Type 99 bolt help

I have had a type 99 for about a year but I went to shoot it for the first time today since I finally have 7.7 ammo. When I pulled the trigger I heard a click and that was it. Upon further investigation the firing pin never contacted the round.

Since I got home I have taken the bolt apart and all the pieces look like they should, and when I put the firing pin next to the bolt it measures to be long enough via calipers, so I am sure someone didnt grind the firing pin down. When The firing pin is in the fire position it does not go all the way down into the slot, but it feels like solid contact even though it still has about another tenth to two tenths of an inch to go.

The last picture shows me holding down the firing pin as far as it will go, yet not contacting the bottom of the groove.

It's like theres an obstruction of some sort but it all looks clear. Is this a common problem? have you seen it before? can you help please? I'll take all the pictures and provide al the info you need/ask for.

Thank you
Roger

Type 38 striker perhaps? Don't have a T38 so shooting from the hip.
Just checked my T99 and if you say the channel is clear of any obstruction then the only possibility is the wrong striker I would think.

Could be fossilized goo in the channel up at the end that hardened and looks like it belongs there. Did you try soaking it?

I'll try soaking it. Also if anyone want to compare lengths the firing pin/striker is 6.194 inches long according to my calipers

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Originally Posted by WarPig1976

Type 38 striker perhaps?

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It looks like a T99 FP from here. Oddly enough a T38 pin will fit and function in a T99 bolt provided a T38 safety knob is used. T99 pin in a T38 bolt...no dice.
T38(top) vs. T99 firing pins.

I knew somebody would have set. No mistaken that difference.

Something has to be in thay bolt body. Possibly someone put a spacer ring in it to prevent from being fired. (better than cutting the firing tip off!) That or the dried cosmoline/crud as Aragorn stated. Salt Flat

Ok, so soaking did not help, and the inside of the bolt is definitely all metal. My only other thought is that maybe this ring on the firing pin means some metal was added, even though it all looks uniform and origonal. What do you think?

Also the width of the total band in the picture is .234 inches

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Originally Posted by r.pettit

.234 inches

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That's what's it's supposed to be, give or take. Inside the bolt body there's a shoulder that band face rests on when the PF is in the fired position. Measure the depth of this shoulder with your calipers and see what you come up with. Should be something like 4.950'' or there abouts.

Should be something like 4.950'' or there abouts

4.961. hmmmmm, now I'm really stumped

The pin is .250ish from the shoulder all the way down to where it starts to flare to meet the band. the base of the flare is .312ish.
From the base of the flare to the tip of the firing pin is 1.897ish.
The band is .507 in circumference.

Is the bolt body bent, dented or in anyway looked damaged?

All those numbers check with what I have. The sure doesnt seem to be any bends or dents that I can find.

As mentioned previously you probably have dried grease in the bolt. Boil the stripped body for a half hour or so to soften the grease then use an old bore brush to clean it out. Might take several tries depending on how dried out it is.

Ok, so I finally got the firing pin to protrude, but probably not the way that would be recommended. After a lot of measuring and tinkering and boiling, I decided that the band was sitting on the shoulder like it should be, and there was no gunk or a sleeve inside the bolt body. I also noticed that the little line around the band matched exactly how short the firing pin was from protruding. So I ground down the band to the little brown ring that was around it and now it works just like it should. I'm thinking maybe the front side of the band was an add on to make it un-fireable, although the metal there all looked like it was original

Two more questions for you guys though, one is how much should a firing pin protrude normally, I know this one is fine but second opinions are always good. I attached a picture and it measures .045 from the base.

Second I cant remember what series this rifle is and even though I have a list of series markings this one is a little blurry, anyone recognize the series mark?

Looks like a fourth series to me, but it's a little hard to tell. Salt Flat

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Originally Posted by r.pettit

how much should a firing pin protrude normally

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All of mine(38's and 99's) are from .071''-.076''. Glad you got it going but it would've been interesting to know just what the problem was/is.