Why is one legal and one not

[Sgt. Drydock #1248]

The first year production of the 1898 came without the inertial disconnect safety. This is the model that became

identified with the "Widowmaker" label, as it could be fired before the bolt fully locked, firing the bolt out the back of

the gun. Marlin Quickly rectified their mistake, but sales never fully recovered. A good smmith I know (Retired)

replaces the bolt pivot with drill rod, and advises to regularly break down and clean the action. Other than that he has

full confidence in the action. The Model 19 has its own issues, as detailed in the above link.

 

The Reasoning is........

 

So should 73s be welded and hung up? Brass framed rifles? Colt SAAs? Trapdoors? No flame intended I assure you,

but broad statements and blanket examples can lead to unintended consequences. Winchester would love to issue

the same warning about the 97, but the sheer number produced means that such a warning would only increase their

legal exposure. I swear, every time I take my Trapdoor on the local range, with either BP or XMP-5744 loads,someone always exclaims how weak and dangerous that old gun is. Its not, and I accept the margins that it places upon me.

Now as far as would those 4 tests tell if that failure was detectable-- I don't know with the information at hand. The last

two instances I am aware of the "bolt splitting and coming out of the gun" would definatly have been caught by those checks. What is spliting is not the bolt itself but the cam lug attached to the locking bolt that drives it in and out of

battery. What causes it to split is it's being sheared off by the reciever as the bolt passes through it. The only way this can happen is if the gun wasn't locked into battery when fired. The first two tests make sure that if the gun isn't in

battery it won't fire and the last two tests make sure that it goes into battery.

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217]

...Due to the design of the action, it is possible to have an out-of-battery-discharge before before the internal safety lugs are fully engaged. If this happens, the bolt can blast back out of the receiver and into the shooter's head. This will most likely result in a serious if not fatal injury. This would not be good...

 

This is exactly what happened to a shooter I know. Luckily, he was not severely injured.

 

Our local clubs banned the Marlin pumps after that. I'm surprised it took SASS as long as it did.

 

Regards,

 

Allie Mo