Husky safety help!

[Suther]

Got my new to me 9.3x57 Husky mauser in the mail the other day and finally got around to giving it a once over. While doing that I noticed my safety doesn't work. It will turn a little bit and that's it. Rifle seems to #### and fire fine, just the safety doesn't work which in turn makes bolt disassembly a pain.

I apologise for the bad lighting, I'll take better pics later tonight if needed. As you can see, the safety doesn't move much. Also it appears to be an after market safety (it has timney written on it).

Anybody have any guesses as to what my problem might be? This is my first mauser so I'm not super familiar with them.

 

[Why not?]

The cam on the safety needs to be touched up a bit to engage the cocking piece.

No offence at all intended, Suther, but if you aren't familiar with how it works you should have a gunsmith do it for you.

Ted

 

[Suther]

The cam on the safety needs to be touched up a bit to engage the cocking piece.

No offence at all intended, Suther, but if you aren't familiar with how it works you should have a gunsmith do it for you.

Ted

Ok thanks. I'll look into this further and decide whether this is something I want to tackle myself or not. I'm leaning towards yes, as I do like doing my own work and I consider myself quite handy, but as already stated I am not well-versed in mausers so I'll have to do some research and figure out what needs to be done before I touch anything.

 

[riversrest]

That is called a "low wing/swing" safety. It is an aftermarket part so it can clear the scope. Was the rifle described as "comes with non functional safety"? These guns sell for cheap for reasons. Often slapped together with some parts that won't function properly. It may be not the only issue you will discover with your purchase.

 

[Meroh]

That is called a "low wing/swing" safety. It is an aftermarket part so it can clear the scope. Was the rifle described as "comes with non functional safety"? These guns sell for cheap for reasons. Often slapped together with some parts that won't function properly. It may be not the only issue you will discover with your purchase.

I put one of these on a Brazilian Mauser some time back; I still have the rifle. Mine came from Brownells and works OK, and clears a low mounted scope. You should be able to polish a bit more lead into the detent pockets in the safety to allow it to slide against the cocking piece flange. Not a big deal.

 

[Mauser98]

These instructions came from the Timney site.

https://store-45f4e81vr4.mybigcommerce.com/content/productpdf/mauser-low-profile-safety-trigger-instructions.pdf

 

[Suther]

That is called a "low wing/swing" safety. It is an aftermarket part so it can clear the scope. Was the rifle described as "comes with non functional safety"? These guns sell for cheap for reasons. Often slapped together with some parts that won't function properly. It may be not the only issue you will discover with your purchase.

No it was not advertised as having a non functional safety.
Kinda annoyed with that fact. It said nothing in the ad about an after market safety either.

It catches the cocking piece but doesn't cam it back far enough to relieve pressure on the sear, nor does it rotate enough. Something is preventing it from rotating all the way. Everything seems ok when it's apart, things fit and move fine but once it's assembled and under spring pressure it won't go...

 

[Suther]

I think I figured it out. I think the bent bolt handle is hitting the side of the action before the bolt rotates all the way, so the notch on the back of the bolt body doesn't line up.

Can anyone confirm that the bolt in that picture isn't rotated enough?

 

[Mauser98]

The bolt isn’t rotated enough. The small safety cut-out in the rear edge of the bolt body should be at 12:00 when the bolt position is correct.

 

[cosmic]

Does the gun fire? - Looks like the bolt handle was modified poorly....

 

[riversrest]

Yes, that's how it looks like. Probably a bolt they had laying around and just slapped it into that rifle without testing for function at all. The reality of dealing with TEC. That bent bolt handle looks terrible too. I would cut my loses on that thing and send it back.

 

[Suther]

The bolt isn’t rotated enough. The small safety cut-out in the rear edge of the bolt body should be at 12:00 when the bolt position is correct.

Thanks that is what I figured.

Does the gun fire? - Looks like the bolt handle was modified poorly....

My guess is that it does not fire judging by how far out of alignment the cut out on the bottom that the cocking piece goes in is. Haven't had it to the range yet though.

Yes, that's how it looks like. Probably a bolt they had laying around and just slapped it into that rifle without testing for function at all. The reality of dealing with TEC. That bent bolt handle looks terrible too. I would cut my loses on that thing and send it back.

Not from Tradeex. Came from a recent sale at Frontier Firearms.

 

[Mauser98]

Ya, that bolt handle is pretty rough and I agree that the rifle probably won’t fire in its present condition. But if you wanted to keep the rifle, a few minutes with a file and sandpaper would fix the bolt problem and get it looking presentable.

 

[Why not?]

Yes, that's how it looks like. Probably a bolt they had laying around and just slapped it into that rifle without testing for function at all. The reality of dealing with TEC. That bent bolt handle looks terrible too. I would cut my loses on that thing and send it back.

.....

Not from Tradeex. Came from a recent sale at Frontier Firearms.

i have bought enough from them over the years to know that Tradeex would not have shipped that rifle.

Ted

 

[Suther]

Ya, that bolt handle is pretty rough and I agree that the rifle probably won’t fire in its present condition. But if you wanted to keep the rifle, a few minutes with a file and sandpaper would fix the bolt problem and get it looking presentable.

Is there enough material there to notch the bolt handle to clear the action without worrying about breaking off the handle? I have no issues with using files, I'm less confident in my ability to re-bend it though...

i have bought enough from them over the years to know that Tradeex would not have shipped that rifle.

Ted

That was my impression of Tradeex from others. At minimum they put a lot more effort into their descriptions, I think mine only said "internal magazine" and MAYBE the caliber.

 

[7ECA]

That bolt looks awful, the fact that it wouldn't even be safe to fire (not fully into battery) and an inoperative safety is more than reason enough to demand a full refund.

 

[Suther]

That bolt looks awful, the fact that it wouldn't even be safe to fire (not fully into battery) and an inoperative safety is more than reason enough to demand a full refund.

Yeah, I'm tempted to explore that route, but it was $235 taxes and shipping in (and came with a free case), so if I can just fix it relatively easily then I'd prefer that option. I have no problems fixing the rifle if it's within my skillset, I expected this rifle to need some work and I love the old school side mount it's got, but my skillset and time available only goes so far and as much as I love fixing #### I don't want to be out $200+ for a hunk of steel if I #### it up...

 

[7ECA]

It almost (but I could be mistaken having never handled a Husky) looks like the bolt handle was removed, "warped" rather than bent and then sort of brazed back on. The mount may be neat, but is it really worth $235? If you've got to buy a new bolt, it makes this less of a deal.

 

[9.3mauser]

From the look of that hack job that was done on the handle, I doubt if whomever did the job was smart enough to use a heat sink or do anything to protect the locking lugs. A gunsmith would charge you $100 or so to weld on a decent handle, but I would be concerned that the heat treatment was compromised.

I would also question whether it would even fire in that condition. A safety feature of the Mauser is that the bolt needs to be rotated fully home for the firing pin to engage.

 

[riversrest]

From the look of that hack job that was done on the handle, I doubt if whomever did the job was smart enough to use a heat sink or do anything to protect the locking lugs. A gunsmith would charge you $100 or so to weld on a decent handle, but I would be concerned that the heat treatment was compromised.

I second this opinion about the heat treatment. However, there are also different ways to modify the bolt handle without welding and very little heat exposure to the part.

Here are a couple options...

On the left for comparison is an unmolested bolt handle.

In the middle is a bolt handle that has been grinded down. This works with medium height weaver rings and older period correct scopes that have a smaller eyepiece diameter of less than 38mm. The eyepiece needs to be set back far enough to clear the "wing" of the safety which is to be shortened by about 4mm to clear the scope tube.

On the right: The bolt handle was cut off and a hole was milled in the handle stub. A high grade steel rod was bent, threaded on the knob side and expoxied into the opening and further secured with a set screw. With medium height rings this will clear scopes with eyepiece diameters up to 44mm. The wing safety becomes inoperable so a bold/timney trigger with side safety or a low swing safety is required.

RR