Anyone else have a Buffalo classic? I finally got one and have been casting some 340 gn slugs, I loaded them up with 28 gns of sr4759. That gave me a good reduced load @ about 1550 fs that I can shoot all day long. I added the micrometer peep sight and its perhaps more fun to shoot than any of my other rifles. Very enjoyable.

One problem I encountered was that the breech locking mechanisim was not engaging enough and the action actually popped open twice while shooting.. Not good! This is a QC problem with NEF and I have another rifle that has the same issue. I took care of this myself on the BC but thought I would mention it for others to check. If when you close the action the release button can be moved around and seems sloppy, it means that the lock isnt fully engaging as it should be and that needs to be corrected. That is like only having 1/2 a lug on a bolt action. I think Ill write them a message about that issue. That gun should have never left the factory like that.

Anyway.. FWIW.

I have a BC. Had stuck cases, No popping open. I shoot 405gr Remingtons at 1700fps or 350gr Speers at 2200 fps. No problems.

My 17HMR Sportster seems to be OK.

If Wrongtartget sees this, I'm sure he'll have something to add.

BTW, what did you do to fix the popping open?

ZM

Two years ago, I "gave away" both my NEF rifles, a .223 and a .243, for exactly the same reason i.e. actions popping open unexpectedly using factory ammunition, as well as, reloads and cases sticking and not ejecting. You always had to carry a 1/4" wooden dowel to clear the stuck cases. This problem has been around for years. I sent both guns back to have them "fixed" to no avail. The whole scenerio is unfortunate because the NEF rifles are "Handy" and fun to shoot, but the hassle just wasn't worth it for me.

Wstrnhuntr.
Take off the forearm and check the extractor/ejector and see it is not stickimg out past the barrel face. Push it in to make sure it is flush. If it is not you need to take it out and remove some metal in the seat until it is flush.

Smoke the barrel face and check for high spots.
If the barrel does not go down enough it will prevent the latch to engage enough to hold.

Sand off any high spots with 400grit but only the high spots. We only talk about one thou ore less.

Next you can use a round back needle file and remove a bit of steel from the shelf. Do not remove any metal from the rear edge of the shelve. Again we only talk about very little. Smoke the shelve and see where you have to
remove metal.

The latch does not have to engage 100%. 75% is plenty. When you are done oil the shelve so the latch will slide forward with a bit of a snap when you close the action.

Take iy easy with the metal removal

If by "the shelf" you mean the metal that the latch catches on at the base of the bbl, that is what I did. I carefully removed a bit of that until I got about 60% or more engagment. I expect it will become more fully engaged with a bit of use.

The latch was just barly catching before, probably less than 1/16". As I said, it should have never passed QC.

As for the sticking issue, Ive had that with other NEF rifles. Ive found that keeping the chamber and ejector clean and the pressure of the loads down a bit helps. But only to a certian extent.

I read on a BC webbsite that the ejector can be replaced with an extractor.. Anyone here know anything about that?

You can't replace the ejector with an extractor, but you can convert it. Factory extractors use a completely different underlug.

While you're working on the ejector, polish the ejector and housing, then put a bb under the spring to increase tension, after those changes and polishing the chamber, you shouldn't have stuck brass unless you get to hot a load which for either of my BC barrels hasn't happened yet, and I shoot the 300gr Nosler PP at well over 2400fps. Be careful not to loose the lifter button in the ejector if yours has one, older frames didn't, here's a pic of
the parts in their relative position.

Tim

http://www.brimstonepistoleros.com/Articles/hr-ejector-mod.html

A BB?

Great idea!

Thanks

ZM

Excellent pointers Tim, Thanks! Ill definatley do that on my BC.

Posts like that are why I love this forum.. Lots of knowledge in these pages..

Byren