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I have a few No1 Mk3's. I noticed a couple of them will fire from the half cock, something I thought was supposed to be a safety. A couple of them also seem to have the bolt handle rise a bit after dry firing, almost like they are a little free when the bolt is closed.
Should I take them to Mr. Smith before I fire them?
Thanks.
It is normal for the bolt handle to flip up a bit when dry firing, but it should NOT flip up with a dummy round or empty case in the chamber. Some rifles will fire from half cock, too. The half cock is not really intended as a safety per se, but as a means of preventing the rifle from firing while out of battery. If you pull the trigger with the bolt partially open, the little stud on the cocking piece will strike the cam in the bolt body, closing the bolt. But, if the stud hits the middle of the cam, it will hang up. When you close the bolt, the striker will go to half cock. The half cock should also lock the bolt. The half cock can also help prevent an accidental discharge when you drop a cocked rifle in combat. When the cocking piece slips off the sear, it SHOULD catch at half cock. Don't count on this, if the sear spring is weak, it might not work. The half cock on a 1911A1 Colt pistol serves the same purpose. It isn't really good practice to use the half cock as a safety.