Light Primer Strikes - Colombian Mauser

[Tilheyra]

Update: I have added photos! ...that won't rotate the way I want them to...

Now that the ammo concern for my Colombian Mauser is resolved, I find myself bringing up another concern. During the same range session that confirmed I can use readily-available commercial ammo with the Mauser, I discover issues with light primer strikes. This post is a bit long, but I want to be as detailed as possible, so anyone who may have some advice can know what I did to try and resolve the issue.

The issue showed itself upon my first time pulling the trigger on the Mauser with a live round in the chamber. It was unexpected as it seemed to work properly the times I dry fired the gun, so it was upsetting to not have the round fire. After waiting to see if it was a hang fire (it was not), I opened the bolt and removed the round, only to find a divot in the primer from the firing pin. I then tried to fire the round again, but to no avail. Upon inspecting the round, the divot appeared ever so slightly larger on one side, indicating the firing pin once again made contact. Then, to see if the round was defective, I put it in my other 30-06 bolt action and the round fired when I pulled the trigger.

I kept trying with the Mauser a few more times, only to get the same light primer strikes (4 light strikes in a row on one round). I then put the bolt on safe, took it out of the action, and took off the 'bolt shroud' (not sure of the term) to check the spring and firing pin. Nothing looked amiss other than some gunk, so I wiped it off with a paper towel, reassembled the bolt, and put it back in the gun. I put a new round in the chamber, turned the safety to the off position, aimed, pulled the trigger, and it finally fired!

Thinking the issue was resolved, I put another round in, closed the bolt, aimed, and pulled the trigger, but got another light primer strike. This is when I thought manipulating the safety might have something to do with the gun firing, even though the safety had always been off when I pulled the trigger. Thus, I recocked the bolt, flicked the safety on, flicked the safety back off, aimed, pulled the trigger, and it fired again! I filled the magazine full, and did the safety trick each time, resulting in all rounds firing! Then, I tried not doing the safety trick on an additional round, with the light primer strike happening again. Finally, happy that I found some way to shoot the gun, I shot the rest of the ammo I brought by performing the safety trick each time. Every round fired when doing the safety trick!

What I can conclude from all of this is there is something about flicking the safety on and off that gives the firing pin the extra 'oomph' needed to properly strike the primer. I doubt this is an intentional design feature, so I am at a loss about how to resolve this, aside from doing a thorough bolt cleaning and maybe replacing the firing pin spring (I have yet to do either). What is interesting is that the safety on this Mauser is different than other Mausers. There is no third position that locks up the action, only the up position that prevents the firing pin from moving forward, and of course, the off position. I wonder if this was a modification made by the Colombian military, or if this was a modification made in its post-service life.

The guy I bought the gun from has an excellent reputation in the local gun community, so I don't think he knew about this issue when he sold me the Mauser. He said he fired the gun himself, but I don't know how long ago that was. I'll ask his opinion on how I might fix the issue, but I do want to make it clear I am still happy about my purchase! I am happy I finally have a Mauser!

What do you all think about the issue? Do you have any recommendations on what I may do to fix this issue?

 

[BigBill]

Does the bolt number match the serial number on the receiver?
Did you check the headspace?
Did you completely disassemble the bolt, lightly lube it?
No third movement on the safety lever? Puzzled. Are you sure the bolt is assembled till the safety housing bottoms. This tells me something was changed and not fitted.

Go to Gunboard’s.com and ask in the Mauser section.

 

[Tilheyra]

Does the bolt number match the serial number on the receiver?
Did you check the headspace?
Did you completely disassemble the bolt, lightly lube it?
No third movement on the safety lever? Puzzled. Are you sure the bolt is assembled till the safety housing bottoms. This tells me something was changed and not fitted.

Go to Gunboard’s.com and ask in the Mauser section.

There is no clear number on the bolt. The bolt handle has a 2 visible just after the curve (there are a few other lines that appear to be from ground/rubbed off numbers/letters, but I can't make out what the numbers/letters might be). The serial number on the receiver does not have a 2 in it. My assumption is the bolt number does not match the serial number.

The headspace was checked when I purchased it, and while I can't remember the exact words, I know the headspace was not a safety concern.

Disassembling the bolt at the range was the first time I did so. I plan to take the shroud off the bolt to give it a cleaning and some lube. Should I disassemble it beyond that?

I did make sure to screw the housing/shroud back on the bolt as far as it would go, so unless I am misunderstanding you, the bolt is assembled to where the safety housing bottoms. I have not taken anything else apart on the bolt.

I'll get on gunboards.com and ask.

 

[gregintenn]

Install a new firing pin spring.

 

[M E Morrison]

Install a new firing pin spring.

second that - suggest an extra power spring from Wolff

 

[boatbum101]

Take bolt apart & really clean all of it . Pay attention to the interior
&especially firing pin channel . Probably got some old dried out grease & crud in there . Mike firing pin to make sure it's correct size , length & tip condition . Inspect bolt face ,extractor & firing pin hole . If unsure take bolt to a gunsmith . Install a new Wolff Extra Power Firing Pin spring . Lightly lube & reassemble . Hopefully that problem will be solved .

 

[BB57]

Assuming it still has all the parts it was manufactured with, and/or reworked with by an armorer, the problem is most likely 1 of 2 things:

1) Dirt and hardened grease and oil is preventing the striker from getting full movement; or

2) The recoil spring has aged to the point that it no longer has the same working range it used to have.

So...as noted above clean the inside of the bolt including the firing pin hole, safety, shroud, and interior of the bolt where the striker resides as well as the spring and the striker to remove all the old grease and gunk. Relube it with a lightweight oil and try it again.

If that doesn't work, order a new firing pin spring.

DO NOT get an "extra power" spring. More power isn't needed if the rest of it is right. If something else is wrong, more power isn't the correct fix. More power will however increase the potential for a broken striker.

Gotta love the internet folks who think they understand how bolt action rifles work better than Peter Paul Mauser.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Replacement spring Yes, EXTRA POWER no!

Ivan

 

[gregintenn]

A lot of Mausers have aged past 100 years old, and have seen a lot of use. A weak spring isn’t exactly uncommon under those circumstances.

 

[minconrevo]

There is a good chance an older military rifle was stored in cosmoline. If it's in the bolt it will often cause light primer strikes, especially in cold temps.

An old school method for making cosmoline soaked firearms more easily cleaned is to remove the stock. Then put in metal parts in a dark plastic bag, chuck it on your closed vehicle dash on a hot day. After a few hours promptly clean (disassembled) in kerosene or Diesel. May need to use some regular gun cleaner after that to get the last vestiges of the old cosmoline fully gone.

 

[LVSteve]

Lots of old bolt guns are stored with the bolt cocked. Leave them like that for 20-30 years and the spring may not behave as new any more.

A thorough cleaning with something to loosen/remove cosmoline won't hurt either.

 

[Gene L]

Install a new firing pin spring.

I'm not a gunsmith and I know less about Mausers, but wouldn't a weak firing pin spring give a deeper indention rather than a light strike? Isn't it's purpose to retract the striker after firing, not to increase power on the forward motion.

Could be the firing pin channel is clogged up.

 

[Fishinfool]

I agree with the above who state a good cleaning and a new FP spring. Another thought, I wonder if the wing safety might be rubbing against the striker, causing the issue, and re-positioning the safety before firing alleviates the issue?

Gene - On a Mauser, the firing pin spring is compressed when cocked, and pulling the trigger releases the firing pin forward. Heavier the spring, harder the impact. On a gun with a frame mounted firing pin, like say a newer model S&W, where the firing pin is hit with a hammer face, then yes, a stiffer firing pin spring might reduce the firing pins impact.

Larry

 

[gwpercle]

The interior of your bolt is probably caked with decades old hardened grease , you are not going to wipe it off with a paper towel .
Disassemble the bolt , soak it in something that will dissolve hardened cosmoline ( Acetone , Brake Cleaner etc.) keep soaking and scrubbing out bolt body use a brass bore brush , until all traces of hardened grease are removed ... it's stopping the firing pin from traveling all the way forward .
If this doesn't cure the problem ... then start looking for a spring or longer firing pin replacement ...but cleanig first is important .
Gary

 

[Bill Bates]

I'll go with others; deep clean the bolt, lightly lubricate and reassemble. I've seen plenty of old surplus bolt action suffer the same problem especially when outside temperatures drop.

 

[BB57]

I'm not a gunsmith and I know less about Mausers, but wouldn't a weak firing pin spring give a deeper indention rather than a light strike? Isn't it's purpose to retract the striker after firing, not to increase power on the forward motion.

Could be the firing pin channel is clogged up.

if you take the bolt out and play with it - i.e. rotate the shroud so that the striker is now in the forward "just been fired" position - you'll notice the firing pin protruding from the bolt face. It doesn't retract until the bolt is rotated with the cocking handle to open the breech.

It's not at all like most handguns, where the firing pin is either free floating or held all the way aft by a spring, ensuring it gets a full blow from the hammer.

 

[2152hq]

That 2 position Safety isn't right.

Someone has modified either the safety,,the safety notch in the striker,,or both.

The sear either on the bolt or the trigger might well have been shortened.
This happens when someone plays with those engagement surfaces to try and get a better trigger pull.
They may be successful in getting a sligtly better let-off. But taking matrl of either of both engagement points alters the exact position the striker sits when cocked.
That position is important because if it is altered,,the Safety cannot swing from the OFF position to the Safe or the Lock positions.
The notch in the striker is too far forward at that point becasue of the sear alteration(s).

What's done next to correct the Safety problem is to alter the nub on the Safety spindle that does the engagement with the striker.
It's ground away till it just barely fit into the slot in the striker when rotated and holds it in the Safe position.
There's not enough material to remove to make it rotate the next step to the Locked position.
So you end up with a 2 position Safety.

When the Safety is placed in the Safe position (straight up),,does the striker/cocking piece of the bolt cam backwards a short amt.?
It should, and you should be able to easily see it do so as the safety is engaged.
That is also a safety feature in the MAuser. The Manual Safety is camming the striker with it's sear surface completely off of the trigger sear surface when on Safe.
When the Safety is re-engaged, the two surfaces are cleanly re-set against each other once again.
While the bolt is in the SAFE condition, you should be able to pull the trigger and fell NO trigger sear to bolt sear surface engagement at all. The are or should be disconencted.

Altering the Safe and sear surfaces often negates this feature and pulling the trigger with the Safe engaged will drop the trigger sear and NOT allow it to re-engage the striker sear.
Then when the Safe is take OFF,,the rifle will fire by itself or with an extremely light trigger pull.

I would disassemble the bolt striker assembly completely.
You should be able to see w/o doing that if any slipshod work has been done to the striker sear surface. Factory machining is extremely flat, square and clean.
Apart, you can check the safety and it's spindle for alteration, grinding, ect.
Take the bbl'd action out of the wood and check the trigger and it's sear out. Simple one pin, one coil spring.
Again check the sear edge for grinding or alteration work.

While everything is apart do a deep cleaning on the bolt assembly and action.
Old grease and encrusted dirt can slow these down for sure.

Make sure the 2 opposed firing pin flutes at the front of the pin are seating OK in their appropriate slots. Those are intended to make sure the rifle does not fire unless the bolt is fully closed

 

[Tilheyra]

After a lengthy discussion with some of the members of the Mauser forum on Gunboard, I was told my bolt was not closing completely (from showing them a photo of the bolt and action itself that I had not shown here), so that may be what is causing the light primer strike issue. The stock itself was preventing the bolt handle from completing its throw downward, thus preventing the bolt itself from completely closing. The recommended solution to that was to shave off some of the wood on the stock from under the bolt handle.

I was able to make this alteration yesterday by using the drum sanding attachment on my Dremel and running it on the lowest speed. I took a cue from modern bolt action rifles that have a narrow channel for the bolt handle in the side of the stock. That way I minimized the amount of wood I needed to removed. I sanded some wood off, checked the bolt and bolt handle, and repeated that until the bolt would close completely. I had been told that the third (right) position on the safety might work again when the bolt closed. Sure enough, the third position on the safety is now working again! Just as it should, the action is locking up with the safety in this third position, and pulling the trigger does not allow the gun to dry fire.

I won't be able to go to the range and test the gun for about another week, so we'll have to see if this alteration solves the issue. In the mean time, I have not yet taken the bolt apart to do a thorough cleaning, so I will do that prior to shooting the rifle again. In terms of next steps, if the light primer strike issue persists despite my alterations, the firing pin spring and then firing pin are next on the list for replacement. I don't think the safety needs repair at this point, but I do plan to check to see if it works properly when I go to the range next. This will involve me having a live round in the chamber when doing so, thus I will be making sure the rifle is pointing down range and properly shouldered when I check. Finally, regardless of other repairs I may make, I need to seal/stain that bare part of the stock resulting from my alteration.

The first photo is the one that made a member on Gunboard inform me that my bolt was not closed completely (in their own words "I can see the bolt isn't fully closed from how high the bolt guide rib is behind the extractor"). The other photos show the alteration I made to the stock.

 

[Tilheyra]

Also, I was given information that scraps my thought of the rifle being manufactured by FN. Showing that forum the photo attached to this post (which refuses to rotate to my preferred position), I was told the rifle was probably a Czech Vz.24 by the looks of the stock. This led to me checking for any manufacturers marks to confirm.

However, it seems the Colombian military scrubbed almost all original markings during he 1952 rebuild, except for one. Above the serial number there is an identification mark of a T in a circle. I was told this is a Steyr mark, thus pointing to the rifle originally being a Steyr 1912 or a Steyr-Solothurn 12/34.

 

[LVSteve]

That's the trouble with home bent bolts, they can end up fouling the wood. Good catch by the Gunboards crew.

I assume you wanted your picture like this. Only trouble is site restrictions mean that you cannot post a 1024 pixel tall picture without the site reducing it to 768 high.