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Thread: Marlin 1895 Misfires

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
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    Marlin 1895 Misfires

    My 45/70 Marlin started having some misfires a while back. A second cock would fire it. I had been shooting BP in it and thought some of the residue may have found it’s way into the bolt and was preventing the firing pin from striking as hard as it should.

    I finally got around to knocking out the roll pin and started to disassemble the bolt. I didn’t remove the more complicated pin to remove the firing pin itself, because it seemed to be moving freely. As I inspected the bolt I noticed the striking pin between the hammer and firing pin wasn’t perfectly aligned with the hole where it strikes the firing pin. It’s made worse because of the spring underneath pushing up on the pin. I finally discovered that the hole/passage the pin travels in is elongated, especially at the back. This allows the pin to go down in the back and up in the front, misaligning it with the firing pin.

    I guess this is simple wear. The gun had a long hard life in Alaska. How can this be repaired? Can it be bored out and sleeved? How hard is the steel of the bolt? Can it be machined with HSS tools?

    Thanks for any and all advice.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master Baltimoreed's Avatar
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    You could try a one piece firing pin. Check on line and see what others have experienced. I have them in my 1894s and they really improved the action a lot. Don’t know about the 1895, had one eons ago. The 2 piece pin is a redundant safety feature to make sure the lever is all the way up [bolt is in battery] before the firing pin can move. As long as the lever trigger safety is working correctly the gun is still safe. And in a hunting situation you naturally use the crossbolt safety. Long Hunter sells them I think.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master Dan Cash's Avatar
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    Your failures to fire and the observed wear of the "Marlin Safety," firing pin and hole are caused by the breech lock not being fully engaged (all the way up). Often times I think this is caused by reloaded ammunition with projectiles seated too far out. A one piece firing pin will eliminate this problem but invites hastened wear or destruction of the rifle by firing with the breech lock not fully seated. The trigger block device was added to supplement the "Marlin Safety," not replace it.

    You may be able to effect a repair by replacing the tipping portion of the firing pin assembly but if the battering of the bolt is extensive, a new bolt and possibly a new breech lock may be in order.
    To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the trouble with many shooting experts is not that they're ignorant; its just that they know so much that isn't so.

  4. #4
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    Yes I have stuffed a lot of long and fat boolits in that gun. I don’t completely understand the mechanics of how a cartridge too long damages the bolt. Can someone explain that.
    The bolt doesn’t look like it’s been bashed. It looks like wear from a round pin making an elongated hole from wear.

  5. #5
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    Greg

    You could try just taking out the little flat spring that holds the rear firing pin down until it is pushed up by the locking lug. I have broken a couple in my 1893 Marlin and have stopped replacing them. You still have the safety feature of the rear pin dropping out of alignment with the front pin, but now only from gravity, UNTIL it is pushed into line by the locking bolt as it rises. The spring resists that movement to ensure that alignment does not occur before the bolt is completely up. If omitting the spring doesn't work on account of the wear in the bolt that you mention, the one piece pin may be the answer.

    I recently broke a rear firing pin in my old 336A - yes I've broken a few of them too. In the course of playing with that I notice that the little spring adds resistance to the fore and aft movement of the firing pins.

    Those rear pins are really easy to make if you don't have to accommodate the spring - a piece of 1/4" bolt cut to length and grooved to allow passage of the retaining pin. If the hole for the rear firing pin is enlarged you might make a slightly fatter pin.

    PS "Damaging the bolt" might refer to what could happen when the rifle is fired with the locking bolt not fully home - just trying to double guess the poster.
    Last edited by Wilderness; 11-26-2021 at 06:48 PM.
    It'll be handy if I never need it.

    Insomniac, agnostic, dyslectic - awake all night wondering if there is a Dog.

  6. #6
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    That’s a good idea to take out the spring. I’ve never looked at how that safely functions. I never use it.
    If I opt to use a solid firing pin, can they be bought ready to use or do they need to be specially made?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE View Post
    That’s a good idea to take out the spring. I’ve never looked at how that safely functions. I never use it.
    If I opt to use a solid firing pin, can they be bought ready to use or do they need to be specially made?
    The safety (the original system on the firing pins, not the one through the action) works unseen. It simply keeps the pins out of alignment until the rifle is properly closed. It still works, though with less certainty, with the spring removed. It does not exist on the one piece pin, so with the one piece pin you may be at risk of sending one off with the action not quite closed.

    I've not ventured into the one piece pins myself yet, but it's the suppliers to the cowboy trade who will have them. The standard 336 pin should do the job - same pin does 1893, 36, 336, and presumably 1895.

    This is what it looks like - note that this is for the 1894, which is shorter. And just across the Channel from you. Might be worth a phone call.

    https://www.marlinspares.com/product...el-firing-pin/

    Google "336 one piece firing pin" and you'll get plenty of pro and con on the conversion.
    Last edited by Wilderness; 11-27-2021 at 01:22 AM.
    It'll be handy if I never need it.

    Insomniac, agnostic, dyslectic - awake all night wondering if there is a Dog.

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    Wow, that’s great. They have the firing pin plus some other things I wouldn’t mind picking up. Unfortunately, on the contact form it states, « I don’t ship outside the UK. Please don’t ask ». I was afraid I would run into that problem ordering from the US. Maybe if I find someone who sells them in the US, I can have my son bring it over when he comes to visit.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    I have a 1978 in 45/70 it has always had light strikes /FTF since new ...had it apart ,to clean out any hard lube etc,and oiled it.......consequently I use Large Pistol primers,and have no misfires.......IMHO ,the hammer is too light....but I have never done anything about it,except LPP.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Baltimoreed View Post
    And in a hunting situation you naturally use the crossbolt safety. Long Hunter sells them I think.
    Not NO HELL NO!!! All you need is to have a Bear charge you, and you come up and fire, but the hammer never gets to the firing pin and then you run the lever and do it again with the same result. You won't have time to fix it!

    Best thing you can do to that Cross Bolt Safety is to put an O Ring on the left side so you can't use it. The gun has a half cock,,, use that! That way at least the gun will fire!

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
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  11. #11
    Boolit Master Baltimoreed's Avatar
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    In all honesty if I was actually bear hunting the safety would be off but if I were in a tree stand as I usually was when I deer hunted the safety of my rifle was on until game was sighted. I’ve removed the 2 piece pins and the crossbolt safetys on both my 94’s. One has the fake screw and the Trapper has a saddle ring but neither is a hunting rifle. CAS only.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by john.k View Post
    I have a 1978 in 45/70 it has always had light strikes /FTF since new ...had it apart ,to clean out any hard lube etc,and oiled it.......consequently I use Large Pistol primers,and have no misfires.......IMHO ,the hammer is too light....but I have never done anything about it,except LPP.
    Greg - I had a M64 Winchester .32 Special with a light strike - very occasional misfires but consistent vertical stringing. I fixed both issues with CCI LP Magnum primers - full powered primers with thinner cups.

    Be sure to let us know when you've fixed it and how.

    Did you get the lead donut out of the ML rifle (different thread)? I had an idea for that too - encase the donut in CerroSafe (if it goes wrong you can melt it back out without overcooking the rifle) then blow it out with the grease gun as per the main drift of the thread. You would need to fill most of the chamber with something like a cereal filler to confine the Cerrosafe to the ball remains.
    Last edited by Wilderness; 12-06-2021 at 02:37 AM.
    It'll be handy if I never need it.

    Insomniac, agnostic, dyslectic - awake all night wondering if there is a Dog.

  13. #13
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    I still haven’t cleared the round ball out of the muzzle loader. I drilled a half inch hole through it and still couldn’t get it to budge. I finally bought a cheap bore scope to have a look. It was rusted into place. I plan to pull the breech plug to see what I have from that end. That project is now on hold.

  14. #14
    Boolit Buddy
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    More on misfires. You did not say what primers you were using. CCI rifle primers are a common culprit in all lever actions. Federal are softer and are what we (lever action fraternity) use for full power ammo. I use pistol primers in my Marlins for very light loads.

    Good luck (eventually) with the ball.
    It'll be handy if I never need it.

    Insomniac, agnostic, dyslectic - awake all night wondering if there is a Dog.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    Have the same problem in my 444 Marlin, have been told that the hammer spring/mainspring should be replaced....I did buy one and will be changing it soon.

    https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/407300B

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by Wilderness View Post
    More on misfires. You did not say what primers you were using. CCI rifle primers are a common culprit in all lever actions. Federal are softer and are what we (lever action fraternity) use for full power ammo. I use pistol primers in my Marlins for very light loads.

    Good luck (eventually) with the ball.
    Thé primers I used where most likely Winchester magnum.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    The Magnum primers I used before , seemed to be harder and showed less of a dent when fired with the same load using standard primers.
    Especially in handguns.
    You may be on to your problem.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by LAGS View Post
    The Magnum primers I used before , seemed to be harder and showed less of a dent when fired with the same load using standard primers.
    Especially in handguns.
    You may be on to your problem.
    That’s a good point, but I think I was using the magnum primers before the problem started. Next time I load them I’ll be sure to try regular large rifle primers.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    Have you actually measured the firing pin protrusion.
    Things can wear , or grease can build up in areas that won't let the pin travel forward all the way.

  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by LAGS View Post
    Have you actually measured the firing pin protrusion.
    Things can wear , or grease can build up in areas that won't let the pin travel forward all the way.
    That’s an interesting point. I haven’t measured it. Where would I find how much it should protrude?

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check