Thread: CZ452 stiff bolt

I have never seen a CZ452 so this might not be applicable, but i've had the same issue on a rifle i had and it was the front action screw over torqued & the when working the bolt it rode over the screw and was hard to operate smoothly.

Might be way off the mark having never seen one but just an idea

Is it hard to close the bolt when not chambering a round, or is it hard to close regardless.

It's harder to close when chambering a round

I reckon you’ll find that you’ll have a small slither of lead that’s come off a live round when chambering, it’s fallen in to the action somewhere and had galled. Making it super average to cycle. I’d get some boretech rimfire blend and get that into there to soak. Tight chambers often slice off bits of lead causing issues

Been dry firing it?
Don't suppose it has a small burr on the lip of the chamber although that might Makena small sliver of lead as mentioned previously itbon its own wouldn't make the bolt stiff to turn down.
What does your cases look like after being in there, fired and unfired?

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Been dry firing it?
Don't suppose it has a small burr on the lip of the chamber although that might Makena small sliver of lead as mentioned previously itbon its own wouldn't make the bolt stiff to turn down.
What does your cases look like after being in there, fired and unfired?

Haven't been dry firing it.
I'll have a look later

We noticed after a couple of hundred rounds that wax build up made the bolt stiffer to operate. A good barrel clean and it was perfect. Tight chamber and fine tolerance so fouling will be noticeable after some use. As mentioned a good clean and it functions perfectly.

If I give the bore a good soak in hoppes no.9 it should do the trick shouldn't it?

Cant harm it. Might take a few rounds to settle down after tho

Originally Posted by Brad S

It's harder to close when chambering a round

And what about when there is no round?, is it difficult at all or smooth.

Originally Posted by longshot

And what about when there is no round?, is it difficult at all or smooth.

Still a little tight, but probably how it's supposed to be

Originally Posted by Brad S

Still a little tight, but probably how it's supposed to be

I wouldn't put up with a tight bolt/action on a .22LR.

Warning: I've never seen what I'm about to recommend to you done to stiff bolts/actions by anyone else. I came upon this method myself and have successfully used it on six .22LR rifles - 3x JW-15s, 2x CZ 452s and 1x Anschutz 1450.

Some on this forum might say not to do this method...but it works for me and my .22s... so up to you if you follow my advice.

1 - clean all the factory grease/lube off the outside of the bolt and inside of the action with brake cleaner and a rag.
2 - cover the outside of the bolt with the top portion of this tube paste (a black coarse abrasive). Make sure you put it on the base of the bolt handle as well. That surface engages with the receiver when you close the bolt to lock it in place.

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/d...46/656180.html

3 - Sit down in front of the TV and work the bolt (open and close) about 100 times (probably best when no one else is watching TV ).
4 - Clean the paste off the action and bolt and then put the fine white abrasive on the other side of the tube over the bolt and action.
5 - Work the bolt again for another 100x.

6 - Clean it all off again (esp any that has made it into the chamber).
Result = smooth as silk bolt operation.

Yeah, that is a way. What it is doing is lapping the contact points, or marginally removing material. Some cheaper actions don't have good heat treatment, especially older ones and have a thin hard skin on the lug engagement areas and the like. There are actions that do benefit from this treatment, but my personal method is a lot more careful and I do one small area at a time and work the bolt a few times and then wipe off and check. What I usually find is that by starting on the rougher and worst looking areas and working progressively through the less rough parts you very quickly get to a point where the improvement is noticeable and you haven't removed much metal at all. It's very hard to put it back haha.

On the CZ, I'm not sure if this would help with what is being described - I would be suspecting that the cause is either some crap or a chunk loafing somewhere that is fouling something OR there is some fouling in the chamber or throat that is making it hard to shove the next round in. I'm wondering if a decent brushing with a good bronze brush, a good carbon solvent and a quality brush with a bore guide will sort it?

Originally Posted by Brad S

Still a little tight, but probably how it's supposed to be

Then unless it is a combination of two seperate problems (one being a foreign body or burr in the workings of the bolt/reciever), then it looks like an issue in the chamber, probably a build up of carbon or other shooting muck.

Have you tried chambering then ejecting a live round and comparing it to a fresh one to observe if there is compression of the projectile or scraping of the cartridge?

Another option is to just try chambering some other types of .22 and see if they fit. Some target .22 rifles struggle to chamber or extract some types of .22 ammo.

Thanks for your input team. I'll sit down with the .22 this weekend and have another read through all this and see if I can sort it