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K98 Firing Problem

8K views 34 replies 14 participants last post by  EricOKC 
#1 · (Edited)
I took my newly acquired k98 from this thread to the range yesterday. I had 2 kinds of surplus rounds: Yugo and Turkish.

Some rounds fired just fine, but with both varieties I had quite a few misfires. The primers seemed to have very light strikes on them. Sometimes I could re-cock the bolt and it would fire. Other times after 5 or 6 tries I would still get nothing. A guy at the range told me that both kinds of ammo were known for tough primers.

However I'm also worried that the firing pin or the spring on my rifle might be the culprit. How do you figure out which is the problem?

How difficult is it to obtain/replace rifle parts?

Where do I go to get replacements?

Thanks!

Tim
 
#2 ·
I took my newly acquired k98 from this thread to the range yesterday. I had 2 kinds of surplus rounds: Yugo and Turkish.

Some rounds fired just fine, but with both varieties I had quite a few misfires. The primers seemed to have very light strikes on them. Sometimes I could re-cock the bolt and it would fire. Other times after 5 or 6 tries I would still get nothing. A guy at the range told me that both kinds of ammo were known for tough primers.

However I'm also worried that the firing pin or the spring on my rifle might be the culprit. How do you figure out which is the problem?

How difficult is it to obtain/replace rifle parts?

Where do I go to get replacements?

Thanks!
I
Tim
I have shot Yugo surplus ammo and never had a single misfire, jam, or malfunction with my k98s, so that surprises me, as all my buddies shoot Yugo 8mm and they don't have any problems with it either. I'm not a technical wizard, so I will leave your maintenance diagnostic question to the experts. Parts for these rifles are not that hard to come by in my past experiences, as Gunbroker, ebay, and the trader here on the boards have had enough people with enough parts to meet my parts need sufficiently. However, given ebay's newest stance on gun parts, I would ask on the trader here first, then hit gunbroker, auctionarms, or gunsamerica.com if nobody here has what you need.
 
#3 ·
Typically it is the spring. You can buy a new spring from Wolff Springs

http://www.gunsprings.com/1ndex.html

RIFLE SERVICE PAK for Mauser 1898 contains 1 each 22 pound striker spring, bolt sleeve stop spring, floorplate catch spring and sear spring.
Stock No. 18052.....$ 10.29

I bought 2 and swap them as needed. check out www.surplusrifle.com and it will show you how to take the bolt down to change it out.
 
#10 ·
I got a new sear spring from Gunsprings.com and installed. I dry fired the gun with an empty shell in the receiver. The firing pin now pushes the primer a bit into the brass. Any way to adjust the penetration of the firing pin?

The new spring was an inch longer than the old one. I assumed this was due to the extreme age of the original. The website states that the new spring is 22lb.
 
#5 ·
Hi Tim,

Had the same problem with my k98. Change the spring first. They're only about $5 at Numrich (e-gunparts.com). If you have a C&R FFL you can set up an account and get a small (10% or so) discount. Very simple to change out. Won't take you 5 minutes, no tools required. When you put the old one side by side with the new one you will notice right away the new one is longer. Only to be expected, that spring has been crammed inside a rifle bolt for over 60 years! Make sure you get the right size - the Yugo's (m48 and M24/47) have a slighly shorter bolt and spring than the k98 and her czech sisters(vz24).
Something else that will work, if you want to keep the original spring, is shoot the steel cased Romanian surplus. My mausers had no problem with the 70's surplus Romanian. I guess the primers are either made softer, or just haven't had time to harden like the old yugo and turk stuff.
Anyway, if you change out the spring, my guess is all your mis-fire problems will vanish. They did for me.
 
#6 ·
Tim,
Agree with the above, but many ‘light strike’ problems have been cured by simple cleaning.
Did you strip and clean that bolt before you went shooting?
May want to check it out before buying parts. If that thing has been sitting around long enough, the bolt internals may be gummed up with who knows what.

You didn’t say what Yugo ammo you had. If it happens to be ‘70’s or newer, you shouldn’t have firing problems. Some batches of the ‘50’s Yugo are prone to problems going BANG.
BTW, I wouldn’t bother trying to shoot a ‘new’ K98 without first inspecting firing pin protrusion.

Nobody's even mentioned head spacing yet?
 
#7 ·
Thoroughly clean and inspect the bolt and chamber. Check to see if your headspace is between "go" and "no-go", measure your firing pin protrusion (.060" +/-.005") with a protrusion gage, and try a new firing pin spring.

You can get the headspace gages at Midway and the protrusion gage at Brownell's.

It may also be the ammo, so try some different brands.
 
#8 ·
Also, check the interior of the bolt body. Old, thick cosmoline can prevent the pin from fully engaging when released. Take a light and see what it looks like in there. You'd be amazed at how much gunk can be crammed in there with the spring and pin.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Too short?

If anything it seems too long now. The pin is pushing the entire primer in when into the brass when it strikes it now.

Is it dangerous to use the rifle if the pin is ramming into the primer so hard?

If I do need a firing pin, where do I get one? What should I expect to pay?

Thanks!
 
#13 ·
#14 ·
You can get another firing pin from Numrich (e-gunparts.com). Although:

"The pin is pushing the entire primer in when into the brass when it strikes it now. "

This does not sound normal at all. I can't remember seeing any of mine doing that. Maybe some pictures would the bolt parts might reveal something that we can't think of.

"Is it dangerous to use the rifle if the pin is ramming into the primer so hard?"

Certainly not normal. Maybe somebody else has seen this problem?
 
#15 ·
Don't alter the pin or it's striking depth! If it's pushing in primers then yes, there's a problem. At some point (soon, it sounds like) it's going to pierce a primer and you'll get a face full of hot gas. Does the pin and the bolt body SN match? If they do then at this point I'd very seriously consider taking it to a gunsmith. If they don't then the pin might need some work, but I'd let a professional do that. Something is not right here and needs to be looked at. Remember, it's your face that you put right next to this thing when you touch it off. I wouldn't gamble with it.
 
#16 ·
Thanks for the help guys.

One more question.

Keep in mind that the 2 shells I used were spent cases. Does spent brass behave differently than a live round? I'm wondering if the primer isn't weakened by the blast and therefore much more likely to be "pushed in."
 
#17 ·
Hmm. It could be. The primer is already spent and there for doesn't have the detonation to keep it from getting crushed. If you have fired the rifle successfully before, I'd try it out with the new spring. Just keep your face away from the rifle when you fire. Then, you can inspect the spent shell and primer and compare. I'm willing to bet that the primer will look well dented, but not pushed in. The ignition of the powder in the shell should flatten it out against the bolt face. Just my $.02
 
#20 ·
You should get a deeper dent in the primer if you are firing a spent cartridge case. The primer is already deformed and when hit with a second shot the pin may not align exactly on the first strike. It's like hammering something with one or two blows; you always get more damage with the second blow. Check out the new spring on an unfired cartridge and see what you get.
 
#25 ·
To learn how to check firing pin protrusion, go to site below.
If you don’t want to bother buying a gage, the edge of a new dime is about .053” thick. (I’ve had a couple RC’s with .053 - .054” f/p protrusion that would fire ‘50’s Yugo just fine with original spring, and clean bolt internals.) Not all ‘50’s Yugo is hard to fire.

http://www.mausershooters.org/k98k/k98kframe.html
When you get into the link above,
Look to left side of screen and click
Shooting Clinic’
Next page, look to top of screen and click
Mauser Safety Check’
Next page, scroll down to
Firing Pin Protrusion check,,,,,,,,,,
Read and follow instructions carefully. If you practice it a couple times, you’ll find that it is actually very simple to do. You won’t break anything.

I wouldn’t worry about cutting the f/p spring until you have checked protrusion first IMHO.
 
#26 ·
Tim,
I shoot all types of 8mm out of all kinds of rifles...K98, 98/22's, 24/47's, M48A, Hakim, FN-49.
Much of the 1950's Yugo ammo have primers set just a tad bit too deep, and I have one of my three 98/22's and my 24/47 with Wolff #22 springs which fixes that problem.
Since I replaced the spring, that problem has been eliminated.
Putting a longer firing pin would probably fix the problem, but then you'd be piercing other ammo.

1970's Yugo doesn't have that problem, and not all 1950's does.

You should be experiancing less failure to fires with the Turk ammo.
Once again, a #22 spring fixes it.

Hope this helps!
 
#27 ·
BTW, a lot of the springs in old battle rifles are weaker than they should be. This is partially due to age but also due to being stored, cocked. Lots of these rifles were stored for decades with maximum pressure on the spring due to being left in the cocked position. Whenever I'm putting one of my rifles in the safe, I always open the bolt and then hold the trigger back and re-close the action. There's still pressure on the spring just by virtue of it being crammed into the bolt body, but this lessens the strain on it. I figure that every little bit helps.
 
#28 ·
Don't know why the first thing people want to do is go to a stronger spring (which is usually stronger than the original spring installed in the rifle when it was new). Having a stronger spring than is necessary increases trigger pull and bolt lift and puts excessive impact stresses into the bolt parts as well. Always check for other possible causes first before going to a stronger spring. Some of the causes have already been mentioned above, such as complete cleaning and lubrication of the bolt system, headspace, protrustion of the firing pin, shape of the firing pin point, type of ammo, etc., etc.

Jumping to the first obvious solution is usually the wrong one. Like getting a bigger hammer to drive a tack. I suggest that if you are going to be working on Mauser rifles, you get yourself a good working manual such as "The Mauser Bolt Actions - A Shop Manual" by Jerry Kuhnhausen. Cost is about $30 and will worth it.
 
#29 ·
DITTO!
I think lots of folks get too anxious and can’t resist the instant gratification of shooting a new toy. Can’t be coaxed into the cleaning and inspection stuff. (After all, it looks complicated. :eek:) Then when it doesn’t work, well throw some money at it, that’s an easy fix. True, heavy springs may be justified in some cases, but I think they are probably used more often than necessary. No direct flame on anybody here, just an observation.

Kind of like if your car doesn’t start, don’t check the starter, cables, belts, or alternator; just go buy a new battery.:(
 
#30 · (Edited)
I've never owned a k98 in any form until I bought my m48 2 weeks ago. I disassembled it, cleaned, and checked to the best of my ability the functionality of the weapon. I can't wait to fire the damn thing ! I've got some 8 mm romanian coming in the mail soon. It's amazing the amount of history/information/diagrams/tips... you can find via the net for just a single weapon.

I noticed the guy I bought it from never took real care of it. The gun looks great. It still had cosmo all over the damn rifle, but still clearly had been fired several times recently.

Kinda funny you mention the Car not starting and buying a battery. My starter went out 5 days ago and I replaced it haha. Was the first thing I replaced too. Good voltage on the battery = look else where NOT BUY A NEW BATTERY.
 
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