Gun Discharges While Chambering Round

[Mr Ranger]

New Rifle, Target shooting, round number 21, when chambering discharges. The good: I wasn't pointing at anyone. The bad: I was in my house shooting out of the sliding glass door. The door survived but you wouldn't believe what a muzzle blast can do to a ceiling! Of course the bullet didn't stop there, after entering the attic it exited the front of the house just below the peak then blasted into the overhang and through my brand new metal roof! As hard as I tried to recreate (without bullet in chamber) the discharge, by shoving bolt forward, the gun seems sound. I'm wondering how to approach the manufacture on this. I should add the first thing I did upon purchasing was to lighten the trigger (model 70). Easy adjustment, still stiffer than stock Browning A-Bolt trigger. I would guess about 4lbs. Any suggestions?

Mr Ranger

 

[Bob S.]

You could post this in the long range oooops. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif Thankfully no one hurt. That will teach you for shooting guns in the house. My mother always said no shooting in the house. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif If you mention to the manuf you tweaked the trigger they would probably tell you to get lost. I'm not sure you can do anything except suck it up and patch some holes. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Guest]

I had the same thing happen to me.I had lightened the trigger a few days before I went hunting and forgot to tighten the lock nut on the sear back down tight.During my practice shooting,the lock nut worked loose.i had to leave the woods and tighten it back down.Its ok now but it sure was scary.You may need to have a gunsmith slick the trigger up to get to the desireds pull wt and still have the trigger function properly. Good luck and be careful.

 

[gunnermhr]

After adjusting any trigger I always hit the action with a dead blow hammer several times, While the saftey is off and the gun is not loaded of course. You should be able to get a Winchester trigger to 1 1/2 Lbs safley. I also have had a metal sliver come off of the trigger and It would discharge when you took the safety off. Make sure the are no pieces of metal when you dissasemble the mechanism or you will need to replace the trigger or go to a gunsmith.

 

[Fiftydriver]

Mr Ranger,

Do not do anything with this rifle until you take it to a smith and let them check that sear angle out.

A trigger sear angle should be neutral at worst and preferable a bit positive in angle. That this means is that the angle of the engagement will actually force the two seperate parts harder into engagement instead of away from each other.

To check this it is relatively easy. Tighten up your trigger pull weight spring until you have a trigger that will not slip off with a few heavy blows with a hard rubber mallet.

Make sure the rifle is unloaded and I would not recommend doing rifle work in doors!!!

Test the trigger pull weight with a quality trigger pull guage. Note the poundage needed to trip the trigger.

Now recock the bolt and rap on the receiver 10 good blows with the mallet. Youdo not have to beat the hell out of the receiver but give it some good wacks.

If the sear angle is negative(very unsafe), the trigger will either slip off during these 10 blows or the trigger pull will decrease after these impacts because the trigger/sear engagement will slip and become less.

So if you get a trigger pull of 4.0 lbs and then a pull of 3.5 lbs after you have impacted the receiver 10 times you have a negative sear engagement angle, very unsafe and not acceptible.

If the sear angle is neutral then the standard pull weight and the pull weight after the impacts will be identical. This is marginal on the safety side and I personally do not accept neutral engagement angles.

If it is positive, you will actually have the trigger pull increase from a standard pull to the pull after the impacts. This is because the positive angle is actually driving the sear contact deeper with each impact, this is very good and as safe as possible.

You can do this simple test at home if you have a quality trigger pull guage and a non marking mallet.

I have taken the Win 70 trigger down to 8 oz several times with total safety. Not all will accept this but a properly cut M70 trigger can be tuned down to very light pulls.

If your trigger is negative, I would look into an aftermarket trigger as the Win 70 sear notch is very small and can be difficult to true up.

Good Shooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[Mr Ranger]

Fiftydriver, I believe I will look for a smith that totally understands the things you have mentioned. I certainly, with my inexperience wouldn't trust myself with the aforementioned procedures. It's a scary thing to have the weapon discharge when your not expecting it! Thanks for the advice.

Mr Ranger

 

[Glock119]

[ QUOTE ]

**I should add the first thing I did upon purchasing was to lighten the trigger
**with my inexperience wouldn't trust myself with the aforementioned procedures

[/ QUOTE ]

goes to show how quickly one can get themselves into trouble by playing with things that they should leave to those with knowledge.
Very expensive learning experiance. Hope others might learn from your mistake as well.

Good Luck,
Ben

 

[LB]

I'm sure this gentleman didn't share his experience just so we could put him down. But, any accidental discharge is extremely serious.

There are a few things to remember about a trigger mechanism, before you plunge. If you don't know how it works, fine, take it to someone that does, and then, have him show you what you did wrong.

One thing I have always done, to prove that the sear engagement is adequate, is slam the bolt home as hard and as fast as I can; many, many times, before I'm satisfied. Rather than smacking the action with a soft blow hammer, I usually slam the butt down on carpeting, very smartly. Again, many times. After <u>every</u> adjustment, you need to go through the whole testing procedure, again. Until you are completely satisfied. The firing mechanism needs to be 100% reliable.

Also, keep oil, WD40 and solvent away from the working parts, as much as possible.

Good hunting. LB

 

[giannis]

Hi guys i wanted to tell you that something similar happen to a friend of mine last week.We were at the range and while he was puting one in the chamber it fired, before the bolt was closed.The bad thing in this situation is he didnt have a hole in his roof but the bolt came back and went right thru his palm and wrist, it was a bad scene.He was taken to the hospital, it took about 4 hours of surgury to remove the bolt,we are still trying to figure out what caused this to happen.The doctors told him that he is going to loose his wrist movement but he is still going to have all his fingers , they are moving good right now.We are taking the gun to a smith next week to have a profesional look at it and maybe tell us what happened.Any help to find out what might caused that to happen it would be greatly apprecciated.Thanks guys and BE CAREFULL!

 

[giannis]

Sorry guys i didnt mean to take somebody elses post for this question, just because it was something simmilar.
The gun was 30-378wby 5 rounds after was rebareled on a wby markV action,thanx again.

 

[LB]

Seems like a rare occurance, but the firing pin can become lodged in the forward position, due to a too tight hole in the bolt face. Could also be from primer crater metal accumulating in a too <u>large</u> hole in the bolt face; or a broken spring, hard to say?

I think your friend should consider legal action, if it looks like the gunsmith errored, in any way?

Good hunting. LB

 

[giannis]

LB
Thanks for your input,he is going to take some legal action,but we first want to find out what caused that to happen,some people said [handloads] but that is got nothing to do with it,bolt was open.Some people said trigger job,i dont know maybe,and whatever you said LB it will be considered.Thanx again

 

[Hired Gun]

That's pretty wild. I just went and tested all my bolt actions including two Mark V's and they all will fire just as the lugs start to engage. While varmint hunting with my Mark V I wedged it down in my bull bag and when I pulled the trigger it just went click. I noted the bolt had been raised ever so slightly from fully closed when I went to open it. There was no mark on the primer. I closed it back up and sent the next digger squirrel to suirrel vapor. Though mine as will all my rifles drop the hammer they won't fire a round unless the bolt is at least 99 percent shut. I agree the firing pin must have been stuck in the forward position somehow. Keep us posted.

 

[Guest]

I've seen a firing pin break, then twist to create a longer pin length. This turned a semi gas gun into an automatic for about 6 seconds. Replaced the firing pin and no more problems.