Henry Big Boy Light Strikes

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peterk1234

peterk1234

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Every once in a while I am getting a light strike on the primer. One thing I have noticed is that sometimes the rear firing pin assembly is not getting flush with the rear part of the bolt. Not sure this is the problem but it is peculiar. I pulled the bolt. Nothing seems stuck, nothing has rust. I am stumped.

The only other thing I can think of is that the lever is not pushing the front firing pin back all the way at times. Not sure how to diagnose this though, but it would seem to make sense.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Pete
 
Not sure how difficult it is to pull the firing pin on a Henry, but I would probably start there and look for a small chip or a burr in the firing pin channel...
Factory ammo or handloads? Did the rounds that fired have a normal looking indent from the firing pin?
 
Handloads. Light strike is evident on primer. Loaded it back into the rifle and it fired. I am stumped.
 
How hard is it to press the firing pin in when the action is closed?

The Big Boy is mostly a short action version of the Marlin 336, with a bronze receiver and a transfer bar safety in the hammer. It also uses the same two-piece firing pin out-of-battery safety.

If it takes a whole lot of pressure to push the firing pin inward (using a BIC pen or something) then that may be the problem. The additional force required to overcome the binding of the firing pin would reduce the force of the hammer strike. Some normal resistance will be felt pushing the firing pin forward due to the spring pushing against the short section of the firing pin, but it should not be extreme. As mentioned, a chip or a burr on the firing pin or in the channel might be causing it.

If this is not the problem, then perhaps the long or the short section of the firing pin is out of spec (too short).
 
I have not run factory ammo through it. I have looked very carefully at the ammo though and primers were all nice and flush. Plus, I can put the cartridge back into the rifle and it will fire it. @Old Stumpy is closing in on the issue because the short part of the firing pin (rear) is not coming flush with the rear of the bolt sometimes. Whatever is supposed to push it up and back is not doing its job. I have not pulled the gun apart completely yet though so I have not been able to figure it out. I have pulled the bolt and I can feel no friction with the front or rear firing pin sections.

Pete
 
peterk1234 said:
the short part of the firing pin (rear) is not coming flush with the rear of the bolt sometimes. Whatever is supposed to push it up and back is not doing its job.
Click to expand...

The long part of the firing pin has a partial flat side milled away cut which is flush with the slot in the bolt. The lever extension inside the receiver engages the bolt using that slot to cycle the bolt. On the rear stroke the lever extension also pushes against the end of that flat milled away part of the firing pin, which pushes the firing pin rearward to reset it's position.
Even if it didn't though you would think that a loaded cartridge in the chamber would press the firing pin tip rearward enough to project from the end of the bolt. Enough to be struck by the hammer at least.
 
Pictures of unfired, fired, and light strike primers would help. Also pics at an angle showing the seating depth of each above.

My suspicion is primers need to be seated fully, especially since the rounds fire on 2nd try.
 
peterk1234 said:
I have not run factory ammo through it. I have looked very carefully at the ammo though and primers were all nice and flush. Plus, I can put the cartridge back into the rifle and it will fire it
Click to expand...

Primers fully seated will be slightly below flush. The first strike finishes seating the primer. The retry touches it off as intended.
 
Old Stumpy said:
The long part of the firing pin has a partial flat side milled away cut which is flush with the slot in the bolt. The lever extension inside the receiver engages the bolt using that slot to cycle the bolt. On the rear stroke the lever extension also pushes against the end of that flat milled away part of the firing pin, which pushes the firing pin rearward to reset it's position.
Even if it didn't though you would think that a loaded cartridge in the chamber would press the firing pin tip rearward enough to project from the end of the bolt. Enough to be struck by the hammer at least.
Click to expand...

What pushed the rear firing pin up so it lines up with the front firing pin? When the bolt is open the rear firing pin drops ( I am assuming it is a safety mechanism). It looks to me like I needs an extra nudge up at times, which would then force it become flush with the back of the bolt.

drband said:
Primers fully seated will be slightly below flush. The first strike finishes seating the primer. The retry touches it off as intended.
Click to expand...
I may have misquoted, but I will take a closer look. The issue though is I can tell that my rear pin is not pushed all the way back when the hammer is cocked and ready to fire. Not 100% of the time, but often enough.

I appreciate the thoughts. Time for another look at things. Pete
 
Here is a pic of what is happening with the rear firing pin. I reached out to Henry and they immediately responded. Sending it in to them for a look see.

20191202_163815.jpg
 
I am not an expert on lever rifles but I do load for a few.
We had an inci-dent = the only one I have ever had on any rifle, just yesterday.
Shooting a hand loaded round nose which at first attempt was an obvious weak primer hit, we loaded it back in &
tried it again, this time the primer hit looked as good as the previous fired rounds but no go on the launch.
We then noticed it may just be set a tiny tiny tiny bit deeper than the others but not for sure,
The bullet was the 4th round in the tube to begin with & I had loaded 150 grain round nose with lead soft point.
Here is an option I have wondered about before ----- If the rounds are loaded to max & the recoil reaction in
the tube with round nose bullets should be able to push on the primers without setting them off of course, but
pushing them deeper which would result in what looks like a light firing pin hit or a primer set to deep.
Any thoughts on this possibility ????
 
peterk1234 said:
What pushed the rear firing pin up so it lines up with the front firing pin? When the bolt is open the rear firing pin drops ( I am assuming it is a safety mechanism). It looks to me like I needs an extra nudge up at times, which would then force it become flush with the back of the bolt.
Click to expand...

The short section of firing pin is indeed an out-of-battery safety mechanism which ensures that the locking bolt inside the action is fully up and locked into that large bolt locking notch at the rear end of the breech bolt. The locking bolt travels up and down in mortises machined into both sides of the inner receiver. This causes the receiver, breech bolt, and locking bolt to all be locked together at the point of firing. When the top of the locking bolt fully engages the breech bolt locking notch it pushes the short section of firing pin upward against a small spring and into horizontal alignment with the long portion of the firing pin.

The square hook visible on the lever when it is opened engages with a similar shaped hook on the bottom of the locking bolt as the lever is closing. This "coupling" causes the locking bolt to be pushed upward to lock the action, and for it to be pulled downward to unlock the action.

It's possible I suppose that the short rear section of the firing pin in your rifle isn't being pushed up into full alignment with the front section of firing pin. If so, then it would strike first against the breech bolt and then be deflected upward slightly to strike the forward section of firing pin. This could cause a light strike.

But, without an examination, it's difficult to say.
 
ACES&8S said:
I am not an expert on lever rifles but I do load for a few.
We had an inci-dent = the only one I have ever had on any rifle, just yesterday.
Shooting a hand loaded round nose which at first attempt was an obvious weak primer hit, we loaded it back in &
tried it again, this time the primer hit looked as good as the previous fired rounds but no go on the launch.
We then noticed it may just be set a tiny tiny tiny bit deeper than the others but not for sure,
The bullet was the 4th round in the tube to begin with & I had loaded 150 grain round nose with lead soft point.
Here is an option I have wondered about before ----- If the rounds are loaded to max & the recoil reaction in
the tube with round nose bullets should be able to push on the primers without setting them off of course, but
pushing them deeper which would result in what looks like a light firing pin hit or a primer set to deep.
Any thoughts on this possibility ????
Click to expand...

It is possible but a couple things come to mind. The tube placing pressure on the cartridges is spring loaded so the spring should provide enough give. The gun is so heavy that I hardly feel the recoil. It will be interesting to hear what Henry finds. I will ask them to send me a note explaining what it was.
 
peterk1234 said:
The gun is so heavy that I hardly feel the recoil.
Click to expand...

They sure are heavy. Henry lists them as 8.68 pounds. They are beautifully made with great wood and great fit and finish, but an 1894 Marlin Cowboy with a tapered Octagon barrel weighs in at less than 7 pounds.
That extra weight is very apparent the first time that you hold one.
The Big Boy Steel manages to shed that extra weight nicely with a round barrel and a trimmer receiver.
Still, the Big Boy "Yellowboys" are very pretty.
 
Got my Big Boy back from Henry. They replaced the transfer bar and locking bar and also changed the headspace. Have not fired it yet but cycled a bunch of bullets through it and so far the rear firing pin is going all the way back into position.

Question for you guys. How do you change the headspace?

Pete
 
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