Model 14/141 Slam Fire

[nambujim]

My "inbox" has been on overload this past six (6) months with folks who purchased rifles online (mostly from Gunbroker or GunsInternational) but not restricted to those sites. All these rifles have problems of one sort or another but today we're going to address a growing problem, slam-fire!

Probably from the first day these rifles hit the market back in 1912 someone felt they could improve the trigger pull which is about 8#. Problem is with the 14/141 all you can do is smooth out the pull which I described in an earlier post. So over the years owners with little knowledge messed with the trigger & sear on these models with result being a pull of about 6# which they only tested when the rifle wasn't loaded. Problem is when you introduce loaded rounds you change the dynamics just enough so you will get a "slam-fire".

I have stated in earlier posts that 90% of load/feed problems are the result of reloaded ammunition, in the case of slam fires that jumps to about 95% where the owner or previous owner messed with (filed down) either the trigger, the sear, or both. If you have this problem the first thing to do is to inspect those parts for obvious tampering.

Usually the fix is to replace the trigger, that is where I start, and usually does the job but sometimes you need to replace both he sear and the trigger. Its best to do them one at a time, like a "controlled experiment" where you eliminate one possible cause at a time.

Hope this helps someone!

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC

[Dizz]

Hi Jim I recently received a M141 made in 1946 that belonged to my older brother
It hasn’t been shot since 80’s
No problems were ever mentioned bye my Dad who gave it to my brother in 1970
He really never used it
I just got it and experienced a slam fire
I took it apart and cleaned it good
Same thing today with Rem 200 g CL ammo
I see the sear is rounded off a little
I’m sure it hasent been tampered with since 1970
When it goes off the action is released so trigger has to be slipping off
I’ve hit it hard on end of stock cocked and it never fails
I see a new trigger on Numrich site but the sear is not called a sear
You know what it’s called?
Thanks

[usabaker]

While I'm not Jim, I believe the part you are referring to is the "Firing Pin Catch". Please see the pictures attached. The Remington Service Manual can be found here --> https://whitebeachone.wordpress.com/wp- ... l_1973.pdf

[nambujim]

The "Sear" is called a "Sear" and is Part #122, nice the other chap downloaded a repair manual, should have been done a long time ago.

Yeah, messing with the trigger and the end of the sear is easy to do and a total bitch to fix. Replacing the trigger is annoying but doable AND actually its good to remove the entire assembly including the safety and clean it up because it catches a lot of gunk down there. The only real way to clean it is to remove everything and flush it out.

The "sear" is another matter entirely in that on the Model 141 the "Sear Pin" is "pressed" into place and is near impossible to remove with normal tools. Not having the proper tool I resorted to using "nail sets" and a substantial hammer, still a lot of work. For many years I purchased junk guns and assembled an array of "parts sets" which included the bolt, stop, action bar with the complete magazine tube. In cases like yours it was just easier to replace the bolt than to try and remove the bloody "sear pin", I might add that when/if you're able to remove the sear pin you run the risk of being attacked by the spring/plug for the firing pin................they can exit at a near lethal velocity.

Buying a part from Numrich is a "total crap shoot" because all you're getting is a trigger from their parts bin and it most certainly has seen more than normal use. On the positive side its hard to mess up a trigger unless it was done intentionally.

You can swap out most 141 bolts but here to its gets tricky, lower serial bolts will work on just about any rifle but not so with rifles in the 60-78,000 range. the later serial bolts shall we say are "less than good" for overall quality. Later bolts show a lot of milling marks and the internals lack the quality of earlier production.

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC

[Eddie Southgate]

Glad to see you posting something Jim . Model 14 , 141 , 14 1/2 and 25 post have been rather sparse of late . I was getting rather bored.