https://thegreatmodel8.net/

Hey Guys,

I have run into a first for me. I recntly purchsed a Model 8 in .25. You may have seen the post that I was looking for a 1917 to upgrade the collection. The seller said the rifle performed well and had no issues. The rilfle was shipped broken down. When I attempted to put the rifle together, I noticed the bolt had been turned a quarter to the left. That was not a problem and I straightened the bolt and assembled the rifle. I noticed the rifle was cocked and the safety was off or in the down position. I could not push the safety to the on position. It would go about half way and stop. Since the rifle was in a firing position, I attempted to pull the trigger for a dry fire and it would not move. I tried to pull the bolt back and went to the lock position and I released the bolt and it slammed shut like it is suppose to. Like I said, this is a first for me.

I called the seller and he said that he may have dry fired the gun after he took it apart. I would not think that would do anything but on the other hand I have never dry fired a rifle in the broke down position. He said that he could not remember whether he cocked the rifle after the dry firing. Given his responses, it is obvious to me that he did something during that process. He assured me that the rifle shoots. In a gesture of good faith, he sent me a $100.00 and said to take it to a gunsmith to have it checked out.

Before I spend the $100.00, I wanted to check with you guys, the best gunsmiths int the world, to get your opinions. I know there are some tear down aids on the site, but before I go through that process, I want your advice.

Regards,

jack1653

Good news - bad news. I've been there, broke down the gun again, fiddled with the bolt and all was well. (Did NOT take the bolt/receiver apart.) I know, I know - not much of a help. Don't know what I did or what changed ... but dry firing while it is broken down is not good (easy to do accidently when broken down and the safety is not on). At least for me it was an easy fix.

I don't know, I've inadvertantly pulled the trigger with the barrel assembly out, and nothing bad happened. I wouldn't make a practice of doing it though. Could be one of those things that if you disassemble and reassemble the works, it might correct the problem. At least you would be able to see if something seems amiss.

Jack,

I'd just disassemble & reassemble to see if that fixes the problem. According to Remington dry firing is OK. What I do is to hold the bolt handle with the right hand, depress the bolt release with the left hand, then once you feel spring pressure pushing the bolt forward let is go slowly while you pull the trigger. This will gently release the hammer and let it ride forward with the bolt carrier. I attached a page from the Remington manual to help out!

Hey Guys,

Well, breaking it down and putting it back together didn't solve the problem. I noticed that when I pulled the barrel assembly off the rifle, the bolt head wants to fall back and when it does, it makes a quarter turn. I have seen the head turned on other rifles and it wasn't difficult to turn it back into position. I have never had one that just slides back on its own. I don't think this has anything to do with the trigger not pulling. I took the trigger assembly off the receiver by taking out the screw and removing the pin. The assembley came out easily and I could see the hammer in the cocked position. The assembly was a little dirty so I used the Rem Oil and cleaned the components. I placed my thumb against the hammer, pulled the trigger and the hammer released. I manually cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger and it released. I repeated this several times and everything seemed fine. At no time did I let the hammer hit anything but my thumb.

I was about to put the assembly back in the rifle and turned it upside down. When I did, a very small piece of what looks like a part of a leaf spring fell on to the table. It appears to be broken but I can't say that for sure. One end of the steel is slightly angled making me think it is a break line. The spring has a slight curve and is 1" in length and 1/8" wide and on one end it has a 3/32" by 1/8" tab making it appear "L" shaped on the end.

I can not see any spring like this in the schematic of parts. The only thing that I saw in the schematic was on part #21, barrel lock, there is a small spring #22 called the barrel lock spring. I haven't taken this part of the receiver apart and wanted to check before progressing with the next step. Could this have caused the trigger not to pull?

Thanks for the help.

Regards,

Jack

Sounds like this spring has broken off from bolt carrier latch and was interfering with trigger, when you loaned me the parts when I was trying to get old ugly 8 to cycle, there was another complete bolt carrier latch with spring, the 1/8" x 1" is about the size of that spring, I suspect if you replace the bolt carrier latch with a different one it should cure the problem. Hope this idea helps, Jerry

Hey Guys,

The broken part is called the barrel lock spring. I didn't wait like I said I would. Curiosity got the best of me. I had an extra model 8 receiver, affectionately referred to as the "Carriage Rifle", so I took it apart piece by piece matching it with the broken rifle. Wahla!! There it was. As I had suspected, the broken "barrel lock spring" didn't have a darn thing to do with the trigger operation. The broken piece had undoubeted wedged itself in the trigger assembly and would not let the trigger pull. The Carriage Rifle came to the rescue again as I used its barrel lock and spring and replaced the broken one. The repaired rifle functions perfectly.

Thanks for reminding me of your spare parts, Jerry. I forgot that I had them and will check them out tomorrow and repair the beloved Carriage Rifle.

I appreciate all the advice and help from you guys. Your encouragement saved me a $100.

Regards,

jack1653

"Carriage Rifle", haha my wife's pretty happy you bought that one!

Nice fix Jack.