Range incident - can anyone explain?

[RobD]

Well, here's what happened to me. I was shooting my No 4 (T) at Bisley at 200 yds. It is a rifle in excellent condition, all original, from a very reputable dealer.
After a few shots, I got "click" and the striker was stuck at the half-way position. I pulled back the striker and pulled the trigger - again, I got "click" and the striker was stuck at the half-way position.
I opened the bolt and as I was doing it, the gun went off.
Can Peter or anyone else tell me what went wrong; and also, what is the safety drill for this eventuality - I don't want this to happen again. Note, it was not a hang fire.
Rob

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[Peter Laidler]

I would just imagine a defective bolt or cocking piece. As for the safety drill, well you can't have a drill for the unknown!

If you'd been in the UK Military and anyone had noticed or you'd brought it to anyones attention, the rifle would have been cleared and examined, statements taken and on and on and on and ever upwards and onwards.

But in short, unless the rifle is examined by an Armourer AT THE TIME then what is gleaned thereafter isn't worth nuthin'.

I examined an SA80 after an ND during an unload and found gravel from the previous firing point inside the trigger mech housing. This was why the safety couldn't be moved from L to R (safe). So whatever happened after that - in this case the rifle fired during an unload - was a consequence of 'a natural occurrence'

[Maxwell Smart]

Were you shooting factory ammuntion or reloads?

Might you have pushed the bolt handle down when first trying to open the bolt?

Saw a similar thing happen on the range where a shooter was using a No 4 with reloads, and the striker went to half cock. He pulled the striker back, and then noticed that the bolt handle was not fully down. He forced the bolt handle down, and as he did so the rifle discharged.

[Peter Laidler]

If it went into half-cock Max, then that was in itself the mechanical safety operating as it should. Then, if he cocked the cocking piece manually, then it must cock on the sear, regardless, surely? So now we have a fully cocked rifle with a partially opened bolt (that caused the half cock in the first place.....) So you now CLOSE the bolt. If the cocking piece is held on the sear after manually drawing the striker and c/piece rearwards, how CAN it fire when you close the bolt?

Just asking the Q's that I'd be asking on the subsequent Board of Enquiry!

I know the point hasn't been raised but the rifle CANNOT fire if you lift/unlock/open the bolt because the stud on the cocking piece will simply fall into the short cam groove

[ActionYobbo]

post some pictures of the underside rear of the bolt.
is the bolt matched to the rifle?
is the bolt handle bent?
how many rounds had you fired before this happened?

[bob4wd]

I notice that the OP didn't indicate that the cocking piece was returned to full cock. If it was in fact still in the apparent half-cock position when the bolt was subsequently opened, then the blockage, whatever it may have been, shifted/fell out/went away, thus releasing the firing pin, which then did what it was supposed to do. See Peter's comment above about gravel.
Sounds like it's time for a thorough cleaning.
I say "apparent" half- cock, because I suspect there was a piece of foreign matter obstructing the mechanism.

[Maxwell Smart]

[QUOTE=Peter Laidler;317864 So you now CLOSE the bolt. If the cocking piece is held on the sear after manually drawing the striker and c/piece rearwards, how CAN it fire when you close the bolt?

[/QUOTE]

Good question Peter

I was the shooter to the immediate right of the bloke who this happened to; if I hadn't seen it at first-hand, I wouldn't have believed it either. The rifle fired immediately the bolt handle was forced down, and the shot raised a very nice divot out of the turf mid-way to the target.

There was no investigation at the time, because the shot was not deemed to be an unsafe discharge - muzzle pointing correctly down rage, during course of fire.

Since then, being aware that it is technically impossible, I have tried to nut it out. I have not been able to reproduce this scenario with an empty chamber or dummy ammunition with my rifle. I will have to ask the shooter concerned if I can have a better look at the bolt on HIS rifle - have happily shot beside him many times since and no problems.

[browningautorifle]

The book states clearly, if the bolt has not been turned sufficiently in the loading action, the stud in the cocking piece enters the short groove(in the bottom of the bolt) and so prevents the striker from flying forward. The sear nose should have engaged the half bent but didn't...

If the stud in the center of the cam groove caught the stud of the cocking piece, it could hold it back...so when the bolt was opened the striker went forward and fired...

How's that sound Peter?

[Son]

I have (almost) had a similar occurrence years ago where the bolt did not quite close and the stud on the cocking piece jammed into the stud between the cam grooves of the bolt. I could not do anything, the bolt wouldn't close or open, the cocking piece could not be drawn back. I was immediately surrounded by "helpers" who wanted to hit the bolt shut to set it off.

For the cocking piece stud to enter the short cam groove, the bolt has to be a long way from closed. There is an area between "a long way from closed" to 'almost closed" where the studs on the bolt and cocking piece come into contact. A bit before centre of this area can have them ride around each other which opens the bolt so the cocking piece stud enters the short groove, and a bit after centre tends to close the bolt and allow the striker to fall, but usually with a soft strike due to the force taken to close the bolt down.

Check both the studs for damage- the stud on the bolt might be dented or chipped at the back to the right and the cocking piece stud on the front left. I would suggest for it to fire the bent did not engage the sear when the cocking piece was drawn back, but returned to the stud on stud position until the bolt handle was pushed down, allowing it to fire.

[Surpmil]

So the discharge happened as the bolt was being closed, not opened as originally stated?

Was the bolt handle in the same position during the two attempted cock and fires until it was closed, causing the pin to drop from the half cock position and the round to fire?

A few photos of the lugs etc. would help.