loading 1871/84 magerzine help

[tony1]

When I put the 11mm cartridges into the tube magerzine on the 1871/87 mauser. the cartridges will not cycle when close and open the bolt.
and only when I press the magerzine tubes release catch manuly will the cartridge come out of the tube, does any know what I am doing wrong or is it a mechcanical problem with the rifle.

confused?

Information

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[Badger]

As you can appreciate, it's very hard to diagnose a problem just using text ...

You'll find a 125 pic photo montage of an "all correct" with clear detailed markings 1887 I.G. (Infanterie-Gewehr) Model 71/84 (11mm) Mauser (click here), displayed in the Germany - Milsurp Knowledge Library (click here)

1887 I.G. (Infanterie-Gewehr) Model 71/84 (11mm) Mauser
(Manufactured at Amberg Arsenal in 1887)

(Click PIC to Enlarge)

Perhaps go to the link for Keith Doyan in that entry and see if there's contact information for him, if you don't have any luck getting an answer here.

Hope that helps ...

Regards,
Badger

[Patrick Chadwick]

Sounds like an alignment problem. I see two possibilities for narrowing it down in a simple fashion:

1) If you can find a piece of rod of nearly the same diameter as the cartridge base (but not thicker), remove the cap+spring+plunger from the end of the magazine. Open the action as if to load a cartridge. Push the rod down the magazine tube and you should see the end starting to slide onto the loading platform. If it hangs up, you have the problem. It will not slide very far, because of the inclination of the loading platform.

2) If you didn't like that suggestion, take a cartridge and "paint" it with a felt-tip pen. Professional can use engineers marking blue, but felt pens are easier.
Load (or attempt to load) the cartridge. If, as you say, it doesn't feed, then use the release catch, and look to see where the pen marking has been abraded.

Whichever way you do it, I suspect the problem is that the loading platform, which is pivoted, is not rotating down enough to let the cartridge slide on.
This could be something as simple as muck between the platform and the bottom of the barrel/system channel in the stock.

In that case, the solution would be to remove the entire system from the stock and clean out all corners that may have accumulated dirt over the last 130 years! Damage or warping of the bottom of the stock is also conceivable. If you are not sure how to remove the entire system, I recommend that you buy or borrow "A Collector's Guide to Military Rifle Disassembly and Reassembly" useful. In particular, you need to remove the nosecap and slide out the magazine tube an inch or two in order to be able to lift the barrelled action out of the stock. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

Patrick