Help! Win 1917 floppy trigger - UNSAFE

[BobBothan]

I apologize for registering then asking a question, but one of my favorite rifles is unsafe.
Was out shooting last weekend with my sporterized Winchester 1917. The gun has been in the family since the 50s with zero malfunctions.
While my daughter was shooting, she ran the bolt and prepared for her shot. When she attempted to the squeeze the trigger, she noticed the trigger was "floppy" and would not fire the rifle. She immediately called a cease fire and I grabbed the rifle. with the muzzle pointed downrange, I went to eject the round using the bolt, and the gun fired without a trigger pull.
I ran the bolt again and dry fired several times, but could not duplicate the floppy trigger.

I have not stripped it yet, because I am afraid I wont find an issue, since I could not duplicated the problem. Any thoughts from all the wisdom on this forum?

Information

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[WarPig1976]

1st thing I'd do is pull the bolt apart. Clean the striker and striker channel real good, whens the last time someone did that???
If the rifle was cocked then the trigger had to have engaged the sear. It's a cock on close action.
Do your due diligence and check for broken or wore parts also, but I'd bet money the bolts all gummed up. My 2c's

[BobBothan]

I stripped the bolt about a year ago. Its had maybe 50 rounds shot since then. I will however do just as you said and post results. Thank you WarPig.

[Doco overboard]

Has it been converted to cock on opening had a trigger job? Sometimes what seems like a good mod actually removes important design features that are critical for repeatable/ safe function.

[WarPig1976]

Has it been converted to cock on opening

Even if it is, if the trigger wasn't engaging the sear the rifle would de-cock when the bolt is closed. Let's see what he finds, a floppy trigger and a cocked and locked bolt don't go together.

[jamie5070]

Take a good look at the wear and contact surfaces to make sure there is no chipped or rounded edges. Maybe there was a piece of debris that momentarily caused a problem.

[Doco overboard]

Maybe the bolt was not closed completely when the safety was engaged and when the bolt was manipulated to clear the safety was moved forward resulting in a safety off. The trigger will be able to be manipulated floppily if coils have been removed and the safety lever in the mid position will sometimes act as the trigger. The detent in the bolt will not allow full travel of the trigger until fully closed and you can get the safety in between its arc of travel easily. Try it a few times, you'll see what I mean. If my words do not describe completely maybe someone else that has seen this before will jump in. The condition escaped engineering until production was started and has been discussed before. It could be why there has been no obvious signs of defects and the rifle performed satisfactorily afterwards.

[WarPig1976]

Try it a few times

I shall, but I'm not removing any coils from my pristine Eddystone.

[Doco overboard]

Signal 7 on that, hopefully we find out what the real deal is soon. I tried it on my tragically sported beater as I replied and got it to safety off 2 out of five times to make sure I was right. Hard for me to put into words, bolt and fire control parts are not altered so I wasn't afraid to make it happen...... nothing to lose on that one.