Click

[oppo]

I let my cousin borrow a rifle to go deer hunting. He tried to fire the rifle to verify the zero. It went click, twice. I have yet to see the primers but based on what he is saying, it doesn't sound like they were dented very much. There are 13 rounds left in that box of 50 that I loaded. The other 37 went bang just fine and the ammo was stored indoors so I am assuming the issue is with the rifle. The last time I shot that particular rifle was close to 3 years ago. It fired just fine with the same ammo then and has just been sitting at the house since. Luckily, this didn't happen with the crosshairs on a big buck.

What the heck happened?

 

[oppo]

The rifle is a Savage model 12.

 

[sixtyin5]

If the two times he pulled the trigger were the first two times in several years, it could just be that the rifle was slightly dirty, or that the oil had gelled a little and kept the firing pin from being released with full force. After a couple of cycles of the action it loosened up enough to restore it to "full power".
After sitting for any significant length of time, it is a good idea to clean the gun before shooting it.

 

[oppo]

That is what is what I am thinking/hoping, especially since it was store barrel up and the barrel was cleaned but the bolt wasn't taken apart and cleaned. I will find out fairly soon and update when I do.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Silver-Bolt]

Clean, lube, and retry it.

 

[kwo51]

Was it cold out? Hard primers.

 

[oppo]

Winchester large rifle primers, not sure about the temp but not below freezing and most likely 50+

 

[oppo]

Well, I took the bolt apart and cleaned it up then put it back together. I pulled a bullet and dumped the powder out. I loaded that primed case and tested it. It went pop and had a serious dent in the primer.

I am still not completely sure what happened. There was no gelled up oil in the bolt. It was a little dirty but not too bad. Anyways, she is working fine now.

 

[kwo51]

Damn gremlins ,need to hang a bell on it. Oh sorry wrong forum.