I don't know if you didn't get the meaning or what. I didn't hear it on the intenet, I heard it through the Guy that saw and held the rifle after the accident happened.
Something happened, I've heard it from several sources and now from someone who saw the rifle.
Some people don't believe anything until they see it w/ their own eyes. I would like to see the rifle myself but, I seriously doubt this thing was made-up.
Reloader
Posts: 4146 | Location: North Louisiana | Registered: 18 February 2004
Just tried this with all four of my Weatheby products. Each time the trigger was pulled the bolt handle came down to fully closed. Matter of fact I had to slowly place the bolt handle in the position I wanted as there appears to be a bit a breaking point in the bolt movememnt to lock. I mean .. It seems to be that while camming closed the the effort to do so increases to a point ( about half closed) and then becomes less and there is almost a push by the cocking cam (?) to finish the bolt closure
I see what you are talking about. Have you noticed that the pin is lowering/engaging while the bolt is coming down? Maybe the firing pin had bareley touched the primer before the bolt was turned far enough. The rifle may have had some minor flaws that wouldn't hardly be noticeable.
It's a bad deal, that guy is lucky that God was shooting w/ him on that day.
Reloader
Posts: 4146 | Location: North Louisiana | Registered: 18 February 2004
I'm not a gunsmith or an expert on Weatherby rifles. However, I did disassemble a MkV for rebarreling and rebluing once. I discovered, to my dismay, that firing pin protrusion is adjustable. I did not pay any attention to it until I fired a test shot (after reassembly) and pierced the primer. I don't know if this was a factor in the subject incident or not. It just came to mind.
I don't know if you didn't get the meaning or what. I didn't hear it on the intenet, I heard it through the Guy that saw and held the rifle after the accident happened.
Something happened, I've heard it from several sources and now from someone who saw the rifle.
Some people don't believe anything until they see it w/ their own eyes. I would like to see the rifle myself but, I seriously doubt this thing was made-up.
Reloader
Reloader - I do believe you and I wasn't trying to take away from the seriousness of the situation. I saw the opportunity to inject a little humour and that's all. I would not purposely try to offend you.
Posts: 8827 | Location: CANADA | Registered: 25 August 2004
Reload, your's and Glenn's reasonings seem sound. Not having X-Ray vision to see what's happening inside the bolt I can't say for sure. All the firieng pin would need is a nano second head start for an out of battery detonation.
What chambering was defective rifle in? Anyone know?
To adjust the firing pin protrusion on a Weatherby the bolt has to have the firing pin assembly removed.
A trap with Weatherbys is that if the firing pin assembly is screwed out then a small ball can fall out and then the firing pin will lose its indexing. Best to screw the bolt off the firing pin.
However, if firing pin protrusion is made too great the rifle won't fire as striker travel distance becomes to small. Firing pin impact increases as the firing pin protrusion is decreased.
Mike
Posts: 7206 | Location: Sydney, Australia | Registered: 22 May 2002
I don't believe any cock-on-opening bolt action, in proper operating condition, can fire with the bolt not fully closed! If the pin is the correct length, the cocking piece nose, powered by the mainspring and acting on the cocking cam, would shut the bolt fully before it protruded enough to strike a primer! If this happened, there was something terribly wrong with this particular rifle BEFORE the incident!! Now, if it is possible to adjust the protrusion of a Mk V striker to the point that it protrudes enough to set off a primer before the bolt is fully closed, it seems that'd be something that needs to be checked out frequently, like every time you clean the damn thing!!
Had the bolt been disassembled and put together again without turning the shroud the common 1/4 turn? There have been some incidents here in Scandinavia with an older Tikka version, where the firing pin protrudes from the bolt face if not properly turned. When the cartridge goes into the chamber an the bolt start to engage in the seats, the cartridge can fire, thus blowing the bolt back. Perhaps it is in the same way with the Weatherby bolt?
Fritz
Posts: 846 | Location: Sweden | Registered: 19 April 2001
I started hearing a rumor awhile back about a local guy that had a Weatherby Mark V bolt eject from the rifle and blew out part of his jaw upon firing. I didn't tell many folks because it was just a Rumor and I didn't know any facts.
Well, this past weekend a guy whom I have never known said he saw the rifle afterwards. I heard from a good friend that this fellow was a pretty credible source so, I tend to believe something definitely happened but, you know how it is when info is passed around through folks.
Anyway, He said that the rifle fired w/o the Bolt completely closed and the Lugs were not fully locked. He said that it sheared the tiny piece of metal behind the Bolt Handle, Ejected from the rifle, and went through the shooter's Cheek and Jaw. Miraculously the shooter survived but, I heard Weatherby is gonna pay dearly for the incident.
Now, I have a Weatherby and don't intend on getting rid of it or being afraid of it, they are very accurate and dependable rifles when used properly. If his bolt would have been closed, this mishap wouldn't have happened.
I have seen a number of rifles that would fire w/ the Bolt handle slightly raised but, the handle would always slam shut at the same time the firing pin snapped. Apparently his gun fired before the Bolt slammed shut.
There is not a big worry during hunting situations because the safety will not engage unless the Bolt is completely shut and I hope that most of you don't take your rifle off safety until right before you fire. You Weatherby owners might want to be sure you completely close the Bolt while at the range. I'm sure most of you make sure that you firmly shut the Bolt but, you never know about some folks.
As I said, this is a story I've heard from several people but, when I heard a guy say he saw the rifle, I figured there must be some truth to the whole deal.
Have any of you ever heard of this kind of accident?
I've heard of alot of blown barrels and I've seen bulged barrels but, I've never heard of a Bolt ejected from the action.
Good Luck and God Bless!
Reloader
Posts: 4146 | Location: North Louisiana | Registered: 18 February 2004
I guess mine is OK, last year at our hunting camp shooting off an improvised table over of all things a bag of clothes to support the rear of the gun the bolt was partially opened by the bag and the gun did not fire. jimmyp
Posts: 29 | Location: Georgia | Registered: 08 September 2003
Quote: Just tried this with all four of my Weatheby products. Each time the trigger was pulled the bolt handle came down to fully closed. Matter of fact I had to slowly place the bolt handle in the position I wanted as there appears to be a bit a breaking point in the bolt movememnt to lock. I mean .. It seems to be that while camming closed the the effort to do so increases to a point ( about half closed) and then becomes less and there is almost a push by the cocking cam (?) to finish the bolt closure
Did you try the same thing with a unloaded piece of brass in the gun....? As you said, when one is turning the bolt down into position it seems to be camming the shell into position, gets harder then easier right at the end. Try inserting a primed empty cartridge that is a fairly tight fit into the chamber. Then pull the trigger and see if the primer goes off and if the bolt cams all the way down into the fully locked position...my bet is that it will not. The next thing to remember is that Weatherby rifles have the multi rows of very small locking lugs which is why their bolt throw is so much shorter than a Mauser, Remington or Winchester. If all these very small lugs were not fully engaged it would be much easier for them to shear than larger Mauser type lugs. Does anyone know if this was a Weatherby factory round or a reload? If it was an overly tight reload that was top end on pressure this would have added to the problem.
Bob
Posts: 601 | Location: NH, USA | Registered: 06 November 2002
About two months ago I had my MK V 30-06 at the range. While closing the bolt the shell went off. The only consequence was a protruding primer and a puzzled look on my face. The cause of the firing was the allen head screw ( below the bolt) that supports the trigger was loose. When the tension built up on the pin of the trigger assembly, the trigger assembly moved down slightly allowing the stop on the bolt to slide over it. This action engaged the firing pin just as I was closing the bolt.
Now, if it is possible to adjust the protrusion of a Mk V striker to the point that it protrudes enough to set off a primer before the bolt is fully closed, it seems that'd be something that needs to be checked out frequently, like every time you clean the damn thing!!