I hoping a few of you have had the following experience and can give an easy solution.... I load a round into the chamber, fire it off, but when I cycle the action, it sticks... the lever will not pull back. I'm a fairly decent sized guy, and it take some serious force to bring it back. Its a simple bolt action, and i've got a few theories about whats going on, but none on how to fix it... any ideas?

I just the post that Chief RID started... I'm going to try doing some serious cleaning, as well as some different ammo... hopefully one or both will help..

Their getting stuck in the chamber?? Have you managed to get a case out of the chamber...if so, take a good look at it and inspect for any signs of over stress. The case might be expanding so much that its grabbing the chamber walls and getting stuck...are these handloads or factory ammo? Whens the last time you cleaned the gun?

What particular gun are we talking about here , may narrow down the possible causes?

Whatever it is - STOP!!!

If using factory ammo, be sure it's the proper ammo for the rifle.

If using reloads, resizing, over-all-length of cartridge, load composition of components all factor into proper chambering and pressure.

What you're experiencing is overpressure loads.

As requested above, a description of the firearm, the chambering marked on it and what you're using for ammo would be most helpful in figuring out the problem.

PLEASE do not fire the rifle again until either going to a gunsmith or providing more details.

Thanks for the replies... i did a good cleaning in the throat, and that cleared the problem up... i maybe didn't describe the problem correctly, but the bolt itself wasn't pulling out... i don't know why... its a savage .223 with factory loads, and yes its the right ammo, unfortunatly i understand why you had to ask. As far as cleaning, i just got the gun used and it seemed that the previous owner didn't spend a lick of time taking care of thing, so i cleaned it before i ever fired it... i must not have done a good enough job however... as i said all is well now... thanks again...