Ross mk2 firing pin broke tip or weak spring

[soonerfan66]

I am working on a Ross Mk2 that I won on a auction . To check the bolt I used 303 brass with just a primer , no powder or bullet and I thought it went pop there was a dimple in the primer but was wearing ear muffs and was a lot of background noise . Now after swapping out the ugly original stock with another and cleaning it best could I loaded a few live rounds to test fire with it strapped down in a gun vise .No joy , was no big bang but like before had dimples in primer . Is the firing pin tip broke , it sticks out of bolt head some . Best can tell from tip of firing pin to the end of it shows 5.83 , this is with bolt only partly apart . I do not have a tool to remove the pin from bolt body but am making a tool to remove the pin . So till I can remove the firing pin to get better look at it what is your thoughts on it , can someone tell me the correct length to compare . If it checks out I will replace the spring . If tip is broke may try find a gunsmith or someone to weld/solder a repair cause have not seen many firing pins for sale .

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Well, I have put a tip on a firing pin with wire feed weld. It's hard enough and shaped OK. The spring is a beartrap so if it's mushy you should be able to tell. I'm sure you have enough experience with firing pin springs to know...

When testing I use a live primer and wrap the muzzle in a towel, leave the ear defenders off. I do not have a over all length to compare...

[soonerfan66]

Not sure if I need to start a new thread or not on this . Having some issues taking the firing pin and spring out . Tried making a tool to remove the nut (sorry can't remember the correct name) to release them but the piece of tubing I used was to soft and kept slipping . It was brake line tubing that I read was used to make it . I heard of people using a Lee Enfield firing pin removal tool for this . Any suggestions on getting this done ?

[Bluenoser]

This might help. I suspect you have one of the older bolts with a threaded firing pin.
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread....lt+disassembly

[AGB-1]

Bolt disassembly help
Might help.
AGB-1http://photos.imageevent.com/badgerdog/cgnmilsurpknowledgebase/1913rossmkiiimanual/Rossmanual.pdf

[boltaction]

There are a host of Ross Mk II models, but what a lot of them have in common is a lot of crud in places. Not too likely on a Mk II** target but if you have one of the military ones, especially a US issue one, it could be the case. Depending on how your bolt is, it might just be full of gummy old grease. I have seen that before, and in fact also remember someone posting a story here on the forum or maybe Rossrifle.com about the same. If the bolt body is gummed up, the striker will move forward appropriately when the trigger is squeezed, but the firing pin and spring are sludged and don't move with enough speed. When you look you see firing pin protrusion from the bolt head when the bolt is out of the gun, but the problem is the velocity with which it gets there when firing. You could also just have a broken spring--if it is in a couple of pieces it will still move forward but the pieces can pinion themselves and again slow down the FP velocity. Alternatively, if yours has a significantly large chamber and headspace is a tad loose, perhaps your FP isn't broken at all but just doesn't stick out far enough to compensate for the sloppiness in the chamber. A few thoughts for you, maybe not helpful. Disassembling and cleaning the bolt will tell a lot one way or the other.

Ed

[soonerfan66]

Thanks . I have bolt apart about half way apart , just need to get that darn firing out . I ordered a Lee Enfield tool and hope it's made better then the one I tried to make . Wanting to be careful I don't bugger up that nut . That did cross my mind about maybe crud being inside the body . Pulling on the cocking piece it seems stout enough but till completely apart can't be sure on anything . Years ago I picked up a nice looking Mosin 91/30 and when I took the bolt apart to clean and oil was shocked on how nasty it was . Who ever had it before kept the outside spotless but I don't think the bolt had been apart sense WW2 . I also added another Ross the other day to the collection of guns . My wife says I need professional help , not sure if she means a gunsmith or what .

[vykkagur]

Stick it immersed in some good industrial detergent in a tin can and run it in an ultrasonic cleaner for an hour or so. A good industrial cleaner means NOT Dawn dishwashing liquid, or anything else that suds. The correct solvent does an even better job, but I do not advocate anyone use a solvent with an ultrasonic. The wrong solvent or unsafe procedure can generate a huge fireball. An ultrasonic cleaner will clean the dimples off a golf ball.

[Sharpshooter1944]

Have you thought about making your own firing pin out of 4150 and then getting it HT 56 Rockwell C?

[soonerfan66]

I need to get the firing pin and spring out to check them out to see what the trouble is before can do anything . Would PB Blaster work or some other parts cleaner from autozone . The main thing is with the tools I used (the wrench tried to make seemed to soft and hoping the Lee Enfield firing pin tool I ordered helps . I am not getting a good bite and I am not wanting to push it to far cause scared about rounding it off . I may try heating it up with a hair dryer , have done that before on bolts and screws successfully win that tool comes in .

---------- Post added at 01:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:06 PM ----------

And I don't have access to a ultra sonic cleaner .