Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats My 28 Nosler was supposed to break....

my scope...Not my rig...I went up to the range today to sight in a few rifles...A new to me custom 28N was showing nice results on paper, until the bolt came apart after touching one off...Now what would cause this?





Rifle was a cupcake to shoot...



Nice accuracy...

Some keeper gave way.

Spring is caught or firing pin tip is broke and stuck in the bolt. Take the bolt apart bet it comes out in pieces.

Ps the only pin that holds the whole firing pin, spring and bolt shroud together is in the rear cocking piece and in your pics it looks like it’s still in there. So no a retaining pin did not break, its got to be the spring or the tip of the firing pin.

Quick question was the the firing pin turned down and the bolt hole bushed?

At least it didn’t happen while you were hunting.

Short answer...No.

Unscrewing the firing pin from the housing showed a dry spring. Not a lick of grease was present.

I have this issue sorted by PM from a member...Thanks Danny!
😎

Beav the problem is obvious, it's the scope..... you need a Leupold.........

Laffin...Bonk Head....I’m so stupid. 😎

Also could use one of those fancy paint jobs the Beav is famous for.................

Hey now Beav is kinda sensitive about that..... his profession is painting after all.... show some sensitivity for crying out loud......

Those fine beauties will be up for sale in the classifieds very soon...

Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to finish off an expensive build with those classical works of original art?

PM me Wolf for best pricing, you’re a friend...

You and that Dick Fubar know each other??? Gawd, I hate this place. No talent appreciating sonsabitches..😂😎

How the heck did you break the firing pin in such a way the front ring that holds it back to the shroud came off... must have sheared the pin right in half.

So was it just a dry spring that got caught on the firing pin due to no grease?

Correct....That’s what appears to have been the culprit. No grease. Bone dry...😎

firing pins don't rebound under normal shooting conditions.
blow a primer?

Nope, I checked all 7 cases for pressure. Not a primer.

Rifle is gonna catch a bus ride back to the builder for eval and repairs. I will post what their findings are...😎

My guess is that the cross pin just broke because it was too hard. It's not all that uncommon in such action designs. Not a chronic problem, but I have seen it over my life as a gunsmith (over 50 years now) about 12-15 times. If the spring is super strong it's also possible the pin was too soft, and just sheared off. From the pics it's not possible to tell which.

Replacement with a proper size roll pin is probably all you need to do. Some target shooters I know use ordinary nails, spun down on a drill against a file to get a perfect fit. The reasoning is that the steel in framing nails is soft and has good sheer strength. They do get a bow in them after some use, but are replaced about 1 time a year so as to to bow out enough to cause problems. I know 2 men in Nevada that do this with their Remington actions just as part of regular maintenance. Those that re-barrel their rifles every year shoot enough to see such wear, and re-pinning 2-3 times per barrel is no big deal. Roll pins are made from spring steel and in my opinion are a better way to go then nails, but I can't argue with success either.

As for my own use, I like the older style actions that are not made with cross- pinned strikers.

It's sad, but some of these high priced actions are actually not as good as they should be when it comes to reliability, considering what they cost. It's just my opinion, but I think someone spending that kind of money should be entitled to more.

Cross pin was dropped, rolled under the bench. 8 penny nail is about the same size, one was cut to size.

There you go.