Pre 64 Model 70 Safety lever question

[Dups]

Hello!

I have a 1953 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in 308 win. Absolute gem of a shooting iron. The Gun shoots great, fantastic, like... unbelievably well. Federal Fusion 150 grain, shoots into about 1/2 inch 3 shot group on a good day. sub 1" if i am sloppy. Jack O'Connor himself would appreciate this specimen.

My issue with the gun is, the safety is STIFF, to engage. To the point where its almost painful to engage with my thumb. my local smith, took it apart last week, cleaned and polished it, and it's still stiff. He had the bolt completely apart, and showed me the insides, everything is beautiful. He gave the rifle a 100% clean bill of health, and said enjoy it. am i just nit picking? or is that how the safeties are on these guns?

I am overall very happy with the work performed by the smith, and not doubting him or his knowledge. just seeking further advice from others who own this rifle.

Thanks!
//Dups//

 

[Slamfire]

The distance from cocking piece sear to bolt lugs has shortened. Possibly lugs and receiver seat recession has settled down. When that distance is less, the safety notch has moved forward, and now your safety won't go in the notch.

The for me was to file on the back of the notch to make it longer. Be very patient, look at the wear marks, file a little bit at a time. Quit and wait a day if something does not make sense, and think about it during that period.

 

[Dups]

The distance from cocking piece sear to bolt lugs has shortened. Possibly lugs and receiver seat recession has settled down. When that distance is less, the safety notch has moved forward, and now your safety won't go in the notch.

The for me was to file on the back of the notch to make it longer. Be very patient, look at the wear marks, file a little bit at a time. Quit and wait a day if something does not make sense, and think about it during that period.

appreciate your response. could you detail this further? may print this out and take it to the smith. see what he says.

 

[792mauser]

My '52 in 30-06 isn't that stiff to operate.
It takes some force but nothing too hard.

 

[Bwana John]

Does the safety feel different with a round in the chamber compared to when the chamber is empty?

 

[sage5907]

The distance from cocking piece sear to bolt lugs has shortened.

Slamfire is exactly right and I have seen this problem before. The easiest way to understand this is to go on Google and look at a picture of a Model 70 firing pin. Look at the large portion at the rear of the firing pin that fits inside of the bolt shroud and you will see that it quickly slims down into the smaller diameter of the actual firing pin. Just as this smaller diameter begins and on the right side you will see a pronounced groove milled into the side of the rod. This groove is very easy to see in the picture. Realizing that the firing pin moves back and forth inside the bolt shroud and if this groove has moved forward do to wear the rotating safety shaft will not rotate into the groove. A gunsmith would use a round file similar to what you would use to sharpen a chain saw to remove a small amount of metal at the rear of the notch thus making the notch longer. It's all about aligning the notch with the rotating safety shaft. When the rotating safety shaft cams it's way into this notch it takes the weight of the firing pin spring off of the trigger and the round portion of the cam holds the firing pin back. When the flat portion of the cam is in the groove the rifle will fire. That is the beauty of the Model 70 safety design and in my opinion no manufacturer has ever came up with a better safety designed specifically for a hunting rifle.

 

[Slamfire]

appreciate your response. could you detail this further? may print this out and take it to the smith. see what he says.

Had a match to go to yesterday, but @sage5907 covered all the bases

 

[sage5907]

Had a match to go to yesterday, but @sage5907 covered all the bases

We make a good team. I always read what you write and I have great respect for your opinion.

 

[sage5907]

[QUOTE="sage5907, post: 12662581, member: 162633" When the rotating safety shaft cams it's way into this notch it takes the weight of the firing pin spring off of the trigger and the round portion of the cam holds the firing pin back.[/QUOTE]

I need to expand on what I said in this sentence. When the rotating shaft cams it's way into this notch it actually moves the firing pin several thousands of an inch toward the rear and this movement takes the weight of the firing pin spring off of the trigger. This characteristic must be retained when the notch is adjusted and just enough metal is to be removed on the rear shoulder of the notch to allow the sharp shoulder of the cam to enter the notch and the round radius of the cam inside the notch will then continue to move the firing pin toward the rear when the safety is engaged. I have been shooting one of my 270 Winchesters this week and it was handy so out of curiosity I measured the amount of travel of the firing pin when the safety is engaged and the travel to the rear was .032. The change was more than I expected.