Assuming your gunsmith is correct, hand-loading / neck-sizing only might get you there?
Ask your smithy what she/he thinks about that?

 

300 Savage still headspaces from the shoulder though.
Must be a 99 thing?
I'm sorry, I just don't know.

 

Gun smith I talked to stated that...over time the bore wore and the cartridge pushs down into the barrel causing the primer to be to far from the firing pin.

I'm thinking you either misheard what the gunsmith said or you need to look for a different gunsmith.

Wear does occur but it should be happening at the receiver where the bolt locks up, the rear of the bolt. When this happens excessive headspace can occur and that scenario is closer to what you say the gunsmith said. Headspace can be checked with a set of gauges.

There are several other things I would check before doing any barrel work. Barrel work will likely be several hundred dollars. Barrel work won't address any other issues that are present. The misfire issue needs to be diagnosed prior to any repairs.

 

Yea, not many old time gunsmiths left. Sounds to me like the guy doesn’t know anything about 99s but doesn’t want to admit it. Most claiming to be a gunsmith are just guys that wrench together ARs

 

Can you post pictures of a fired cartridge case head? Looking for a primer image.
In most guns, a cartridge of the incorrect size (loose in chamber) can fire because the extractor will hold cartridge case to bolt head.
I have a .30-30Win that has excessive headspace and will fire, and I have not had a miss-fire yet, but the brass case is deformed from this excessive headspace and easy to measure the deformity.
Have you inspected the firing pin? How much does it protrude from bolt face when pushed forward?
I don't know if the 99 is an Inertia firing system or not, but one can still push pin forward where hammer down on pin won't unless it flies forward on trigger pull.
I would also Clean bolt thoroughly.
I would be suspicious of someone giving a judgment like you got without a chamber cast.

 

Lets' measure some stuff first.
We can make harsh decisions later.

No hurry here on a forum. Slow and careful.

 

You need to find a better gunsmith. Throat erosion in the bore has no affect on headspace & your 99 was built to SAAMI specs. His "explanation" sounds like BS. Think about it! How can wear in the bore affect how the shoulder of the case fits in the chamber?????? OR, you didn't understand his analysis correctly. BTW, I've never heard of a "model 300 model 99".

 

BTW, I've never heard of a "model 300 model 99".

It's a 300 Savage chambering.
I agree...If that is what the GS said, get the gun to a good gunsmith, yours should not be messing with firearms!
The rear of the bolt 'locking' area (both bolt and receiver) are subject to wear, and is often found, but it takes a bunch of shooting!
Another headspace issue cause is on take down model 99's. Assembly and disassembly (a whole bunch of it) can cause wear on the interrupted thread arrangement (the take down feature) on both the barrel and receiver. When that is the cause, it is usually pretty apparent as the barrel will show varying degrees of 'wobble' when handling the rifle, mostly with forearm removed.
In my opinion, it would take a bunch of excess headspace to cause the firing pin to only on occasion fail to strike the primer. If it were a headspace issue, it should happen with more regularity.
I think you have a different problem. Most 99's are getting pretty far along in the years, with many not having had the best of regular maintenance. It may be a simple case of 'gunk' inside the action and/or bolt interior that is causing sluggish firing pin fall, give it a good, thorough cleaning first!
See it you can put a couple of thicknesses of paper (each about .003" - .004" thick) between the back of the bolt and the receiver and see if the lever will completely close the bolt....That will tell you a little a bout the headspace.
As has so many times been said on this and other forums, photos tell us a bunch when it comes to trying to assess a problem and provide answers and assistance. Take close photos of the bolt lock up and of the primers of both fired and failed to fire cartridge cases.

 

Definitely need a second competent opinion

 

It would take a bazzillion rounds to make a 99 that looseas the M99 action is very robust.

Having it reamed to .308 would mean you'd also need to either machine the rotary magazine or find one that fits .308's. Either could be cost prohibitive.

Loading your own and just neck sizing or partial full length resizing will eliminate the problem.

RJ

 

I've never heard of this happening. I had a Savage 99E in .300 that I sold when I was in a bind and I regret it. Very solid rifle. Your gunsmith is wrong.

 

The OP might want to read THIS before considering a re-bore to 308 Win.

 

C'mon, guys. How about someone suggests looking into the hammer spring? An ancient, fatigued hammer spring will fail to ignite primers, too, and it's EASY and CHEAP to check and fix as necessary compared to (inadvertently?) pushing someone toward barrel or bolt or receiver work.

 

Look to see if the primer had a good strike
Check case length before and after firing.
Use tape or paper behind the case to see how much free space it has.

 

Headspace is low on my list. Gunk and crud are high on the list, the mainspring as mentioned above, ammo too as well as a worn or damaged lever.

 

Especially given the OP's statement of:

have a model 300 savage model 99 that will misfire from time to time.

It's a lot more reasonable to suspect either spring issues, or protrusion issues.
It could be several things, but honestly if you read 95% of the "help me" posts here. The prime mover in malfunctions, are basic maintenance issues.


As recently as this past week, it was started that a person didn't want to shoot more than a few rounds per year; for fear of "wearing out" his barrel.... There isn't a single person on this forum that bought their primary vehicle, then refused to drive it because the tires would wear out.
How does that relate to this?
How many times have we read that someone disassembled their firearm, then as if by magic; were incapable of reassembly of what they just did. So without any ill judgment assigned, such a person likely uses the same cleaner as grandad. But how poor of a cleaner it may be, or how thorough they need to clean; is effectively always a mystery to them.
A weak mainspring, possibly also coated in ancient schmoo; is the low handing fruit to go after first.

Cheers

 

Strip down and do a deep clean, then go from there. Lots of guns never get a deep clean. They usually are only fired to check 0 and a few at game. Bore cleaned, wiped and put back in case till next year. The dissolved crud migrates to lowest point and solidifies. After years of this build up it will begin to short stroke, at first it won’t be every time. Then gun gets to point it won’t fire. Each make and model has its own weak points in relation to mechanics.

 

I keep forgetting, not everyone cleans as meticulous as the next guy. When I got my 99f back from my niece who had it safely stored under her bed . . . . . . I had to do a deep clean with carb and choke cleaner after a complete and total teardown including the rotary magazine and spring assembly.

ANYWAYS

I often wonder if Grampa maybe cleaned as good as he could with what he had when "light machine oil" was b'ar grease and "cleaning solvent" was most likely "coal oil". Growing up Hoppe's #9 was the best there was and while it worked as good as the best and better than the rest, sadly, it wasn't very good when compared to what's out there now.

Anyways

RJ

 

Kerosene and a paint-brush can bring a lot of them back to life if your just fighting belly-button lint in the mechanism.
Lasers, ultra-sonic, and artificial intelligence seem to be faster though!

Lots of good old guns get left under the seat of a pickup truck, or leaned in the corner of the back porch.

"Neglect" is often the culprit.
Can brush your teeth, or not.
Is a choice!

 

I keep forgetting, not everyone cleans as meticulous as the next guy. When I got my 99f back from my niece who had it safely stored under her bed . . . . . . I had to do a deep clean with carb and choke cleaner after a complete and total teardown including the rotary magazine and spring assembly.

ANYWAYS

I often wonder if Grampa maybe cleaned as good as he could with what he had when "light machine oil" was b'ar grease and "cleaning solvent" was most likely "coal oil". Growing up Hoppe's #9 was the best there was and while it worked as good as the best and better than the rest, sadly, it wasn't very good when compared to what's out there now.

Anyways

RJ

post #23, i can still remember the black gunk that came out of my barrel!!!!

Barrel Life | Page 2 | Shooters Forum

C'mon, guys. How about someone suggests looking into the hammer spring? An ancient, fatigued hammer spring will fail to ignite primers, too, and it's EASY and CHEAP to check and fix as necessary compared to (inadvertently?) pushing someone toward barrel or bolt or receiver work.

you should have seen how bad the bolt was on my 30-40 Krag.

 

I would measure the difference between a un fired case and a fired case from the same lot number. More than a few thousands means the head space is out of spec
Take very close look at the primer and see if it has a good strike on the miss fired case.
How old is the ammo you are using?
Is it a reload?
I would check if the pins are sloppy on the bolt.
Precision reloaders case length for a .002 free play for expansion when firing. Put clear plastic tape on the primer end and see how many pieces it takes to make it harder to close the bolt down on it. I dont mean to force it, just feel the difference. Shouldn't be much more than a few. The tape is about. 002"
This will be a quick check to see if the "gunsmith" idea could be correct.

 

I think the first step is a check with the Go-No Go- Field gauges. If the rifle passes, then it's next to the deep clean and parts inspection. The cleaning will reveal the problem if headspace is not the issue.

 

if you reload, headspace isn't an issue, if that turns out to be the problem. By sizing the case with the shoulder further forward, you can correct the headspace issue if needed.