Browning A-Bolt problems

[caelkhnter]

Well I was recetnlty on a hunt in Arizona, so not really that cold, maybe 28-30 at the time, and my brand new Browning A-Bolt 270 WSM missifired 4 times.(At the time, it was aimed at one of the largest coues bucks I have seen alive) The firing pin was not hittting the primer hard enough to fire the bullet. In fact you would hear the "click" of the strike, but it was not even leaving an identifiable mark on the primer.

Later, at the end of the day, we fired the gun, with the same ammo, it was probably about 45-50 at the time, and it fired!

Called Browning, First they tried to blame the ammo, which was not the problem. Then they tried to say maybe the gun oil I was using had built up to enough gunk to interfere with the spring and firing pin. Hard to imagine that is the problem when it was brand new, had only been cleaned once, after being sited in at the range. Finally the man said, soemtimes the cold will cause the spring to not spring hard enough to fire. Again I was hunting in Arizona, not northern Wisconsin, or high in the Rockies of Colorado etc! Very disappointed with Browning not trying to help me out and otherwise take responsibilty for the situation.

So Have any of you had similar problems with Browning, and particularly the A-bolt?

 

[kilowatt]

I have a Browning A-bolt SS Stalker in .280 REM. I bought mine back in '93 and have had it on hunts in some very cold conditions and never have had a problem as you state. I was in MT in 2000 during the NOV. hunt and it got well below zero degrees a number of time even the day I shot my Bull, no problems.
Brian

 

[littlebighorn]

CA,
I feel for you man and I can't say that I blame you for being upset at your gun. I have a Stainless Synthetic Stocked A-bolt that I absolutely love. It has never miss fired, and I too have hunted in some pretty cold stuff. But it is tough to trust a gun that has done that in the past and I would be all over Browning for replacing it. You can never replace a trophy, but you can a gun!

 

[justr_86]

I bought my wife a browning A bolt compact stalker in 22-250. We hunt coyotes in some pretty cold conditions and have never had a problem.

 

[buncoboy]

Never a problem with mine, sounds like a 1 out of a thousand situation!

 

[Widetrack]

I have a stainless A-Bolt .270WSM I bought new in 2005. It has cost me one whitetail in TX so far by not punching the primer. It wasn't cold either. It's done it a couple of times on the range as well. I've just convinced myself that when that happens it's because I've let the bolt handle creep ever so slightly open just getting into position for the shot. I still don't know if that's the issue though.

 

[Cahunter805]

Thats a bummer man. I have an abolt and never had any problems with it. I have however found that they really become accurate with a bedding job and free floating the barrel. I would hassle browning as it sounds like a weak firing pin. Good luck.

 

[RELH]

With the temps at 28-30 degrees the odds are 9 to 10 that your problem is related to excessive oil inside the bolt. The oil will gum up and cause sluggish firing pin travel and lead to a misfire.
I have seen this several times in different rifles, even a Weatherby on one occassion.
If I am going to hunt where the weather will dip below freezing, I strip the bolt and remove all traces of oil and do the same for the trigger group.


RELH

 

[downsouth]

I agree with RELH above, we had this same scenario last year on a deer hunt, this time with a Remington 700. Needless to say the buck lived to see another day. We got home and disassembled the bolt and sure enough there as excessive oil on the firing pin and spring. We cleaned it up and haven't had any problems since.

 

[overton]

I used my Browning A-Bolt in Saskatchewan in december and had no problems. My dad was in the US Army during WWII and was taught to use a small amount of oil and then wipe it off and he taught this to my brothers and I. He made it home alive so it must work.


Ransom

 

[elk_horn]

I have an A-bolt White Gold Medallian 270 WSM shot a cow elk in -10 below zero never had a problem.

 

[DKMULEYBUCK]

Man, Am I glad Im not the only one. Sorry your buck got away, it happened to me on 190+ muley in CO this year, I love that Browning 30-06, but not if its gonna screw me over like that. Ive had it since 1989, hate the thought of not hunting with it anymore, but gonna switch to my mdl 70 featherweight 30-06. 190 bucks dont come around often.

 

[ELKOHOLIC]

I have had several Brownings. Never had a problem with any of them.

 

[Jazz]

I have an A-Bolt 7MM. Never had a problem and I have hunted in pretty cold weather as well.

Jazz

 

[RELH]

At this point this is not a problem that can be blamed on the rifle or the manufactor. It happens with about every brand of rifle at one time or another.
The rifle's maker uses oil or a light grease in the interior of the bolt assembly to protect the parts from rust. When they ship the rifle to a dealer, it may sit in a rack for years before being sold, so they use oil or light grease to protect it from rusting which may be covered under a warranty for repairs when sold new.
I always strip down a new gun to check for heavy oil and other possible problems, such as burrs or metal particles inside the bolt assembly.
If you are going to hunt in cold climates, you would be wise to do this also so you do not have to tell the story of the trophy that got away.
This also goes for guys who pack semi-autos in very cold climates. Be sure to remove all oil or grease from the slide rails or you will get to watch a slide travel in very slow motion on the first shot and fail to feed the second round.

RELH

 

[gb22]

I think RELH has this pretty well nailed. I learned that lesson a LONG time ago (even I was once a teenager) only it was with a Winchester. Probably not the gun's fault.


Within the shadows, go quietly.

 

[lip_curl]

ive got an abolt in .270WSM. the only complaint i have about it is the outrageous taxidermy bills every time i take it out...

 

[west]

>ive got an abolt in .270WSM.
> the only complaint i
>have about it is the
>outrageous taxidermy bills every time
>i take it out...

lol...damn gun


"blaming guns for violence is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'donnell being fat."

 

[Magicman]

I have 3 A Bolts and never a problem.

What was the final decision when talking with the Browning rep. Cleaning, sending it to Utah, or what?

 

[woodruffhunter]

What irritates me about Browning's response is the automatic conclusion that it was the "ammo"

RELH has an interesting conclusion that I never would thought. However, before I made this assumption, I would take it to a good Gunsmith and have it checked.

Having said this, I have owned an A-Bolt and have never had a problem. However, I still wouldn't be surprised if it was a factory defect...

 

[RELH]

Woodruffhunter;

You mentioned you cleaned the gun once prior to this incident. Did you run a oil patch in the bore and then sit the rifle in a gun safe with the barrel pointing up.
There is a possibilty that if you had excess oil in the bore, it ran down to the bolt face and entered the firing pin hole and there is your excessive oil that could have caused the problem during freezing tempertures.
when I oil a barrel after cleaning, I run one dry patch though the bore to pick up any excess oil to prevent it running out of the bore. You only need a very thin oil film to protect from rust. You can also stand the rifle barrel down to allow any excessive oil run out of the muzzle.

RELH

 

[carterj16]

can this same thing happen to shotguns, happened to me this yr on a 12g.
thanks
the provider

 

[RELH]

Yes it can happen to a shotgun in very cold weather.

RELH

 

[caelkhnter]

As far as the final verdict, I am having a good gun smith look at it. However I am beginning to think RELH is correct. I will let you all know as soon as I do. Thanks for all the replies and input. Jim

 

[dryflyelk]

My A-bolt has performed flawlessly, even in very cold temps. I've shot elk in freezing conditions several times, no problems.

 

[tesmitty]

I've had issues with the shotgun safety on my A bolt. Sometimes the pin under the safety doesn't fully retract and causes the firing mechanism to hang up which in turn causes it to misfire or keeps the firing pin from striking the primer at all.

 

[sagebrush]

Four A-Bolts Alaska to Mexico. Zero failures.

 

[caelkhnter]

So here is the update of sorts. Gunsmith concluded there was no excessive oil or grease that would have caused the 4 misfires. Spring is fine and he had it working without incident. He did notice that if the bolt was not firmly closed against the stock, the trigger would release but the firing pin would not hit the primer with enough force to fire the bullet. When we were setting up for the shot we were using a back pack to set the rifle om. The assumption is that, in the final moments of attempting to make sure the gun was steady, "the final adjustments while the scope was being line up for the shot", the gun must have move enough against the pack to move the bolt ever so slightly so as to cause the misfires. Never realized this situation could occur. Would have thought if bolt moved enough to cause a problem the trigger would not release. I suppose now I need to take extra care, make it part of the preshot check list, to make sure bolt is secured firmly aginst the sotck?

 

[Magicman]

I would think that you would have a bit of tolerance.

 

[Califelkslayer]

2 A-bolts, sub-zero kills, no problems......BUT I had a partner who shot at a big bull at 3-400 yards in 60 MPH winds. Bull walked into the timber, partner reloaded but dropped a couple of bullets in the snow. He chambered one of em. 1/2 hour later bull came back out of the timber and ended walking within 90 yards. When we met back up at camp he was almost in tears and had 1/2 dozen rounds with a slightly dented primer.

It was a Ruger in .338. His spare was a Ruger in 7MM Rem Mag. I had him shot a round with the bolt from the 7MM in the .338, BANG!! Then we took the gun in the wall tent in a half hour he put the original bolt back in, stepped outside and BANG!! Apparently the snow melted into the firing pin hole, refroze and the firing pin wasn't hittin the primer hard enough. He was blaming his Dad's reloads, claiming the primer was seated too deep???????? Anyways, he carried the spare bolt the rest of the hunt but never used either one. :-(

 

[sageadvice]

caelkhnter, lots of good info in this thread!!!

Thanks for the follow up report.

Joey

 

[RELH]

You may want to check the clearence at the bolt notch in the stock. Sometimes the bottom of the bolt will bottom out on that part of the stock and not fully go down as designed.
It sounds like you are at the point where a small fraction of travel could make a big difference in reliability.

RELH

 

[woodruffhunter]

"The assumption is that, in the final moments of attempting to make sure the gun was steady, "the final adjustments while the scope was being line up for the shot", the gun must have move enough against the pack to move the bolt ever so slightly so as to cause the misfires"

I would not make this "assumption" (with al due respect to your gunsmith). I am not saying it couldn't happen, but doubt it.
I would hate to bank on this and have a repeat occurance on another hunt...

RELH' previous post sounds more logical to me. I would send it back to the factory and have them check. I would bet money that it is a factory defect.

As Sage said, an interesting thread. As I said earlier, I own an A-Bolt and am interested in your research.