Easing the firing pin on bolt guns

[Dave R]

Have you ever found that something you had been told long ago, and believed for a long time, is not true? I'd like to make sure that's not the case with this tip.

I was told that, after cleaning a bolt-action, and re-inserting the bolt, you can ease the firing pin forward by holding the trigger down while rotating the bolt down to its resting position. Now the spring is not under tension, the firing pin is forward, and the action is happy.

Makes sense to me. On bolt guns with a loaded chamber indicator, you can see the indicator going forward slowly. I've been doing it as long as I have been shooting.

So this is OK to do, right? Doesn't damage a sear or anything else, does it?

 

[HSMITH]

It cannot hurt the sear because the sear is not touching anything. It won't hurt a thing. I do it too.

 

[AK103K]

I do the same thing with my bolt guns. I do it on my auto guns too, if I can. Some rifles, like the AK, will allow you to pull the bolt to the rear till it contacts the hammer and when you pull the trigger and ease the bolt forward, the hammer follows it down.

 

[STEVE M]

I do this also. I first heard of it from reading Ross Seyfried about 15 years ago.

 

[Art Eatman]

Goes back to the days when dry-firing was seen as a Bad Thing. In general, that's true for rimfires, since the firing pin can hit the back side of the chamber and distort both.

If you hold the trigger and close the bolt, an attack of the stupids which left a loaded round in the chamber won't have a Bad Event. At least, not right then, and one might then be luckier, later.

Art

 

[Dave R]

I had no idea that would work with an AK, too. Thanks, AK103K.