, causing difficult extraction - the brass had a little "nub" in the same place. | |||
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The Savage extractor is powered by a spring loaded ball bearing. In quite a few Savage model 10s the hole in the bolt that the ball and spring travel in is drilled oversize. My fix has been to put a slightly larger (a few thousandths)ball in. It fixes the problem on .223s instantly. | |||
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Thought I read that the OP's ejector was pulling through rims; brass stuck; maybe not. If your ejector is just malfunctioning, then there are fixes for that. Published loads are useless if your rifle/brass can't handle them. | |||
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FWIW...I checked my notes for my Sav 338 Lapua and found the following...NEW HORNADY, LAPUA AND NORMA BRASS 300 Berger Hybrid #33401, trim 2.70", 3.83" COAL, Fed 215 mag, HORN, 90 Retumbo, Ehler 33 chrono ~2648 fs...QL said 2564 fs/49176 psi...no visual/mechanical problem signs...accuracy 1.25"...increase .5 gr... Same bullet/trim, 3.75" COAL, Fed 215M, 88 Retumbo, ~2592...QL 2534 fs/47398 psi...no problems...accuracy 1.25"...increase 1 gr... Same bullet/trim, 3.75" COAL, Fed 215M, 88 H1000, 2580 fs...QL 2601 fs/55345...no problems ditto 90 H1000, 2652 fs...QL 2658 fs/59722...ENOUGH...bolt stiff, ejector mark...seat out to max tough 3.84" Same bullet/trim, 3.84" COAL, Fed 215M, 93 Retumbo(100% fill), no velo...QL 2641/54559...Necks turned, LAPUA, HVY BOLT LIFT...NO CHRONO/ACCURACY...FIRED 3 TO CHECK BRASS/BOLT LIFT/ETC. So far I've fired about 200 rounds of 200, 250, 285 and 300 gr Berger's, SMK's, Hornady SP's...accuracy isn't what I expected, Can't get below about 1.25". Usually the extractor will tear off the case rim on badly stuck brass or the extractor will stick "open" caused by tiny pieces of brass getting stuck in the extractor slot grooves, on every Savage (no matter the cartridge) I've owned and that brass shavings/krap will also get into and stick the ball AND spring. I check my Sav bolts before shooting just by pushing SLIGHTLY on that Beryllium copper thingy...if it wiggles your good to go...or by stuffing a dummy up the snout and then ejecting it. I keep a supply of extractors, balls and springs on hand just in case and not above robbing Peter to keep Paul shooting. The barrel should be smoothed out by now but is awful small in OD and heats up quickly...if I can't get it to shoot SOMETHING below .750" this year I will replace the barrel with a 1.25" OD blank and take it out to 338 Excalibur...maybe...or do that 50 Rigby I originally had in mind for this receiver. LUCK  | |||
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Fred and Lisa (Sharpshooter Supply) are a small shop and I think that they have much more work than they can actually do. I've never had a problem dealing with them but I've known them for over 20 years. Frank "I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money." - Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953 NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite | |||
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Wow, my Savage shoots everything well under an MOA; I work up loads shooting a metal gong at 500 yards. My "go to" load was: Nosler brass Fed 215 88 Retumbo OAL: 3.774" 285 ELD My Savage shoots 300 Bergers well but shoots the Hornady ELDs better...have you tried them? | |||
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Use a split dowel (old shotgun rod section works great)and 600 grit wet dry backed by a cleaning patch to get the proper diameter. Chuck in electric drill motor. Run at a medium speed for about 30 seconds pushing the lap in and out of the chamber. That usually does it in our shop. | |||
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This reminds me of one of my fav jokes: "What is the difference between an accountant and an engineer?" Ans: the accountant knows that he is not an engineer. Thanks Bobster, but I will let my smith do that. I bed my own rifles, work on triggers, but when it comes to anything I can't reverse, I take it to the pros. | |||
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Well I appreciate that but you really aren't going to hurt anything with 600 grit. Usually it is some rough machining or corrosion that just needs to be polished a bit. There is a fine line of letting go of the case or not. | |||
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Just to back up Bobster; that method, requires no skill other than having a drill. You aren't going to remove metal with 600 grit unless you spin it for a long time. 30 seconds of spinning will seem like a lot, but it isn't. | |||
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"Suddenly" suggests dirt underneath. To rule it out takes 10 minutes. Remove the bolt and put a cartridge under the extractor. If it is a loose fit, flush all around the extractor with WD40 and blow out with compressed air. Re-lube with a drop or two of light oil and check the cartridge again.
Life itself is a gift. Live it up if you can. | |||
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I disassembled the extractor and cleaned it up before I posted. I thought it fixed the problem, because an unsized and stuck case, rechambered, didn't extract before cleaning but did after. I did notice my spring was kind of gunked up and thought that was the problem. | |||
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No AZ, haven't tried any bullets other than those I listed...but I will for sure and creep up on your load also.  Have you check to see where the "touching" LOA is for the 285 ELD's??? The Berger 300's Tacticals touched at 3.84" in my so if throat is shorter I'm guess I have a long throat in mine....might need to try some of those 350 gr. torpedoes...or just do another barrel and stop wasting components...Got a few more winter months to think about it anyway. I read on several forums about several Savage 338 L's shooting very well also...Savage barrels can be like that...MOST shoot bugholes with some system TLC, but others, while complying with Savage specs, just aren't that capable. Just on the chance that might happen I'm gathering up pieces and parts and contacting the reamer and barrel providers...a 338 Rigby without any bells and whistles is a pretty simple and easy do...has about 126 gr H2O volume...not too much more than the standard Lapua, about 8-9%, and maybe not worth the extra cost of a reamer, but compared to the cost of a reamer AND dies for the Wyatt or Excalibur, it's chump change. Simplest is of course is just another Lapua or get real wild and do a 416 Rigby, both with 30-32" bbls...several very good bullets available for both. I will get an order into Midway for some of those ELD bullets. Did you finally get that nasty critter to straighten up???   Good Hunting | |||
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Non: I am 20 thou off the lands; it shoots good at 25 as well. | |||
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Keep us posted then. Happy shootin'.
Life itself is a gift. Live it up if you can. | |||
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FWIW AZ...I found some targets stuck back behind some 416 Taylor data(don't have a clue how they got there) that were MUCH BETTER and a truer representative of the accuracy potential...250 gr Berger HY OTM, H1000 - 100% density, CCI250, Norma brass (2.715" - 116 gr H2O), 3.820" - 0.020" off lands, ~2850 fs...0.102"...at 3.80"...one gr less powder, 0.720" same powder amount...0.400"...DON'T know how I forgot that 0.102" group but senile dementia does F.U. the works many times, but half dozen other targets that showed promises were still in the 1.25" range with vert or horiz spreads...just hadn't dialed in the range yet. I still ordered a 28" cylinder 338 barrel from McGowan. My Lapua weighs 10# 10 oz empty. I DON'T plan carrying this cannon around...the added McGowan barrel weight plus I'm going to a walnut stock, with lead added,  , will make shooting much more pleasant.   Anyway thanks, again, for your data...I have ordered some of those ELD bullets...they look like copies of the A-max to me. I also found some 265 gr Barnes LXR stuck back behind all the other 200-250 gr 338 bullets I shoot in my 338-06. Good Hunting  | |||
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Thought you guys might be interested in the latest news on the Savage issue. My gunsmith was over to drop off two rifles and took a look at the Savage. He asked for some brass, then asked me to measure its length. Next, we did the same thing with new brass. New brass was 25 thou shorter - he said my brass was too long. I whipped out one of my loading manual and showed him I was trimming to the length in the manual. He said it didn't matter; he said it was likely the chamber throat was short and causing extraction issues, especially because there were no signs of high pressure on the cases. I loaded three new cases (annealed with my AMP machine) with 88 gr Retumbo and shot them today at 500 yards. First two shots plopped on top of each other and the third about 1.5 inches to the right. Extraction was like a butter stick out of a hot chamber. Probably should have thought about this before (you can see above I mentioned it); I had checked my case length but since I was trimming to the book I thought it couldn't be an issue. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Gunsmithing Savage Extraction Problem/Replacement
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