I have never fired the rifle. It has been in our family circle since the mid 1950's. When it was given to my grandfather (in its current state) it had not been fired since the late 60's or early 70's. At that time it was put in an attic and left. The bolt has not been taken apart since it was fired last.
The bolt was stuck fully closed when my grandfather got the rifle. He put some gun oil or solvent on it and it freed up a bit, but only enough to pull the bolt back halfway. There is where ithe bolt face gets stuck on the left rail.
My father-in-law and I removed the bolt to clean the rifle. We had to remove the barrel and action from the stock to get the bolt to come out. After cleaning the action, we put the bolt bac in the rifle and were able to get the action to cycle once. Then the bolt face would overturn and get caught on the rail again. We did NOT take the bolt apart.
Nothing has been adjusted or tightened except for the screws that hold the barrel and action to the stock.
Hopefully this helps.
---------- Post added at 10:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:50 AM ----------
Thanks Smellie
I think my best bet will be to take the rifle to a gunsmith when I move back South in a couple of months. I thought I would try to get the ball rolling so I could get the rifle ready for hunting season next year, but it seems better to wait. I have lots of other rifles anyways. This one is just special because of its tie to the family.