In need of a gunsmith

snowman160 · #1 08-08-2023, 08:16 AM

Hello all.. so I gave my grandmas old 243 savage model 99E to my gun loving friend to do up a load for it, which he is very good at doing. He mounted a new scope on it but had to use the old rings due to the taper of the top of the rifle which is totally fine..
He cleaned the barrel Really well with brushes an patches then started with the first series of loads and after then first few shots the lever started to get super hard to operate to extract the spent casing. That was with brand new brass.
I told him I’d never had an issue extracting empty’s from it(factory ammo) so he ripped to the store bought a box of factory ammo and same issue again.
He suggested it go to a gunsmith before anything else is done..
So I’m asking for either advice from a similar situation or I will be in need of a gunsmith. The rifle is located in Vegreville where he lives and I’m located in stony plain so a bit of a distance to deal with. Anyways if anyone can help pls feel free to comment of PM. Thank you for reading

barsik · #2 08-08-2023, 08:24 AM

try rod hendrickson 780 455 3006 he's in edmonton

Slash8 · #3 08-08-2023, 10:18 AM

Sounds like a dirty chamber to me. Was it cleaned from the muzzle to the chamber because of the 99 design? Was the chamber cleaned after the barrel was cleaned up? I'd check with the small things before going to a gun smith just to eliminate the easy stuff.

And I second the motion on sending it to Rod Hendrickson if the need persists.

snowman160 · #4 08-08-2023, 11:00 AM

He said he cleaned it from action to barrel. Said it cycles loaded ammo and cycles empty no issues at all, it’s only after it’s been fired a couple few times that it starts to stiffen up. Ends up having to really crank on the lever to get it to eject..

Slash8 · #5 08-08-2023, 11:16 AM

I'd check the chamber again just to make sure. It may cycle unfired cases just fine but if there is any sort of residue or gunk in there that could impede cycling after expansion through ignition it may be an easy fix with a chamber brush. I'd check the extracted brass for scratches ect. Hopefully it's nothing mechanical, I always liked those 99's.

pikergolf · #6 08-08-2023, 01:32 PM

Get yourself a slotted jag of the appropriate size, run the jag and rod into the barrel without a patch. Load a to large patch into the slot from the chamber end and put bore cleaner on it, pull the patch into the chamber and start rotating. Check the patch for gunk, if the chamber is funky it will dirty the patch. If so continue until the chamber is clean.

fps plus · #7 08-08-2023, 09:43 PM

I’m trying to understand the scope ,base , ring situation. The bases are designed to bring the 2 bases into the same plane , the rear one is tapered to match the receiver taper . The rings have nothing to do with it .

snowman160 · #8 08-09-2023, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fps plus

I’m trying to understand the scope ,base , ring situation. The bases are designed to bring the 2 bases into the same plane , the rear one is tapered to match the receiver taper . The rings have nothing to do with it .

I didn’t say it had anything to do with it I just added that into the info. Simple as that.

fps plus · #9 08-09-2023, 07:54 AM

I understand the scope mounting has nothing to do with the extraction . My point on the scope , base , issue doesn’t make sense as the proper rear base is tapered to match the taper on the receiver to bring the top of the rear base on the same plane as the front base. The rings have nothing to do with that. The rings maybe too low and the bell of the front objective maybe hitting the barrel and therefore a ring issue on the scope mounting that is all I’m saying

If he had to use a different ring to bring scope up
or down to be in line with the bore he has the wrong bases