[Max99XJ]

Evening gents,

I`ve been reading threads on this forum for about 5 years now, but haven`t joined until now. I haven`t had a need to, as my XT-22TR rimfire hasn`t had a problem until now.

Let me give you some backround.

This rifle is my first gun; I`ve had it nigh on 5 years now and have put I don`t know how many thousands of rounds through it. I`ve had it (unofficially) since I turned 16. Dad and I`ve always wanted to shoot recreationally, but Mom never allowed it until then. Anyway, Sunday afternoon I decided I wanted to get out of the house and went to the shooting range with the intent on burning a bunch of Remington Thunderbolt ammo practicing shots for squirrel and rabbit season, and cause I want to get better at shooting with iron sights. I went about 450 rounds without a hitch except for my misses, as normal, then my bolt stopped working. Every time I`d cycle the action or raise the bolt handle, the striker would cock and the rifle functioned as normal. However, while lowering the bolt handle to close and lock the bolt, the striker moved bit by bit into the "safe" position (i.e. when the rifle is not cocked). It moves from cocked to safe as I lower the handle (so it does not move foreword after locking the bolt, but as I lock the bolt). I`m looking for ideas as to what might be wrong as I don`t want to take the weapon apart and not know how to put it back together, or get in over my head. Don`t want to end up doing something I can`t undo (1st rule of DIY).

One thing I have noticed of late is that I`ve had to tighten what I believe to be the barrel screw (hex bolt at the end of the stock closest to the muzzle; is that the correct name of the part?) a few times, so I`m not sure if maybe there`s another screw back towards the trigger group that might have worked itself loose over the years, or if its a worn down sear or busted spring I don`t wanna mess with.

Any ideas or thoughts would be really appreciated!

Thanks!

- Max

 

[sharpsdressedman]

I suggest you tear Her down. I do not have a XT, but I am confident it is not a complicated Firearm at all. It is a Bolt Gun right? One of the simplest out there. You should learn to disassemble and hopefully reassemble any Firearm you own. You can do it..

 

[Max99XJ]

Thanks for the reply man! Yeah, the XT's are Marlin's newest bolt rimfires if I'm not mistaken. From what I've read thery're only cosmetic changes in the stock and a new trigger group compared to the last model (981T for mine, I think).

I know how to take the action apart and whatnot, I'm just not 100% certain what to look for, and if someone knows its most likely a problem with the bolt and striker assembly its self, I'd honestly rather pick up a new bolt. From what it sounds like they're a royal PIA to put back together.

I'm planning on taking it down as far as I can tomorrow night. I can completely disassemble my Remington 870 do I should be fine. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Henry88]

BTW, that is exactly what happens when you cock the bolt while holding down on the trigger on any bolt gun. It's how you decock it. I believe the OP is mistakenly calling this "safe mode"; the safety being on the side of the receiver and not involved in this discussion, if I have it right.

What is the trigger doing? If the trigger is "back" the gun will act as you describe.

 

[Marvlin]

Not familiar with the XT models. They are a lot different from the older Marlin bolt actions. But, I saw this on another forum, and it might give you some insight on what to look for. Taking a wild guess, the nut holding the spring on the striker shaft might have come loose.
https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=683513

 

[sharpsdressedman]

How new is it. Would Marlin possibly fix it for free? I do not know what their Warranty is on new stuff now.

 

[Max99XJ]

Henry88, the trigger seems like its working normally. I`ll take a closer look at it tonight though. From what I saw Sunday, after closing the bolt I could switch the safety between "safe" and "fire" (which on the XT`s you`re not supposed to be able to unless the gun`s cocked) until I did pull the trigger (with the safety on "fire"), which felt like it took a bit less pressure to get a reaction from than normal, but if its not engaging the striker and keeping it back until pulled, that`d make sense to me. It makes a little clicking sound now when pulled. After pulling it, I can`t pull it again until the action`s been cycled or the bolt handle`s lifted (which normally would cock the rifle) and cannot move the safety from "fire" to "safe" until the actions been cycled/bolt handle`s been lifted, as normal. Also, when I said the striker was in its "safe position" I really meant uncocked. My apologies for not being clear.​

Not familiar with the XT models. They are a lot different from the older Marlin bolt actions. But, I saw this on another forum, and it might give you some insight on what to look for. Taking a wild guess, the nut holding the spring on the striker shaft might have come loose.
https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=683513

Ah. Didn`t know that. The clerk at local gun shop told me they were pretty much the same. Thanks for the info! When I take it apart tonight I`ll take a look at the bolt if nothing else pops out at me.

Sharpsdressedman, its just under 5 years old now, I think; I`ll need to double check the receipt. But if it is, I can send it Marlin and see what they say (the warranty for defects is apparently 5 years). Great thought!

Thanks again for the replies! I`ll post and update (with pictures this time) tonight when I take a more in-depth look-see.

-Max

 

[Max99XJ]

Evening gents,

So I took the action out of the stock and found the culprit to my problem:




The action was missing a screw that keeps the front of the trigger assembly tight to the bottom of the action (Part No. 88 in my owner`s manual; Trigger Assembly Mounting Screw). In the picture above, the empty hole in the silver part is where that screw is ment to be ( the muzzle of the rifle was pointing next to my hip when I took the picture). The hole directly south of the Trigger Assembly Mounting Screw`s hole in the picture is for the rearwards action screw.

Anyway, here`s where the little bugger was hiding:
In pretty much the center of the picture, there is a black screw with its threads coming out at you. It has a silver lock warsher around it. The head of the screw`s in a plastic collar, I suppose that`s ment to keep the screw`s head from turning? Maybe? Its there, anyway. Popped it out of the collar by holding the threads with my fingers and gently working it back and forth while pulling it gently towards me:



The site won`t let me add anymore pictures to this post, so I`m gonna continue in a Part 2.

 

[Max99XJ]

Part 2. Alright. So, continue where I left off, got the screw outta the stock. Here`s a pic centering on the collar (U-shaped bracket) that was holding the head of the screw:



After cleaning out the inside of the stock and cleaning and oiling everything, I put that little bugger where he was supposed to be. I hand threaded it in, then tightened it down with a 9/64 Allen key (same size as the screws keeping the action and barrel in the stock on my rifle). I tightened it til tight, but didn`t crank it down:



Success!!



Also, for anyone still confused because of my wording earlier in the thread, anytime I closed the bolt (with or without the trigger pulled), the striker ended up like it had been fired:



Thanks for the help guys! I really appreciate it! I`m gonna be shooting this Friday and maybe Sunday too, so I`ll post an update as to how it stands up to shooting!

- Max

 

[Max99XJ]

Evening again gents,

Update from the range Friday: my XT fores again like a dream! Thanks again for the help and encouragement!

- Max

 

[sharpsdressedman]

Glad ya got it back up and going. Good job.

 

[Max99XJ]

Thanks sharpsdressedman! I am too!