Thread: Hang fires

Can people with far far more knowledge me tell me what causes a hang fire.
My mate has just come back from his roar trip and he missed his trophy of a life time.
He was using remington corelock .308 and aimed on the stag at 10m and click nothing lowered the rifle and bang it went off when the butt hit his hip.
So the stag ran off and he managed to roar it back only to have the same thing happen again this te he pulled the trigger again and again them lowered the rifle only to have it go off again.

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If factory ammo, old and wet or been wet at some point. If home loads, primer and powder incompatibility, or damp/contaminated. Bolt internals and or action dirty or faulty.

Originally Posted by 25 /08 IMP

Can people with far far more knowledge me tell me what causes a hang fire.
My mate has just come back from his roar trip and he missed his trophy of a life time.
He was using remington corelock .308 and aimed on the stag at 10m and click nothing lowered the rifle and bang it went off when the butt hit his hip.
So the stag ran off and he managed to roar it back only to have the same thing happen again this te he pulled the trigger again and again them lowered the rifle only to have it go off again.

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Ammo-related hang-fires are rare occurrences but do happen even with quality brands. It sounds as if the rifle needs to thoroughly checked by a gunsmith.

Originally Posted by ishoot10s

If factory ammo, old and wet or been wet at some point. If home loads, primer and powder incompatibility, or damp/contaminated. Bolt internals and or action dirty or faulty.

Yes^^^^
If you have hearded the fireing pin strick the primier and then there is a delay in the firing this is mostly down to the above.
If it dose not fire then it can be down to the rifle. (Which is not a hangfire)
When it happens it is hair raising

Bought a MK 1 303 in 1981 and was given a heap of green coloured ex Boer war ammo, so it was already 80+ years old. It was click bang for most of it then. Velocity was way down and probably 4 seconds before ignition.

Had a few over the years but all with the 303 and old ammo, shot one deer once and that was a click bang but it did the job. Haven't had any with modern ammo or reloads and only a few misfires which didn't go at all.

Originally Posted by ishoot10s

If factory ammo, old and wet or been wet at some point. If home loads, primer and powder incompatibility, or damp/contaminated. Bolt internals and or action dirty or faulty.

Yes factory ammo and had been raining for 2 days.
I've had reloads go through the washing machine and no worries.
But my bet was moisture related

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Originally Posted by 25 /08 IMP

Yes factory ammo and had been raining for 2 days.

That could even be conditions for the firing pin to hydraulic.

I would try fresh factory ammo once rifle has been thoroughly cleaned.
If problem persists then its a fault with the rifle, and I would get it checked by a gunsmith.

Remington primers are known to be harder and less sensitive. Combine with a weak mainspring or corroded/gummed firing pin assembly maybe. There are a lot of things that can cause it.

when was bolt last stripped down n cleaned...assume its a bolt action????
bit of oil gets wet,turns to gunk..slows down firing pin....
had plenty of light strikes over the years with old tired hammer guns...cant recall it with bolt other than 303 brit.and new 22lr before bolt had been degreased.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

when was bolt last stripped down n cleaned...assume its a bolt action????
bit of oil gets wet,turns to gunk..slows down firing pin....
had plenty of light strikes over the years with old tired hammer guns...cant recall it with bolt other than 303 brit.and new 22lr before bolt had been degreased.

He is a pig hunter so anything is possible.
I would have thought if it was water related causing a light primer strike that it wouldn't have fired at all.
His son ended up shooting his first sika stag the next day and had no problems.
So I'm thinking an ammo issue.

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aaahh a "pig hunter" so rifle has probably been dragged through mud,blood and scrub for years....the internals might even look like photo Pengy put up a week ago....
I hunted with a chap down here...saw state of his rifle and came prepared next outing...grabbed his rifle off him,took ammo out and proceeded to clean it inside n out...then oiled the stock before handing it back...I HOPE he is suitably embarrassed enough to look after it in future,if he using a 30/30 MAYBE he didnt have lever up hard enough...or bolt not hard in...the BLR was a pig if rounds werent sized right down.... but 50 quid to knob of goat shit it will be dirty action at fault.

His rifle is not too bad it a winchester feather weight but even if the bolt is really full of shit how does it explain a delayed fireing.

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buggered if I know...but cleaning bolt would be first point of order...close bolt,while still cocked set safety catch to middle position..remove from rifle ,now depress the wee lever/catchy thing on side and rotate bolt rear it will unscrew leaving spring under tension....to reassemble screw back in until catch thingy clicks back into place,put back in rifle and take safety off....