Bolt Action Rifles. Wayne Zwoll

they all move as a unit when the action is cocked and fired.

      The trigger assembly is a simple one, composed of a trigger, sear housing, sear trigger spring, trigger pin, sear pin and sear housing pin. The sear housing pin holds the assembly to the receiver. The trigger is the double-stage type. The first part of the trigger pull, quite long and light, nearly disengages the sear from the cocking piece. A shorter, but heavier, final pull disengages the sear from the cocking piece.

      The trigger guard/magazine is machined and formed as a single unit. A long screw, through a hole in the rear of the trigger guard, threads into the tang of the receiver. A shorter screw, through a hole in the front of the guard, threads into a round stud, silver soldered to the barrel jacket. Both hold the action and barrel in the stock.

      The trigger guard bow opening is long— the bow itself is very thick and wide. The magazine box, more or less a walled shell, extends below the stock line, forward of the guard bow, housing the various magazine parts which hold and guide the cartridge clip. It is essential that a clip be used in this action, since it is the clip that holds the cartridges in position in the magazine. I will go into more detail later.

      A catch, which pivots on a screw and is given tension by a small coil spring, is positioned in the rear of the magazine. This catch has a hook on its upper end to engage and hold the loaded clip down. A button on the lower end of the catch protrudes inside the guard bow and can be depressed to release the loaded clip. The follower arm, positioned in the front of the magazine on a screw, is given tension by a heavy coil spring and plunger, located in a hole in the heavy front part of the magazine. The rear underside of the magazine is open to allow the empty clip to fall out. The remainder of the magazine opening is closed by a flat piece of steel, held in place by a screw.

      The clip is a U-shaped piece of spring steel which holds five cartridges. The top and bottom of the clip are identical. The edges of the side are curved inward to hold the cartridges and to form guide or retainer lips when the loaded clip is in the action. Ridges inside the rear of the clip match the extractor groove in the cartridge head. When loading the cartridges into the clip they must be inserted with their heads engaged behind these ridges. The ridges thus hold the cartridges securely in the clip, and the rifle’s recoil cannot dislodge the cartridges forward from the clip. This clip form is of some advantage when soft point ammunition is used, as it will keep the bullet point from being battered—by striking the front of the magazine from recoil.

      Two types of bolt heads used in M88 Commission rifles. Top: Bolt head with the wide extractor hook and undercut recess rim. When feeding from the magazine into the chamber, the cartridge head moves upward with the extractor hook engaging the cartridge. If the bolt is closed but not rotated and locked, the cartridge will be extracted and ejected on opening the bolt. Bottom: This is, perhaps, the earlier type of bolt head with the narrow extractor and a full-recess rim. The cartridge is pushed into the chamber ahead of the extractor, but the extractor hook cannot engage the cartridge head unless the bolt is fully closed and locked. With this bolt head, it is possible to “double load” the rifle. Unless the bolt is rotated and locked, the cartridge will not be extracted.

      The loaded clip is inserted into the top of the opened action and pushed down against the tension of the follower arm until engaged by the clip catch. Since the top and bottom of the clip are identical, it isn’t possible to insert the clip incorrectly. As each cartridge is fed out of the clip, the follower arm raises the remaining cartridges in the clip—the clip remaining stationary. A fully or partially loaded clip can be released from the top of the opened action by depressing the clip catch. When all the cartridges have been fed from the clip, it will drop from the magazine of its own weight.

      Military M88s are usually serial numbered. The full number is stamped on the receiver, barrel, barrel jacket and bolt. Other parts of the action may also be stamped with the same number or with part of that number. If all the numbers match, this indicates that all the parts are original. The date (year) of the rifle’s manufacture is usually stamped on the receiver ring. Commercial sporting rifles based on this action usually follow the serial numbering practice used on military arms, though they are not always stamped with the date of manufacture. Military rifles seldom have the caliber designation stamped on them. On sporting rifles, the caliber is usually stamped on the barrel, but it may be underneath the barrel, requiring the removal of the stock to see it.

      Strong and Weak Points

      The German M88 actions are well made, all the parts are of steel, machined and finished to close tolerances and properly heat-treated. The outside of the bolt body, the inside of the receiver and all the contracting surfaces of the firing mechanism within the bolt and receiver carry a very fine finish, resulting in exceptionally smooth and easy opening and closing of the bolt. Despite the slotted receiver bridge, there is little sloppiness of the bolt in the receiver, even when the bolt is open. Feeding of the cartridges from the magazine is smooth and reliable, and there is ample extraction camming power. The bolt stop is quite rugged; the safety positive. Although the bolt head is a separate part of the bolt, and the front end of the bolt is hollowed out to accept it, there seems to be ample metal at the front to adequately support the dual locking lugs.

      This action, however, has more weak and undesirable features than strong ones. The weakest part is the very small extractor. Not only is it weak and delicate, but it can be lost easily when the bolt is taken apart. The ejector is small and delicate also.

      The separate bolt head can be readily disassembled and can be easily lost—another undesirable feature. The bolt can be assembled in the action minus the bolt head, and it is possible to fire a cartridge in the rifle with the bolt head missing with unpredictable consequences.

      The worst feature is the need for a special clip to hold the cartridges in the magazine. When the M88 rifle was used as a military weapon, with the ammunition supplied in clips, these clips were then expendable. However, when these rifles were used as sporting arms, the sporting ammunition was not furnished in clips, and their easy loss became a problem. A small device known as a “clip-saver” was developed to prevent the clips from dropping from the magazine. It was a small, sliding spring cover slipped over the rounded edges of the bottom of the magazine. Covering the hole in the magazine held the empty clip in the magazine. Commercial sporting rifles made on this action often had a hinged magazine hole cover serving the same purpose.

      Another undesirable feature is the mass of metal attached to the striker, resulting in rather slow lock time. This mass includes the heavy striker, massive cocking piece, striker nut, safety, and safety spring.

      No provision is made to allow powder gases to escape harmlessly from the action in the event of a pierced primer or ruptured case head. There are no gas escape vents in the bolt or receiver ring.

      Minor design faults include the forward position of the bolt handle, inconveniently placed for rapid bolt operation. The split bridge design prevents installing a conventional receiver sight and also places some limitations on the choice of scope mounts which can be used. The magazine box extending below the stock line is also a nuisance in carrying the rifle. Although not an action fault, the barrel jacket is not a desirable feature.

      Takedown and Assembly

      Open the bolt and, while depressing the bolt stop, withdraw the bolt from the receiver. Disassemble the bolt as follows: Press the safety forward and unscrew the striker nut. Remove the cocking piece from the firing pin. Holding the bolt in the left hand, firmly grasp the bolt head with the fingers of the right hand and turn the bolt head ½-turn clockwise. Bolt head, firing pin and mainspring can now be pulled out of the bolt. The extractor is removed from the bolt head by raising the hooked end and sliding it forward. The ejector can be removed by pushing it back with a drift punch. Reassemble the bolt parts in reverse order, as follows: Lay the bolt on a table with the lugs to the right and the bolt handle toward you. Place the bolt head on the firing pin with the ejector lug aligned with the flat spot on the rear of the firing pin. Slip the mainspring over the firing pin. Now, grasp the bolt with the left hand and, with the bolt handle pointing toward you, insert mainspring, firing pin and bolt head into the front of the bolt. With the ejector lug