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Sako L579 bolt slides from action

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

BruceHB

Well-Known Member
Recently I was cycling the bolt on my L579 when I noticed if I cycle the bolt moderately to quickly the bolt will slide out of the action. If I pull the bolt slowly it will not. I'm thinking it is related to an extractor issue, my guess. I also found what appears to be a spring or part of a spring under the rifle which is in a gun vise on a stand. See pictures of the possible spring and bolt here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/x7kDPPC5KAFVx21h7

A short video of the bolt sliding out of the action is here.

Any thoughts on why this occurs?

Bruce
 
Bruce,

The bolt guide-rod has been rotated to the wrong side of the bolt body.

Remove bolt.....rotate the guide-rod 180 degrees(to the right side of the bolt, upon insertion). Re-install bolt.

BTW.....it seems that someone may have cut a slot in the front of the guide-rod. Correct??....or not?

Hope this helps.

edit: More.....closer pics of the small part may help identify it.
 
Kevin, I applaud your knowledge, that is exactly the case. When I had the rifle rebarrelled to 6mm Creedmoor the gunsmith mistaking rotated the guide rod 180 degrees and machined the guide rod. I spoke to him today, he said it will not hurt the function of the gun. I won't name names, but this guy is on the list of top gunsmiths on the PRS blog and a ranked competitor himself.

Before sending my rifle to him I asked around and everyone I spoke to spoke highly of him. I'm going with everyone makes mistakes and as long as the cut does not harm I'm not going to make a big deal out of it.
 
Kevin, I applaud your knowledge, that is exactly the case. When I had the rifle rebarrelled to 6mm Creedmoor the gunsmith mistaking rotated the guide rod 180 degrees and machined the guide rod. I spoke to him today, he said it will not hurt the function of the gun. I won't name names, but this guy is on the list of top gunsmiths on the PRS blog and a ranked competitor himself.

Before sending my rifle to him I asked around and everyone I spoke to spoke highly of him. I'm going with everyone makes mistakes and as long as the cut does not harm I'm not going to make a big deal out of it.
If you have future gunsmithing needs, I recommend you find a gunsmith with a brain. The bolt guide also functions as a deflector of gases & debris that can escape rearward thru the extractor groove should you experience a casehead failure or pierced primer. Putting it on the wrong side leaves a direct channel to your face!!! What he did is more than "everyone makes mistakes", but rather exposed a complete lack of knowledge & expertise that resulted in a potential danger to anyone firing that rifle. The stupidity level that it took for him to machine a slot in your bolt guide is off the scale!!! BTW, the "extractor" is in the front of the bolt face & pulls the case from the chamber. The "ejector" is in the left rear of the action & ejects the case from the action. The slot he cut in the bolt guide will still allow some gases to come rearward. I would make him replace it, which may be difficult because they are very hard to find. You should at least weld it shut.
 
No competent gunsmith would make such a mistake under normal conditions. Sounds like a substance abuse problem to me. I don't know who (s)he is, but whoever, they probably need help.
 
He might be a fine smith on a Rem 700 action but it sure proves he has no idea what he is doing on other guns. I would be sure to let him know it also, what a dunce.
 
Very interesting thread, and a great job by BruceHB in doing the video of the problem, but as always “more information is better”. And we all learn from that.
And of course he came to the right place for an answer!
I’m always fascinated by the amount of “ wanna be” gunsmiths on YouTube from the States, some of them come across as you would not let them change a tire on your car!!!
Remember the old saying “caveat emptor”
All the Best Bruce, with getting the rifle back to as close as original.
Jay
 
I’m always fascinated by the amount of “ wanna be” gunsmiths on YouTube from the States
A couple of years ago I took two guests from Denmark who came to hunt with me on a 250 mile drive through small-town Texas. They remarked at all of the signs they saw for taxidermy shops. It seems that in Denmark that taxidermists must be licensed through a rather demanding education/testing regimen, whereas in Texas (and probably most other U.S. states) all it takes to be a taxidermist is to hang out a sign.

The same is true of "gunsmiths". A few of them have been to trades school and have a certificate of completion, but otherwise you can be a "gunsmith" just by proclaiming yourself to be, regardless of your skills or lack thereof.
 
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Yes, there are a lot of "handle turning opportunists out there!"
What do you call a Gunsmith who was last in his or her class?.....Gunsmith!
 
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