Estate sale rifle - can’t get the bolt out.

[Kerf]

Stopped at an estate sale on the way home from shopping, looking for a slow cooker since mine broke. The lady at the desk said the guns are in the back room. I said I was looking for a slow cooker.

As I entered the room, there’s a guy holding a very clean BSA rifle with a trigger shoe. Canjar? I grabbed it as soon as he set it down and didn’t let go as I perused the rest of the room (30-40 long guns). I noticed he was having difficulty working the bolt. 7x57mm, very clean wood, dusty, with a nice leather sling & Weatherby scope and no Canjar. I tried to remove the bolt to check the bore. The bolt would barely open and moved to the rear very slow and hard, like it was in line at the Dairy Queen. Anyway, I worked it back and forth a few more times (really slow and hard, though it did get a little easier) and tried everything I knew to get that bolt out. Nadal. I tried pulling the trigger back, pushing it forward, looked for the secret button, etc., nada. Not wanting to embarrass myself, or let the gun out of my possession, I went ahead and bought it and I’ll figure it out when I get home.

Been working on it for several hours, checked the Internet, tried everything suggested. Internet says to push the trigger forward really hard; that caN’t be right. I tried it easy and the trigger shows no forward movement and I’m not going to force it. I tried pulling on the trigger and working the bolt. Nope. Someone said there’s a button on the left rear of the action that needs to be pushed. Mine doesn’t have that button.

There are two holes on the left rear side of the action where I guess you could insert a pin, but they’re half covered by the wood stock. They might be for a receiver sight but then again, the wood still half covers them.

I’m totally open to suggestions, or if anyone knows where I can find out more info on the rifle: BSA, 7x57, commercial sporting rifle. Thanks

kerf

 

[mnrivrat]

Did you try removing the trigger shoe - it may be preventing full travel to release the bolt.

 

[35 Whelen]

Google is your friend:

"According to Mr de Haas you remove the Bolt on a BSA Monarch by pulling the bolt about halfway to the rear and then pressing the trigger FORWARD very hard and while holding this pressure on the trigger you should be able to remove the bolt the rest of the way.
"

35W

 

[NuclearMeltdown]

Taking the trigger shoe off came to mind first for me too. If it's too wide or too high up on the trigger, it might not move forward far enough to get the bolt out.

Just a guess though! Never handled a rifle like yours. Disassemble that thing the whole way down and clean it up. Bet it's really nice!

 

[Kerf]

Yes, I did pull the trigger shoe off, thinking the same thing. No change.

35 Whelen - I did an internet search, (by the way, G****e is not your friend, IXQuick is your friend; G****e is totally in bed with the crooks; I know, it’s just a saying; don’t take it personally), and found the information your referring to. Part of the problem is I don’t know which model of BSA this is and not really all that familiar with them. So, I tried pushing the trigger forward and it shows no inclination of going that way, short of inserting a screw driver behind the trigger and twisting. I refuse to do that. I just can’t imagine, mechanically, how that would work; but, I’m sure that it could be made to work that way, and there are probably rifles out there that use that system. I just can’t think of any. Herter’s U9 possibly?

I’ve never owned a BSA action before but a buddy thought they were the cat’s meow, (I thought he was just cheap, didn’t want to pop for a SAKO), but if my recollection is correct, he pulled the trigger to remove the bolt. I think.

What I’m thinking now is that the guy who owned the rifle wasn’t using it all that much, and put it away in semi-permanent storage and before doing so, gave it a mega dose of WD 40, thus the sluggish bolt. I’ve never seen a bolt move like that before. So much for WD 40 as a lubricant, after 6 months it becomes an anti-lubricant known as gunk. It’s great for displacing moisture (fishing reels) like it says on the can, before using a real lubricant (Nyoil). Anyhow, I digress.

What I’m doing now is: removing the action from the stock so I can soak it and remove all the gunk. Just getting the action out of the stock was a major feat; I thought it was glued in. It was, in a way. And possibly, more likely, all this gunk is what is preventing the bolt release mechanism from working properly, which ever way it’s suppose to function.
(Last note: I gotta’ say, I’m in total agreement with your sig line; funny I never noticed it before. First rifle I ever had custom built was a .35 Whelen Impr, then a .338-06 Imp, (better bullets and BCs). Both were tack drivers, if you can describe what they’re throwing as tacks. Now it’s 9.3x62, and a 9.3x57 in 6.5# rifles. A friend who served in Africa said the 9.3’s were commonly used for cape buffalo. And, IMHO, the .223 has a lot in common with the Zil and Yugo.)

 

[rcmodel]

If all else fails, take the trigger assembly off the receiver, pull the bolt, dissemble it, and soak & clean them all separately.

If it's gunked up as bad as it sounds?
That's what I would do with it anyway.

rc

 

[Kerf]

mystery solved...

Took the action out of the de-gunker solution and the bolt moved easily. Cleaned everything up, hit it with some ATF, and was able to remove the bolt by cocking the bolt, moving it rearward about an inch and pulling the trigger. Popped right out.

Trying to include a photo…not sure if it will show up or not. If it does, check the vintage Leuopld scope mounts – adjustable for windage and elevation. Don’t make them like that any more.
Thanks for everyone’s help

kerf

 

[Romeo 33 Delta]

Thanks for posting your successful results and pics! Glad that it was really that easy ... nothing mechanical as the result of some bubba messing around with it. Looks like a nice rifle too. I have a number of Brit Parker Hales and find them extremely nice as well.

 

[Fremmer]

Wow, nice rifle, and I like the mounts!

 

[shinz]

BSA Royal or Hunter, depending on what part of the world you're in. I've a couple, I find the easiest wat to remove the bolt is to decock the rifle by turning the bolt down while holding the trigger back then lift the bolt handle & remove the bolt to the rear without releasing the trigger. Nice rifle indeed, what caliber?
Steve.

 

[Z1D2]

Glad you fixed it...

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Good Cleanings solve lots of gun issues.

 

[Kerf]

Thanks for the information Steve. I had no idea of the model name, I was conflicted and puzzled by that. Now I can do some research in the right direction. Care to divulge any tips you might have stored about the BSA ? What model / calibers do you have? Just curious.

This rifle is a 7X57; never owned that caliber before, either. Funny, I wouldn't have looked twice at that rifle 20 years ago, but with the quality of firearms being what they are today, I marvel at how well made this gun is. Hand cut checkering, walnut stock, full length claw extractor blued, bump in the barrel for iron sights with the slot filled with a blank, hooded front sight, and the scope is mounted in solid steel Leupold rings that look like they came off a bank vault. And to think, this was a somewhat inexpensive rifle years ago, and now it's vintage classic or something...

Thanks again for your help, everyone,

kerf

 

[Kerf]

"Good Cleanings solve lots of gun issues."

According to the threads here and on other forums, they seem to cause more than they solve. ATF and NYOIL are your friends. Don't abuse them.

kerf

 

[shinz]

Hi Kerf, mine was also a 7x57 originally but the barrel was well shot out so I had it rebarrelled to 257 Roberts (257x57) , it makes for a nice little rifle, its my go to the last few years( decades ) These came in three action lenths, long,30-06,medium, 7x57 & short, 222rem, they also came in standard & lightweight persuasions though lightweights in medium are very rare. If the left receiverwall is straight, its the standard. if it has a large scallop out of it its the lightweight. I had a 270 Win in long action lightweight, nasty skinny stock & a built in muzzle break which effectively gave a 20 1/2" barrel. kicked like hell & smacked me around worse than my brno 602 in 416 Rigby did. I sold it to someone who needed it more than me. I also had a short action in 22 hornet, lovely to shoot but a slightly generous chamber & a sod to load for so it went too. Seemed a shame to make it into a K Hornet & destroy its collector appeal. So now I have a standard action on 30-06, my 257 & a 308 on the medium action too. they're nice actions & the medium action with the slimmer stock schnabel forend) is very comfortable. This is not the lightweight stock though.
The 7x57 can be loaded to do anything a 7mm-08 will do & is better with heavier bullets due to its longer neck. It is loaded down to heck in US factory loads & can be safely loaded to do a decent job with modern powders & 140-150 gr bullets. Something around the 4350 type powder does well under them.
A small bit of trivia about the BSA is that the non rotating mauser style extractor is an Enfield M17 one & I'm guessing that they went to push feed & hook extractors when their supply of M17 extractors dried up.
For more info on these, the Frank de Haas book on "Bolt Action Rifles" has a good write up, he refers to them as the Royale line
Steve.

 

[bannockburn]

Kerf

Nice job getting the bolt out and the rest of the rifle cleaned up. Looks like a really decent find in terms of a quality bolt action restored to working order.

At any rate I think this a much better find than a slow cooker.