.473" Bolt Face

[Dinny]

Has anyone tried using a .473" bolt face for a Grendel project? While talking to Greg Tannel recently he mentioned it might work fine. Extraction could be an issue depending on type of extractor or action.

Anyone with some experience care to share?

I really like my Kimber Hunter 6.5 CM, just wish it were a Grendel.

Thanks, Dinny

[A5BLASTER]

All you can do is try it. If it doesn't work I'm sure a good Smith could bush the bolt face and bam working grendel bolt.

I think it's harder to get the mag lined out and working correctly then it is to bush a bolt face after talking too my smith.

[HokeyPokeyKid]

I have seen a 7.62x39 work on a 308 bolt face in a savage short action before. Extraction was ok, but we still modified the extractor a little to get more grab on the rim.

[JASmith]

I tried that in a project with my Savage Model 16. Extraction was unreliable because the extractor claw did not completely engage the rim.

My solution was to use the PPC bolt head on the Savage.

I don't know if Kimber has a PPC / 7.62x39 bolt face but your GS can get you a claw that reaches further into the rim.

[FW Conch]

When I first put the Grendel barrel on My Savage short action I used the .473 bolt head for quite a while. It always worked well. As with all My builds, it is a single loader. I got the 7.62 x 39 bolt face & extractor when I bought the barrel, but didn't install it until I got another bolt assembly from Midway. Now I can just swap bolts if I should decide to go back the other way.

[bj139]

I have manually fed 6.8 SPC cases (.422" diameter) through an AR-15 using a 7.62x39 bolt (.441" diameter) and they fed fine.
The extractor gets a good bite on the case head.