.45-70 Handi Action Opens When Fired

[Steve in Michigan]

I have a problem and I am afraid of what it might be. I bought a 1995 production .45-70 handi awhile back. It is in really nice shape and looks almost new - HOWEVER - when I took it to the range the problem started. My load is a 350-grain cast bullet with 28.0 grains of XMP-5744 - a starting load in one of the manuals. The first two or three shots were okay, but on the next shot the action came open. I had trouble getting it to lock up again, but I did succeed only to have the action spring open on the next shot. After that i put it away. When I got home, I checked everything over and took a little WD-40 and sprayed in the ejector mechanism. After that it seemed to lock up okay. Then I went back to the range and on the first shot, it opened again. The only modifications I have done to this rifle is to put on a Choate stock and forearm and a Williams FP sight. I also put a lead ingot in the buttstock wrapped in a rag to add a little more weight to the rifle for recoil, however the load I was shooting was pretty tame.

I'm afraid that the guy who sold it to me overdid it with loads and stretched the action, if that is possible. The rifle is an SB-2, so it has a steel receiver. Am I screwed, or is there some fixable problem?

Thanks for all information you can give me,

Steve

[quickdtoo]

Read the Handi 101 Basics and the Pop Open Medicine in FAQs and Help stickys, if those don't answer your question, send it in for repair.

Tim

[LaOtto222]

Like Tim said read the FAQ. It is usually oil on the latch/barrel lug or the barrel lug not engaging enough on the latch this is assuming you have been smartly snapping it shut. I doubt it is frame stretch.

[burntmuch]

Id start with taking it apart & wiping it down real good

[Steve in Michigan]

Thanks, Fellas.

[MSP Ret]

Be sure there is no oil on the latch and shelf it locks into. Also I would suggest you NEVER use WD-40 on guns. It is not really a long lasting lubricant. It is quite a cheap product and your guns deserve better....<>,....

[LaOtto222]

Ditto on the WD 40

[Steve in Michigan]

Don't worry on the WD40. I NEVER use WD40 as a lubricant. About all I use it for is to spray on my guns on the outside and then wipe them down to prevent rust. I also use WD40 as a cleaner/solvent, that is wiped off and all lubrication is Break-Free.

By the way, I did a test on at least 10 different "rust preventatives" a few years back and WD40 finished in the top five for rust prevention, so the stuff is not junk like some say it is. They also say it will gum up your gun if you use it, but, if you clean your firearms regularly and always wipe the WD40 away, you will not have any problems. We had problems with the revolvers at our police department several years ago when they said WD40 was gumming up the revolvers. The few guys that had such a problem, hadn't had the insides of their revolvers cleaned in at least 10 years.I like it on the outside because it is not greasy and dries to leave a film to protect the firearm.

WD40 also does a pretty good job of cutting cosmoline as well.

I think the best spray rust-preventative/solvent I ever used was a product called Ladd, Unfortunately I have never been able to find the stuff again. It was approved for naval stores, so it was pretty good.

Steve

[quickdtoo]

WD40 isn't as bad as everyone would have you to think,  like Steve, I've used it for years without having any of the issues that it's commonly blamed for. I know for a fact that many smokers will have a film on there firearms stored in their homes if they smoke much, some might blame WD40 for it, but it's actually caused by their own bad habit of smoking. My best friend took in a bunch of firearms from an estate to sell on consignment at the Camas Sports Center, the original owner had all his guns in his den where he smoked for many, many years. The guns were entirely coated with a thick film that smelled like the worst ashtray you could imagine, it took him weeks to get the guns cleaned up to sell.

There are far worse products that can be used as a long term protectant as shown in the test below, Kroil and Militec 1, for a couple!!

Tim

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

[BIGDAVE54]

He he he...I have to call foul on the antismoking propaganda. I come from a tobaco producing state and a historically producing family. Your post sounds more like something coming from the pulpit of a church than a scientific laboratory. FIRST I don't suggest that smoking is a safe past time,nor a habit that anyone should start. I have smoked for 40 plus years and the cost alone has been more than a decent house with a Porsche parked in the garage. I don't think smoking is as bad as some fanatics say though. I can't remember stepping over bodies at the mall or on my street from it.
    Second I would not put WDF 40 within 6 feet of any firearm I own. It is good for one thing and one thing only....Water Displacement on spark plug wires.(Hint the WD in the name stands for Water Displacer) If you bring a firearm to any reputable gunsmith anywhere around where I live they will add at least a $50 surcharge for working on it if it has ever had WD 40 used in the action on it....many refuse to work on them at all.I personally use Break Free CLP for my firearms and in the summer months use a little high end synthetic motor oil on them because of the heat around this area generated inside car trunks and truck cab storage.Why would anyone pay huge money for a firearm then skimp  a buck or two on a decent lube? In this day and age there are fantastic things to use besides WD.

[Junior1942]

........ I don't think smoking is as bad as some fanatics say though. I can't remember stepping over bodies at the mall or on my street from it......

That's because they're all in cemeteries.