Discussion Forums

Andy Hrelja

Morning all,

So, I've got myself a Howa .308 and been reading Nathan's books (didn't realise there was so much involved with this business!!) and really enjoying it and learning heaps. The rifle has had maybe 30 shots through it up to now but I decided to start following the steps in the books to accurize it, with one of the first steps being to lap the locking lugs. And yes, as per Nathan's comments about Howas in one of his books, they were quite a bit out. Took quite a while to get them even. However, what started happening right from the get go is that the constant working of the bolt rubbed the bluing off many parts of the bolt itself (I can't figure out how to attach photos otherwise I would here). It was mostly on the parts of the bolt in contact with metal as it's rotated. Basically either end of the ejection port location. I was extremely diligent to make sure the lapping compound only went on the lugs and cleaned everything between cycles.

My question / concern is, does any of this have a negative effect on anything other than just the look of the bolt? Have I ruined / broken anything?

Thanks in advance for any input or feedback :)