Small bore Mauser will not fire even when firing pin falls!!

Brutus

Brutus

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Gentlemen,
I am a proud owner of an ES350b Mauser single shot in 22 LR. Not long ago when I removed the bolt to clean this rifle from the breech I "decocked" the bolt.
I even have Jon Speeds book which displays bolt reassembly.

But for the life of me I cannot get that firing pin to fall onto a live round. When I eject the live round there is zero firing pin mark on the case rim.

I hesitate to turn the cocking piece in a dramatic manner as I fear I will break the firing pin. (circa 1936)

Any informed advice folks????
 
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Brutus said:
Gentlemen,
I am a proud owner of an ES350b Mauser single shot in 22 LR. Not long ago when I removed the bolt to clean this rifle from the breech I "decocked" the bolt.
I even have Jon Speeds book which displays bolt reassembly.

But for the life of me I cannot get that firing pin to fall onto a live round. When I eject the live round there is zero firing pin mark on the case rim.

I hesitate to turn the cocking piece in a dramatic manner as I fear I will break the firing pin. (circa 1936)

Any informed advice folks????
Click to expand...

Hi there - you may want to rename your post with a more direct question. As it is, it doesn't tell someone much about the topic, so people that have an answer may not even get past the title.

And, sorry, but I know absolutely nothing about Mauser rimfires.
 
disassemble the bolt again , check to see if the firing pin protrudes through the bolt face when the cocking piece and bolt shroud is removed.
post pics if possible.
 
gaff said:
disassemble the bolt again , check to see if the firing pin protrudes through the bolt face when the cocking piece and bolt shroud is removed.
post pics if possible.
Click to expand...

And it might sound dumb but check the firing pin is the right way round. I once had a rifle that had a one piece firing pin that had a notch cut in it to hold it by a pin but one end was it was only a couple of mm longer on one end to the notch and that caused this problem.
 
Possible that there is a part that needs 'just one more turn' that was not tightened enough?

Similar, but different, I was given a Mauser 98 action to look at that would not fire. Turned out the owner had both an older Browning built on a 98 action, and a newer Parke Hale. The bolts were "almost" interchangeable! The Browning bolt in the Parker Hale action would have needed about three strokes of a file under the bolt handle to allow it to close fully, but as it was, the firing pin did not drop fully, just enough to mark the primer, but not fire it.

So. It worked before you dicked with it, yeah? Shouldn't have dicked with it, eh? :)

In all seriousness, if all the parts are there, then all I would be looking for is an error in the reassembly. Pull it apart, dry fit the parts together to get a feel for how they work, reassemble carefully.

This is the one with the crowbar barrel you brought out rabbit hunting with me?
 
WobblyHead said:
And it might sound dumb but check the firing pin is the right way round. I once had a rifle that had a one piece firing pin that had a notch cut in it to hold it by a pin but one end was it was only a couple of mm longer on one end to the notch and that caused this problem.
Click to expand...

This rimfire firing pin is keyed only one way. It's not round like the average Mauser centrefire. Once you turn that cocking piece, you are committed to 180 degrees one way or another because of its assymetrical shape.
It's only where the firing pin is threaded is it fully round.
 
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trevj said:
Possible that there is a part that needs 'just one more turn' that was not tightened enough?

Similar, but different, I was given a Mauser 98 action to look at that would not fire. Turned out the owner had both an older Browning built on a 98 action, and a newer Parke Hale. The bolts were "almost" interchangeable! The Browning bolt in the Parker Hale action would have needed about three strokes of a file under the bolt handle to allow it to close fully, but as it was, the firing pin did not drop fully, just enough to mark the primer, but not fire it.

So. It worked before you dicked with it, yeah? Shouldn't have dicked with it, eh? :)

In all seriousness, if all the parts are there, then all I would be looking for is an error in the reassembly. Pull it apart, dry fit the parts together to get a feel for how they work, reassemble carefully.

This is the one with the crowbar barrel you brought out rabbit hunting with me?
Click to expand...

You bet Trevor! It's the exact same one indeed.
Good to hear from you. Tonight Daivd and myself are going to give it a go.
Because it's not striking the rim position, logically I am committed to one turn inwards using the cocking piece as a reference point.
Technically this should work....

Cheers
 
gaff said:
disassemble the bolt again , check to see if the firing pin protrudes through the bolt face when the cocking piece and bolt shroud is removed.
post pics if possible.
Click to expand...

Pretty much what you said here and through your PM another good gun friend, much more familiar than myself with German and Swedish mausers took the bold step on reassembly.

Myself I get too worried because it's a rimfire Mauser.
But realistically, tonight I learned, it's just another Mauser rifle/bolt.

Thank you gentleman!
 
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