Bolt Handle Blues

[JohnH]

Well, I went and strapped a scope to that 340 I got last weekend and propmtly discovered the little rifles biggest flaw.... a split bridge reciever. Works fine with irons, but strapping a scope on it becomes a trick of imagineering. Weaver did a fine job of it, but the knob of the bolt rides agains the ocular bell and prevents full travel, it won't eject. I have to pick the case out of the reciever. Not a big problem for plinkin', but iff'n I was ever in the woods and wanted to use the rifles repeating abilities, well you begin to see the rub.

Would be a simple matter to grind away 1/8" of the knob away, would also be pretty simple to shape it into a butter knife. I saw another today in a shop priced at $229, it had some obvious stock damage, but was mechanically sound, so I don't think I'd hurt any value by changing it. Any other suggestions on how to deal with this?

[fiberoptik]

Yup, yer gonna have to send it to the recycling yard, at my address, where I can give it lots of love and attention....

[Mk42gunner]

John,
What scope do you have on it? I had a 340 in .222 Remington a few years ago, seems like it had an old steel tube K4 Weaver on it. I didn't shoot it that much, but I know the bolt didn't hit the scope.
I have ran into this problem putting newer scopes on Mausers that had Bueler mounts on them.

Robert

[nvbirdman]

How about a long eye relief scope mounted forward to make a scout rifle out of it?

[Blackwater]

Don't know what height rings you have on it, but the absolute cheapest way to cure that problem is higher mounts. Problem with that, though, is you lose cheek contact with the comb, which hurts your ability to hit with it. Any GOOD gunsmith should be able to forge the handle so it misses the scope, though. Not all 'smiths are good at this. At the shop where I work now, we've got a really good welder who does this work for us, and he really knows his P's and Q's about welding on a bolt handle, and does really good work. I suspect many shops do the same.

Welding on a bolt handle, or even heating it up to forge it, ain't child's play, and CAN mess up the temper of the bolt head IF they aren't good at this, so .... be careful who you get to do the work. If it were me, I think I'd either get the handle bent by forging, or replaced. Some of the uncheckered bolt handles can be had pretty cheap, but getting the welding on job done is the expense. If you are good with tools, you may find someone who'd do the welding part, and do the cleanup filing, etc. yourself. You can then also get the bolt length just like you want it, and the bolt knob positioned just where you like it for speedy reloads in the field, which is a significant advantage when the Moment of Truth comes in the field.

Some would say that this expense would be "wasted" on the old Savage, but I'm not among those. Ain't nothin' quite like having YOUR gun just like YOU want it to be. That alone will endear ANY gun to its user, and those old Savages shoot amazingly well, and do FINE work afield. That's why I think it'd be worth it. Then too, I just can't abide a gun with a too high set of rings, where I can't get cheek contact. I've lost entirely too much of my past abilities already, and I just ain't givin' up THAT kind of advantage in shooting. I can't. Not and hit what I want to hit, at least. Again, that's why I'd bend or replace the bolt handle. That's one man's view, anyway.

[Bass Ackward]

John,

Labor of love huh?

[montana_charlie]

Would be a simple matter to grind away 1/8" of the knob away, would also be pretty simple to shape it into a butter knife.
If you are looking for 'cheap' and 'no special welding required'...and would like to combine those with 'do it yourself'...I think you already mentioned two useful answers to your own question.

They sure beat the Rube Goldberg contraption that started running through my mind...where the scope tilts to the left when you raise the bolt handle.
It's main drawback appears to be the risk that, during a quick follow-up shot, the shooter might break his own neck.
CM

[Jumptrap]

Now you know why savage eventually changed the bolt to a butterknife style..wasn't for aesthetics! Simple solution to an aggrevation.

I'd love to have a 30-30 340, but my conscience will not allow me to pay $200+ for a $69 rilfe....am I stuck in a time warp? Perhaps.

I honestly wish some manufacturer would listen to the cast shooters and make a run of bolt rifles chambered in 30-30 OR .30 remington. Wouldn't a 700 Classic in .30 remington be a dandy! Dream on Rumplestiltskin, that ain't gonna happen.

[KCSO]

The old Weaver had a small bell compared to even cheap mdern scopes. GPC has a side mount new made for the 340 seriese that is about 1/4" higher than the old mounts. The other alternative is to hunt up an old Weaver, but Jump has it right ,'cause you will pay $100 for a 20 dollar scope.

[nelson133]

Well I just bought a Savage 340 in excellent condition for $100, so they can be found. However if you want something more modern I saw a Remington 788 in 30-30 for $650. Didn't these used to be Remington's budget model?

[drinks]

Yes, I bought a new 788 at full list price of, $78.80, in '68, which I believe is the year they came out.
A 700 was about $175 and a 600 was about$160 at that time, really dating myself.
Don ;D

[JohnH]

Man I'd love to have a 788 30-30, not at no $600 though. For those who answered but may not understand, Split bridge recievers create som interesting problems. Look at a Ruskie M44 and the light will will get very bright.

Weavers solution was to create a side mount, screws to the side of the reciever, and uses a special set of rings made on a bracket that attches to the mount. Doesn't use standard rings.

I ground away the inside of the bolt knob today, yep, needs a butterknife, the grinding is an interrim solution. Scope is the 4x BSA $25 Walmart special. Laughable on one side, but it's been on a 30-30, a 45-70, a 243 and now this 30-30. I ran some 1800 fps 400 grianers through that 45-70 (an NEF Handirifle) This is the scope that was rattled off that gun, and it still moves exactly the amount of clicks input to it, is clear, bright and very funtional. I've had two and wouldn't hesitate to buy another, a good cheap beater.

A $69.00 rifle eh??? I've fired exactly 100 rounds through this rifle as of today, and I'll say this, I'd give $200 for it or any of its brethren again before I'd pay more than $200 to have a new Handirifle. Ain't no comparison.

[Mk42gunner]

Glad things are working out for you.
:-D