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"Rough" machining on the bottom of the RAR bolt?

5K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  RCrosby257 
#1 ·
Hi everyone:

This is my first post on RC.

I brought home a brand new RAR "Predator" (mod. 8334) the other night. I had my heart set on that particular model, and though all of the distributors seem to be out of them, I found one at Whittaker's and had it shipped to my FFL.

I haven't shot it yet, but I'm quite happy with it so far other than one thing:

The machining on the bottom of the bolt seems "rough" to me. When you operate the bolt, it's not a butter smooth feel, but seems to have a "zzzzzzzzzzzip" feel / sound to it when you operate the bolt and the surfaces slide over each other. Examining the bottom of the bolt, there is a very clear zigzag pattern running perpendicular to the direction of the bolt's travel. If you run a finger across it, you can feel the ridges. This is the entire machined surface on the bottom of the bolt.

Is this "normal" with a RAR, or something I should worry about?
 
#5 ·
That's interesting.

I still haven't had a chance to get the rifle to the range. It doesn't strike me as something that's going to affect functioning, but it makes the bolt travel not as butter smooth as we all like bolt guns to be. :)

Either way, I am super excited to go shoot it. I've got a stock of Eley target ammo for it, and the other day I mounted a Leapers 4-16x AO scope to it. I've even got a can on the way, but that'll be in jail for another month or so at this rate.

This is the first "modern" (i.e. not a Mauser) bolt gun I've ever bought myself.
 
#6 ·
I have the 77/22, and there were rough machined areas as well. Ruger metal can be very hard and tough, it may never smooth out on its own.
I used a small Hard Arkansas stone with oil, and smoothed the rough areas by sliding the stone along them. The stone removes very little material, it would be hard to cause any damage.
Upon doing that, the machine marks do not need to be removed, just that the stone slides smoothly.
It might be worth your time to read over what other have done to smooth up the various brands and rifle models.
I applied many tips on polishing and smoothing I found here. The results were worth the effort, my rough working rifle is now slick----with a little Aeroshell grease:bthumb:
 
#7 ·
I have a couple of Ruger semi-autos whose bolts had the zig-zag tooling marks. The rough surfaces were enough to cause ejection failures. I had to mill the tooling away and sand/polish the new surfaces. They're butter smooth and failure free now.

For a bolt or lever action gun, I wonder if filling the low areas of the tooling with some JB-Weld would clean up the action? I haven't read of anyone trying this, but it certainly would be easier than removing very hard steel.
 
#8 ·
I bought a Predator from Whittaker's a couple of weeks ago. Mine shoots pretty good so far. I'm very happy with it, though my minor beef is different than yours. I wish the scope base was longer, as it limits where you can place your scope pretty badly, and that may, or may not, be the right distance for your eyes/scope combo.

I can make it work, but I may have to swap out the cheekpiece to get it "perfect" for me. Other than that, it's pretty nice for what it is, and it shooting right with my two CZs at the moment.
 
#12 ·
After working the bolt on mine for awhile, I had to take a fine file to the under side of the bolt where there were some rough areas causing scraping. Didn't expect that from Ruger. Also the inside of the receiver, left side towards the back where 'rings' left from the machining. Depending on the angle of how I pushed the bolt home I could feel them. Sort of like an antique washboard, the kind used in jug bands! Other than that quite pleased with the rifle!
 
#13 ·
All of the surfaces on my RAR bolt were rough. Working the bolt felt like I was rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together. I worked it over with 1,000 grit paper and bore paste. It did take awhile but it is now smooth. I would like it if the rifle would extract. I called Ruger and they sent a new extractor. It worked for about 50 rounds and I am back to digging the spent rounds out of the chamber with a pocket knife. Yes, the chamber is clean. But then the front sight fell off because it had been installed incorrectly. I have gotten it down to about 1" groups by free floating the barrel and installing an aftermarket trigger. I am torn between calling Ruger again or just using the thing as a boat anchor. It has become the running joke at the range. Today I had another shooter offer me a nickel for it if I would give him change.
 
#15 ·
Rough Bolt

Time and "practice" should help but if you want to speed the process a bit I've used the following on a number of bolts, S&W innards, etc.
Dissolve some jewelers rouge in WD40, apply liberally to the bolt, pop a copy of Lonesome Dove in the VCR, and work the bolt till your arms ready to fall off.
Straight forward and back. Don't close it.
After the final credits clean all of the rouge off of bolt and out of the actions innards and re-lube with your oil of choice.
You may never get all of the red out, but shouldn't be a problem.
Good luck, and Happy Trails,
Rob
 
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