Stiff FR8 Mauser

[Barryeye]

Gentleman.I took my FR8 to the range yesterday. Great rifle. No problem hitting the metal pig at 150yards off hand and I am no marksman (big pig). Because of my eyes I have to shoot from the left shoulder so I have not had a lot of experience with bolt actions. But this rifles action feels stiff and is getting stiffer. When I first got it many years ago I assumed that it needed running in as the action looked new. But I must have put about 300 rounds through it by now and it is still stiff. Unloaded the action is not too bad. Stiffer then an Enfield but passable. Loaded it takes a fair amount of effort to close and open. Any ideas as to the reason and cure?

[spanner1751]

New ammo or reloads? Maybe you have a tight chamber. Try headspace gauges and see. Also, your chamber might be rough. Examine your fired brass for rough spots.
I have an FR8 too, but no problems with mine. I haven't shot it in a few years, but maybe I should take it to the range next time. It's probably been lonely.

[Barryeye]

I’m using surplus military ammo. I have not noticed anything wrong with the cases but that is a good idea. I’ll check them more closely next time. Apart from the stock the rifle looked new when I got it. If it is a rough chamber quality control could not have been good. Come to think of it the sights were so far off zero at first that it might never have been fired before I got it.

[kcw]

You've put several DIFFERANT makes/lots of ammo through it with the same result? If so your experience is typical of a chamber that was finished reamed to sub minimum headspace specs. Any decent gunsmith can check the headspace and do the appropriate bit of reaming if needed. I don't own an FR8 , but several gun club members do. I've shot those guns often and never noticed anything unusual, even with my reloads which would generally have a larger base on them than factory ammo. If you indeed do have a tight chamber it's very likely that you'll not be able to turn the bolt fully closed on a reloaded 308 round. It's possiible too that there's crud in the chamber. Have you scrubbed it with a chamber brush?

[kcw]

I was thinking of an experiment you might try. Remove the "guts" from the bolt body as you might do if you were installing a new main spring, ect. this will leave you with a hollow bolt body. You should then be able to open and close (raise the handle up and down) the bolt with but slight pressure from your index finger. Then open and close the bolt on a factory round (use at least two rounds of differant manufacture to eliminate a possible ammo issues). If everthing is to spec with the chamber you really shouldn't need any more finger pressure to raise and lower the bolt handle. If you do find a substantial increased in resistance on the closing (down) stroke then it would appear that your're squeezing the round between the bolt face and the chamber walls; a good indication of either a buildup of crud in the chamber AND/OR a subminimum headspace issue.

[Barryeye]

Thank you Kcw. Your comments are most helpful. I must confess that I have NEVER used a chamber brush on this rifle. I’ll try that first of all. If that fails I’ll follow up on your other suggestions. Thanks again.

[Guamsst]

You said surplus ammo, but not what country. May be unrelated. I am just curious as I got some portugese .308 off a friend that was HOT! he had to quit using it because it was so hard to extract after firing. Ran great in my Cetme, big flames out the muzzle brake, super loud, chunked the brass about 25yds.

If I were you, I would clean the chamber good, clean the channels/grooves in the receiver, disassemble the bolt, clean the internals of the bolt and oil it. You could have a metal burr somewhere on/in the bolt since it hasn't seen allot of use.

[Garden Valley]

I’m using surplus military ammo. I have not noticed anything wrong with the cases but that is a good idea. I’ll check them more closely next time. Apart from the stock the rifle looked new when I got it. If it is a rough chamber quality control could not have been good. Come to think of it the sights were so far off zero at first that it might never have been fired before I got it.

Just an FYI ..... All of the FR8 rifles were converted by the Spanish from their M1943 8mm Mauser rifles. While it is possible some new M1943 rifles got into the mix, the greater likelihood is that all were used. The rifles were re-manufactured with the new barrel, modified mag box, cut down stock and new handguard, new rear sight installed, then new markings applied and parkerized. That is why many look new.

One interesting aspect of these rifles is that many have buttstocks that are not straight. I conversed with a Spaniard some years ago who was familiar with the Spanish armory system and he told me that prior to conversion the M1943 rifles were stored for some time stacked one upon another in stacks taller than a man and that is likely the reason many of the stocks are not straight. Easy to envision as the rifles on the bottom bore the weight of all above. Generally, the butt will be slightly bent to the left, more so on rifles that were at the bottom of the stack. Just out of curiosity, take a close look at your rifle and see if the buttstock is bent.

One additional comment ....., the Spanish having done all the work on these rifles I never understood why they did not bend the bolt handle down during the conversion process.