Working the Mauser Bolt

Anyone who works with rifles must understand preventive maintenance and lubrication. While a number of concerns with self-loaders do not come into play with manually-operated rifles, there are demands of maintenance and care needed in working a bolt action. Automatic rifle shooters may have the greater reputation for making brass but target shooters and varmint hunters can fire prodigious amounts of ammunition and produce quite a bit of wear on the action.

Shooters will wish a tuned trigger in the rifle and some will replace barrels as they shoot them out, keeping the gunsmith busy. Keep in mind that the bolt itself sees a lot of wear and tear that demands attention. I am an advocate of preventive maintenance and a step here will aid the rifle’s longevity. Sometimes we discover the shooter is his own worst enemy. An example is the common sticking bolt.

When the bolt sticks many shooters will work the bolt more aggressively and use all their strength causing even more damage. Add to this is the fact that all bolts do not work alike. Some don’t even turn, an example being certain, older rimfires that are straight to the rear designs, although the handle itself has some motion. Some are more complicated than others and have easily misplaced small parts. Others have pressed in parts that are destroyed if removed.

The Italian Carcano extractor is one example of a pressed in part. Once removed it cannot be repaired and must be replaced. When addressing The main difference between these two bolts is that the top features a straight handle while the bottom’s handle is turned down. common bolt problems we need to be familiar with the specific design and how it operates. The first step in addressing a bolt problem is to disassemble the bolt to its component parts. I completely strip the bolt of any grease and oil at this point.

During an inspection and for the majority of repairs the bolt is best kept completely dry. Since the Mauser bolt is so common I think working it is a good starting place for most of us. There are many rifles of this type in use and quite a few are coming into the country in various condition. I have examined a number within the past few months that were in like-new condition and others that were probably dangerous to fire.

Safety Check Whether a well worn Turkish Mauser, alike-new Yugo 48A, or a sporterized rifle, the safety check is the starting place. During any shop work, always wear sturdy eye protection! I have used the Wizard brand shop glasses with built in bifocals and recommend

them. Begin with a double-checked, unloaded rifle. Work the bolt to cock it. With the safety to the far left, press the trigger. It should fire, or rather, snap the firing pin. Now work the bolt and move the safety to the middle or flag position. Press the trigger. The rifle should not fire. Work the bolt and move the safety to the far right. The bolt should be immovable and the rifle should not snap the when the trigger is pressed.

If the rifle fires on these last two checks there are explanations but the bolt or parts of the bolt will have to be scrapped. Working the Bolt To remove the bolt bring it to the top position. The spring mounted lever in the ejector housing on the left side of the receiver is pulled to the left, releasing the bolt and allowing it to be pulled out of the receiver. Now you are ready to disassemble the bolt. At the rear is the bolt sleeve lock plunger.

Press the plunger in with a blunt tool, grasp it and turn the bolt sleeve counter clockwise to remove the sleeve and firing pin assembly. There are any number of different depressions in various Mauser stocks that are designed to aid in stripping the bolt. If your stock doesn’t feature this (e.g., a sporterized Mauser), drill a hole in a hardwood block as a substitute. Move the safety to the disassembly or flag position and place the firing pin in the stock depression or hardwood block.

Grasp the bolt sleeve firmly in one hand with the thumb over, stabilizing the safety lever, and press the bolt down as you ride your thumb over the top of the safety lever. As you do so you will expose the cocking piece. The cocking piece is screwed onto the firing pin and may be screwed out a quarter turn in either direction to release it from firing pin. After turning the cocking piece it lifts off the firing pin. Slowly release pressure on the firing pin spring.

The bolt sleeve may now be removed from the firing pin spring. During the course of this operation be certain you do not break the firing pin. It is hardened and will not bend. I slide the firing pin spring off the firing pin at this point. The safety lever may be removed from the bolt sleeve by pressing the lever to the safety on position and bringing it straight to the rear of the sleeve. There is a lock plunger and spring in the bolt sleeve that never seem to need attention.

If you wish you may take them down for practice. First, turn the sleeve upside down. If you press the plunger in a bit with a small tool, such as a Chapman screwdriver nose, you will find the key lines up at the halfway point. With the key lined up the small screwdriver nose is used to press it out of the slot. The plunger is then eased forward under spring pressure. While not strictly necessary to remove the plunger and spring, they are often found to be

caked with old lubricants and powder residue. The rifle illustrated was cleaner than most, with the spring and plunger strong and functional. Mauser claw extractors are famously rugged. The Mauser controlled-feed action is praised for its reliability in all climatic conditions and its ability to feed regardless of the attitude or angle of the rifle. The claw extractor is attached to the bolt body. It rides in a slot and must be convinced to move out of this groove.

Move the extractor around the bolt body until it is nearly out of the forward groove on the bolt. Catch the forward part of the extractor on a wooden block to remove it. After the muzzle end of the extractor is removed from this groove you must rotate the extractor and pop it out of the extractor collar. I do not recommend attempting to remove the extractor collar. At this point a thorough cleaning and inspection is indicated.

I always move the extractor collar around the bolt a few times to ascertain whether or not this important part is free of crud and varnished oil. Firing pin inspection is critical. As you may imagine, a basic system that has been around since 1888 or so has seen plenty of home gunsmithing. The details in this report are common to the Mauser 98, 98K and the Yugo 48A. Some have reported expedients such as peening or even home-cobbled parts. If the firing pin is rusty or pit ted it should be replaced.

A common fault with Mauser and surplus ammunition is pierced primers. Pierced primers leave a smoke ring around the bolt face so be aware of this during preliminary inspection. The firing pin tip is never sharp as issued and should be smooth and radiused. An excellent safety feature on the Mauser firing pin is the shoulder. This shoulder is about one and one-half-inch behind the firing pin tip and doesn’t allow the firing pin to move forward until the bolt is nearly closed. When at rest the firing

pin should be seen about a tenth of an inch in the firing pin tunnel and should not clear the bolt face without ninety degrees of rotation. This is easily checked. Move the firing pin into the bolt and rotate the firing pin to check for proper operation. The firing pin is moved through the bolt body past the internal stops until it comes to rest. Check for fit in the bolt; it should not protrude. Check cocking piece and firing pin fit as well. The cocking piece should rotate smoothly on the firing pin.

If it does not, lubricant may help. I mentioned a firing check earlier. If the rifle did not pass the test there are several areas to check and all will require replacement of parts. There are three parts of the cocking piece to consider. The sear ledge should be crisp and sharp. Some have ground this piece to provide a lighter trigger press and this may lead to more than one problem, including an unsafe firing condition.

The sear ledge should not be worn or rounded and must remain at a ninety-degree axis to the cocking piece. The safety engagement is sometimes ground to make the safety easier to work, but this is to be avoided. The engagement surface should be straight and square. The cocking ramp surface isn’t as critical but should not be pitted or excessively worn. Moving around the rifle a bit, the safety lever threads should be true and not eccentric.

No more than one tenth of an inch of fore and aft move ment should be present in the safety. It is acceptable to polish the safety lever to smooth up operation but less is more in this operation. Mauser safeties are supposed to be tight. There is a chamfered edge on the safety that engages the cocking piece during lockup. Look for the half-crescent shaped cut. This is another area in which less is more. Polish very lightly on the chamfered surface to make for smoother safety operation.

When the bolt is out of the rifle I check the lugs for eccentric wear. They should be square and not rounded. At the rear of the Mauser bolt is a 'V' notch that is responsible for cocking on opening. The notch should be smooth. There is also a notch at the rear edge that meets a corresponding ledge in the safety to lock the bolt. I will note again that unburned pow The extractor is in good condition for its age.

Spring steel or tool steel lasts for decades. der, congealed lubricant and other deposits should be cleaned off. I mentioned free collar rotation and that practically covers the bolt itself. Now, we will check the extractor. The Mauser extractor hook should be sharp with the correct bevel. These hooks usually are constructed of good material and if wear is apparent it is acceptable to file back into the correct bevel. Not too sharp, but sharp in appearance.

When the extractor is aligned properly on the cartridge, about a quarter inch behind the hook is the guide foot that prevents the extractor hook from springing off of a cartridge. A combination of guide foot and extractor wear along with soft brass may make for cruddy extraction. The foot should clear the bolt body by 0.005-inches. If it does not then you may peen the lugs on

The ring on the breech face is also normal. If the primer is being pierced a dark powder burn will appear in a circle around the firing pin. the extractor collar to tighten the extractor. Check proper extractor tension by slipping a cartridge under the extractor hood on the assembled bolt. The extractor should be about 0.004-inches from the bolt body when loaded under pressure. Reassembly Prior to reassembly of the bolt a few preventive maintenance steps can be taken.

The shoulders of the firing pin and bolt lugs should be greased. Once we have checked the parts and everything is sound, reassemble the bolt. Begin by reversing our previous steps. We will place the sleeve over the firing pin and compress the firing pin spring. Screw on the cocking piece. Be certain the safety is in the middle, or flag, position. With the firing pin assembly in the bolt body, turn it clockwise until the bolt sleeve stop plunger engages the bolt body.

When the bolt sleeve engages the bolt body, further rotation is stopped. On the last few turns you will compress the plunger so that it will turn over the bolt handle. Once reassembled, check for firing pin protrusion by snapping the rifle. Excessive firing pin protrusion will piece primers. A protrusion of 0.55-inch is ideal. Much longer, certainly at 0.65-inch or so, you will pierce primers. A 0.50-inch protrusion or less may not crack primers reliably.

A short firing pin could be tested with live ammunition but along one will create a dangerous situation and should be replaced. No firing test is necessary or should be done if the firing pin is protruding 0.60-inch or more. More Tips and Problem Solving Professionals prefer the claw extractor to the push feed type as feed reliability and extraction is improved. Another drawback of the push feed not always understood is the need for maintenance. The push-feed bolt is intended to enclose the case head on closing.

The rotation of this extractor compared to the non-rotating Mauser 98 claw tends to collect shaved brass particles and unburned powder. This shaved brass is very fine and finds its way into the firing pin channel, mating with grease and other lubricants. Just because the bolt rotates on opening the cartridge case does not. Pressure has stuck the case in the chamber and it stays put while the extractor runs around the case head. A sharp extractor may shave off brass and this can build up, causing a stuck firing pin.

This is counter indicated to my preference for a good sharp extractor claw with automatic rifles and pistols. In the bolt rifle an extractor that is a little less sharp is better. As for the proper adjustment of the Mauser-type extractor hook I have come to believe that just enough of the extractor to hold the cartridge is best. In many bolts there is a slot that accumulates unburned powder and congealed lubricant. This slot is overlooked but should be cleaned from time to time.

I do not lubricate the forward section of the bolt, only the rear section, applying a slight amount of grease at the locking lug where it is recessed at an angle making for a smoother action. The preceding steps are simple enough but important to anyone working with the many examples of Mauser rifles. Learning where to look for safe functioning as I have described is important. It is also important to look for proper firing pin length to prevent pierced primers.

Much of what you will do with the Mauser centers around the bolt. Learn the bolt and what to look for and you will be well ahead. AG