Custom Mauser With a Busted Bolt Lug

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Bigfatts

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So a while back I bought a custom Mauser done by J.S. Darrow, chambered in 7mm Rem Mag. Never did anything with it, just stuck it in the safe. Today I was cleaning it up and noticed what looked like a crack at the base of the right side locking lug. Pivot the extractor out of the way and I'll be damned if the whole lug didn't fall right off! Not sure how I missed that when I bought it... Oh well. I'm basically wondering if I have to replace the entire bolt or if the head can be swapped out? I'd like to keep the bolt body if possible, what with the butter knife handle and jewelling.

ETA: The shop I bought the rifle from took it back without a hassle. I swapped it for an Oberndorf sporter, you can check it out in the bolt action forum if you like.



 
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RC20

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Warning:

At issue though is anything that will crack a bolt head like that is severe over pressure (possible its induced by the bolt work and only that)

I would approach this very cautiously. Don't despair, its a really nice looking setup. But this is the canary in the mine dying. Maybe its an old canary and ok, but make very very very sure.

Its a one piece bolt, so no, there is no repair.

Also if the lug recesses are wrong (one side taking all the pressure) the receiver is toast .

Its going to take a good gun smith to evaluate this.

If I was there in person I would say the same thing. Bore scope and gauges to check it all and maybe a magnu flux.
 
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Bigfatts

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Thanks for the response. I was afraid of that. I'm going to have to locate a good smith. All the ones I knew have closed up shop- I've been out of the game for a while. Last one I dealt with was DOW in Dade City, FL. But I don't even know if he's still in business.
 
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MountainMan83

New member
Based on the fact that the crack began at the base of the recoil lug...It would be safe to assume the worst. It's unfortunate when bad 'smithing takes its toll on fine examples of firearms such as yours. I recently bought a Remington Model 30S that was chambered in .257 Weatherby Magnum, in which some bonehead tried drilling into a stuck case and ended up cutting into the side of the chamber wall, rendering it a useless wallhanger, unless rebarreled. As RC20 speculated, the lug recesses could be wrong. Although, I'd imagine if there is only one load bearing lug inside your receiver, depending on how off center the lug surfaces are, it could be possible to go the route of re-truing the lug recesses and turning the barrel in to make up the headspace loss. But...that's just a solution to a couple "ifs". I would no doubt have it checked out by a competent smith and weigh your options as they come.
 
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dakota.potts

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The bolt is done. At the very least you'll need a new one.

But at the pressures required to shear off a locking lug like that, I'm also worried about receiver stretching and the locking lug recess surfaces. If it's been fired like that, it could be distributing uneven pressure at levels the recesses weren't intended to hold. Who knows if the recesses are warped or cracked themselves.

Complete gunsmith inspection is the only way to go if you're even thinking about salvaging it.
 
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Bigfatts

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Thanks guys, I'm going to go see a local smith next weekend and see what he has to say. Keeping my fingers crossed, I really love this rifle.
 
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Wyosmith

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OK, here's is a tip.
The bolt is history, but if the abutments of the receiver have been set back by an over pressure round, or if the standard pressure of a 7 mag is too high because of the receiver not being heat-treated right, you can still find out. You see, the receiver is softer then the bolt (or it should be) so if the bolt lug was broken off due to high pressure you can check the headspace with a gauge on even one lug.

Please do that before you do anything else.
If the headspace is OK the lug didn't break off because of pressure that was too high. The receiver will "give" more then the bolt. It broke off because someone tried to do a heat treatment on it and didn't do it correctly. They made it brittle with their quench and didn't temper it correctly, or at all.
If that's the case you still need a new bolt, but it's good news in that the receiver is ok, and you can restore you rifle without much of a problem.
 
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F. Guffey

New member
I have 3 Mauser bolts that have been rendered scrap. The lugs on one lug have been sheared off, one of the bolts has one lug with a major crack and the other has two cracks, one for each lug.

Two of the bolts have been opened up to belted magnum size. Two of the bolts have been traced back to Santa Fe/National Arms. All three bolts were magnificent in appearance.



And then there is the third lug,

F. Guffey
 
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F. Guffey

New member
I'd like to keep the bolt body if possible, what with the butter knife handle and jewelling.
Click to expand...

I saved the bolt bodies for different reason, using the bolt bodies in another rifle was never a consideration.

F. Guffey
 
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mete

New member
At this time , I wouldn't trust it. Magna-flux would check for other cracks but there may be other problems .
You could save the bolt handle but otherwise I wouldn't trust it .:( I base my comments on the fact that I am a metallurgist, been to gunsmith school and a life long shooter.
 
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603Country

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I think that bolt is dead. I’d never trust it again, no matter what fix was applied. If another bolt can be had, I’d go with that, but have the action looked over and tested every possible way. And probably I’d just leave it in the safe.
 
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Bigfatts

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Well, I have news. I happened into the shop the rifle came from and mentioned it. They said bring it back, no questions asked. So I did. It is a beautiful rifle, but the unknowns are dangerous and expensive to identify. With what I learned here from you knowledgable folks, I don't think I would have ever been able to enjoy it. And I'd rather not take chances with my face and a romper-stomper round like that. As much as I wanted that rifle, it just wasn't meant to be. Thank you all for the information.
 
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Ricklin

New member
Actually

That's actually great news, I could not trust the gun again without spending a lot for testing and repairs. And then it would still be in the back of your mind.

No worries, there shall be another.
 
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Jim Watson

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Sadder than it even appears.
Judson Darrow was an established gunsmith in 1950 and continued in business perhaps into the 1970s when he passed away. Best known for single shots, he did other bolt actions too.

He just put together a rifle with a built in overload. Combine the larger case diameter and higher chamber pressure of 7mm RM vs say 8x57 and bolt thrust was about 30% greater than stock. Equivalent to firing a proof load every shot. It wouldn't take much in the way of a brittle bolt and/or soft or uneven receiver to fail.
People, even gunsmiths, paid less attention to such stuff in those days, gunzines had monthly articles about short magnums in surplus actions.
 
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Bigfatts

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I agree, it is a real pity. The rifle was gorgeous and it would have been a proud addition to my meager collection. But I guess some things just aren't meant to be.
 
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Mobuck

Moderator
Better figure out WHY the bolt lug cracked. Maybe uneven wear in the bolt recesses.
FWIW you're LUCKY you didn't end up with the bolt sticking out the side of your head.
 
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RC20

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Better figure out WHY the bolt lug cracked. Maybe uneven wear in the bolt recesses.
FWIW you're LUCKY you didn't end up with the bolt sticking out the side of your head.
Click to expand...

He has taken it back, resolves that for the OP (flashes of a Christmas Story and you will shoot your eye out?) - don't we all put 20 to 70,000 psi in front of our faces all the time?

I tend to think I am lucky when I go to sleep at the end of the day and many things have not happened to me that could have.
 
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