Springfield 1903 bolt question ?

cyclone

cyclone

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
379   0   0
Location
Toronto, Ontario
Time to eat some "humble pie" and ask you wonderful Milsurp gurus a quick query ;) : when I pulled the bolt on my 1903 Springfield, I thought all would be well :yingyang: , but now I suddenly can't fit the bl00dy thing back in ! :(

I've already watched the YouTube videos and read the Surplus Rifle site's instructions about assembly and take-down and the like, but here's the specifics about the problem:

(1) I've managed to get the bolt into the action and "cover" the area mag-well, but the bolt won't completely enter "the chamber area".

(2) the bolt currently has the extractor-looking pieces facing each other at opposite sides and the "rib" is at a 45-degree angle from the "bump" like so:

5391.jpg


and when I attempt to re-insert the bolt, the rib definitely does not look "flush with the bump" like this:

DSC04196.JPG


Please advise ? :cheers:

Thanks !
 
Last edited:
OK...it happens.
The extractor rib should not be lined up with the rear lug...it should line up with the front lug on the bolt handle side of the bolt, not the slotted lug!!! There is only one extractor...and it should be riding on the right side of the action (muzzle pointed away) when the bolt is inserted. If the extractor is lined up with the rear lug it will run into the top of the receiver ring and you will not be able to close the bolt.

BTW, the bottom pic is what the bolt will look like when it is in the action closed and ready to fire.
The upper picture is what it will look like when the bolt has been removed from the gun.
 
Last edited:
m1903bolts-2.jpg


Sorry :redface: , but still confused :confused: - which of the top 2 images should the bolt-face look like (i.e. "left" or "right") :yingyang: , prior to re-insertion ? :)

Put another way, should the rotating "thing" in the picture below be more to the left or more to the ("cleft-thing" to the) right ?

IMG_0126.jpg
 
The bolt face should look like this;

DSCN0235.jpg


Also, remember that the selector switch on the left hand side needs to be in the middle position;

DSCN0239.jpg


and the magazine follower plate needs to be depressed in order to insert the bolt.
 
If that doesn't solve it, it could be that you have rotated the bolt handle out of position. I'm not sure which of the photos you have posted are of your rifle bolt, but if it is the one with the firing pin showing, then this might be your problem.

On the side of the bolt handle assembly there is a small button that fits into a notch on the bolt handle, like this

DSCN0245.jpg


If the button and notch are out of alignment, you have rotated the bolt handle.

You need to pull back on the knob at the back of the bolt, and rotate the bolt handle until the button and notch line up again.
 
It's the same as any other post-1891 Mauser: the LEFT-hand locking lug is slotted for the Ejector, the RIGHT-hand locking lug is covered by the Extractor. In operation, the EXTRACTOR stays in one place and the BOLT rotates under it.

Just think about it for a minute: the Right-hand Extractor pulls the empty out of the chamber and the Ejector hits it on its LEFT side, tipping the empty out of the rifle to the RIGHT.

Once you understand the FUNCTION of each part, you will laugh at yourself for missing such a silly thing. I know; it has happened to me, as well as to most of the other guys on here.

Good luck, friend!
.
 
smellie said:
It's the same as any other post-1891 Mauser: the LEFT-hand locking lug is slotted for the Ejector, the RIGHT-hand locking lug is covered by the Extractor. In operation, the EXTRACTOR stays in one place and the BOLT rotates under it.

Just think about it for a minute: the Right-hand Extractor pulls the empty out of the chamber and the Ejector hits it on its LEFT side, tipping the empty out of the rifle to the RIGHT.

Once you understand the FUNCTION of each part, you will laugh at yourself for missing such a silly thing. I know; it has happened to me, as well as to most of the other guys on here.

Good luck, friend!
.
Click to expand...

smellie

What about that time you were drinking Canadian Club and took your No.4 and 03 apart at the same time and got the firing pins mixed up.................where was your functional understanding then? :eek:

IMGP6498.jpg


Remember if the girls don't find you handsome, at least they will find you handy. ;)

door-over.gif
 
First off :yingyang: , sincere thanks to all of you - I genuinely appreciate your replies, time and understanding ! :cool:

JeffR said:
I'm not sure which of the photos you have posted are of your rifle bolt, but if it is the one with the firing pin showing, then this might be your problem.
Click to expand...

My bolt does not have the firing-pin showing, so it's all good on that front !

Again, the issue seems to be that the bolt-face can't fit that one extra bit fully flush into the chamber....:redface:

JeffR said:
The bolt face should look like this;

DSCN0235.jpg
Click to expand...

It does !

Which is why I simply cannot understand why the bolt is not fully closing into the chamber.....:(

JeffR said:
On the side of the bolt handle assembly there is a small button that fits into a notch on the bolt handle, like this

DSCN0245.jpg


If the button and notch are out of alignment.....
Click to expand...

But they are indeed aligned.....it's just that the bolt won't fully close into the chamber (it covers the magazine follower plate entirely, though, at present).

Please do help - it's almost there !
 
JeffR said:
So it feels like the front of the bolt is where it is hanging up, rather than at the back with whatever is left hanging out?
Click to expand...

Bingo ! :(

And I'm truly at a loss to say why it feels it's hanging-up at the front :confused: , b/c there seems to be sufficient room for the front to slide-into the chamber....:redface:

BTW, the lever is appropriately at the middle-setting, so I don't think that's it, for what it's worth....:yingyang:

Any last-ditch ideas ?
 
And when you insert the bolt the slotted lug is on the left hand side?

Stupid question, but was there anything else you did to the rifle while the bolt was out?
 
BTW, sincere thanks for sticking with this thread thus far !

JeffR said:
And when you insert the bolt the slotted lug is on the left hand side?
Click to expand...

Yes indeed :yingyang: , it's on the left....:redface:

JeffR said:
Stupid question, but was there anything else you did to the rifle while the bolt was out?
Click to expand...

I left the bolt inside the rifle when I was mounting a scope to it :confused: , so I can't think of anything I might have done while the bolt was out.....:(

JeffR said:
Is it possible that the magazine follower plate has gotten pushed forward and is stopping the bolt from going all the way?
Click to expand...

Naw, it clears the entire magazine follower plate.....I am truly at a loss as to why the bolt stops just short of the chamber....
 
One of the screws for the bases has protruded too far. Try backing the screws out for the rear base, then try and put the bolt in. If that works you need shorter screws.
 
JeffR said:
Sorry - Front base, not rear
Click to expand...

Oddly enough :yingyang: , it was with the rear one (I guess that explains why the bolt face seemed to have enough clearance to enter the chamber, but just couldn't make the extra inch).....:redface:...that said :) , I am indebted to your patience and intelligence on this one indeed - sincere thanks ! :cool:

(Was my first time working with the two-piece Mauser-style bases, and I guess that's where I was derailed on the whole thing.....some poweder on the bolt to see what was "rubbing/catching" showed me the error of my ways !)
 
Glad things are working out!

BTW, Big Ed, did you know that a 1905 Ross firing-pin just will NOT fit into an 1871 Remington Rolling-Block, just no matter HOW hard you try? Learned that out in Newfoundland one Christmas, mixing Screech with Swish. Lost 40% of my brain that weekend, took a month to find it. (It was in my overshoe, crying.)

LOL!
.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom