Question about stock Saiga-12 bolt action

[Reacher 14]

I am getting my new S-12 closer to what I would consider "broken in" and was working the action before and after cleaning this weekend. One thing I noticed that I wanted to ask about was how smooth the bolt and carrier should be as they go into full battery.

 

With the recoil spring out and working a clean action by hand, I notice that the carrier hits a little bit of resistance just before the bolt starts to lock (maybe 1/2" remaining in travel). Looking from the bottom side into the mag well I can see that the chamfer on the bottom bolt lug is just making contact with the groove in the receiver which then causes the bolt to rotate clockwise and lock.

 

My question: Should this rotation initiation cause the felt resistance in the bolt carrier motion or is this something that needs to be tuned out or worn in?

[saiga 12 power 31]

mine does the same thing. i just figured with spring pressure and the violent action of recoil that was plenty to make everything work. i would also imagine that in time it will get smoother

[Hexus535 14]

I noticed the same on my new S12. With the spring in place, is the hang-up strong enough for you to leave the bolt in this out of battery position? I think it might wear in on its own over time.

[Reacher 14]

The spring is strong enough to overcome the hesitation. My thinking was that if you are trying to operate the gun on a minimal gas setting, the bolt may not recoil as far as on a higher gas setting. With the bolt not moving as far, the spring pressure will not be as great so a FTF would be a greater possibility with that hesitation in the bolt carrier.

 

I have never seen a gun with a Pauly GlassBolt or CSS treatment. For those that have them, can you confirm that you still get this hesitation as the bolt starts to rotate?