Mossberg 800A 308 bolt question

[dkarpeles]

I bought this rifle used and took it to the range to test. It did not fire. I thought the firing pin may be broken. I took it to a gun shop but they do not have time to look at it. So I placed it in a vise and moved the lever over to activate the pin. It seems fine...the pin comes out almost to the same level as a spring loaded ball on the end. I have no idea what that ball is for. Would that get in the way of the pin or does that activate something? Would anyone have any ideas what to try to get the rifle to fire? Should I get a blank 308 cartridge and try test firing and see if there is an indentation? Thank you.

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[Certaindeaf]

Did you take the safety off?

 

[No_Regerts]

That nub on the bolt face is the ejector.

 

[arrowshooter]

Maybe you can post a picture of the pin in the fired position and your primers after "firing". Maybe also the rear of your bolt cocked and fired.

What ammo?

 

[Stomper]

You didn't mention this so I have to ask...

Did you try firing more than one cartridge, or just one? It may have been a "lottery" dud round, and hopefully you tried more than one cartridge.

 

[No_Regerts]

With bolt guns, it can be a few things. Like you suspected, you could have a broken firing pin. The striker spring could be worn out. Headspace may be off. Could be bad ammo or hard primers.

My first step would be to strip the bolt down and throughly clean it. If there is built up grime in the firing pin channel, it could be slowing the pin down. Once its all clean, keep the firing pin dry and reassemble. You can then try snap caps or something like that. Ive also use a small pencil with the barrel pointed up. If the pin seems to be moving, take a few different cartridges to the range and see if that works. Try hunting ammo, especially anything made by Federal. If your gun can't set off a Federal primer, it needs fixing.

 

[dkarpeles]

Thanks for all the replies! That was quick. I tried PMC Bronze 147gr, Magtech Tactical 7.62x51 BALL M80 and Federal 150gr. I will take it to the range this weekend with various ammo and retry...maybe it was user error.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Thanks for all the replies! That was quick. I tried PMC Bronze 147gr, Magtech Tactical 7.62x51 BALL M80 and Federal 150gr. I will take it to the range this weekend with various ammo and retry...maybe it was user error.

Take the bolt apart and clean and lube it.
Very well could be petrified grease in the gubbins.

 

[Velzey]

If you keep having trouble with it just give me a shout. I have a drawer full of parts for this rifle.

 

[arrowshooter]

If you do not have the manual, download one for reference. This below and the trigger adjustment could be things to look at:

 

[dkarpeles]

If you keep having trouble with it just give me a shout. I have a drawer full of parts for this rifle.

Are you out of PDX? I live near Portland.

 

[Buckshot22]

@dkarpeles Let me tag you here to refresh your memory. Maybe you actually have lost your mind as you said. Or maybe your just a liar. Thanks. As I stated in private message, I am no longer interested in your rifle. Have a great night.

 

[dkarpeles]

Ohhhh...OK...this was not a post to sell the gun. Please stop calling me a liar. I do not appreciate it. I am an honest person. So what happened is this...the gun would not fire. So I brought it to Rich's and he told me that I had not sanded the stock down far enough for the bolt to close all the way. But before that I thought the bolt was bad...so yes...I took it apart and oiled it and actually put a new spring in it. I never put the gun in a vise...but I used a vise to take the bolt apart...no other way to do it that I know of...in fact the guy at a gun store in St John's gave me that advise. After I talked to Rich I sanded it down so the bolt would close all the way...problem solved...it worked. I bore sighted it so it was hitting paper and then dialed it in. Then I decided I wanted to upgrade. That is it...end of story. Now...I understand what you are talking about and I hope to never talk to you again.

 

[Buckshot22]

Ohhhh...OK...this was not a post to sell the gun. Please stop calling me a liar. I do not appreciate it. I am an honest person. So what happened is this...the gun would not fire. So I brought it to Rich's and he told me that I had not sanded the stock down far enough for the bolt to close all the way. But before that I thought the bolt was bad...so yes...I took it apart and oiled it and actually put a new spring in it. I never put the gun in a vise...but I used a vise to take the bolt apart...no other way to do it that I know of...in fact the guy at a gun store in St John's gave me that advise. After I talked to Rich I sanded it down so the bolt would close all the way...problem solved...it worked. I bore sighted it so it was hitting paper and then dialed it in. Then I decided I wanted to upgrade. That is it...end of story. Now...I understand what you are talking about and I hope to never talk to you again.

I hope that as well. Just to clarify, i called you a liar this once because you lied. You said none of this (the facts) were true. Then I Proved it to you as requested and now you "remember" what happened. You don't look like a very active member so I don't think you realized I could look at what your previous postings were. Don't worry, I won't ever message you to purchase anything ever again. I just wanted to be clear for both our sides of this. Don't lie and you won't be proven wrong. Thanks again. Have a great night.

 

[dkarpeles]

There is a big difference between lying and just forgetting. Wow...you have a great night too.

 

[po18guy]

As to the Mossberg 800, bolt disassembly is easy. Once you remove the bolt from the action, there is a spring loaded plunger in the bolt cap (the part with the safety button) which catches a notch in the bolt body. That notch is just to the left of the root of the bolt handle, looking from behind. Depress that plunger with a small punch or wood dowel and simply unscrew the bolt cap (lefty loosey). You can do it carefully with the firing pin cocked, but with a bit of effort (and gloves) you can cam the cocked firing pin out of its notch in the bolt body and allow the spring to relax. Threading the cap off then is super easy. Don't lose the plunger and spring - both are tiny.

To reassemble, simply insert the firing pin and spring into the bolt body, and the plunger and spring into the bolt cap and thread the cap back on. Make sure the plunger and spring don't fall out while you are threading it back on. Easiest way to prevent this is simply to aim the bolt straight up up so that gravity will hold the plunger and spring in place. When threading it back on, you will need to depress that plunger for the last couple turns of the cap to allow the notch to pass by while tightening the cap. The cap is in proper position when it is about 1/2 turn from bottoming in the bolt body.

Check to see if everything is assembled properly by trying to unscrew the cap once more. That small plunger should catch the notch and prevent the cap from being inadvertently unscrewed. Then, you would simply depress it again and rotate the cap back to its assembled position. It's a pretty simple, straight forward assembly and doing this is simpler than describing it.

 

[JonathanGoss]

If you keep having trouble with it just give me a shout. I have a drawer full of parts for this rifle.

Noticed this reply. Do you still have parts for this gun? A friend asked me to work on his and his firing pin is shot (bent). Do you happen to have one or any recommendations as to where to look?