[CDN_SAFN]

Thanks for the reply wunhunglo. Ya, no kiddin' the handguard taking a leave of absence is a little disconcerting. With the rifle strapped tight in a shooting rest on a bench, it seems to jump about 2"... maybe a little less... off the rifle. Sometimes bending the sheet metal at the front inside of the guard where it meets up with the rifle. When assembled, there is a little play side to side at the barrel band where the 2 upper pieces meet, but not much. The fore end of the upper is tight, and no play lenghwise. It does this even with the gas port completely closed. I'll try your suggestion, but maybe I'll line the inside of the stock pieces with white cloth hockey tape and try a shot or 2 first to see if/what/where it's being marked, then go to the oil if I still can't see anything definitive.

As for your assumptions, they are to the best of my knowledge and abilities correct. I have done a side-by-side strip and comparison between my 8mm and 30-06, and aside from the 8mm barrel seems to be in slightly better condition than the 30-06, the components all SEEM to be in comparable condition. I've adjusted the gas sleeve from all the way open (as it was set at the time of purchase) to completely closed. The bolt does semi-cycle, but not enough to fully eject, though I have managed to get a partial-eject jam fairly regularly with the gas port fully closed with most types of ammo. As for binding, when I cycle the action manually, it feels very smooth, and comparably firm to the 30-06. I don't have a spring scale to give a proper measure of tension though. Is there another method I should try? I'm fully open to suggestions/guidance. As for lube, I'm using Hoppe's No.9. Again, if there is a different oil that '49s like better, I'm glad to switch. I'll gladly strip and clean it again (no harm in that), just to be sure.

As a side note, I bought this off the very few gunsmiths in the area. He had little interest in the gun since it was "Egyptian" and of "poor quality", so I got it at a good price. That tells you also about his knowledge of SAFN's, and how closely he looked at it. When I gave him a call about the problems, he again was really not interested in taking a look, and told me to buy a whole list of parts from Numrich, most of which are no longer in stock. The "throw parts at it until it works" approach. So basically, I don't have a local resource to have the problem fixed/looked into (that I'm aware of anyhow).

In the mean time, I'm wide open to suggestions, tricks, etc. Also parts sources, if need be. I'd really like to get this one working. It's not a show piece, but would be a great shooter and once reliability issues are worked out, maybe even a bit of hunting.

Thanks again!

....sorry about the "double-tap".
I didn't think the first message made it through.