Marlin 795 misfire

[ZZR600]

I managed to find a second hand Marlin 795, but it doesn't feed SK Standard Plus too well. I had 13 of of 45 misfire (some of them double strikes).

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/attachments/rimfires/64177d1370616056-marlin-795-misfire-p1000785.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Do8R...ature=youtu.be shows the misfired rounds

I realise that RF isn't always the most reliable and I'd expect 2 or 3 misfires in a box of 50, but not 13! The guy who sold it to me gave me some CCI rounds to test, all which worked fine, so I'm not sure if I bought a dud batch of rounds or there's a problem with the rifle. I took the bolt out and gave it a good clean (it seemed fairly clean before). The firing pin moves in it's slot quite freely , but there's a certain amount of vertical play in the firing pin (I've made a video, below). Is this normal?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1zYrmKvWhU shows the bolt and firing pin

[TheBest]

Cannot view image.

[ZZR600]

Just checked, the video and picture definitely work

[Dattebayo]

Well looking at the video of your ammo, it does not appear that you are getting light primer strikes, as it looks like your bolt is hitting them pretty good. You sure it isn't a bad batch of ammo?

[Lead Waster]

+1 for trying different ammo first before messing with the gun!

[tommyboy619]

Yup, try some different ammo. My marlin only eats cci blazer bulk reliably. It still has trouble with federal bulk.

[ZZR600]

Well, to update on the .22 problems, I purchased 100 each of CCI standard velocity and RWS Target Rifle to compare with 100 of the SK. I got 4 misfires with the CCI (all worked second time) and 14 on the RWS (all except one worked second time). About 1/3 of the SKs misfired, but by then the chamber was looking very mucky and it's possible the extractor pins weren't seating well into the breech. I've compared the firing pin on the 795 to an unused pin for a Ruger 10/22 and it looks like the 795's has a much thinner, wedge shaped striking face than the Ruger's which is thicker and flat. So apart from the ammo, my firing pin may be worn (or have been modified by the previous owner). I'll try with a new firing pin to see if it works any better.

Video and pics of the firing pin here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8l61eS4vSE

Does anyone have an image of what a Marlin 795 firing pin ought to look like head on, i.e the strike face?

[Chaos47]

You have to be logged into Marlinowners to see ZZR600's photo.
Next time try uploading it at a free place like tinypic

The hits on the unfired rounds look deep enough.

Sorry I know I am being lazy but I didn't want to open up my rifle atm to take photos of the pin :/ But I did take some photos of spent brass I had on hand.

Your firing pins edges do somewhat look like they have been filed.. I don't remember either of mine being so wedge shaped at the tip. But I could be wrong. I also do not remember my pins having so much vertical play. There have been a couple of generations of Marlin 60 firing pins. I wonder if the previous owner installed an older type...

BTW a common practice in 795's to lighten the trigger pull is to take one coil off the hammer spring. All the rifles I have done this to have been 100% reliable. BUT many people report light strikes after doing this to theirs. (I suspect they are taking off more than one coil) You might want to replace that spring just in case.

Generally when I look at my brass besides the firing pin mark there is a 2nd halo mark as well that is the shape of the firing pin channel. I do not see this mark on your brass. Maybe this is from the recoil of the case as it is fired and it slams back against the bolt.. I have never had a misfire in my 795s so I have never seen what a hit but unfired round looks like..


ZZR600's brass photo:


My brass photo (CCI Blazer 525 Value Pak):




From the looks of my brass my pin is thicker than yours. Which supports the idea that the previous owner filed yours down.

If it were me I would replace the firing pin and the hammer spring.
Then test with more bulk ammo, seems your issue is with target ammo mostly.

[ZZR600]

Quick update. I've now replaced the firing pin with a new one. The new one has a much thicker face and slightly longer than the old one. It looks like the previous owner filed it down. Old firing on left, new firing pin on right



The old hammer spring was also a couple of coils shorter than the new firing spring, so I replaced that. I tried firing an old empty cartridge, and the new strike is much wider and deeper, see below. New pin strike pin on bottom left, old pin strike on right.



I'll try it the next few days to see how it works.

[Dan_Eastvale]

Why would someone file the firing pin down like that?
Maybe because it had broken, chipped???

[Izzy43]

Looks like you found the problem. I have shot over 10000 rounds of SK Std+ and never had a failure to fire. Difference is mine were shot from several bolt action rifles but it shouldn't matter that much.

[Chaos47]

Your firing pin hits now look a whole lot more like mine. The wider hit is probably more beneficial to making sure you get ignition. I have no idea why the previous owner filed that one but its pretty obvious that that is what must have happened.

That plus the hammer spring being shorter I would say that there was some tinkering going on for sure. I'm glad that you took my advice and ordered a replacement spring as well. With the new pin and spring I think your issues should be a thing of the past!

Let us know how it works after you shoot it!

[ZZR600]

Very late response, but a new firing pin and firing pin return spring did the trick, not a misfire in over 2 years

[Chaos47]

Glad its been serving you well!

[BigPimping]

Mine eats literally anything. No kidding.