Can any/all bolt actions break to fire when put in battery?

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dbooksta

New member
I have an unusual bolt action gun that had a mechanical linkage fail with the result that: With the safety engaged, and no contact on the trigger, locking the bolt into battery would consistently release the sear and fire the chambered round.

Is it possible for mechanical failures to produce this behavior with any (or all) modern bolt action designs?

(I'm actually not familiar enough with conventional bolt actions do work this out, but my assumption had been that any and all mechanical failures would prevent either cocking and/or release of the sear.)
 
Usually with modern actions and triggers, the worst that can happen is that the sear will not catch, so the bolt will decock as it's closed. I have seen triggers that will allow the rifle to fire when the safety is on and the trigger is released, but that was a special case (used as a demo in a hunter safety course); I wouldn't expect to ever see another.
 
I know of a guy who managed to mortally wound three Shooting Chrony chronographs, so I guess everything is possible given the will.
 
dbooksta said:
I have an unusual bolt action gun that had a mechanical linkage fail with the result that: With the safety engaged, and no contact on the trigger, locking the bolt into battery would consistently release the sear and fire the chambered round.

Is it possible for mechanical failures to produce this behavior with any (or all) modern bolt action designs?

(I'm actually not familiar enough with conventional bolt actions do work this out, but my assumption had been that any and all mechanical failures would prevent either cocking and/or release of the sear.)
Click to expand...

What brand of action is this?
 
dbooksta said:
I have an unusual bolt action gun that had a mechanical linkage fail with the result that: With the safety engaged, and no contact on the trigger, locking the bolt into battery would consistently release the sear and fire the chambered round.

Is it possible for mechanical failures to produce this behavior with any (or all) modern bolt action designs?

(I'm actually not familiar enough with conventional bolt actions do work this out, but my assumption had been that any and all mechanical failures would prevent either cocking and/or release of the sear.)
Click to expand...

Possible????? You bet. Remingtons are especially prone to this. XP-100's are really bad for it. Anything mechanical can fail. Thinking a safety is safe is a bad habit to get into. Recently a comment was made that someone carries his rifle loaded with the firing pin resting on the primer. :rolleyes:
 
Yes definitely can happen from several things:
1. someone did a trigger job and didn't adjust it right.
2. someone did a trigger job and over cut a sear surface and got into the soft metal under the hardened surface and it has worn to the point one/both are round causing a sear off condition.
3. You have a trigger out of adjustment.
4. A spring in the trigger has taken a set.



The Remingtons have a bad reputation however I have never had a problem with the ones I adjust but then again I don't take them down below about 2 lbs and I rack the action a number of times to make sure it doesn't "sear off" on closing.

I also have a "walking rifle" I carry when out walking in case I get a shot at a coyote. I carry it with four in mag under bolt and bolt closed on empty chamber. In the event I think I have a shot coming up I will open bolt, chamber round but leave the bolt knob in up position if I am moving and only close when a shot is imminent.

I did a trigger job on a Mod 70 action and it was fine then all of a sudden it did what you describe. I pulled it down and looked everything over real good and found a spec of saw dust on one surface that kept the sears surfaces from fully engaging! I have cut the stock off and that is the only source of the sawdust I could figure????

Bottom line fix it or get it fixed.

I fell into a nice looking Italian Vetterli two years back and first time I opened the bolt and closed it, it seared off. Examination revealed someone did a trigger job on it and cut too much sear surface off the striker and I got a buddy who is A1 TIG welder to build up the surface and I then ground the surface down to where it is "factory" type trigger. When I get back to shooting it more I will try and take it down a tad more to eliminate more of the creep but I am going to take it real easy. When I got the bore looked real bad till I cleaned it up more. I got dies and am now loading 44 Mag JSP bullets in it. Gonna be a keeper.

Gotta fab a new front sight though as issue is zeroed for 275 meters so I have to raise the front sight to get it to zero about 100 yards. It was designed for much heavier bullet which was common for weapons of the 1800s and early 1900s.
 
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Many (most?) bolt actions are carried in the "cocked and locked" condition, and require some level of mechanical understanding to use them safely. If a hunter is uncomfortable with this, there are other rifle types that may be more suitable for him/her. That said, I consider the original Mauser 98 to be the safest (in this regard) of the bolt actions, given that its sear surfaces are not in contact when the safety is engaged.
F1
 
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