FN Mauser style action not feeding

[686]

I picked up this older custom rifle a week or so ago, and the brass will not feed up onto the bolt face. I’m thinking the extractor is too tight against the bolt face. Do I dare try to open up the spacing with a screwdriver or do I take this to a smith? I’m not very knowledgeable regarding Mauser style actions. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Von S.]

It appears that someone has already done some kitchen table gunsmithing on it.


Of course these days with guys calling themselves gunsmiths who's entire income is derived by painting cammo on firearms for guys who wear orange suits, sticking hot pins on glock plastic frames and Putting together cheap at guns from cheap parts....then painting them.

Find a smith....an older one.

 

[686]

It appears that someone has already done some kitchen table gunsmithing on it.

Of course these days with guys calling themselves gunsmiths who's entire income is derived by painting cammo on firearms for guys who wear orange suits, sticking hot pins on glock plastic frames and Putting together cheap at guns from cheap parts....then painting them.

Find a smith....an older one.

Thanks, luckily I know some good smiths, they're just a ways from me. You think someone's been filing on the extractor?

 

[Dr Ray]

Nice beautiful stock. As 686 says get an experienced gunsmith.

 

[686]

Nice beautiful stock. As 686 says get an experienced gunsmith.

Thanks, in addition to the nice stock, it’s got a great, light trigger pull, and a nice barrel from a old custom maker (Flaig’s) that I have another gun from, so this is a bit of a collectors item for me. I would never imagine Flaig’s would have let this action leave theor shop less than 100% functional, so I imagine something happened to it over the years.

 

[Dr Ray]

Perhaps there was a minor overload at some stage???

 

[Von S.]

Many times with age comes patience and a bit of sense that comes with experience. Sometimes it never comes.

I have seen actions that were slick. I mean slicker than a bucket of greased eels soaking in goose spit and camel snot and were made that way by an industrious kitchen table gunsmith .

Unfortunately, after he was done working his magic on the rough gun it needed quite a bit of doctoring to make it right.

Does that rifle have any markimgs at all on it?

It looks like it came from a factory that is owned by our friends who brought us that marvel of automotive Majesty... The one, the only Yugo.

 

[686]

Many times with age comes patience and a bit of sense that comes with experience. Sometimes it never comes.

I have seen actions that were slick. I mean slicker than a bucket of greased eels soaking in goose spit and camel snot and were made that way by an industrious kitchen table gunsmith .

Unfortunately, after he was done working his magic on the rough gun it needed quite a bit of doctoring to make it right.

Does that rifle have any markimgs at all on it?

It looks like it came from a factory that is owned by our friends who brought us that marvel of automotive Majesty... The one, the only Yugo.

Here’s the FN markings. Maybe in about 1974 there was some new guy at the factory that finished this action

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi 686,

Very nice rifle! Looking, carefully, at your pictures, its seems to me the extractor is for a standard 30-06 cartridge rim. Any GOOD gunsmith could fix it.
Good luck!

CF

 

[686]

Thanks for the input, here’s a few more pics, the correct brass fits, it’s just a little too tight of a fit. I’ll take it too a smith.

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi 686,

I change what I was thinking...Its looks as a correct extractor for a standard Magnum Belted case. Anyway, I do prefer a rather tight than a rather loose fit. Its assures a correct expulsion of the brass.
By design of the original Mauser 98 (and pre-98 as well) extractor system, the extractor blade griping a case should move 1 mm, perpendicular to the bolt-cartridge axis. This is so to assure the correct tension that have to work with the expulsion part of the system to throw away the fired case.
I would be careful to modify the extractor bevel. Looking at your very good pictures, perhaps the lower part of the extractor bevel could be opened a little to ease the beginning of the entrance of the case...
And I would use the brand/lot cases that fit in the extractor. Because if you adapt the extractor to one brand/lot, could be it will not works properly with another.
The variations of the diameter at the extractor groove between cases/cartridges brands and lot are bigger than should be....

 

[GuttormG]

Many times with age comes patience and a bit of sense that comes with experience. Sometimes it never comes.

Most often ages comes all alone..

 

[BobT]

Thanks for the input, here’s a few more pics, the correct brass fits, it’s just a little too tight of a fit. I’ll take it too a smith.

It looks like someone may have tried to close the bolt on a chambered round and bent the extractor, with most M98 type actions the rounds should only be loaded from the magazine.

 

[686]

It looks like someone may have tried to close the bolt on a chambered round and bent the extractor, with most M98 type actions the rounds should only be loaded from the magazine.

Very plausible, thanks!

 

[Von S.]

It looks like someone may have tried to close the bolt on a chambered round and bent the extractor, with most M98 type actions the rounds should only be loaded from the magazine.

Sure!

It's possible, but without the mechanical advantage of engaging the bevels of the locking lugs someone would have to beat the snot out of the bolt handle to bend the extractor.

The bevel on the extractor face is so you can get it over the rim of a case in the chamber.

How about we ask some questions and think this through?

Has this rifle always had this problem? That's doubtful as someone would have taken it to a smith and had it fixed by now.

So this problem had been induced by someone as I don't see any broke parts.

Many is the person gets a Mauser and wants to smooth it out so it takes no effort to chamber and before you know it they've removed so much metal that it just doesn't work at all now. And what does our " save-a-buck artist" do in response? Well! He starts taking more metal off somewhere else then and by the time you know it only a master GS can fix it.

Just something to think about.

George goes to the doctor and SAS he can't sleep at night and the young doctor gives him sleeping is and sends himonhis way. Two weeks later he sees the same doctor with the same complaint and he gets even stronger pills. Two weeks later the same thing and he goes back to the doctor,but the young guy is on vacation and he sees the old doctor and tells his story. The old doctor has him get undressed and gives his physical the doctor notices tiny scabs on his butt and asks about them. George says that one of the springs on his mattress OKed through, but he duct taped it.

The doctor prescribed a new mattress and George no longer has a problem sleeping.

Gunsmithing is the same. Investigate deeply before you start grinding.

This could be something as simple as a weak spring to begin with .

 

[fourfive8]

Impossible to determine cause from the pictures and description of symptoms. Take it to a competent gunsmith.

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Me neither see anything wrong in any part of the extractor. I say again the tight fit can be the variations of the diameter in the extractor groove between cases brands/lots. This same "problem" can be seen in handloading: Some cases, more common in magnum cartridges, go tighter than others in the shell holder. Some of them even cannot fit in a correct shell holder....!

 

[Nhoro]

Could be that someone replaced the extractor with a new part ?? Maybe the the old one was damaged (possibly by a dodgy smith)

 

[BigJohnx13]

That action looks very much like a Santa Barbara action of Spain.

 

[JTEX]

Looking at your very good pictures, perhaps the lower part of the extractor bevel could be opened a little to ease the beginning of the entrance of the case...

This right here.

Some one probably replaced the original extractor and it just needs a little bit of fitting. No big deal at all.

Mauser extractors are a pain in the butt.

.