Mauser Bolt wont close easily, feedback please??

I found the problem with the bolt closure. Ric had it on the spot.

So I have figured out how the mauser bolt works completely and the cocking piece sear boss was the problem. The cocking piece when used with a timney sportsman trigger, “can” be too long or project too far forward, I believe Ric mentioned this.

As the cocked bolt comes forward the cocking piece sear begins to intercept the trigger sear. At this point the Timney sear is set too far toward the tang and causes the trigger sear to even further compress the firing pin spring. After studying Jerry Kuhnhausens book on Mausers, it became very clear. If the sears engage too deep forcing the further spring compression, there is too much force encountered as the bolt closes. The bolt must be pushed up to .100 inch or more forward to allow the bolt rotation lock plunger to depress far enough to allow the bolt to rotate to lock. So mash it hard, force the firing pin spring back even further and to overcock just to get the plunger to drop the 1/3 travel required to allo the bolt to rotate. Additionally the rotation lock plunger had a spring that someone had cut, stretched, kinked and left the plunger covered with really big burrs and original machine marks. I polished the burrs off and smoothed the bearing surfaces a bit with an india stone, collapsed the spring to proper length minus a few thou to weaken it's stress level, oils and reassembled. The plunger was hanging on a burr, causing EVEN MORE difficulty as forward and circular travel was required to close the bolt. I used a coarse stone to cut the leading face of the cocking piece sear slowly. It was a full tenth that was removed before the assembly moved properly. Timney mentioned this directly and indirectly in their instructions as a fitment issue that may develop. So after the cut, india stone polish and clean up, there was still a bit of trigger adjustment that Ric also mentioned that hindered the smooth operation. BE advised, I probably would have been good to very good with even more removal of cocking piece sear material, I quit due to fear of overcut. Theres is .020 spec'd as necessary clearance between sears in JK's Mauser book for proper fit. I “might” have that but likely it's a bit tighter still.

I was not enthused about the 2lb trigger pull, I prefer a really light, safe trigger. So I investigated the trigger spring and found that I could cut the Timney, deburr, reassemble and adjust to under 1LB. It now has about 1LB for trigger weight, maybe as little as 12 oz. It's just as crisp and creepless due to not touching the Timney sears or surfaces. The pull adjust is now at minimum and can't be further adjusted unless I stretch the spring or add a full length lighter spring. It won't slam fire under any circumstances. I add back some engagement on the timney sear to stabilize the environment further. I am very happy with the trigger.

The bolt closes smoothly but you do have to use force to rotate the bolt, it's simply friction from the lug faces not being lapped at all. The lugs leave a lot to be desired from what I have measured but I can't afford to strip a fresh barreling from someone else down and re-headspace and lap lugs. The bolt was dry prior to my work and adding a drop or two to the bolt bearing surfaces, boltways, cocking piece OD, etc... made am improvement in smooth operation. Eventually (maybe sooner than later pending how it shoots) it will get added treatment to refine its operation but for now, it is safe and bolt closes correctly.

Thanks Ric for your help, your direction pointed me in the right direction. BTW: I was bummed NOT to find an aftermarket firing pin and spring causing the problem... but that one can't be fixed anyway. I am sure the stock spring and pin will do just fine. Thanks RIC!!:dude: