We have a piggie shooting expedition coming up fast and the rifle up next in the line-up has never been fired personally. Today was range day and that situation was to be corrected. The platform is a Husqvarna 1651 chambered in .358 Norma Mag. The very first round chambered went *click*. Some time was spent with rifle to shoulder, waiting. The round was ejected with nary a dent. It was rechambered with the same results. The bolt was pulled and we discovered the firing pin does not protrude when the cocking piece is 'down'. As of this moment, we don't know why.

Fortunately, we have other rifles in the line up waiting to chase piggies if needed.

On the positive side, Miss Melodie's rifle functions flawlessly and she is rarin' to go.

Always pays to have backup.

Being basically a Mauser action it should be pretty easy to pull the bolt apart to check the firing pin. Mine is in '06 and is my go-to meat gun that delivers as reliable as a ball-peen hammer. I took my first whitetail with it as a teenager when it was loaned to me by my Grandfather. He said if I shot a deer with it that day he would give me the rifle. He was very surprised when I came back for lunch dragging that buck, but pulled out his Swiss Army knife, unscrewed the buttplate and wrote my name on the stock underneath it.

neat story and neat gun

Took the bolt apart and hosed everything down with solvent. Didn't chase out any small animals but did come out with some dirty patches. Checked main spring length against another Mauser and it looks about the same. Firing pin tip looks good. Put it all back together and now we have protrusion. Set off a couple of empty primed cases with authority. Not entirely sure what was the original issue.

Now it's back to the range.

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NM

Is it a '98 style action or one of the earlier ones?
bob

Makin' bacon, I hope

Husky, of course, started with '96's and '98's but, somewhere in the mid-50's, they released an improved version. The bolt comes apart just like the '98 and parts look like they may be interchangeable but I don't know that. I think the models started with the '1000' and there are a large number of 1640's in '06, 8x57 and others. The .358 Norma had it's own model number, 1651, but it appears to be a 1640 to my eyes.

"If all I have is a cheeseburger, then I will beat them to death with a cheeseburger."

It was the belt on the brass wearing down after a few reloads and having enough give to lessen the primer strike. New brass fixed the problem completely.

Check the belts on the brass and see if they still have a reasonably sharp edge. There was some difference in looking at them, but it was very slight to the eye.

The bolt would have to be rotated 90 degrees to the right of the cocking piece with the bolt out of the action to see protrusion. An extra safety feature of the 98 Mauser. Even if the cocking piece lets go the 98 cannot fire unless the bolt is all the way down. Pre 98 Mausers used a different system to preclude the rifle from firing until the bolt was down. On the 98 the flange on the firing pin has to line up inside the bolt as the bolt is turned down to lock in order for it to fire or protrude.

To make a long story short take your bolt out and push the bolt sleeve lock button in a rotate the bolt sleeve to the left and it will let cocking piece fall down the slanted area and let the firing pin protrude. After doing this you must pull the cocking piece back and rotate the bolt sleeve back in place (not easy but doable). I think I remember this from back in the day.

PS Disregard if you already are aware of this

Bob

I've got a pretty fair handle on Mausers....mostly from having a few of them apart. Not being ungrateful as I sincerely appreciate folks thinking about 'my most recent trouble' (sit tight, there'll be another along shortly).

It was a frustrating range day. We brought 3 rifles: Miss Melodie's '94 Winchester in .45 Colt, the Husky in question and a Ruger No. 1 in 9.3x62. Miss Melodie's '94 ran like a Swiss watch and we were very pleased. The Husky had the troubles above. The Ruger had other issues which seem to be rooted in the brass used being undersized. I believe we have the bulk of the issues in hand and will see the bottom of anything else remaining.

It's all part of the journey of playing this game we all enjoy.

Thanks again,
Hoot

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

Seriously, it would really be a lot of fun to get you in one of these hunts.

beforehand.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

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