Tuning Benjamin Fortitude bolt loose?

Speaking of using what I have on hand. Anyone who owns a Fortitude knows that the cheek rest is really low for a gun that requires a scope.

Here is my cheap fix. Duct tape and pipe insulation tubing. As the LOP is VERY short I also added a store bought butt pad to lengthen that a little over an inch, I think, but I wish it were a bit more for me. Not to mention that the original butt material was slippery and made it VERY hard to hold the gun steady to my shoulder, especially with the original low cheek weld. The slip on butt pad fixed the slipping and almost fixed the LOP. The cheek rest fix is perfect, if not pretty.

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Not pretty, but it works well and has since I first owned the AG. (grin)

p.s.

Also did the duct tape fix for the barrel band shroud support. That one should not be necessary... but it is if I want consistent accurate/precise groups with the Fortitude.


That looks so comfy.

Don't you get sleepy with your cheek riding on it?

Lol!
 
A BB and retractable pen spring cut to size would do. (Smirk!)


Just make sure the BB is no more than .173 and the spring is no more than 1/2 inch, + or - a micron or 2... or it will be ARMAGEDDON! Especially if you forget the LUBERCATION!

Lubercation... LOL!

(chuckle)

I would agree. On the Prod/Fortitude breech, there is not much room from the top of the dovetail to the bolt barrel. Getting a short spring, ball, and set-screw in there might be a challenge. It is a good solution though, and crosman used it on the Mrod.

FWIW: The Fortitude breech is very similiar to Prod. It is slightly taller to fit the larger diameter Mrod shroud, front breech screws in different location, and no machining to allow for left side bolt install. I think the bolt lug is slightly longer, but would have to check notes.

This problem can exist on the 1701, 1720, Prod and Fortitude breeches. It is a matter of machined tolerances. Most of the time, some moly grease on the main bolt barrel will add enough drag that the bolt won't fall back when you turn it upside down. You might try that when you replace the insulation. It will take more clean-up to adheare the tape, though.

The O-ring on the back of the bolt works well too. :)




 
A BB and retractable pen spring cut to size would do. (Smirk!)


Just make sure the BB is no more than .173 and the spring is no more than 1/2 inch, + or - a micron or 2... or it will be ARMAGEDDON! Especially if you forget the LUBERCATION!

Lubercation... LOL!

(chuckle)

I would agree. On the Prod/Fortitude breech, there is not much room from the top of the dovetail to the bolt barrel. Getting a short spring, ball, and set-screw in there might be a challenge. It is a good solution though, and crosman used it on the Mrod.

FWIW: The Fortitude breech is very similiar to Prod. It is slightly taller to fit the larger diameter Mrod shroud, front breech screws in different location, and no machining to allow for left side bolt install. I think the bolt lug is slightly longer, but would have to check notes.

This problem can exist on the 1701, 1720, Prod and Fortitude breeches. It is a matter of machined tolerances. Most of the time, some moly grease on the main bolt barrel will add enough drag that the bolt won't fall back when you turn it upside down. You might try that when you replace the insulation. It will take more clean-up to adheare the tape, though.

The O-ring on the back of the bolt works well too. :)




Another thought LIGHT BULB TIME is to add a slip over weighted heavy.Metal ball.maybe epoxied over the OEM bolt handle ball.just to add dead weight and use old fashioned gravity to keep the ball hanging low. (Hah!)
 
Stainless steel or heavier brass.

https://www.swmanufacturing.com/parts-catalog/knobs/ball-knobs/

Thread the OEM bolt probe to match threads to screw/locktite these balls right in or drill these balls and JB Weld or epoxy over the bolt handle.

Might have to put a little upward bend to the handle if it touches the stock in the home position.

I would check ACE Hardware or other hardware store locally for this...saves shipping and waiting.

https://www.antiquelampsupply.com/nickel-plated-brass-ball-choice-of-dia-and-tap.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA5bz-BRD-ARIsABjT4nh0E-ahFUn7NPcOMyO-5tkNyfQr2g8jCQfYsgIKH9PPMKyeUp7GtgQaAkxmEALw_wcB

Probably use over the Disco Maximus 1720T 1701P P-Rod 2240 1322. 2300S-T and what not. Maybe even other brand gun bolt handles prone to popping up when fired .just for the added weight to have them stay down when firing like how Brocock fixed their problem.


 
FWIW: The bolt handle is one piece and is pressed into the bolt. Before the fortitude came along, I made 177 bolts from the prod one. It takes some heat, twisting, and grunting.

There is room for a larger ball with the oem stock. It would be an issue with some Boyd's stocks. Going to need get that red hot to bend that bolt.

I think for the OP, funtion and easy mod trumps everything else. ;)


 
Best way I have found to fix this is to drill and tap a hole in the top of the breech. Put a small piece of an o-ring in the hole and then a set screw. Screw the set screw down until the bolt behaves as you would like it to.

I would just drill that hole a little bigger not all the way through and tap it and run a ball bearing and spring chased with a grubscrew to adjust tension and drill a dimple in the correct timed bolt closed home and handle down position.

I would think the o-ring may get eaten-pulled out by the bolt after it wears and bind the bolt probe after it falls completely through.


A spring and a bearing would be very good indeed but often there is not enough meat on the breech to do that. Sooo you can drill the bolt and put the spring and bearing in it instead.

After over a thousand rounds the o-ring stayed put and did not give me any problems. I kept the bolt oiled up so there was never any wear to speak of.
 
Oh they’re pretty. Ha ha I just went in and grab my fortitude and actually the bolt is pretty decent on it.It’s actually the maximus that the bolt jumps up on it when I shoot.I haven’t shot those guns in a while Because I’ve gotten some new ones lately and have been playing with them. But I was going by memory and it’s not as good as it used to be. Getting older
 
Just an update to some of the things I did and said in this thread. I meant to post about these things here sooner, but forgot... sorry.

The loose bolt fix I came up with did not satisfy nor last. I ended up using a hair "rubber band" borrowed from a neighbor with 2 young girls. Works flawlessly!

Also, I mentioned a duct tape "fix" for the barrel band. Scratch that. The shroud was touching the barrel band when it came from the factory. The "tape fix" simply made sure that the barrel was NOT free floating and caused POI changes as the pressure went down in the pressure tube. I adjusted the barrel band until the barrel was truly free floating and now am getting less than 1 MOA groups from 10 to 60 yards. (I was already getting 1 MOA groups WITH the stupid tape "fix", but could not explain the changes in POI/flyers.) 

Well, I was getting that at 60 yards until my 60 yard shot access was cut off by a new neighbor and his new privacy fence. Oh well, I can still "pest" out to about 40 yards, but mostly my shots are between 10 and ~35 yards. Sub MOA using CPUM 10.5 pellets. Also, the stock is so weak/flimsy that if I rest it on the end of the stock where the shoulder strap ring is located, the pressure tube WILL make contact with the shroud and cause a POI shift. So now I only rest the gun back near the trigger. Around where the pressure gauge and stock screw are located.

This inexpensive regulated AG shoots very good once you understand the various problems.

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Head shot at night without NV - Benjamin Fortitude Gen2 .177, ~755fps, ~12-13fpe, ~20 yards

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