Originally Posted by tomk
Mike--just checking. You have tried different brands of brass?


Originally Posted by z1r
Define sticky bolt? Is it simply hard to cock? Hard to lift the bolt only after firing? I take it this is chambered in 7x57? New bolt handle?


Thanks for all the comments.

Yes, 7x57, and yes, two different brands of brass.

I picked up this rifle as a foul weather rifle since it was in a B&C stock. I fired a little over half a box of Prvi 158-grain factory rounds and noticed then that the bolt was a little hard to lift after firing. I needed the bolt handle lowered a bit to clear the ocular, so had a new handle installed. I took it back to the range and fired a fouling shot using a 154-grain Interlock in a Hornady case. I almost couldn't get the bolt open even though the round is loaded moderately. I then fired a few more low velocity loads (175-gr @ 2300) loaded in Prvi brass, and even though the bolt wasn't nearly as sticky as with the Hornady load, it was still hard to open, about the same as the first day I shot it. As I mentioned before, from what I understand 1909s are a little stiffer than a commercial Mauser on cocking - borne out by how easy my Zastava M98 is to cock, not to mention my M70s - but this one is even harder to cock after firing.

I guess the only way to really know is, as you mention, to pull the barrel and check.

Thanks again.

"An archer sees how far he can be from a target and still hit it, a bowhunter sees how close he can get before he shoots." It is certainly easy to use that same line of thinking with firearms. -- Unknown