xsquidgator

I did something careless while cleaning my Kar98 today - I took the bolt apart, but when I reassembled it I forgot to put the extractor back on, and the bolt is stuck in the rear receiver now, won't go in, won't come out, and I can't tell where it's stuck. I may have made it worse trying to unstick it, I rotated the safety one way and the firing pin spring and the pin released, so the bolt is uncocked now, and I can't move the safety back. I took out the bolt release lever, but that didn't do any good, that's not where it's stuck. It's not hung up on any part of the trigger either.

The bolt went in as far as it would normally go into an empty Kar98, that is, it went in about to where the bolt would have gone and then run into the floor of the empty magazine that you usually have to push down. I again removed the magazine from the rifle, with no effect.

The bolt does have wiggle room, a little, so it's not wedged tight. I'm theorizing that maybe some projection got stuck in one of the two gas relief holes in the bolt, or some other place on the bolt that's normally covered up by the extractor.

Has anyone done this or can tell me how to unscrew-up this situation? Embarassed

Worst case I guess I can take it to a local gunsmith but of course I'd like to avoid that. At least the rifle is clean now.


I'm going back to my garage to take some photos which I'll post to more accurately describe my faux paus.