I recently acquired a Spanish Model 43 short rifle mfg. by La Coruna in 1945. It has an aftermarket safety. The safety functions normally, but when it is in the FIRE position (whether bolt is open or closed), the safety easily slides to the rear and all the way out. I made a little video of it, in case my description is not clear.
Do any of you more knowledgeable folks have any ideas as to what the problem is and how to resolve it?
Many thanks,
Brian
I believe you have a Mark II safety and to install it there should be a small notch cut into the bolt sleeve to allow the safety to rotate down enough to permit the cocking piece to go forward. The beginning of the cam that starts the cocking piece to move off the sear has most likely been ground away when installed. This would allow the safety to fall out when not engaged. Your safety looks to be for a Model 98 Mauser as it does not appear to be long enough to lock the bolt down when on.
Thanks, Bill. I checked out what you said. On this rifle, the bolt is not locked when it is on safe. When I raise the bolt, it goes off safe. I compared this with several other sporterized Mausers I have with similar or identical safeties.
Siamese Mauser in 30-40 = safety looks identical, bolt not locked, safety goes off when bolt raised, safety does not come out when on FIRE.
VZ 24 in 30-06 = safety looks similar, bolt is locked when on safety
M48 Yugoslavian in 35 Whelen = safety looks similar, bolt is locked when on safety
98 Siamese in 45-70 = safety looks identical, bolt is locked when on safety (my Dad built this one, and he did things right)
1909 Mauser in 25-06 = safety looks identical, bolt is NOT locked when on safe, but safe does not go off when bolt is raised
My immediate concern is to fix why the safety falls out. It seems like the best solution would be to find an original safety to put back into the bolt, especially if this isn't fixable the way it is. Second best would be the proper aftermarket safety. Any suggestions on where to find either? I wonder why my Siamese 30-40 seems to behave about the same, presumably the same wrong part, but does not fall out.
Buhler low scope safety. Aftermarket part that was available for many different model Mausers. I have one on my Model 96 sporter. Exactly as wjw said a small notch has to be cut into the bolt shroud. I did mine with a cutoff wheel on my Dremel. It should engage the cocking piece fully into the half round slot in the safety when down.
Yep, now that you guys have clued me in, I see that it says Mark II in little letters on the back end of the safety on all 4 of the rifles that I said the safety looks identical. Apparently the difference in how they operate depends on if the right one was installed in the right model Mauser and how well the installation was done.
I googled the Buehler safety to see if I could find one that's made to work correctly on this rifle. I didn't find any old originals, but I did find that Brownells sells a current replacement made by Timney. From what you have said I gather that the one on this rifle is probably for the 98 and so it doesn't fit right, so if I get one from Brownells, I should try the M93/96 version? The picture of that one does look longer than the picture of the M98 version. https://www.brownells.com/rifle-part...prod13149.aspx
I watched a couple YouTube videos on how these safeties go in and out and how they work. That enabled me to better understand what you guys have been telling me, and gave me a much clearer understanding of how these safeties work. I also re-examined the 4 rifles with the same Mark II safety. What I figured out is that this rifle was Double-Bubbaed.
First, it's a completely original, all-matching-numbers, excellent-bore rifle, with no holes or anything drilled for a scope, so no reason to put this aftermarket safety in anyway.
Second, and most egregious, is that whoever installed it ground the bottom of the safety smooth and round to match the radius of the cocking piece. So, even if I cut the slot in the shroud (which I now understand what you guys meant), the handle on the safety would fall into the slot, but there would be nothing but gravity holding the handle in the slot. So, if I had the slot and turned the rifle upside down, the safety handle would just fall out of the slot enough for the handle to clear the slot, and it would still be able to fall out the back of the rifle.
I really don't want to be grinding on this rifle anyway, nor do I have any need for an aftermarket safety., even if it was installed correctly. What I now understand is that what I really need is an original safety to put back in. I checked Numrich and, while they are closed for the COVID panic, they do have the original military safety in stock, so I will get that when they reopen, and then install it.
BTW, the 1909 Mauser in 25-06 - that shroud slot looked like it had been ground using the corner of a bench grinder - by someone with their eyes closed. I remain appalled at what some people have done to some used guns I've bought.
Many thanks to you guys for your tips. You've been very helpful.
Brian
Don't you know your just ruining bubba's gunsmithing? He LIGHTENED the rifle by grinding that extra bit of metal off the safety, and there you go just replacing it.
PM
Originally Posted by mmppres
