Personal Experiences With Rifles Malfunctioning In The Field

[Smitty]

Major Khan, I have thoroughly enjoyed your writings. So, in the interest of helping:

1983 - Remington 700 7mm mag. I chambered a round after getting out of the truck, blowing a hole in my tire. I thought I must have had my finger on the trigger accidentally, so it was an accident. The next year, it happened again as I chambered a round. I knew my finger was nowhere near the trigger. I took the rifle to a gunsmith and had a timney trigger installed. Problem fixed.

2019 - Same Remington 700. It has been converted to a 7mm Ultra mag and this year it twice failed to extract the shell from the barrel after firing. I had to use a cleaning rod from the muzzle and tap the shell a couple of times to drive it out. I am getting a new extractor installed, I guess about 35 years is all they last.

Enjoy your research!

 

[Rule 303]

2 Rem 788's would drop extracted case in magazine if bolt not worked fast and same with a Rem 700. In all cases the rifles were old and had done a tone of work. The C clip extractor was cracked through but still stayed in place just no longer had the tension to hold the case against the face of the bolt.

Had an M17 fail to extract but that was not in the field, picked this up at home running dummy cases through it. Turned out some one had replaced the M17 extractor with an M98 one.

 

[Hogpatrol]

The only malfunctions I've had were with Remington autoloader shotguns, and some semi auto rimfires.

 

[James Adamson]

What rifle and calibre was it , James Anderson ?

It was a tikka T3 in 6.5x55, not the rifles fault at all. The moderator couldn't come apart to be cleaned and it was full of loose carbon build up. I had loaded the rifle pointing straight up in the air causing some of the crap to fall down onto the bullet. I tried gently to force the bolt shut but it was no use, when I took the bullet out for a look I could see the shoulder was dinted and looking in with a torch I could see crap in the chamber.

 

[JKO HUNTING SAFARIS]

I had my Alaskan .416 Ruger jam after I shot a lion of one of my fellow professional hunters. I have used my .416 Ruger as a back up rifle for more than 4 years at that time. I also did hunt a lot of dangerous game on a weekly basis. I never could find out exactly what the problem was but I know it was a combination of the Hornady factory ammo and the medium action used on the Alaskan model. Apparently some of the casings are molded too thin and they expand too much which causes it to get stuck.

I have since bought myself a Merkel .470NE double rifle and I have my clients use the .416 Ruger if they do not want to travel with rifles. I have to admit the reloading of the 416 Ruger is not easy if you are not used to the rifle. I would like to get it smoother if possible....

 

[Fastrig]

Only had two malfunctions. First was a Winchester auto shotgun that had God only knows how many shells run through it, 40 years worth at least...started jamming up....time for a new shot gun

Second was my old 30-06. Truck ran over it because someone forgot to check that all was clear before backing up Damn gun just just wouldn't cycle rounds any more....time for a new rifle

 

[eamyrick]

Our city pd sniper team were all used Remington custom shop sniper rifles. I observed one of these rifles fire when the bolt was closed without touching the trigger. This is a documented issue with the old trigger designs but this rifle was unaltered except by Remington.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

Our city pd sniper team were all used Remington custom shop sniper rifles. I observed one of these rifles fire when the bolt was closed without touching the trigger. This is a documented issue with the old trigger designs but this rifle was unaltered except by Remington.

I believe that spawned the quote Remington moment.
Atleast that is what I've heard that called by range officers.

 

[PARA45]

At the range, Remington 700 ADL, in 243. The rifle fired when I closed the bolt, and scared the living sh*t out of me. Several years later, I was cleaning the same rifle, and when I closed the bolt it dry fired on me. That rifle has been sitting in my safe ever since. I believe this is one of those Remington with the trigger issues from back in the 80s. I was overseas when the recall happened.

 

[MS 9x56]

I have had 3 rifle malfunctions in my life none of which were the rifles faults. Mauser 98 Israeli conversion to 308 which failed to fire in extreme cold -4 F . Operator error. Did not remove grease from inside the bolt. Savage 99 failure to eject due to military brass reloads being used. MS1905 9x56. Not really malfunction just sticky bolt lift with purchased reloads. That one took me almost 18 months to sort out. Turned out to be a combination of tight bore and chamber dimensions.

 

[Rule 303]

I had my first Rem 700 fire on closing the bolt. Not a big issue just adjust the appropriate screws for a decent let off weight - for me 3lb - and some glue on the screws to stop them working lose. Never let me down after that. None have let down since but I know others have. However a Ruger M77 Mk 2 has happened several times at the range when warm. Trigger screws and let off weight all fine. Go figure.