I am really struggling with a friend's 30-06. He was messing around with it and and the button/lever on the back of the bolt dropped, which no longer allows the bolt to cycle into the gun. We tried for well over an hour, manipulating everything we could. The only manipulative seems to be the button, which is under significant pressure via a spring.

I took the firearm to a gunshop and it was able to be repaired in 10, maybe 15 seconds. I felt like a fool, and didn't even ask him how he did it. He said that the firing pin was disengaged.

Today the same thing happened again. Rather than returning to the same shop again, I thought I would ask for help so that I may do it myself. Included are multiple pictures, which show the problem. Sincere appreciation for any help.

Remove the bolt from the rifle and put the rifle down. Grasp the front section of the bolt, the bolt body, with your left hand, and grasp the end where the safety is with your right hand. Now turn the bolt head clockwise while trying to turn the bolt body the opposite direction until the cocking piece snaps into the little notch at the back f the bolt body.

Alternative method: Remove bolt from rifle, and toss it over your left shoulder. Then, grasping the rifle by the barrel, swing it as hard as you can onto the hood of your car. Then, take up a different sport.

quote:

Originally posted by Toomany Tools:
Remove the bolt from the rifle and put the rifle down. Grasp the front section of the bolt, the bolt body, with your left hand, and grasp the end where the safety is with your right hand. Now turn the bolt head clockwise while trying to turn the bolt body the opposite direction until the cocking piece snaps into the little notch at the back f the bolt body.

Alternative method: Remove bolt from rifle, and toss it over your left shoulder. Then, grasping the rifle by the barrel, swing it as hard as you can onto the hood of your car. Then, take up a different sport.

John you made my day Can't stop chuckling to myself.

The bolt is sitting in the fired position so you need to cock the bolt by turning the back section in, or clockwise like John mentioned. But in order to be successful, you will need to first depress and hold that little button looking thing in as you twist the two together. It's going to take a little effort as the cocking piece has to climb up the ramp and out of the notch under the weight of the firing pin spring.

quote:

Originally posted by Toomany Tools:
Remove the bolt from the rifle and put the rifle down. Grasp the front section of the bolt, the bolt body, with your left hand, and grasp the end where the safety is with your right hand. Now turn the bolt head clockwise while trying to turn the bolt body the opposite direction until the cocking piece snaps into the little notch at the back f the bolt body.

Mr. Farmer is dead on(of course). I will add that it takes a bit of force to do this. At first it may fell like it won't move. Just keep cranking and it will cam the firing piece back and it will turn home.

And show your friend how to fix it so that he won't have to bug you next time he messes it up.

This whole process is made a bit easier if you hold the bolt, locking lugs down then catch the bottom part of the cocking piece on the edge of a desk or work bench.


Then continue the downward pressure on the bolt until the cocking piece retracts enough for you to rotate the safety into the center position.


Once the safety is engaged you can easily rotate the bolt shroud back into position.

Excellent advice - very much appreciate it. Curt, the pictures really helped and I was able to figure it out. Unfortunately the rifle will not fire...the action is working, and there is a solid "click" when the trigger is pulled. Any thoughts on a self-fix for this, or is this an issue for the shop?

quote:

Originally posted by Overland:
Unfortunately the rifle will not fire...the action is working, and there is a solid "click" when the trigger is pulled. Any thoughts on a self-fix for this, or is this an issue for the shop?

Are there any marks on the primer? Remove the bolt, push the button, rotate the bolt shroud and drop the cocking piece back in the notch like it was when you started this thread and see how much of the firing pin is protruding through the face.

If you put it back in the notch per Westpac's instructions it should look something like this


If you have it like it is in the 3rd pic with the safety in the center position push the button and unscrew the bolt shroud. It should look sort of like this


When you screw the assembly back into the bolt body there will be a very distinct click when it locks into position. Once it is back in position you should not be able to move in either direction without pushing the button.

Following Westpac's advice, when I remove the bolt and drop the cocking piece back in the notch like when I started, the firing pin is indeed showing as in Curt's first picture. No, there are no marks on the primer. I do not seem to be able to unscrew the bolt shround. Any more thoughts? Thanks again for the help.

When you pull the trigger with the bolt in battery it should look like this. If it is farther out than this the striker is getting hung on something.


Has your friend fired this rifle before?

I just noticed that the rifle has a double set trigger, that adds another layer of possible causes to this issue. I will have to defer to someone else on that as I have never seen the inner workings of one.

When you get the click instead of bang and open the bolt does the unfired round eject like normal?

Are you pushing the button on the left side front of the shroud when you try to remove it?

This is the button we are referring to that has to be presses in order to unscrew the bolt shroud

Thanks Curt for the clear photos, these will be a big help in explaining how to do this chore to new mauser 98 owners.

Yes, that is the button that I have been pushing. As far as I can tell, yes, that is what it looks like after I "fire" the rifle and it clicks. The round does eject as normal. The rifle has been fired by my friend, around 5 years ago.

The rifle does have a double set trigger. It was a war prize of my friend's great-grandfather. It was also rechambered from an obscure caliber to 30-06 (a shame for sure). There are no identifying markings on it, which is why I cannot turn to a manual for help. I do appreciate the continued help and advice.

m

quote:

Originally posted by Overland:
Yes, that is the button that I have been pushing. As far as I can tell, yes, that is what it looks like after I "fire" the rifle and it clicks. The round does eject as normal. The rifle has been fired by my friend, around 5 years ago.

The rifle does have a double set trigger. It was a war prize of my friend's great-grandfather. It was also rechambered from an obscure caliber to 30-06 (a shame for sure). There are no identifying markings on it, which is why I cannot turn to a manual for help. I do appreciate the continued help and advice.

I see your problem and it is an easy fix. When someone messed with the bolt, they probably removed the shroud/firing pin assembly from the bolt. When they reassembled it, they didn't turn the shroud section all the way in. I see it in your very first picture. If you look at your picture and compare it to others here you'll see that there is a space between the curve of the shroud and the base of the handle. Go look at that last picture from Curt in Atl entitled"""Once the safety is engaged you can easily rotate the bolt shroud back into position.""" and you'll see that his shroud is nearly touching the base of the bolt. Now, that is why your your firing pin doesn't hit the cartridge and also why the bolt doesn't work right. To be able to turn the shroud in further, leave the safety in the OFF position and push back on the cocking piece sear on a solid table top like Curt in Atl shows in two of his pictures. You need to do this to back the cocking piece out of that deep V notch on the back of the bolt to be able to rotate it. Now, for the last turn just hold the bolt in your hand. You will need to depress the side plunger to turn the shroud to it's final position. Compare it with Curt picture. Then, try it in the action again. Your firing pin should work properly now and the bolt should work as intended. Be careful. Take an empty cartridge case and put fine tape on the primer to see if the pin makes contact now.