Wrong follower in my 110 Savage?

[mike britton]

Mike Britton here,
I just found one of my "holy grails", a very early (serial # 209XX) 110 L Savage in .30-06.
The rifle is about 90% in the metal and all that in a beautiful custom stock with 19 line hand checkering.

Here's the deal. Since this rifle was made, guessing, around 1963 and in a custom stock I know the possibility of some or many of the "little" parts could be wrong or missing.
I'm having feeding problems in that the first round out of the mag gets picked up just fine.
But when that round is ejected and the bolt goes forward the bolt rides over the top of round #2 and doesn't push that round forward.
I have had the bottom plate off so many times I feel I need vel-cro, I have polished the edges of the follower, I have stretched the spring, I have taken the mag box and the ejector out and they appear fine.
The one thing I have noticed however, loading 180 grain Rem ( I don't trust my red plastic dummies)very carefully as I don't want to shoot up the neighborhood is that after round #1 goes into chamber the follower tilts, ever so slightly, Maybe 1 or 2 degrees. Just enough to keep round #2 from rising up into position.
The follower seems to be too narrow for the mag box. It should be so close to the same size as the inside of the mag box so that there is no opportunity for it to tilt, correct? The follower should slide up and down vertically, with no tilting, Right?

I am beginning to believe that I have a wrong follower. GPC has a replacement follower they say will work, it is apparently for the 110D.
I guess I am asking you gunsmiths out there if a sloppy/wrong follower could keep me from feeding properly? Thanks, Mike

[Texas by God]

That sounds like a nice rifle. Is it only round #2 that it skips? How about #3 or #4? Trying another follower wouldn't hurt and having an extra follower to modify if needed is a good plan. And we like pics!

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[mike britton]

Oops!

[mike britton]

That sounds like a nice rifle. Is it only round #2 that it skips? How about #3 or #4? Trying another follower wouldn't hurt and having an extra follower to modify if needed is a good plan. And we like pics!

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I have only loaded 2 rounds at a time so far. I am really leery of loading live rounds to function test but I don't trust my little red plastic dummies. They are nowhere near the same overall length as the live rounds.
I am about to order a new follower from GPC. We will see where that leads us.

[waksupi]

Are you racking the bolt hard? Many bolt action rifle will jam up if you try to cycle them slowly.

[BK7saum]

I think you need to check with live rounds. A spring replacement may very well fix your problem. Usually the spring pushes more on the body and shoulder and allows the case head to sag and be overrun by the bolt.

[BK7saum]

I don't think the follower will fix your problem. At least order a spring with your follower. The majority of feeding issues with bolt guns seem to be spring related, at least in my experience.

[Texas by God]

Very nice! I thought the L stood for Southpaw. You can remove the firing pin for cycling testing. That way you can cycle it with abandon safely to determine the problem. Ordering another spring while you’re at it is good advice as well. Also try another brand of ammo; stranger things have happened. Good luck, that pretty gun needs to work.

[mike britton]

The new follower comes with a new spring attached. Texas by God, was there a leftie joke in there somewhere ?LOL At least us lefties are right minded!.....

[Texas by God]

The new follower comes with a new spring attached. Texas by God, was there a leftie joke in there somewhere ?LOL At least us lefties are right minded!.....

Maybe a little.... but I've always thought left handed bolt guns are cool because they drop the brass on the bench when you shoot them "right handed"

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[woodbutcher]

For a "REAL"dummy round for testing,do this.No primer.No powder.Seat bullet.Cross drill case.Slam and jam all you want with excellent safety.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Bazoo]

Nice rifle, even if it is "wrong handed".

My savage 110 has a plastic follower, and I'd like to replace it with a metal one at some point.

[roverboy]

Good looking rifle. I've got 2 110's but, neither looks that good. What kind of wood is that? By the way, I think I would try another follower.

[elmacgyver0]

That is a very nice stock.
I have a 110E, I think the stock is birch or some other light colored wood.
I bought it new from Montgomery Ward, it had a dark paint like finish.
First thing I did was strip the finish off, stain and apply Tru oil.

Anyway the follower seems to fit pretty snuggly in mine.
If you push on the front or back it will tilt though.
The follower in mine is black plastic, magazine well is blind, no bottom plate.

[AZ Pete]

The follower spring is in backwards (front to back). Turn it around and I bet your problem will be solved.

[mike britton]

The follower spring is in backwards (front to back). Turn it around and I bet your problem will be solved.

The spring is riveted to the bottom of the follower.

[AZ Pete]

Dang, my 110L,s dated from the 1960's and I recall that their springs were loose, rather than riveted.

Perhaps shimming the back of the spring? Or since the stock is after market, the mag. well may be keeping the box mag. from seating into the action squarely. I had that issue with a M1917 that had been fitted with a fiberglass stock.

[mike britton]

Farther study has me believing that this follower is from a detachable magazine, probably a 110E.
I have one of the plastic followers coming from GPC that they claim is a replacement for the original which of course is no longer available.
Very early 110's have a fixed magazine that fits in slots on the bottom of the receiver. 110's before 1963 are a law totally unto themselves.

I hope I can find the follower that I have been fighting with, the last I heard was it going ping as it bounced off a piece of furniture in the gunroom....

[mike britton]

Okay! follow up on the follower! LOL
After a very frustrating couple of weeks trying to get the follower in my Early Savage 110 to feed properly I have discovered the problem.
My dad was a prototype machinist and used to harp on me that"before you can find a solution, first you must understand the problem."
I now know what exactly is the problem.
After watching the follower work dummy rounds in the magazine until I see them in my sleep I have realized that the follower is not the problem. Rather the spring, or rather how the spring fits in the mag box is the problem.
Remember back at the start of this epic I mentioned that there was a part missing from the magazine box. A "floorplate insert" as Gun Parts calls it. No longer available for the early long action, but still available for the later short action.
After staring at that part forever it has dawned on me that the insert is not just to stiffen the floorplate as most people think, it has raised edges to locate the spring in the middle of the floorplate!
The problem is that without something to keep the spring in the center of the floorplate the spring is free to slide to one side or the other allowing the follower to tip over ever so slightly causing the back of the floorplate to drop just enough to allow the bolt to slip right over the top of the round in the mag and not push it forward.
So,.. how do I prove this? I took a piece of Gorilla Tape and taped the spring down in the middle of the floorplate, reassembled the rifle, and VI-O-LA! The thing feeds and cycles like butter!
Now, as I see it there are 3 courses of action. 1, I can leave the tape in place, the floorplate sandwiches the tape up against the stock so it isn't going anywhere. but eventually the tape will fail, and that is kind of a "back woods" way of fixing the problem.
2, I can drill a hole through the floorplate and spring, and fix them together with a screw and nut. Probably the simplest but least good looking of all options,or 3, I can get creative with a piece of dead soft aluminum and make the insert I need.
# 3 will be my choice.
I'm just glad that I finally have the problem figured out! Proof once again that you cannot afford to quit too soon!

[Texas by God]

Way to endeavor to persevere, neighbor! Time for a scope!