TargetTalk

I wonder if anyone can help? One of my Anschutz 1800s has started to play up and intermittently refuses to eject a spent case. This is ruinous when shooting a match card as I have to fiddle around with a small screw driver to get the case out, losing my position, and getting all hot and bothered. This can happen more than once on a ten shot card, so the rifle is not really usable anymore.

I have of course checked the area around the chamber and cleaned out the surfaces, especially the grooves cut for the ejector and its counterpart. There wasn't even much dirt and certainly no large bits of debris, so I doubt if that was the problem.

Now for the puzzling aspects. Off the firing point, on its matched rifle, this bolt will eject a snap cap with no problem but not a spent case, nor a live round (I took off the trigger before that experiment). But the same bolt will eject a spent case from my other 1800 rifle without difficulty, even though it has not in theory been matched to the rifle. The latter discovery really worries me because it suggests that there is something wrong with the machining of the external chamber area of the 'bad' rifle. I should add that the bolt has never played up like this previously, though for the past few seasons I have not been using it and its rifle because I had a lot of batch tested ammo to get through on the other 1800 - the 'good' rifle. So, how on earth could a defect in the machined area aft of the chamber have suddenly developed and manifested itself?

Close examination of the relevant ejector claw suggests that it is very slightly loose compared to the ejector on the 'good' 1800 i.e. it is possible to push it a bit further out from the bolt with a finger, but it is still very firmly seated and the spring seems pretty strong. And don't forget that it works o.k. in the other rifle.

Could there be a head space problem that is causing the malfunction? Seems unlikely when the bolt will sometimes eject the same type of ammo, which happens to be RWS R50, and sometimes fail to do so.

Finally, I haven't muddled up the two bolts, even though both fit both rifles and will fire both, because I am careful to keep each in its own labelled bolt case and with different style bolt knobs. Furthermore, the bolt from the 'good' rifle will only eject snap caps, not spent cases, from the 'bad' rifle, just like that rifle's proper bolt.

Any tips, by the way, for getting the ejector claw out of the bolt? I have ordered new springs just in case they are the problem.

Roger,

Do you mean the bolt won't eject (the case stays in the loading tray) or won't extract (the case stays in the chamber)? My 1913 won't always eject if the cheekpiece catches the bolt, but I can flick out the case easily with my fingers. When you say you need a screwdriver, that makes me think the case is stuck in the chamber.

Worn claw springs or the claws themselves would be the prime candidates for poor extraction unless the chamber is damaged or very dirty. Without enough tension/physical overlap the claws will pop over the rim as you pull back the bolt. It's the downside to a push-feed bolt: controlled round feed, as on a Lee-Enfield ensures the case is held more securely, but would be a sod to load single-shot.

I don't think headspace makes any difference to extraction from the chamber. Unless the bolt is really out of whack the difference between GO and No-Go is 0.003in (0.043in vs 0.046in) so the claws should still clip over the case rim. I'm not sure excess headspace would affect ejection either, although the springs and ejector stud may be worn too.

Damage to the rear face of the barrel can affect extraction. This could be a burr from dry firing. Your 1800s (and all Match 54s) have primary extraction, but it's only a few MM as the handle hits the cam at the top of the up-stroke. It clearly isn't enough to overcome a dodgy chamber or worn claws. My old 1813 used to fail to extract until I removed the Vibrake raisr/action Bridge, which I guess was stressing the receiver.

If you want to remove the claws, there are instructions on the Stirton.com forum. The most recent are under a thread on Feinwerkbau bolts, but the procedure is the same. The rececesses in the bolt collect more crud than you might think.

Tim,

Thank you for your usual very knowledgeable and helpful reply. I don't know what posters on this forum would do without you.

Right, so we can rule out head space but rule in the spring and the claw itself. Hope it isn't the latter as I think it runs to tens of pounds sterling, presumably because of its awkward machining and hardening requirements. The one in question does not look unduly worn compared to the one from the other rifle, and both rifles look to be fairly low-mileage to judge from their rifling, woodwork, and bluing. So, I hope it may be the spring that has become a bit slack, plus maybe some extra detritus inside the little cavity. Otherwise it's off to a rifle smith, which would be tiresome and doubtless expensive.

Thank you also for the stirton reference, which I had not seen - will look that up.

Roger

Well I never! I have just had another go with the bad rifle and amazingly it ejected almost faultlessly with a spent case. All I had done was to scratch briefly with a decent small screwdriver at the top of the groove for the ejector, more in annoyance than a serious attempt to remove any invisible burrs. I can't really believe that the chrome moly of the rifle has yielded to the chrome vanadium of the screwdriver. Perhaps the problem has gone away, perhaps not. Closing the bolt fairly firmly may have helped as well, though we are taught not to be bolt -slammers. Will have to try it out extensively on non-match cards before I believe in any change for the better. For the moment, however, all I can do is to thank Tim and any other interested parties.

By the way, the best illustration of the very small parts of the ejection system I found is at www.shootingequipment.de, under 'weapons-accessory', where a full bolt overhaul kit is advertised, and not on the Anschutz website itself. This other German site also has the up to date part numbers.

Hi Roger,

Don't mention it. Extraction and ejection faults with Match 54 target rifles aren't common*, and where parts wear, it's not too hard to get and fit replacements. The early bolts with a single claw, can be trickier, but those are a small percentage of production.

I've cleaned quite a few rifles over the years, mostly by dint of willingness, and can say the slots for the eje toes get very grubby. It's not just bullet grease, but also brass shavings from the case. I keep a dental pick in my toolbox just for this. A good swab with a cotton bud and solvent helps too.