Well, a few days ago, I finally completed all the necessary paperwork to obtain my first M1917 30-06. I couldn't wait to get it home and start to clean and polish it and in general do all the things that a person likes to do with something almost akin to a new toy; 'toy' being an analogy of course.
At some stage, and making sure there was nothing in the magazine, receiver or breech, I cocked the action and activated the Safety Mechanism. I was testing out the weapon systematically to make sure everything functioned as it should. I squeezed the trigger to check that the safety worked okay. Initially, I thought it was going to work. However, I noticed a slight give on the trigger as I pulled a little harder. A second later, the trigger collapsed all the way to the rear end of the trigger guard and became free in it's fore and aft movement. The Safety Catch was still activated and had prevented the firing pin from striking. The trigger had no tension on it whatsoever and was flopping back and forth inside the trigger guard. So, I finally decided to deactivate the Safety Catch. When I did so, the bolt slammed the firing pin home! Oh My God! I thought, if I had been at the range with a live round chambered and had not discovered that fault, there could have been a very serious accident, even a fatality!
I immediately took the rifle back to the gunsmith to have the fault rectified. I personally believe the problem lies with the trigger being worn inside the sear housing; or, the actual pin holding the trigger has bent, warped or become displaced somehow. I thought about the Safety Catch itself but this would not explain the trigger becoming totally loose in it's movement. Nevertheless, it is a bit of a mystery to me as the rifle functions quite normally when the Safety Catch is deactivated.

Have any other members encountered this problem? Indeed, is it not all that uncommon, or is it rather unheard of? I would love to get any feedback I can on this subject.

I love this rifle. I've studied so much about it and it's history and feel somewhat disappointed that this has occured. I've got my chin up though and hope to get to the range by the weekend.
Information
Warning: This is a relatively older thread
This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.