Replace firing pin spring for Mauser 98?

[Will Henry]

The late Martin Hagn, who was an exceptionally talented gunmaker, told me, if he had a rifle which shot vertical groups, the first thing he did was replace the striker spring. He said, in his experience, this usually fixed it. As it happened, I had a 30/06 which, though it shot pretty well, was producing groups about five inches high at 300m. It was built on a pre-war Model 70. I replaced the 60 year old spring with a new one, two pounds heavier in rate, and the vertical was gone. The rifle now shot the same ammo into 2 3/4 inches.
If your bolt lift is stiff, and if the bolt handle has been altered, there is a chance the cocking cam was softened and not re-hardened. If you raise the handle halfway on a Mauser, it should snap back down if you release it. If it does not, you probably have a cam issue. WH

 

[Dimner]

How should one tell when to change a firing spring pin?

I'm talking on old milsurps and sporterized milsurps.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

How should one tell when to change a firing spring pin?

I'm talking on old milsurps and sporterized milsurps.

You can get a pretty good idea of the spring force by using a bathroom scale.
Take the firing pin/bolt sleeve assembly out of the bolt.
Lay a scrap of wood on the scale. Place the tip of the firing pin on the scrap of wood and push down on the bolt sleeve. As the spring compresses you will see the weight reading climb. Just before you bottom the spring out, the number had better be close to 20 lbs(talking milsurps here). Everyone has preferences for spring rate, but 20 lbs in an otherwise stock Mauser will fire under any conditions.

 

[hoz53]

https://www.davidtubb.com/bargain-tubb?product_id=206
I think I'm going to try this Tubb spring. Sounds like speed-lock but doesn't specify.

i think it is but i want to get the firing pin to. Could always get a spring from Wolfe and they offer several different # ratings. i guess i will check places like sarco- numrich arms for a 98 firing pin i can work on.

 

[Larryh128]

How should one tell when to change a firing spring pin?

I'm talking on old milsurps and sporterized milsurps.

Any old military action needs a new spring, while it might work yet, you are giving up a bunch of lock time to that worn out spring. Beig loaded for 50+ years does nothing good for them.

 

[Boltlug]

Any old military action needs a new spring, while it might work yet, you are giving up a bunch of lock time to that worn out spring. Beig loaded for 50+ years does nothing good for them.

I read through this thread, and most of the posters recommend replacing the firing pin spring in order to ease the effort involved in opening the bolt & cocking the action. If the firing pen spring has become bent and is binding inside the bolt body, replacing it with a new spring would be beneficial. Either a new 98 Mauser spring or a Wolff aftermarket spring should do nicely, and a heavy compression rate isn't really necessary for the gun to work properly.

There is another thing that can cause a heavy and difficult bolt lift. Does your bolt have an aftermarket bolt handle that's been welded on? If this was done properly this is no problem. If however the new bolt handle was welded on by Bubba, that's another story. Parts of the bolt need to be shielded from heat while installing a new bolt handle. These areas are; the third safety lug, the threads for the bolt shroud, and the cocking ramp on the back of the bolt. If the bolt handle was welded on willy-nilly without any heat shielding, the metal in the cocking ramp area could have been annealed. When that happens the ramp surface starts galling against the nose of the cocking piece, making for a rough and difficult bolt lift.

Check to see if there is any heat discoloration on the back of the bolt from improper welding. Also, look at the cocking ramp to make sure that is is bright and shiny, with no galling or rough patches. If the cocking ramp has been damages your options are: 1 replace the bolt. (this may also require re-headspacing the rifle). Or 2. polish the cocking ramp, then re- heat treat the the bolt body. This will require the services of a competent and skilled gunsmith or heat treating facility. Hopefully your cocking ramp isn't the culprit.