Just wondering what kind, if any, failures people have had at "the moment of truth". Misfire? stuck safety? something broken?
I've never had a problem with any of mine, not that they are custom guns or anything. Just curious. I guess the closest I got was the year I put a new mounts on my Model 70. Switched to one-piece Talley's and "finger tightened" the screws so I could rotate the scope to square the cross hairs. Season goes by, get my deer and I'm cleaning it for a long winters nap. Start hearing a little rattle and I'm thinking, WTH? The top of the rear ring was loose! Come to find out, I sighted in that gun (MOA BTW), hunted with it with only the finger-tight front base holding the scope. Pretty bad, but a testament to Talley...
1.) floored hingeplate opened and bullets flying everywhere on a stalk in Newfoundland.
2.) Bolt came open on 700 in Canada (rem 700's don't lock down like a sako). All kinda of crap got in there.
3.) Scope came loose.
4.) firing pin rusted up (rem700) (trade I just recieved)
5.) A-bolt stock warped badly in middle of raining hunt.
6.) 7400 jammed repeatily.
7.) Bent mag for 7600 in pocket wouldn't feed correctly
8.) Auto5 jam
9.) When I was 6 I used a poke stalk as a hiking stick and blew the end out of it. (bad)
Sure there is more, but I learned from each one and made modifications every time. Experience is invaluable.
My Remington model 74 got covered in mud retrieving a doe from a soybean field. Cleaned the gun at camp and went back out the following morning. Out walks a nice 8 point, put scope on shoulder, squeeze trigger, click. Pull back bolt, click. Again. Again. Buck walks off. All shells had a barely dented primer. After dis-assembly at camp, water apparently dripped into action the previous night causing lube on firing pin spring to gum up. Gun sold the following week.
Last year, Browning A-Bolt .280, out walks coyote, bang, dead coyote. Stay in stand, 3 hours later out walks buck, 50 yards, squeeze trigger, click. I short stroked it after the coyote, dropped firing pin onto empty chamber. Dumb@ss.
Well, I must say that I've been lucky that I've never had a failure to fire/function when hunting (had some on the range with ML's, though). I suppose now that I said that I'm doomed the next time I go out.
1.) floored hingeplate opened and bullets flying everywhere on a stalk in Newfoundland.
2.) Bolt came open on 700 in Canada (rem 700's don't lock down like a sako). All kinda of crap got in there.
3.) Scope came loose.
4.) firing pin rusted up (rem700) (trade I just recieved)
5.) A-bolt stock warped badly in middle of raining hunt.
6.) 7400 jammed repeatily.
7.) Bent mag for 7600 in pocket wouldn't feed correctly
8.) Auto5 jam
9.) When I was 6 I used a poke stalk as a hiking stick and blew the end out of it. (bad)
Sure there is more, but I learned from each one and made modifications every time. Experience is invaluable.
Auto 5 jams don't count. I've never seen one that didn't. Kinda like a Harley that didn't leak oil (at least a guy told me that once, I don't know squat about them).
Bonus points for an A5. Let's see, Belgium 20's are up to about $1500 bills these days. Clark, its the gift that keeps on giving.....
I had a cartridge that didn't fire once, primer was dented...I jacked in another shell and killed the buck, then killed his doe...
I replaced the firing spring and haven't had a problem since...This was about 15 years ago...
remington 1100 shotgun failed once,watched deer coming up hill on cold morning,pulled up and as soon as it stepped over the crest of the hill 50 ft from me,i had already pulled up and was ready....clicked safety off and....then came the loudest CLICK i have ever heard..he looked up at me and i stared at him. i tried slowly to eject that shell and chamber a new one,anyone ever try doing that while a deer is watching you at 50 ft....it dont work...sold the gun a few weeks later,it was just that gun was always tight on the action.
Has your rifle ever failed?
