Help me figure out why my mauser wont fire.

[asus6983]

I have cleaned it thoroughly, replaced the firing pin spring with a 26 pound wolff spring and even took the firing pin protrusion measurement. Which came out to 0.060 inches. Hopefully someone has an idea.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7886/dsc05397.png (http://img135.imageshack.us/i/dsc05397.png/)

[Confuse]

try going to canadian gun nutz website...or post in equipment & gear forum not the general forum

[asus6983]

I have cleaned it thoroughly, replaced the firing pin spring with a 26 pound wolff spring and even took the firing pin protrusion measurement. Which came out to 0.060 inches. Hopefully someone has an idea.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7886/dsc05397.png (http://img135.imageshack.us/i/dsc05397.png/)

[sct1886]

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/index.php

http://www.mausercentral.com/howtotips.htm

http://curioandrelicfirearmsforum.yuku.com/

[sergey31]

I'm not an expert in this but a few things.

When try firing it and extract the round does primer has any dents on it?

Take a few cartridges, take the bullets out, pour out gun powder and test fire that way (just don't do it if you live in an apartment ).

It could be build up carbon inside the bold that interfere with the spring or spring not strong enough for some harder primers.
I had a Mauser (M48) one time that did something similar, I had to fire on the same round several times for it to go off. Commercial ammo worked just fine however.

[LineDoggie]

Mauser C96
Mauser 93
Mauser 95
Mauser 97
Mauser Gew98
Mauser Kar98K
Mauser HSc
Mauser 1910/14

Might help to be a bit more specific

[rabidrabit]

Did you try pulling the trigger?





:)

[digrar]

That's just the world telling you that imperial is a ridiculous way of measuring a precision piece of equipment.

[Hollis]

What does the primers look like?

Have you tried other ammo (some surplus don't fire well in all Mausers)

[asus6983]

It's a Turkish m38 mauser and I've only tried firing 2 rounds in the rifle which happen to be 1954 yugoslavian or czech ammunition.

[sgt_G]

try some newer rounds

Also the Czech stuff seems to be crap. Tried that in my M/N and out of a bag of 20 rounds-20 misfires so maybe the Yugo stuff is bad too

[Migs]

Do the primer spots have a hammer mark when it misfires?

[oldsoak]

That's just the world telling you that imperial is a ridiculous way of measuring a precision piece of equipment.

Gerroff ! :lol: - if it was good enough for us in Salonika.....

[sct1886]

What model? Is the firing pin hit light? IMOP: #1 Read up on the specific model and the peculiarities. #2 Thoroughly clean the bolt assembly. #3 Find a new Wolf spring kit and replace the aged springs.

http://www.tngunparts.com/mauser.htm

[dangerdan87]

Why did you replace the spring? Did the original spring work?

.060" is spec for protrusion. At .065" - .070", then you risk piercing primers. If less than .050, then it will not fire reliably.
Or it could be ammo or maybe your extractor isn't catching and is in the way. Could be a number of things that we cant really specify because you didnt give alot of information.

Answer these questions:
What ammo where you using?
Did you try more than lot/mfgr?
Did you replace the firing pin with the one in the Wolff kit (if it came with one)
Do you hear the hammer drop when you fire?

I am assuming you can close the bolt with a round on the bolt face, thus headspace should be good enough and shouldnt prohibit firing. If you cant close the bolt, then your chamber is too short and needs to be reamed to get proper headspace in order to fire.

If the firing pin protrusion is 0.060" like you say, bolt closes with round on face, it extracts, and ammo is good, I'm thinking it could be something with the trigger mechanism or bolt sleeve. Have a 'smith check it out.

[mcgn21]

IS the bolt closing completely? If the bolt handle has been modified or stock replaced the bolt may not be closing all the way. This will create an out of battery condition and it will not fire. Has the trigger been modified or replaced? If not done properly the sear can drag excessively and slow the striker enough to not fire. Is there enough clearance around trigger assembly ? New trigger and/or stock may interfear with proper trigger movement causing sear drag.

[asus6983]

Answer these questions:
What ammo where you using? i told you already 1950's yugo or czech 8mm
Did you try more than lot/mfgr? no
Did you replace the firing pin with the one in the Wolff kit (if it came with one) yes, i said i did in my first post
Do you hear the hammer drop when you fire? yes, it is nice and stout.

[ThePlato]

Most important question that has been asked before: Does the primer have a dent in it? Did the firing pin hit it?

[asus6983]

Yes, there was a dent in the primer. How big of a dent? No idea. I will be purchasing some new commercial ammo today and attempting to fire it as well as the old 1950's yugo czech ammo again tomorrow so I should have some pictures for you guys soon.

[Skutatos]

Yes, there was a dent in the primer. How big of a dent? No idea. I will be purchasing some new commercial ammo today and attempting to fire it as well as the old 1950's yugo czech ammo again tomorrow so I should have some pictures for you guys soon.

If there is a dent it is almost certainly the ammo causing the problem.

[Migs]

If there is a dent it is almost certainly the ammo causing the problem.
I'm going with this, if there is an obvious dent in the primer then it mostly is the poor ammo you are using.

[Deus Proeliator]

I do not know a whole lot about Mausers but i may suggest checking the headspace. I know you said that the firing pin does seem to be striking the primer maybe the headspace is not correct just a thought my .02 cents worth good luck.

[dangerdan87]

I do not know a whole lot about Mausers but i may suggest checking the headspace. I know you said that the firing pin does seem to be striking the primer maybe the headspace is not correct just a thought my .02 cents worth good luck.

Headspace wouldnt prohibit firing unless the chamber was short, then the bolt wouldnt close.

[skyeye]

An answer you may not like because it will cost money: take it to a gunsmith.

[asus6983]

I just bought some new commercial 8mm ammo brand prvi partizan at my local gun shop for $30. I'll be trying it tomorrow.

[asus6983]

Here's the ammo I purchased.

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/8468/dsc0243er.jpg

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/7162/dsc0245jy.jpg

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9271/dsc0246hz.jpg

[Skutatos]

Let us know how it turns out. If it doesn't fire, you may have to do like skyeye says and take it to a gunsmith.

[Hollis]

A safety suggestion:

Just be sure your mauser is a 8mm mauser. Some are of a different calibers, some have been re-chambered.

[dangerdan87]

Let us know how it turns out. If it doesn't fire, you may have to do like dangerdan and skyeye says and take it to a gunsmith.

Fixed :D

1234567

[dangerdan87]

A safety suggestion:

Just be sure your mauser is a 8mm mauser. Some are of a different calibers, some have been re-chambered.

This. The original M1903's were 7.65x53 and was later rechambered to 7.95x57 (8mm Mauser). The standard for the M1938's is 7.95x57.

[asus6983]

My rifle shot the commercial prvi partizan ammo perfectly today with no misfires. I was close to giving up on the rifle but now that I know it works properly I'm happy. I also tried shooting the rest of the old 1950's yugo ammo I had left and had 5 non fires out of 15 rounds. I also met a guy out on the range today that opened up a new gun shop near me and offered to reload my partizan cases free of charge. So an overall successful day.

Thanks everyone!

[wildcat]

I like a happy ending, glad you had fun shooting in the end.

[rhino]

another thread without pix :(

[asus6983]

Um, What would you like pictures of?

[rhino]

gun, defective ammo, targets after shooting, just to name a few ideas

[KillerBD]

gun, defective ammo, targets after shooting, just to name a few ideas

...or some ****....

[kinney_bmx]

...or some ****....
I endorse this message. Maybe you could put some **** next to your targets?

[rhino]

meh, **** are overrated, there is plenty of that on the interwebs, now someones shooting abilities, an excotic gun, a probelm to solve thats worth seeing

[rhino]

i kid, **** do fine, just dont overdoit

[asus6983]

I already reloaded the defective ammo. But I will get some pictures up of the rifle soon.

[asus6983]

Here are the pictures that were requested. Enjoy!

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/3715/dsc0247i.jpg

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/5718/dsc0248o.jpg

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/5494/dsc0252d.jpg

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/7146/dsc0254zu.jpg

[Skutatos]

Here are the pictures that were requested. Enjoy!

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/3715/dsc0247i.jpg

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/5718/dsc0248o.jpg

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/5494/dsc0252d.jpg

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/7146/dsc0254zu.jpg

Think you have enough solvents? haha. Nice rifles, thanks for sharing.

[rhino]

beautiful. now thats the way to thank people for helping you on line, really nice gun

[asus6983]

No problem, you guys have been great.