Just wanted to solicite some opinions. I just purchased a Savage 10gxp in 7mm-08.. I was at the range with that and my Winchester M70 Shadow in 30.06. I paid the same price (almost) for each rifle new (Winchester was a little more). I noticed that when cycling the bolt action to eject the spent shell the savage was real, and i mean real rough.. so rough it almost dropped the rifle a few times working it loose. the M-70 is like butter. I can cycle that without barely moving off the target. Now i know some may say "well, it's a savage and you have to expect that". maybe so.. but i would like to know if there is something i can do to make that action smoother or will it just take some time to work it in.. The M70 was smooth from the get go. Any opinions or has anyone else noticed this with Savage bolt action guns?

Is the rifle only rough wne unlocking the bolt after firing a round, or does it feel rough all of the time? What about if you simply cycle cartridges through the action without firing them?

If the bolt is hard to open only after firing a cartridge, your rifle might be incorrectly headspaced, or your chamber dimensions too tight or bore undersized causing high pressures.

If the bolt is just rough all of the time, You can try putting a small amount of grease on the bolt body- this even makes slick bolts slide like wet ice. If its just a matter of rough machining on the locking lugs, you can try putting a tiny bit of fine graphite powder on the locking surfaces, otherwise you could have a gunsmith lap the locking lugs to thereceiver and reset the headspace - which is pretty easy to do on a Savage rifle.

actually its rough ejecting but i tried it otherwise and it seems to be rough all the time. Not nearly as smooth as it should be IMO.. I will try the grease you mentioned and see if i can get it to work loose a little. thanks.

If you take the bolt and cycle it open and closed several times it will make it a lot smoother.