My brother finally got a take down schematic for his gun with stuck bolt. Said he is glad he didn't put it in vise beat it open like some had suggested .. Guess he pulled the trigger assembly out and bolt opened right up.
Seem he has a broken sear. That kind of hard to believe seeing as the gun has never been abused. Never fired reloads except for managed recoil loads.
Anyways now he is trying to find the part and I guess struggling with that a bit..
Anyone got line on parts for older guns??








My brother has a Mossberg model 800A in 308. On Sunday when he came out of the woods he unloaded the gun cased it put in the truck. Back at camp he uncased the gun open the bolt stood it in the corner of the room. This is something we have done for years. Later he whipped it down with a oil cloth stood it back in corner.
Monday when he was getting ready to go home he closed the bolt on gun and cased it.
When he got home he was going to clean the gun up and put it back in cabinet.
Here is where the problem came in to play.
He can not get the bolt to lift up and open.. his long time gun guy has retired won't even give him suggestions.
I have Google it he has Googled it. Can't seem to find and answer as to why the bolt won't lift and open..
Anyone here have an idea why just closing the bolt on an empty chamber it will now not open. How does he get it open without just brut force? My brother is very mechanical but this has him stumped.

Mac

. Assuming he has the safety in the right position if it has a safety that will lock the bolt
Sorry i wasn't through my cup of coffee when I read the post the first timr
I see the make and model now

It's a Mossberg 800A in 308. No the safety does not lock the bolt. That was the first thing I ask him.

He has had this rifle for several years it was given to him by his father in-law. He shot a deer with it on Monday of our season. So it's not like he is totally unfamiliar with the gun.

Mac

I would start by pulling the stock off the action and see if that solves anything.

I wouldn't force or pry anything. Just take it to a competent gunsmith.....maybe an internal part broke that needs special attention.

Rubber mallet with wd-40

There are lots of things I would try before that. Silver solder isn't that strong.

if it is unloaded and he can get it out of the stock , soak action in penetrating oil for a week then persuade it open as gently as you can with a soft face mallet.

my cousin had this happen , found out he had never oiled the locking lugs , or cleaned it in decades

you cam shut dry lugs on a dirty possibly rough mating surface and it locks up

taking it to a gun smith is also a good option

his was actually a Rem 700 although then I cleaned his Mossberg as well.

hunt , toss gun behind seat in truck , remember it about May , move it in the house , repeat for may years

they sweat , then corrode in the recesses

No don’t beat on it !!! Same thing happened to me !! You won’t believe my issue but here it goes. The front mount hole for the bases actually goes into the area the bolt locks in place. I had hunted for 4 years with my rifle. 3 days before season this year I couldn’t get the bolt open. Turns out on of the screws in the front base has to be 1 mm shorter than the other 4. Only way I figured it out was I took off my scope to take it to guns smith and bolt practically fell open Laying the screws beside each other I saw the difference
Have him take scope. Based and all off

I have seen this happen before too !
I forget the model, but it does happen, for sure.
Nice suggestion, j.

it can be worth taking the mount off , you would do that to soak it any way

I worked on an M94 30-30 angel eject this spring that the scope mount screw from the side was too long

it would seem odd in this case that worked then didn't with no change or now one we are being told about.

It is definitely not a rust issue unless some small piece doesn't show from the outside. My brothers father in-law is almost what people would call anal about anything he owns. My brother isn't as bad but definitely way more particular with his guns than Iam. There has been no change with this gun except for my brother going to full copper bullets. Which actually group better than anything else he has shot from the gun.
The one thing that is different however with the full copper bullets. The little plastic ballistic tip. Seems at time to add just enough length that a live round doesn't like to pop out with the bolt full back. The gun has the in stock magazine. So since he has been using the full copper bullets. To unload the gun. He has been popping the magazine open dumping the rounds out. I suppose in doing so something could have gotten in the magazine? But the gun had been cleared and cased. Then uncased and bolt open the bolt closed and case.
I don't know. I did chat with him this morning about what people have posted so far. He said he hasn't taken time to really play with it yet.
Did say that scope mounts have been the same for years and never messed with??

Mac

fileing the tops of the bullets down will make it so they should fit eject and cycle fine

The first thing I would do is to run a wooden dowel down the barrel and double check to make sure that there is not a shell in the chamber. Yes, even if he is absolutely sure that he unloaded it.
If in fact it is loaded, that will start you on the right path in determining what is happening.

factory or reload

definitely check for a round in the chamber a out of spec case can jam the bolt

how hard did he push to close the bolt?

Now that like many of us my little brother has become older and forgets things. He is 65 now you know..
I know he won't be offended by checking the gun to see if it is still indeed loaded. I highly doubt it is..
That said I know as I do that he counts rounds in and rounds out every time he loads the gun. Im pretty sure knowing my brother he probably has in his journal every round the gun has fired since he was given it. If I know how his father in-law is. My brother probably has the recipe from when he bought it in his safe.
So anyways.
The rounds he is using now are factory loads all copper bullet. Not sure what brand but do recall he said was the only one had 308? The only reloads he has used are some managed recoil loads. Those are loaded by a trusted friend who has loaded for him for years.

It's not his only deer rifle and the main season is over. He shot his 1 doe for the main season so won't be going for late doe. He has kind of decided to set the gun aside for now. H needs to focuses on training for the Birkebiner. His wife cracks the whip at him on that. LMAO.

Mac

Green co that’s what had me scratching my head. I oiled and put mine away last November Everything was fine. Went to check it make sure it was zero and the bolt wouldn’t open. I always remove bolt and clean and oil everything before storing them. But with a bore light I could see the hole in the mount screw coming out on top of barrel Basically it wax s set screw for the bolt. I had probly shot 5 boxes of shells thru that rifle with zero issues

I have been thinking of this all day and came up with a possible solution. Check the screw that runs through the tang safety. Make sure it is tight. It is similar to a 500 and the screw gets loose and the safety will slide but has far too much play in it and doesn't travel as far as it needs too. As I recall the 800 safety locks the bolt. If that is the case, this may solve your problem.

I had a 25-06 reload that would not open after I fired a shot. I was over max and I was young and foolish. Had to remove my boot and use it to hammer the bolt open.

Try placing the rifle in a chest freezer overnight to shrink the metal. Gunsmith once told me this trick to remove a stuck case.

My money would be on the bolt in front of the trigger guard that holds the action and the stock together
Try loosening that bolt, it shouldn't take much