It does sound like the friction stud. If it drops that easily -it could be rust or crud-or age-affecting the spring.
Keep in mind that unlike the 1886/86-the Model 71 has tapered bolt locking lugs. The straight tapered lugs on the 1886
in 33 WCF and 45-70 could handle a bit of pressure before the lever dropped.
With the M-71, the tapered lugs allowed the lever to drop; an early warning sign that maximum pressures had been reached. An interesting safety feature for
load development in cartridges. All lever actions need to stay close to SAAMI-Winchester-Marlin chamber pressures. Lever actions-unlike bolt action rifles-
don't have all the warning signs like tight bolts and actions. Its easy to crowd max pressures. A blown primer or cratering is not always the first sign that max pressures
have been exceeded. A dropping lever on other than factory pressure ammo is a subtle hint.
