Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Most common hunting rifle failures

In 1998 in preparing for my first trip to South Africa, the PH stated that the common failures in the bush, besides operator error which is the most common, were in order of ranking:

1. Scope failure
2. Ammunition failure
3. Rifle malfunction

He also stated rifle failures were super rare, especially in single shots, double bores, and bolt actions.

The only malfunction I have ever had is a scope failure, and that was way back when scopes were not what they are today.

What failures have you seen and how do you rank them?

In nearly 70 years of hunting, the most common failure has been "operator failure".

This times a thousand!
I've had scope failures at the range, rifle malfunctions at the range but never a problem in the field.
Hopefully that string of "luck" continues.

Scopes. I've seen far more issues with scopes

Scope bases not tight enough

Loose Nut behind the gun. Rio7

I made four hunts in South Africa and Namibia. The only failure was scope failure on my second trip. That was "operator Error" in that I tried to make a 340 WBY work on an ultralight Mountain rifle with a KDF style muzzlebrake. The sudden "brake" was too much for the first scope ( a Leupold 2.5x8 VXIII 10 days before leaving US), replaced it with a Zeiss 3x9 conquest. It shot fine for zeroing here, etc. Upon arrival, it made it through checking zero, then went wonky. I managed to take a Blesbuk, Impala and a zebra before it utterly failed to hold zero. I finished the Namibia hunt with a borrowed 300WM. Iron back up sights wouldn't have made much difference as Namibia required some pretty long shots, I took a few out close to 400yds, which is very far for me. Have fun though Pard!

I haven't had a failure in the field due to rifle, ammunition or scope in 60+ years. I have failed to put a round in the chamber on occasion, kind of embarrassing to put the trigger on a coyote and just get a click, they give you a strange look before they run off. Some have been far enough away to not hear the click and I've been able to cycle the bolt and kill them. At the range I did find a loose base one time and missed a coyote due to snow in the barrel and expanding the last two inches of the barrel, cut that off and recrowned it, worked well after that.

Shotguns, that's another story, forends split, breechblock wear to the point the firing pin wouldn't reach the primer, firing pin spring that needed to be stretched before each hunt(JC Higgins bolt action 16ga).

I've had a scope break. Mounts come loose. Swivel studs break. Sights come loose. Once I slipped on ice and filled the bore with so much snow, I had to hike back to camp to rectify. Had oil gel up optic adjustments and even a bolt once in sub- zero temps. Good to double check the bore for obstruction after bad weather or falls.

Some of the above can be attributed to operator error. Didn't have the internet to warn me. Had to learn on my own.

All things considered. I've been fortunate. Nothing ever completely stopped a hunt.

scopes easily #1, broken firing pins x 2 old lever rifles - one about 120-year-old (1892) & one about 70- year-old (336), a Marlin 57 just fell apart while squirrel hunting after I put many many rounds through it, one weak (or maybe just due to 45 below zero weather) firing pin spring on an 80-year-old rifle (Springfield), one broken stock after the rifle and I tumbled down a steep hill (I carved that one from a blank - heartbroken I was), one the magazine tube holder fell off a lever rifle (Mossberg lever 30-30), One barrel failure on a Model 12 when there was an obstruction in the barrel that I didn't know about, another broken stock at wrist - poor wood layout. I'm not sure that were all the problems, but that's all I remember off-hand.

I've had enough failures that I bring a spare rifle now. Everyone in my hunting groups knows there's a spare rifle if they have an issue with their rifle/scope/ammo.

Not seeing the barn clearly.

Seems like "rifle malfunction" covers a whole slew of stuff that would all have a different fix.

Firing pin, magazine follower/spring, extractor, safety, to name a few.

75 years of hunting and at this moment I only recall 2. At age 13 I received a new .22 Mossberg semi-auto as a birthday gift. The only cleaning it got was a wet Hoppies on a string down the barrel. After a few hundred rounds I shot it and it went full auto and emptied out. Crud had built up in the chamber.
I owned a Hercules grade Iver Johnson 12ga double. On a turkey hunt as my son closed it with a turkey load in both barrels, it went off. Took it to a gunsmith and found that both firing pins were broken. Have no idea how that happened nor how that caused the misfire.

Scopes. 3 of them. 2 fogged up internally but were caught early in the hunt. 3rd spraying crazy big groups. Knew something was up when I took a lung shot at a buck and made a perfect neck shot. Got lucky.

I've had one failure, that was fixed 3X Leupold that became a maraca during a hunt. I killed three deer that morning, but the last shot landed a few feet from where I was aiming.

Otherwise, I've hunted with others that have rifles that won't function/feed, ammo out of spec, and a variety of scope problems. However the most common issue I've witnessed is due to a failure with scope mounts/bases.

1970s, Weaver K-4W fogged up. Weaver mounts, removed scope and flipped up rear iron sight and kept hunting.

Had a scope go to hell about 7 years ago, 4 to 5 inch groups,confirmed by two other shooters, but that was at the range and not in the field.

Early 80s, chasing lands a little too enthusiastically. Removing a chambered round and fill a Savage 99s rotary magazine with H335 when the bullet remained in the chamber. Got the bullet out with a sharp drop on the rifle butt, but had an effective single shot till I got that magazine cleaned out. I chalk this one up to operator error in reloading.

Buddy who likes semi autos but not cleaning rifles often has a hang up of sorts out on the field.

South Africa isn't exactly a place where I'd worry about failures. You can always aquire an a loaner rifle at a lodge. Far more worrisome are remote mountain hunts and places with river travel grit sand and the cold. The guys in rafts, canoes, sleds and sledge on the trail and those busting brush really beat things to death and their rifles more or less resemble a treated 2"x4". Mainer AK with his type of travel likely has significant expertise or experience in such matters. To him a rifle is much like an chainsaw, axe, or come-along hand winch. All tools.

I've accused a couple buddies of having a "bad trigger actuator" on their rifle..

Scopes have let me down on hunts a couple of times so I traveled with a spare rifle. Now I hunt the farm and can walk back home for options!

Saw a third Jam-ikka jam in the field this fall. Partially caused my friend to miss out on a bull.

Also a Ruger American 6.5 creedmoor jam.

I've had a couple of scopes give up the ghost. On one the crosshair broke, and on another the erector mechanism came adrift inside. I had a third which I lost faith in, because it wouldn't seem to hold zero, but that wasn't really a dramatic failure in the field, but rather a slow process of deciding it was no good.

Rifle failures, I've had a few over nearly 50 years of shooting. I had an extractor spring break on a sporterised Lee Enfield No 4, which meant that it was a single shot (Swiss Army knife to serve as extractor) until I was done hunting and could get a spare. I had a mainspring break on a Marlin 1893 - perhaps forgivable after a century of service. When I was very young I managed to bulge the barrel on a .30/06 - I can only surmise that a stick or something fell into it, so not really the rifle's fault - and it really buggered the rifle's accuracy. My Brno combo developed a problem with doubling - at first I thought it might have been me bumping the second trigger, but then it happened again - hitting critters with both barrels simultaneously was certainly effective.

I've had various .22s fail too, usually not too far from home as I was out rabbiting.

All mechanical devices can fail, and I guess the longer you work with them, and the older they are, the more likely it is you'll have issues.

Operator error, would likely be the leading factor! memtb

"Safeties"???? Why I carry hot chamber only when quite necessary. And yeah - operator error.

My first year in Alaska, hunting, I had 3 Redfields go south on me in a month or 6 weeks. Have never used Redfields since. I suspect QC has improved since, but fugem.

Switched to Leupold, Burris, the better Tascos, and a Weaver, and have had no problems with any scope in the 50+ years since.

As to the actual rifle failures, my .338WM left it's bolt home alone once. And the Senaca forgot it's powder back in Fairbanks on a sheep hunt and got left in the truck in favor of a .270. Sly bastids!

I acquired a 725 found in a busted up sled out of Anaktuvik Pass, and it failed to go off on a cold weather shot at caribou after I cleaned it up. The replacement fp spring was a good 3/4 inch longer than the one I found in the gun. The pitting on the striker shaft probably didn't help any either.

The extractor broke a year or two later while sighting it in at the Cody range, on my way to my 2nd CO elk hunt. It was my son's permit, so I didn't really need to carry a back-up anyway. I used it the next fall that way on a caribou hunt. Extraction was a little slow, but effective. After the shot, tip the muzzle to the sky, open the bolt and bang the side of the rifle with my hand- empty case fell right out. A 700 extractor, contrary to some peoples' expertise here, works perfectly, 725 extractors being nearly unobtainium.

I had my Savage-Fox SXS double on a mallard coming off a farm pond in Montana. No idea why, has never done it since, but that bird came down dead! And no, I didn't have fingers on both triggers, only on the rear one.

I would guess that the most common failures are due to crud, or hunting in freezing weather and icing/gumming up. Mechanically, probably striker, sear, trigger interactions, after "safeties". (OK- that was easy, what else is there?! )

Aside from the obvious operator errors and scope failures, I've seen triggers fail when dusty/dirty as well as firing pin causing light strikes because they were lubed/greased up and carbon turns it into sludge.

Clicked on a primer I seated too proudly.

Clicked on a factory round with primer pocket cut too deeply.

Ejector button spring rusted up once and wouldn’t let an M77 Tanger chamber a round.

Several episodes of rings not being snugged tightly over the years. Zero wandered.

That’s about it.

I was expecting 700 bolts falling off was going to be #1.

That actually happened to me a few years ago while checking zero on an older model 700 factory stainless barrel. I took the bolt apart and mig welded it and it’s still holding!!!

Most to least likely: operator error, scope failure, bad judgment concerning lubricant selection and/or application, loose ring/base, reloaded ammo failure.

And yes, I (or another family member) have done each.

Had to make a new firing pin once for a ‘92 Winchester SRC. I recall making another once also, but can’t recall what for. Brother had the bolt handle come off a 788. My other brother has had a couple of shotguns spontaneously disassemble, one an Ithaca sxs the other a Browning Double Automatic. (He can only use one arm and shooting a shotgun without the recoil restraint of a hand on the fore end creates issues, apparently.)

I had a Ruger tanger discharge when the bolt was closed energetically.

I have had to disassemble completely and thoroughly clean and relube a couple of BLR’s for friends and relatives. They just got crudded up/neglected to the point where they wouldn’t work.

I had a Marlin GG brought to me once that “just jammed up.” When I got it apart the inside of the action had slivers of what looked like yellow pine in it, pallet or packing crate material. Another GG I could always count on having to disassemble and clean at least once a year when my buddy would do a face plant in the mud with it.

I have seen a few scopes go tits up, but not many. I have seen several fog up but that can sometimes be chalked up to user error and may or may not be an actual failure.

Ammo failure? I don’t think I have ever seen an issue there that couldn’t be traced back to user error—-normally either a step missing in the reloading process or using a new lot of a component and not test firing the new combo out.

Rifle malfunction? I have seen quite a few. Triggers suddenly not catching on the sear despite never being messed with and extractors breaking. I have seen several trigger/actions freeze up despite being degreased and dry graphite lubed. I have seen a few stocks break in half. They can again mostly be attributed to user error, especially the cleaning and lubing of them for the conditions as well as being rolled over by horses/four wheelers.

Equipment breaking due to normal use is rare IME, other than the really cheaply made junk of course. The non messed with trigger issues are about the only exception.

I've seen very few actual rifle problems. I had a Rem 700 trigger freeze up once, and I've seen factory ammo that was over pressure lock up a bolt once although that was at the range. But as others have said, any problems were almost always user error.

I've fallen with my rifle a couple of times while hunting in the mountains and felt I had to recheck zero, but the scopes (in these cases Leupold Vari X-III's) did not change zero.

The only hunting failure I recall was Dad's Vanguard failing to fire.
Light primer strikes, on a full elk. He never got a bang.

The gunsmith said it was insufficient firing pin length. The pin looked ground off.


He bought it new, never touched it. Used it for 4-5 years, always factory ammo.
He discarded the empties, so may have missed a blown primer.(unlikely)
On a previous various hunt he had one misfire, a light strike. He pitched the round and killed a couple animals. It worked fine at home checking zero.

I've had a scope go wonky on shipping to Africa. Easy to see there was a problem at practice, and changed out (but after burning half my hunting rounds).

Almost more disturbing was a nice whitetail buck I flat missed at 75 yards with a 257 Rbts., and with him still standing there I went to chamber another round in a bolt gun and it wouldn't. Turns out the neck of the first handload had entirely split off and lodged in the chamber.

Really glad I took a couple deep breaths and walked back to the cabin to diagnose the problem! I tend to hunt with fresher brass these days!

Gunsmith's answers:

Broken stocks are #1. Probably by about 6 to 7 times. Falls from loosing their footing as well as horse wrecks and rolling 4 wheelers all combine to make this the #1 thing I am asked to do repairs to, during every hunting season.

Broken extractors are #2.
Broken trigger parts or pins are #3

A "weapon's system failures" would be broken scopes but I don't classify them as gun failures. But seeing that come into my shop is about as common as #2 and #3 combined.

Others I have seen several times but not enough to give them a "rank" are broken firing pins, linkages and bulged or blown barrels.

I would imagine many end-users can recognize and replace a broken scope without the help of a gunsmith, so that may skew the data to a large degree.

I've seen a number of people shooting at the rifle range somewhat bewildered that there gun had lost all its accuracy. In several of those instances I tightened the action screws and fixed the problem. Not exactly a failure but a failure on the part of the owner to periodically check the torque of both the action and scope bases and rings. I've seen more loose action screws that I have scope screws

Took a brand new CZ 20 ga Woodcock O/U out of the box and it doubled every time. It got boxed up and sent back to CZ in KC. They called me a couple weeks later and told me someone (accusing me ) of messing with the trigger sear. That led to a very interesting phone call. They finally told me no replacement parts were available and they would have to try and manufacture a new one. That’s when I lost it and the end result was a new shotgun shipped to me at their expense. The replacement has worked fine for 15-20 years.

Three scope failures, two at the range and one on the hunt. I got a shot at a nice fat cow elk at about 350 yards I held for a lung shot and she went down. My guide said good shot and when we got to the elk, there was no bullet hole in the chest. WTF? The bullet had hit her in the neck at the base of the skull. My buddy who had already shot his elk was along for the ride and thought I was a great shot. Never did tell him it was a scope failure and one hell of a lot of luck. The .35 Whelen Mauser has always been a very lucky elk rifle for me.

Many years back, I'm thinking around 1974 I acquired a JC Higgins M50 chambered to the .270 Win. in a trade. Seemed to shoot OK when I checked the sights and took it hunting. Jumped a deer and after the shot the bolt would not open, this a factory round no less. Winchester 150 gr. load. I'd missed the deer o and thanks to the now locked up bolt had to go back to the truck and home to get another rifle. Back then I could hunt a few miles from the house. Seems the guy I got the rifle from must have shot a few way too hot handloads in that rifle. The bold apparently doesn't always lock up, just when you least expect it I guess.. I stuck that rifle in the back of a closet and forgot about it. A few years back I commissioned my gunsmith to build be a light 7x57 sporter in the prewar European fashion. I'd always wanted one. So what gun did I grab for the build? You guessed it, that long forgotten .270. I didn't even remember why I'd put it away. So, with the trading od more than a few Benjamins I got the finished rifle. Gunsmith test fired it with Federal factory ammo without a problem. He gave me the fired case. So now I'm at the range doing my load work ups to find a good hunting load I might try on elk and bingo, locked up tighter that a tick on a hound dog. WTF? Now I remember why I stuck that rifle way in the back of the closet. Big question now is which if my nice Higgins 50s in my small collection will I sacrifice to fix the custom? My handloads are fairly warm but have proven safe in an M70 Featherweight and Ruger#1A. The rifle in question was originally a .270 Win. Just have to find the time to take it to my gunsmith and have him check it out.

The only other problem I've run into is the extractor on a Remington 660 apparently wore out and had to be replaced. Gunsmith couldn't get on and Remington had made a change for the ones used on the M700. Gunsmith had to use one and cobble up a workable solution. All I can say is it's still working.
PJ

The most common hunting rifle failure is----------------THE NUT BEHIND THE STOCK IS LOOSE!!!

Hip

Likely

I'll add the things I've seen. I've seen a wood stock rifle fail twice. One broke at the pistol grip after being dropped. The other had a sling stud pulled out. Neither of them mine. Not a fan of wood stocks for serious hunting rifles for this reason.

Trigger issues - 3. I had a M70 trigger sear fail to engage meaning the gun would not cock the firing pin. This was my gun and apparently the sear engagement screw moved. A 1/4" wrench and a couple of mins fixed the issue but had to go to the truck to retrieve my backup rifle - which is why I always carry a backup. I had a trigger freeze on a Ruger Super Bkackhawk after I dropped the warm gun in the snow. It spent half an hour under my coat to thaw out. I also had a buddy do the same with his M700 and the trigger froze.

Scope - I've had zero scope issues - in the field - but have had wandering zero at the range. A Leupold caused me to shoot about $30 in components before I finally sleuthed the scope issue. That was the beginning of the end for Leupold scopes for me. Won't turn this into a Leupold bashing thread but trying to zero a Leupold scope is an exercise in frustration.

I've seen handloads fail to fit in the mag box and/or chamber. Prolly 30 years ago, I loaded some 257 Robts for a guy using one of his shells as a guide. Seems he'd never actually tried the shell in his mag box. He had a single shot for the day...... I also know a guy whose "custom" handloads wouldn't chamber without alot of force. Claimed they were "crush fit" and custom to his chamber. No way in hades was he getting a second shot in under 10 secs.

I’ve had two scopes fail in hunts. An older Weaver Classic 4x fogged internally and was unusable. It never cleared and went in the garbage.

A Leupold VX-II 1-4 had a seal let go and formed a yellow haze. While still usable, it was hard to see through. Leupold fixed it and it has been fine since.

Both days were snow, freezing rain, rain back to snow

My brother had a Leupold ring break (front ring if that matters) on his 270 while shooting at an elk. Not sure if it was user error or a defect. Either way, a pisser

I've had my share of Leupold failures, myself. For cheap scopes on short-range rifles, I usually like the Zeiss Conquest, but they are only second-hand and hard to come by. So Leupold it is. Unfortunately, not many alternatives in a cheap 3.5-10x scope that doesn't weight 20 oz+. I've had reticles break, lenses come unglued internally, and very expensive "mark" series scopes that wouldn't track or hold zero. I must be a glutton for punishment, but the last couple rifles I've purchased I put newer VX3i scopes on and they've done better for me so far. I'm more of a Bender fan.

Had a new Weaver Marksmen 3-9 fog up in Maine. A B&L killed itself on my slug gun, took a couple years and 2 missed deer to figure it out. Have seen a Mauser with a broken firing pin and a Ruger bolt action broke its magazine spring (still worked as a single shot).

Only thing I’ve had happen to me, so far, was a cracked windage screw on the rear scope mount of a Kimber 84M. The rifle zeroed fine. I took it deer hunting and had a coyote wander up to me. At 25 yards, I couldn’t resist and took a shot and missed. I missed a buck later that day on another easy shot. As I was looking the rifle over at camp, I noticed the screw had cracked on the mount and was no longer holding the scope in place.

I have had several spectacular scope failures, a bolt handle come off, trigger fail to cock due to dust and had a stock break in half during a fall.

Two scope malfunctions only

Had an extractor that stopped extracting on a ruger 77 once and a springfield ejector that broke , but no other issues that where guns fault

^^^^ This^^^^^

Most people I have hunted with don't know what they are doing!

Cheers ~ KB

Not a rifle per se, but I bought a Remington 11 that someone had silver soldered some Remington sights on the cut down barrel to make a slug gun. Third shot, the rear sight bounced off my forehead. Bubba-1, Old70-0. I used to like to attempt to rehab old by bubba’d milsurps that had been made into hunting rifles. Several notable failures there, mostly bolt handles coming off. Last but not least, I had a weaver scope mount come off a 41 Mag contender, sheared screws. Patched the lump on my head and sent the barrel off to SSK for a TSOB and never had another issue.

Old70

Weaver 3-10x40 Grand Slam scope fogged on me. Sent it to Weaver for their "Lifetime Warranty". They said the warranty was void due to excessive use!

I've also had one primer fail to fire.

Had my Browning A-bolt coyote rifle get light primer strikes in extreme cold. A thorough cleaning resolved it.

My father took a bad fall and broke the stock on his Mk V at the wrist on a sheep hunt in Idaho's Big Horn Crags. He kept hunting and found a nice ram and took a shot with his pistol gripped 300. He missed.

My 2 redfields failed. 1 new one crosshair wire broke on my first shot at a deer with it. One fogged up after using 25 years. Had both repaired. The 3 Leupolds I have on CF rifles have all at some point started shifting around and not reliable enough for ethical hunting. and one shifted way left and wouldn't adjust to the.right. 2 were repaired. One is 3 years old and I am sending it back soon. I don't drop or bang my rifles around. I have never had a rifle fail.
I have had a Browning A-5 Shotgun firing pin break on a hunt away from home and foolishly hadn't brought a backup gun. I had used it 35 years though.

The first new rifle I ever bought was in the early 1990s and it was a total POS Savage 110 in .308 Win. I had all sorts of things go wrong with it at the range and I never should have taken it hunting, but I did, and literally couldn't hit a mule deer standing broadside at 25 yards. We got rid of that rifle. The only other serious failure that I've had in the field was with a Leupold 2.5-8x32 Handgun scope I had purchased brand spanking new and put on my MGM 18".260 Remington barrel that my wife bought me as an ordination gift when we moved to Minnesota and that's what I wanted to hunt deer with. It worked fine in load development and I sighted it in right where I wanted it. Had a good opportunity opening morning at 150 yards. Heard a rock solid hit. As in, like I hit a rock. Deer dropped like a stone. Got back on his feet, shaking his head. I loaded again. He's missing a tine. I line up perfect crosshair placement and trigger pull. Threw dirt behind the deer's head. I went to the impact point of the first shot. Found a broken tine. I threw in the towel and went straight to the range. Wasn't even on a large sheet of butcher paper at 100 yards. I adjust to where it should be on paper. Nope, now it's waaaaayyyy wide left and low - far more adjustment than I had made. And it's all over the place. I packed the scope up and sent it back to Leupold. They sent it back with a note saying "water damage". BS. I remount the scope, go to the range, bore site. I moved the windage to where I wanted it. Then went to unscrew the elevation cap. The whole adjustment turret comes off in my hand when I tried to unscrew the cap. WTF. I sent it back to Leupold, explaining what happened. They sent me an entirely new scope (I checked the serial numbers) of the same model and apologized for the complication, which cost me the deer hunting season that year. This scope has been absolutely perfect for 12 years now on two different Encore barrels. Not sure what that first scope was about, but I grew up shooting Tascos and they were more reliable than that Leupold handgun scope. I haven't worried about the new one for a dozen years, but I never assume that it's held zero and it gets checked every year.

I had one happen to me this past Saturday morning. I have an original M1903 Springfield NRA Sporter, exactly as it left the Armory in 1929, which I elected to employ on our deer opener here in MD. At 0'-dark hundred I'm in position in the woods and loaded the rifle with a full magazine, which I had never done the whole time I owned it. (Yeah, I know.) The handloads are within spec for OAL, based on the ammo it was created for to shoot. Yet, 5 in the box caused the magazine follower to bind deep down in there somehow, and I could hear the cartridges rattling unsupported after closing the bolt. Yikes, not what you want a half hour before sunup. With flashlight in hand I sat there pissed-off trying to suss out the problem. I finally gave up after determining that 3 down and one up the spout let it work as it should. No chance yet to determine the cause. Didn't matter, as nothing presented itself to shoot at anyway.

I've adjusted triggers too light. One wouldn't engage, the other went off when I cammed the bolt down into battery. Neither caused any damage thank goodness and both taught me that I didn't really need to lose that last few OZ of pull weight.

I watched dad get out of his vehicle on a day when it was spitting rain on top of melted then re-frozen snow/ice. He slipped and fell onto the heel of his stock (Wood M70 Fwt push-feed) and broke it right @ the rear screw.

Somehow ended up with a bent M-1 elevation turret on a Leupold. I hadn't fallen nor dropped it, still not quite sure how that happened.

I had the rear sling-stud strip out of a McMillan. I took the sling off and used the rifle-carrier thingy I'd bought for my pack for the rest of the trip. I JB'd the stud in place when I got home and it's worked fine for nearly a decade.

I arrived in WY, shot my rifle, everything is fine. Go to stuff ammo into the mag-box, nope, somehow the bullets are seated too long. I swapped to my backup and killed a decent Mule Deer buck.

Uncle pulled up his 760 6MM to shoot at a deer, started laughing and put the rifle down. Simmon's scope had a broken cross-hair.

Scope fogging, and ammo jams on autoloaders using handloads.

I can remember back in the 70's 80's of SE TX, "anyone" who had a Redfield Widefield 3x9 could expect it to fog up! I had traded for a rifle for my dad, a Ruger 77/243 with a 2x7 Redfield Widefield that was bent. I sent i to them to fix and it never fogged up.

Very embarrassing. I was being shown around by the farm owner, letting me know where his property ended and where I could hunt when a 8 point buck stepped out about 35 yards in front of us. I fired three shots as he stood broadside from my scoped SKS to no effect. I spent the rest of the afternoon in a box blind. While sitting there with the rifle on my lap I realized I could move the scope about an eighth of an inch side to side and some up and down. Cheap Chinese base screws had sheared.

Was on a late December muzzle loader hunt with a group of six other guys. I was taking quite a razzing from the guys having missed on five shots. I finally killed a buck at about 50 yards. When I got home and was cleaning the rifle I put it to my shoulder and looked through the scope just in time to see the cross hairs sink to the bottom of the scope.

Had a sporterized Mauser 98 all lined up on a buck. When I pulled the trigger........nothing. At least I had a backup rifle with me and could continue to hunt. Got a replacement Bold trigger.

Had a new to me TC Contender with a 45 Colt barrel on it. My buddy and I were the only ones at the pistol range. I was standing in front of the wooden bench, put a round in the chamber, closed the action and BANG! Put a 45 caliber hole in the bench. I got to learn a whole lot about how Contender triggers worked and how to set one up properly.

I had a light firing pin strike on a Browning Auto 30/06. The second shot fired fine and the 8 point never knew the first shot failed. Still don't know exactly what caused it. I gave it a good cleaning and had my gunsmith go over it, but nothing was ever found that would have caused it. The cartridge fired when I tried it at the range later on.

In the field only issue I have had has been Operator Error.

On the range: two bad Rem 700 triggers, two scopes (not Leupold), one broken firing pin. Grandson just had the top half of a Talley LW ring crack. Claims the rifle may have “fallen over…”

I nearly got shot when one of those 700's unintentionally fired.
We had stopped to help out a couple of our club members dragging a deer up to the road. On the climb up I was about 8 or 10 feet in front of Dwight. I still don't know how it happened but his Remington 700 30-06 accidentally discharged with the bullet hitting the ground about halfway between us. I dropped to my knees from the concussion and he was so upset he wouldn't hunt anymore that season.

In field failures:
Pre-64 M70, trigger broke off just above the curved part of the trigger.
Mauser G33/40, the extractor broke off about .25” behind the front of the extractor (in front of the retention ring).

I have never had a failure of any sort with a M700.

Scope failures, Weaver 4x, Redfield 4x.

Never had a failure with any Leupold since I started using them in 1969.

Only one - a scope failure. Took a beautiful 1970s left-handed Weatherby Mk V .257 given to me by Father in Law with a Leupold VX-III 3.5-10x deer hunting. It sighted in "just fine". Had a coyote wonder in to the deer stand around 30 yards. Aimed shoulder, hit it in the guts. At the range the next week I went through ~$100 in ammo before I came to the conclusion that the leaf springs on the scope gave up the ghost. New Leupolds I own don't have that problem.

Scope failure. Bushnell Banner 3x9.

Somewhere around 1983. Opening morning of deer season. Large buck steps into an opening. I lift up my rifle (Ruger tang safety .270), but I can’t see through the damned scope - it is fogged over. To add insult to injury, about 30 minutes later a mountain lion steps out; exact same place; POS Bushnell is still fogged over.

By Tuesday, a 3.5x10 Vari-X 3 Leupold was sitting on top of the Ruger.

Bushnell - never again.

Lots of these "rifle" failures read like scope failures to me. Yup, me too. A broken crosshair in a 10x Redfield and a condensation caused corroded battery compartment in a Bushnell. I did have a Winchester m100 trigger gunsmith adjusted such that it doubled, but it was readjusted better. A Remington m700 failure to feed from the magazine and my own ham fisted attempt to lighten another m700's Walker trigger too light so that it would go off when the safety was pushed off. A m700 weak extractor pulled over the top of a fired round. And a new Ruger RSI 77/22 that wouldn't eject. The only other failures I've seen from guys were lubrication gumming (don't use WD-40 or 3-in one oil) and the gun not going off or cycling. A bad one was out west with the snow falling on the back of a m700 in a scabbard and the heat from the horse melting it into the action where it froze. That cost my buddy a heck of a mule deer. I watched him build a fire and throw his bolt in like a piece of fire wood. Not recommended.

Failure to aim in the correct spot.

Have read this entire post, and despite differing opinions on what "hunting rifle failure" means, here's my list--which does NOT include "operator error":

1) Scope failure. Have mentioned this before, but at this point have had 20 different brands (not just individual scopes) fail to hold zero, or adjust properly, on a wide variety of hunting rifles.

2) Checking screw tightness, whether on scope mounts or stock-screws.

Had forgotten this one.

A cousin was hunting with a Remington 700. After the first shot, the floor plate popped open and all his cartridges fell to the ground beneath his stand. His gun was probably manufactured around 1978-79

On a deer hunt many years ago with a Ruger tanger. Took a shot at a grouse in a spruce tree.
The ejector cross-pin slipped enough on the shot into the lug recess to prevent opening the bolt.
Glad it wasn't a shot at a deer. Got the grouse though.

Replaced with a roll pin and it's never moved since.

Ammunition error and it stung a bit. Was a chance for a quick shot at a small bull elk and my Ruger Hawkeye 35 Whelen just went "click". I'd fuggled the last few rounds of FL resizing session and one of those ended up in the chamber. Resulted in a light primer strike. In typical fashion I lost faith and sold that dandy rifle.

The only rifle problem that sticks in my mind was with a Savage model 10 in 223 I bought shortly after they came out with the Accutrigger. After about 500 rounds if I worked the bolt anything but the most absolutely gently the trigger would trip with only the lever thing preventing an accidental discharge. When I took it apart to adjust the trigger I found that it had been shipped with the trigger adjusted to the absolute lightest. Only adjusting the trigger to the highest would prevent this.

This thread could make one paranoid expecting stuff to break or fail at a critical moment!

Apart from operator error, I've had many scope failures, new rifles that were not finished in manufacture, a CZ550 in .458 Win Mag that went "BOOM!" when the safety was let off at the end of a hunting day (IT WAS POINTED AT AN EMBANKMENT A FEW FEET AWAY!), and the same rifle split the stock at the range from forend tip through the sling swivel stud, a new Rem 673 in .350 RM with an unfinished chamber that my "smith" finished, and dumped a magazine full of ammo during a bear hunt, an 1895 Marlin in .45-70 (my 4th) that had a bent follower that wouldn't lift cartridges into battery, etc.

But newly manufactured rifles that worked as expected/promised were from Savage, Sako & Tikka, and Ruger. Apart from those (several of each), I've owned Winchesters, Brownings, Remingtons, NEF and a custom plus a semi-custom.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

Only failure it have experienced is with an Interarms Whitworth 375 H&H Magnum. The trigger group has failed. Safety as non functioning and it will slam fire on closing the bolt. Luckily, I discovered this with the rifle unloaded.

This happened about 4 years ago and I talked with a gunsmith about it who is familiar with these rifles. Was going to bring it to him but unfortunately he got cancer shortly thereafter and fought a hard fight for over a year before he passed. RIP John.

It's just been taking up space in the safe since then. Don't know if another gunsmith in my area who I can trust to fix it correctly. It's a beautiful gun and I'll find the right person to fix it one day...

AU338MAG,

I have had 3-position safeties, like those on Model 70 Winchesters, installed in several 98 Mausers, mostly commercial actions but some military. This bypasses the occasional problems with trigger safeties.

The safety I've used more than any is the Gentry: https://gentrycustom.com/

I have thought about that conversion but i prefer the look of the original bolt shroud. I think the Interarms actions are attractive and have a custom 35 Whelen AI built with one.

I know, that's silly.

I very fond of the Winchester 3 position safeties but i just want to keep this rifle original as it is one I inherited from my father. The wood is exceptional for a Whitworth and still has the original hard brown recoil pad. I don't need the rifle, but will not part with it for sentimental reasons. I've just shot it at the range and deer hunted with it occasionally.

The Gunsmiths in Alabama I know are out of their league with this issue. If it's not a Remington or clone they look puzzled. The late John Gallagher was a smith I trusted and he told me the trigger housing has to be disassembled to fix it properly. Far beyond my abilities.

I still may consider the Gentry option if I ever book a trip to Africa...

In 55 plus years of hunting I have had one double feed in a bolt action rifle most likely operator error and I have had one scope loose the gas inside but It held zero fine. I get a kick how people get surprised when something breaks because even the most expensive optics and custom rifles are cheap.
Aircraft engines cost in the millions and have very good inspections but every so often one just blows up. S*** Happens

Scope reticles and mounting bases coming loose is about all that comes to mind

A couple or more 22 misfeeds/jams. Shorts in a pump made for s,l,lr take a certain rhythm. And some others don’t like certain shape bullets it seems.

I don’t count a light strike because a bolt getting gummed up as a fail. But it’s happened.

AUG338MAG,

I understand completely!

Will do some more thinking, and might be able to come up with a gunsmith who can do the job.

MD

Does slipping, falling and breaking the stock count as operator failure or stock failure?! Lol! Unfortunately, was on a very remote NE Manitoba moose hunt. Put the rifle out of commission, but that was okay. Because my outfitter said the obsolete 30-06 cartridge I was using wouldn't work, here, use my 280 Remington! Haha!

That is very kind of you.

Thank you.

I just think the bolt shroud on the commercial Mauser actions is, dare I say it... Sexy.

🤣

Knew a guy who was deer hunting with a custom Mauser 98 and after he missed a running deer and ejected the empty case. The extractor landed on the ground at his feet. He wasnt far from home and just got another rifle.

Couple of scope failures. Also rings and mounts coming loose using steel two-screw rings. Switched to Weaver aluminum, the Burris plastic lined ones, and then Warne and haven't had any issues with any of those three. Weaver super low rings are a treat.

Also light strikes with a rimfire that got too dirty.

Roger Ferrell, Fayettevile GA is your man, member of ACGG, known him for 20+ years.

Never had a failure to fire, except on an old Winchester semi-auto in 243. Bought it, didn't fire. Firing pin was broken. Took it back, they changed the firing pin, still broke on first fire. Traded it for a bolt action. Can't remember the model number, but they no longer make them. It was back in the early 70's. Had a Remington 1100 fail to load because it had a broken part in the loading assembly. Bought a spare part and repaired it myself. All guns to me, if taken care of will work fine.

Had cheap scopes get knocked off zero. Quit buying cheap scopes.