Hard bolt lift on HOWA

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Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by reddog » 06 Oct 2013, 12:09 pm

Hi everyone , I was out shooting the other day and ran into a problem with my HOWA 223

I have extremely hard bolt lift , I initially thought it was my reloads but I don't think it is.

I can cycle a full magazine no worries ,when the rifle is cocked. But as soon as the rifle is fired the bolt lift is very hard I have to hammer it open with a bit of wood , as I said I thought it was my reloads but it is the same on an empty chamber?

Any ideas
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Hardcast » 06 Oct 2013, 12:43 pm

Doesn't sound good Reddog,
I'm not familiar with the Howa, but it sounds like a bent firing pin to me.

When the pin is forward, it is making the bolt tight.

Can you dismantle the bolt.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by reddog » 06 Oct 2013, 2:35 pm

Yeah easy to pull the bolt apart thanks Hardcast , I did that while we were out it seemed allright
though , but I'll have another look
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Monty » 06 Oct 2013, 5:10 pm

Reddog is on the money here.

All the initial bolt lift does in cock the firing pin. It's not doing anything to do with your cartridges yet.

If it cycles fine after the initial lift with or without ammo, you've got something going on in your bolt.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Grated » 06 Oct 2013, 5:16 pm

reddog wrote:But as soon as the rifle is fired the bolt lift is very hard I have to hammer it open with a bit of wood.


DIY gunsmithing at its finest there :P
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Lorgar » 06 Oct 2013, 5:23 pm

Blocked spring? Bent spring or firing pin? Something on the locking lugs?

Having to hammer it open is well beyond normal. I'd get someone to look at it for you before firing it again.

Definitely a rifle in need of some attention.
Last edited by Lorgar on 06 Oct 2013, 8:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by reddog » 06 Oct 2013, 7:12 pm

Thanks for the replies fellas I have the bolt pulled apart at the moment but i cant really see any problem with the firing pin
here we go with the diy gunsmithing again , I couldnt think of a way to really tell if it was bent or not so I stuck the firing pin
end in the battery drill and spun it and I could'nt really see much of a deviation mabey .5mm
do you think that would be enough?
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Vati » 06 Oct 2013, 7:53 pm

Wouldn't think a half mm off angle in the pin could provide that much resistance to cocking the bolt if you literally have to hammer it open.

When you say you had to hammer the bolt to get it to lift, do you mean as you bang the bolt it opens bit by bit, like it's getting stuck along the way?

Or when you bang it do you have to hit it so hard it opens in 1 go?

Definitely nothing blocking it in their? Nothing compressing the spring more than it should be? Grit or gunk in there?
Reach out and touch...
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by longrange1312 » 06 Oct 2013, 8:09 pm

One other long shot for you to look at is the face of the locking tabs. Are they smooth or feel like grit. What I have seen before in a mates rifle was when the case was fired it naturally expanded and fire formed to the chamber forcing all minimal space/movement out of the breech. The lugs on the bolt were slightly pitted from improper storage and the pitted surface bit into the lug guides, we nearly had to use a hammer to open that rifle.

Whatever the problem, I agree with my fellow shooters here, get it seen to before it explodes or you break the bolt handle.

Hope this helps
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Herdsman » 06 Oct 2013, 8:37 pm

longrange1312 wrote:Whatever the problem, I agree with my fellow shooters here, get it seen to before it explodes or you break the bolt handle.


An extra vote for this.

Get it looked at before you go cracking away at the bolt handle any more and damage something that will lead to disaster.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by reddog » 06 Oct 2013, 8:48 pm

Its hard enough to take a couple of really hard hits with your hand or a couple of half hits with the wood or copper hammer this morning, its just strange once it's it's cocked it's fine , pull the trigger and get out the hammer out :x
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by reddog » 06 Oct 2013, 10:14 pm

Well I have to confess it must have been caused by poor cleaning I soaked the bolt and firing pinin prepsol give them a good clean. I also gave the barrel face and locking lug area a good clean with tetra action blaster and a copper brush . Lubed up the firing pin and bolt put it back together , got the copper hammer ready , cocked and fired her and :D up come the bolt like normal, cycled and fired it another 30 times no worries : :oops: my fault.

I always thought I was pretty good at keeping my rifles clean but goes to show.

Thanks for the replies guys thanks for your help
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Monty » 07 Oct 2013, 6:49 am

Ha, after all that :P

Oh well. The important thing is you got it sorted.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Warrigul » 07 Oct 2013, 10:07 am

reddog wrote:Well I have to confess it must have been caused by poor cleaning I soaked the bolt and firing pinin prepsol give them a good clean. I also gave the barrel face and locking lug area a good clean with tetra action blaster and a copper brush . Lubed up the firing pin and bolt put it back together , got the copper hammer ready , cocked and fired her and :D up come the bolt like normal, cycled and fired it another 30 times no worries : :oops: my fault.

I always thought I was pretty good at keeping my rifles clean but goes to show.

Thanks for the replies guys thanks for your help


One of the worst offenders for bolt jamming is a ruptured primer, if part of the primer goes up the firing pin hole it can jam like blazes, unless you inspect every fired case you may not even realise you had a primer rupture. It can stick itself to the bolt next to the firing pin and be very hard to see.

If the bolt is dirty the piece of primer (or any rubbish really) gets held in the channel.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Norton » 07 Oct 2013, 3:15 pm

reddog wrote:I was out shooting the other day and ran into a problem with my HOWA 223


I know your problem is solved now, but out of curiosity...

When you say you 'ran into' the problem, did it suddenly happen? Or was the problem building for some time before finally becoming unworkable?

When was the last time the bolt got a clean? Did you drop it in something or was it years worth of build up?
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by reddog » 08 Oct 2013, 10:22 am

No it happened suddenly, I had a shot at a fox and did'nt eject the cartridge and passed it to my mate.
15 min down the track he went to have a shot at a cat and thats whenwe noticed it. I would have thought
I would have been able to see the piece causing the problem but I could'nt . I'm pretty certain it would have
been a piece of primer I have pierced the odd one before, I pull all my bolts down every 3 months and
give them a once over.Why do primers pierce sometimes?
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Warrigul » 08 Oct 2013, 10:31 am

reddog wrote:No it happened suddenly, I had a shot at a fox and did'nt eject the cartridge and passed it to my mate.
15 min down the track he went to have a shot at a cat and thats whenwe noticed it. I would have thought
I would have been able to see the piece causing the problem but I could'nt . I'm pretty certain it would have
been a piece of primer I have pierced the odd one before, I pull all my bolts down every 3 months and
give them a once over.Why do primers pierce sometimes?



One of:

Overloaded
Sharp or eroded firing pin
Excess pin protrusion
Excess pin/pin hole clearance (especially common when many converted their omarks to .223, thus many bolts needed to be bushed or a larger diameter pin sourced) which allows the primer to "flow" up the hole on firing.
Soft or thin primer
Sometimes just because.

Or a combination of two or three mild issues above.

I had real issues with a .223 target rifle due to heavy loading, excess pin clearance and soft primers. Factory loads were okay but as soon as I went to max loading(so I could stay supersonic at 900m) I had issues. Bench rest primers fixed the problem but I later had the bolt bushed to suit the pin and was able to go back to standard primers even with hot loads.


All that said I have a Howa stainless sporter in .223 and have never had an issue.


It should also be noted that I am not a gunsmith.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by reddog » 08 Oct 2013, 11:19 am

I have had it happen with factory loads in my .223.

Once with Hornady Superformance and a couple with Federal PowerShoks, I don't think I have had it happen with my reloads , mind you it does crater the primer a bit I am using Winchester brass , 24.8 gns of Benchmark 8208 , CCi 400 primers and Sierra 55gn SuperRoos.

This rifle is getting around the 1200 rd mark , so I don't think its a great deal to worry about ?

Different primer might be a bit harder?
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Warrigul » 08 Oct 2013, 12:22 pm

reddog wrote:I have had it happen with factory loads in my .223. Once with Hornady Superformance and a couple with

Federal PowerShoks, I don't think I have had it happen with my reloads , mind you it does crater the primer

a bit I am using Winchester brass , 24.8 gns of Benchmark 8208 , CCi 400 primers and Sierra 55gn SuperRoos

This rifle is getting around the 1200 rd mark , so I don't think its a great deal to worry about ?

Different primer might be a bit harder?


Funny that it is doing it with factory ammo but those two brands are moving pretty well.

I can't see the rifle or the case so I am only guessing really, cratering can be a worry if the rest of the primer is flat. Worst issue if it is commonplace is pitting on the boltface or danger to your health, the gases are meant to go out the end of the muzzle.

BR4 benchrest CCI primers eliminated my initial primer problems in my .223 for an extra $2 per 100, but was band aiding th problem really. Bushing the bolt eliminated them totally, is it worth it in your case? You are the judge of that but I am wary of exhaust gases even in a stoutly contructed Howa.

Personally I am rather fond of my eyes and always wear safety glasses in case of ruptured primers and cases etc but then I am not your mother.

Good luck and let us know how you go. I am interested.

Remember I am not a gunsmith nor an expert.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by redrum » 08 Oct 2013, 12:44 pm

Warrigul wrote:Personally I am rather fond of my eyes and always wear safety glasses in case of ruptured primers and cases etc. but then I am not your mother.


I've got to start wearing glasses at the range.

I'm not so worried about a rupture, but I always find my eyes are a little off afterwards because of the muzzle blast of my neighbours.

Constant puffs in the face of air or dust whatever each time they fire add up after an hour or two.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by reddog » 08 Oct 2013, 12:54 pm

The rest of the primer is pretty good , not extremely flattened. This rifle was sent away as part of the recall

but they only check the barrel witness marks anyway. I do have a little trouble seating primers ( it is the

most nerve racking job to do with reloading i think ) as in I think I have a bit of trouble getting them to

seat deep enough , I occasionally slightly dent the primer. I use a RCBS hand primer to seat my primers.

I suppose this is getting a bit of topic now and should be in the hand loading catagory
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by Lorgar » 08 Oct 2013, 1:56 pm

reddog wrote:I occasionally slightly dent the primer. I use a RCBS hand primer to seat my primers.


Shouldn't be an issue if it's very slight.

I have the RCBS hand priming tool too. I use Federal large rifle primers for my .308 and .243 and occasionally dent one.

It's a crescent shape imprint about 1/5th of a mm or so deep. Is this what you get also?

Never had a miss-fire or other issue from it though in either rifle.
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Re: Hard bolt lift on HOWA

Post by reddog » 08 Oct 2013, 2:22 pm

Yep thats the one , I dont think it a great problem though , as you say I've never had a misfire or anything else
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