Pards I need a learning lesson on clearing a jam in a '73

[Buckshot Bear]

Went to the range today and was having great fun on a bright, warm and sunny afternoon when I copped the jam below.

Nothing I tried could unjam it. I haven't taken it apart as yet because I wanted to see if there was a way to clear and unjam the rifle

without having to take the rifle down.

 

Can anyone explain to me why it jammed and how to unjam it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

From the picture, it looks like either a split case, or bad crimp allow the bullet in the first round to telescope into the brass.

 

There are two ways to clear this.

 

The first involves removing the magazine and cap, spring, and follower. Then took the rifle up and all the bullets fall out.

 

The second involves a screwdriver. With the screwdriver, you will press the second round back up into the magazine while simultaneously pushing forward the lever to lift the carrier up.

[El Hombre]

18 minutes ago, Branchwater Jack SASS #88854 said:

From the picture, it looks like either a split case, or bad crimp allow the bullet in the first round to telescope into the brass.

 

There are two ways to clear this.

 

The first involves removing the magazine and cap, spring, and follower. Then took the rifle up and all the bullets fall out.

 

The second involves a screwdriver. With the screwdriver, you will press the second round back up into the magazine while simultaneously pushing forward the lever to lift the carrier up.

What he said and make your crimps tighter

[G W Wade]

Try pushing in on the loading gate.   Usually the magazine spring will push the bad case out.    I stole this idea from somebody else    GW

[Sedalia Dave]

Besides tightening the loose screw, Clearing this kind of jam is one of the reasons toggle link rifle shooters carry Screw Knives.

The third reason is for lifting the extractor off the case rim so that the carrier can be pushed back down when a case fails to extract.

 

BTW A small screwdriver works as well.

 

[Sedalia Dave]

4 minutes ago, G W Wade said:

Try pushing in on the loading gate.   Usually the magazine spring will push the bad case out.    I stole this idea from somebody else    GW

 

Courtesy of Smoke Stack

 

 

 

[Doc Altman SASS#74468]

Great tips!

If only I could remember them after the buzzer goes off!

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

This problem HAS to be FIXED at the time you are loading ammo.  You never want to have this happen in a match you are trying to do well in.

 

Examine all cases when loading to remove any with splits.  The split weakens the ability of the case to hold the bullet at it's intended position, then the magazine spring pressure and recoil and momentum of rounds moving within magazine and when popping onto carrier shove the bullet farther down into the case.  In your picture, the bullet was so weakly held it collapsed back flush with the case mouth.  Cases with bigger splits (more than 1/8" long) will usually ring with a distinctive tinny bell sound if you shake then in a handful of other cases.  Just have to find the one or two that are split, then.

 

Check your crimp tightness, which is what prevents bullet collapsing into case. My test is to hold a loaded round in my strong hand, bullet nose sticking out between thumb and forefinger.  Find a solid wood frame or piece of loading bench to press against.  Push bullet tip hard against the wood.  If bullet does not collapse into case by any amount, you have a solid crimp.   Normally, you do not want to find that you can easily twist (rotate) the bullet in the case mouth, either.

 

Check your crimp to make sure it is not bulging the case.  Although a bulge at crimp is not going to cause a collapsed-bullet-in-case, it can cause a jam when chambering.  Watch out for these too while loading.  A loaded round gauge (aka a chamber checker, more correctly a round-will-chamber checker) will tell you if any crimping has pushed the case mouth into the band above the crimp location, and thus bulged the case right below the crimp.  

 

Watch for shortened cases that the crimp ring on your seater/crimper die does not reach.  Some pards trim back cases when they get a small mouth crack.   If you end up with that shortened case, your dies will not put a proper crimp on the bullet.  And, you can see a collapsed-bullet-in-case jam.

 

Load properly, so that rounds are suitable to feed in a tubular magazine.  then you won't have this problem on the line.

 

There are times, though, that carrying a screw knife or a small screwdriver, will save your bacon.  I've not removed a collapsed-bullet fault from my guns in 20+ years of shooting lever guns, though.

 

good luck, GJ

 

 

[Lowdown Larry]

You can go to Palo Verde Gunworks  website, there are videos showing him clearing jams with his '73 unjammer tool.

[Buckshot Bear]

Thanks all, I knew I would get a good lesson here and I wasn't failed. 

 

So easy when you've been shown how (especially video and Palo Verde was very easy to understand) I had the case out the loading gate in a manner of seconds and discovered its a split

case and the projectile had been pushed in.

 

Now I have this knowledge under my belt.......thanks pards

 

 

[John Boy]

It only takes about 2 seconds to spin a case with your fingers to determine splits at an unloading table or when decamping primers

Also with a split this large the reloader should recognize how much easier the bullet is crimped and shorter the the round is

Plus a reversed round should be easily recognized at the loading table

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