M38 Swede failure to feed? Paging buffdog!

jfred

jfred

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Kamloops
My 1941 Husqvarna M38 that I purchased from a member here about a month ago is having issues with feeding. The parts are all matching with the bolt shroud and cocking piece being electro penciled. This ammo feeds perfectly fine in my other Swedes.

The first round (situated on the right side) feeds with the nose high and to the left, seemingly stubbing on the feed ramp, and considerable force is required to get it properly aligned under the extractor. However once I push it forward, the bolt stops about a cm or two before the chamber and it takes even more force on the bolt to slam it home. It looks like the rim of the case is sitting very low on the extractor, and is not able to be pushed up underneath it to feed properly controlled.


Round number two feeds with much less to none of the stubbing of the first one, but has the same problem as the first with the bolt stopping before the round is chambered. Again it appears that the rim is sitting too low on the bolt face.

The third round performs much the same as the first, with slight stubbing on the feed ramp in the same location, and slightly less difficulty in chambering.

The fourth and fifth rounds feed with no stubbing, but the same difficult in chambering.


Now to me, this seems to indicate a problem with the extractor. However since the first couple of rounds are jamming on the feed ramp that could possible be an issue with my follower spring or maybe with the feed ramp itself.

What do you guys think? Pictures are incoming.
 
I did. They seem fine to me. Pictures:

The first round:
Swede001_zps7194e197.jpg


This is where it seems to catch
Swede002_zps1b1052ac.jpg


Some force gets it to begin to move under the extractor
Swede003_zps0169c485.jpg


This is the point where all the rounds stop
Swede004_zpsc0cec46f.jpg


A view from the side
Swede005_zpsc3779f68.jpg


The second round
Swede006_zps213b2762.jpg


Same problem
Swede007_zpsc260942f.jpg


What can you all make of this? Am I right in suspecting the extractor?
 
Just remove the extractor and collar and try feeding from magazine again.
No issues!
Extractor at fault.
If your extractor is original to the action brass rim is too large or extractor groove not cut deep enough in brass.
Lots of variation in 6.5 x 55 brass depending on maker [USA vs Euro]
RC
 
Coming a bit late into the thread, are these commercial rounds or hand loaded ?

I second simply dropping the round into the chamber without closing the bolt to see if the round seats properly. If it gets stuck again in the same spot then it wouldn't be the bolt.

Another option to try is to remove the bolt from the rifle, fit the round on the bolt face like it would be if it was in the chamber, reinsert the bolt back into the rifle with the round in place, and see if the bolt closes properly.
 
"Just remove the extractor and collar and try feeding from magazine again.
No issues! Extractor at fault."

I wonder if it could be a 7mm extractor on the rifle? There are big differences in rim thickness. You can notice this in shell holders.
 
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I would suspect the extractor first. Disassemble the bolt and remove the firing pin assembly --no need to disassemble it, just take it out.

Then, take one of your cartridges and put the base of it against the face of the bolt, and slide it upwards to see if it seats on the face of the bolt fully, without any binding.

Are you using reloads? If so, are you trying to crimp the bullet in the case while seating? The stopping of the cartridge at that point with about 1/2 inch sticking out of the chamber can be caused by improper use of the seating die when loading bullets.

What happens when the seating die is screwed down too much, is that the mouth of the case attempts to crimp into the bullet. If this is in line with the channelure groove, this is all right, but if there is no groove or not aligned, then the bullet is crimped too much and the whole neck and shoulder is pushed back. This actually puts a "hump" at the shoulder of the case where the shoulder meets the fatter rear part of the case.

The condition in the paragraph above can also be caused by cases that are too long. The longer case that should have been trimmed to length contacts the crimping taper in the top part of the seating die, and crimps into the bullet. It then forces the bullet, case neck, and shoulder backwards. Seating dies are not as precise for holding the bottom part of the case body as a resizing die, so there is a bit of space right at the shoulder and the brass is forced upwards forming the hump or ridge. In some cases, you can easily feel this with your fingers.

It is also possible you have a weak magazine spring, but I would examine the extractor first and examine the cases. If the bolt had been dropped on a hard cement floor or something similar, and hit on the end of the extractor, it could have burred or bent the hook on the extractor backwards, causing binding and a failure to pick up the cartridge properly.

The Swedish Mauser is a controlled feed bolt action rifle. That is, when the bolt is pushed forward, the groove and rim of the cartridge should slip easily up against the bolt face behind the extractor and not bind.
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Thanks for all of the suggestions! I'm using reloads with Winchester brass. They're all below the maximum case length. The ammo does fall into the chamber freely. I removed the extractor and chambered all 5 rounds without incident. Both the extractor and the extractor collar have the correct Husqvarna crown, which indicated to me that it is original to the rifle. The bullets are not crimped. Since the extractors were hand fitted, would I be better off attempting to fix the one I have, or just buying one from Trade Ex? I don't trust my ability to repair whatever problem it seems to have. Too bad I don't know any Swedish armorers or weapons officers. :(


Off to check the fit of a cartridge on the bolt face!
 
Someone commented earlier that the extractor may have been 'jammed' at some point. IIRC Mausers should only be loaded from the magazine. If you try to load one round directly into the chamber and try to close the bolt, it can damage the extractor; basically it bends it in toward the boltface.

Any marks on the face of the extractor that would indicate this?
 
Cartridge binds on the bolt face. I took a closer look at the extractor and noticed a small chip right about the same area where the rim starts to bind. :( There's also scratches on the rim from being moved over this burr/chip. This probably explains all the issues. How should I go about fixing this? Very very fine sandpaper? Or just buy a new extractor from Trade Ex?
 
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Take the extractor off the bolt. Take a small fine file, and file the INSIDE of the hook where the burr is 3 or 4 strokes. If the burr seems cleaned up, then assemble the extractor, and try sliding a round under it onto the bolt face. Again, for safety, take the firing pin assembly out before doing this.

If the rim drags, then disassemble and repeat 3 or 4 strokes with the file. Reassemble and try again. As long as you can clean up the burr, you should be all right. However, in cases where the bolt was really forced closed, then a new extractor would probably be better.

Sometimes people will drop a round into the chamber and have it stick there. When they attempt to close the bolt, the extractor will not pop over the extractor and damage will occur. There is a method for getting the cartridge out of the chamber by pressing down on the bolt between the extractor collar and the back end of the extractor. You have to press really hard, but this levers the hook on the extractor outwards enough to go past the rim as you push the bolt forward. Then, opening the bolt will eject the case.
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