Well, my wife sprung a fast one on me for my B-day and I'm now in psosession of my 2nd Model 14. This "new" one, made in 1918, is in caliber 35 Rem. ( posted previously about how to value it.)
Its initial range trip went fine, it put a half dozen rounds down range, no problem. Second time out it started misfiring. Maybe 1 out of 4 attempts with new Remington 200 CoreLokts. Firing pin indents look "normal". I'm thinking the firing pin/interior of breech block is gummed up, or worst case, the firing pin itself is broken, so I brought it home and gave it as good a cleaning and lubrication as possible without dismantling the bolt. Visual inspection tells me the firing pin is not broken and the bolt sure seems to be working properly. I measured the protrusion of the firing pin from the bolt face, and it measures .055". for comparison, I measured the firing pin protrusion on my 32 Rem bolt and it is .070". .015" isn't much, but maybe it's enough to give inconsistent primer strikes?
Since cleaning I have not gone back to the range. I'm going to try it tomorrow. I am curious though. Is anyone aware of known primer ignition problems with the model 14's? The bolt on the earlier gun, the 35 Rem with ignition problems, does not have the firing pin "extension". The 1926 32 Rem does have it. There are a few other differences in the bolts too.
Anyone with ideas on my failures to ignite, I would love to hear them.
Kendall
Model 14 misfires
Re: Model 14 misfires
You say the primer hits look normal? If that's the case I would look to the ammo. Just because it's new ammo doesn't mean it's good. I've had new ammo in the past do the same thing.
HTH
Dave
HTH
Dave
Re: Model 14 misfires
Hi Kendall!
Just got back from a two week vacation, my first ever and returned to over 300 emails with yours being one of them.
I sent a quick note to Hempy but here's my "opinion" and Dave makes a good point in that it "could" be an ammunition problem, doubt it but anything is possible.
To be blunt, you cannot clean the bolt of a Model 14 with Hoppe's, love the smell but it won't clean the inside of these bolts worth a toot. You need something really agressive, then blow it out with high pressure air. These guns can be up to 100 years old and the will clog up behind the bolt face with the result being inadequate primer strike.
One thing I'm pretty sure of is that it isn't headspace, worked on well over 300 of these rifles and have yet to have one with a headspace problem.
With respect to the bolt, you have been correctly informed in that the dis-assembly of one can hurt you if you don't know what you are doing and the "sear pin" was essentially pressed into place. Remington apparently didn't think it a good idea for individuals to work on these guns and like I have told countless others........I have bent "nail sets" trying to remove the sear pin.
Usually if the bolt is full of gunk so was the rest of the rifle, that would be a clue but again............doubt it is headspace and doubt it is the ammo (my opinion). Get something agressive and spray the dickens out of it, then blow it out. If that fails you can always send the bolt and/or the entire gun to me and I will make it right.
Isn't this fun!
Kindest regards!
Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC
Just got back from a two week vacation, my first ever and returned to over 300 emails with yours being one of them.
I sent a quick note to Hempy but here's my "opinion" and Dave makes a good point in that it "could" be an ammunition problem, doubt it but anything is possible.
To be blunt, you cannot clean the bolt of a Model 14 with Hoppe's, love the smell but it won't clean the inside of these bolts worth a toot. You need something really agressive, then blow it out with high pressure air. These guns can be up to 100 years old and the will clog up behind the bolt face with the result being inadequate primer strike.
One thing I'm pretty sure of is that it isn't headspace, worked on well over 300 of these rifles and have yet to have one with a headspace problem.
With respect to the bolt, you have been correctly informed in that the dis-assembly of one can hurt you if you don't know what you are doing and the "sear pin" was essentially pressed into place. Remington apparently didn't think it a good idea for individuals to work on these guns and like I have told countless others........I have bent "nail sets" trying to remove the sear pin.
Usually if the bolt is full of gunk so was the rest of the rifle, that would be a clue but again............doubt it is headspace and doubt it is the ammo (my opinion). Get something agressive and spray the dickens out of it, then blow it out. If that fails you can always send the bolt and/or the entire gun to me and I will make it right.
Isn't this fun!
Kindest regards!
Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC
Jim Peterson
Re: Model 14 misfires
Jim, thanks for your reply.
Today was my first opportunity to take the rifle out since "cleaning" the bolt. I tried a few of my handloads and some more of the Remington CoreLokts. The only misfires I had were the original two rounds that misfired the first time around. This makes me think it might be an ammo issue. I am going to try those two rounds in my model 81 and see what happens. Here's hoping they are duds. regardless, I think I will take some carb cleaner to both of my model 14 bolts just for good measure.
If it turns out that the two misfired rounds go bang in the model 81, I will be sending the bolt back to you for some PMC.
regards, Kendall
Today was my first opportunity to take the rifle out since "cleaning" the bolt. I tried a few of my handloads and some more of the Remington CoreLokts. The only misfires I had were the original two rounds that misfired the first time around. This makes me think it might be an ammo issue. I am going to try those two rounds in my model 81 and see what happens. Here's hoping they are duds. regardless, I think I will take some carb cleaner to both of my model 14 bolts just for good measure.
If it turns out that the two misfired rounds go bang in the model 81, I will be sending the bolt back to you for some PMC.
regards, Kendall
Re: Model 14 misfires
Thought I better post a pic of my new model 14 Deluxe 35 Rem, (the one on the gun store counter), along with my 32 Remmy.
The 35 was made in 1918 I believe, and later returned to Remington for service in 1931. The 32 Remmy is 1927 vintage. It has an old pachmyer pad and a Pacific sight, but is otherwise stock.
The 35 was made in 1918 I believe, and later returned to Remington for service in 1931. The 32 Remmy is 1927 vintage. It has an old pachmyer pad and a Pacific sight, but is otherwise stock.
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Re: Model 14 misfires
Kendall!
Its always a bit tough to work on the bolt alone, no way to test if it works but I have a batch of .35's so I could use them for a test bed.....sort of! LOL!
My favorite way of fixing problems like this is to switch bolts and see what happens (I have about 40). It is possible that yours is just gunked up (that old oil turns to varnish) and/or maybe your firing pin is a bit short.
It costs little to mail a bolt, I can take it apart, clean all 20 parts, check the firing pin, and put it back together. If I have a .35 in which your bolt will work I can test it to see if it fires, be nice to have a sample of a cartridge that didn't fire.
Are we having fun yet?
Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC
Its always a bit tough to work on the bolt alone, no way to test if it works but I have a batch of .35's so I could use them for a test bed.....sort of! LOL!
My favorite way of fixing problems like this is to switch bolts and see what happens (I have about 40). It is possible that yours is just gunked up (that old oil turns to varnish) and/or maybe your firing pin is a bit short.
It costs little to mail a bolt, I can take it apart, clean all 20 parts, check the firing pin, and put it back together. If I have a .35 in which your bolt will work I can test it to see if it fires, be nice to have a sample of a cartridge that didn't fire.
Are we having fun yet?
Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC
Jim Peterson
Re: Model 14 misfires
Jim, I ran the two rounds that didn't fire in the mod 14 through my mod 81 today. They worked (Grr). I put three more through the model 14, two fired, one did not. The one that did not fire had a very light primer indent. It seems obvious to me that I'm having inconsistent firing pin hits. Bolt gummed up inside, weak spring, short pin, some combination of those three or maybe leprechauns have taken up residence.
Given the cost and hoops required to ship firearms these days, I would prefer to just send the bolt if that will suffice. PM your address, I will FedEx the bolt out to you along with a case fired in my model 81, (very deep indents), a case fired in the 14, and the shell that didn't fire today. You can work your magic and let me know what I owe you. I can do PayPal if you have an acct. or a postal MO is fine with me too.
And thanks in advance for offering to make it right.
Kendall
Given the cost and hoops required to ship firearms these days, I would prefer to just send the bolt if that will suffice. PM your address, I will FedEx the bolt out to you along with a case fired in my model 81, (very deep indents), a case fired in the 14, and the shell that didn't fire today. You can work your magic and let me know what I owe you. I can do PayPal if you have an acct. or a postal MO is fine with me too.
And thanks in advance for offering to make it right.
Kendall
Re: Model 14 misfires
Kendall!
My email address is: nambujim@charlotte.twcbc.com
Email me and I'll give you my mailing address and phone, I'll do my best with your bolt. Unless someone has been inside it (the bolt) before, the work should be pretty straight forward.
When you email me, give me the serial of your rifle so I can use one of mine as a "test bed" for your bolt when I'm finished. It will be easy enough to determine whether or not someone has worked on it before, the firing pin spring bing rather substantial is not usually the culprit.
However you ship it, make sure I don't have to sign for it and no I don't use Paypal but rather your personal check will do fine, will let you know the cost before I return it to you..........and be sure to give me your address.
Regards!
Jim
My email address is: nambujim@charlotte.twcbc.com
Email me and I'll give you my mailing address and phone, I'll do my best with your bolt. Unless someone has been inside it (the bolt) before, the work should be pretty straight forward.
When you email me, give me the serial of your rifle so I can use one of mine as a "test bed" for your bolt when I'm finished. It will be easy enough to determine whether or not someone has worked on it before, the firing pin spring bing rather substantial is not usually the culprit.
However you ship it, make sure I don't have to sign for it and no I don't use Paypal but rather your personal check will do fine, will let you know the cost before I return it to you..........and be sure to give me your address.
Regards!
Jim
Jim Peterson