Formost (Savage) 6400 Bolt

Emmett Dunham

April 29, 2012 11:46

A friend wanted his .222 rifle cleaned, I took it all the way down and dumped it in mineral Spirits and let it set over night. I look at the barrel and it looked good except that it may have not been cleaned since it was new. The chamber looked good and I could not see any deformity of the receiver or barrel. I started cleaning the bolt and got all of the carbon off of the bolt face and rim and could see that the rim of the bolt hand been welded all the way a round the bolt. The face of the bolt look a little rough and had what looked like a machine swirl next to the ejector. The extractor looked fine! The question is what do I have here and is it common or should I put a new bolt in the rifle and head space. This is a gun to get meat with and it is never going to be pretty, just need to be safe and functional.

Emmett

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  rufe-snow

  April 29, 2012 17:04

  It would be best if you could post quality photos of the bolt.
  
  If the ring of metal around the face of the bolt is original, not some bubba's handiwork, it could be a factory safety feature. This would have been a major selling point back in the old days of balloon head brass. Not so much nowadays.
  
  Try your luck on GOOGLE IMAGES on-line. Savage/Stevens made those rifles for many years for a lot of different folks, with different names and model numbers. If you can find a photo of a bolt you might be able to tell if the one your working on is original or not.

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  Emmett Dunham

  April 29, 2012 20:27

  The bolt rim is just too poorly welded to be professional but sometime I have found that even a good repair can look poor. The answer I was looking for was looks poor but good. I then looked at the front right of the bolt handle and there are dimple all over from it being hit to open the bolt. Looks like Bulba did not get the head space right.
  
  Thanks
  
  Emmett

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  Ned Fall

  May 01, 2012 21:32

  The gun is a "Store Brand Name" rifle. The name FOREMOST was used on guns sold by J.C. Penny & Company (yes, they sold guns)and is the same as a Savage Model 340 rifle. I look at the parts drawing for a Savage 340 and while the bolt assembly comes in several parts, there is no welding shown on any of them. Now, nobody but a fool or a shade tree gunsmith does any welding on a rifle bolt. The heat involved ruins the temper of the bolt and makes it unsafe to use. I strongly suggest you or your buddy take the gun to a good qualified gunsmith for a through inspection before attempting to shoot it.

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  Emmett Dunham

  May 02, 2012 19:13

  I took the bolt and rifle to the gun smith today and ask him what he thought about the welding of the bolt and I was surprised when he told me that the bolt would be fine. This guy is about seventy and has been around fire arm a long time so I would think the guy knows what he is talking about.
  
  I took the barreled receiver and bolt thinking I could get an idea of the condition of the chamber by head space with the old bolt. This would at least give me an idea if the chamber condition. I was really surprised that he said the bolt would be fine.
  
  Emmett

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