What is that spring part inside the bolt? - BOLT CATCH

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

BOLT CATCH SAFETY DEVICE 101

What that spring-like device rattling around inside the bolt body is, is a safety device known as a "bolt catch". It consists of a spring loaded weight which can compress slightly when it slams into the roller locking wedge.

What it does: When the bolt travels forward, there is a possibility that the bolt can bounce off the chamber face if the rollers do not lock up. When the cartridge fires, a partial or incomplete roller lockup can result in a premature release of the bolt while the gas pressure is high in the barrel, causing great damage to the fun and you. What the bolt catch does is travel forward with the bolt and slams forward under its own inertia against the roller locking wedge. The additional weight forces and holds the rollers in the locked position for those few milliseconds which the bolt slams against chamber face and tried to bounce rearward. In effect, it "catches" the bolt by holding the rollers outboard so the bolt cannot move rearward during the ignition time.

How it works: Now, if the bolt catch were simple a steel weight, it would bounce off the roller locking wedge like a ball bearing dropped on an anvil, much like the bolt can bounce off the chamber face of the barrel. If it did that, it would not be doing its job. So, the bolt catch itself is a spring loaded shock absorber. It holds pressure against that locking wedge for a small time period. Imagine you jumping on a pogo stock. You and the pogo stick are in contact with the ground thoughout the entire time you are deccelerated, stopped, and accelerated skyward. This is unlike a bouncing ball bearing that only touched the ground for a tiny fraction of time before leaving contact with the ground. As the bolt catch contacts the locking wedge, it compresses, then its spring causes it to expand, all the while putting pressure on that locking wedge. This insures that during the ignition time period, those locking rollers STAY locked and that bolt STAYS held against the breach of the barrel.

What happens if I remove the bolt catch?: about 99.999999% of the time, the bolt stays locked properly during firing. However, the Germans recognized that one a full auto MG-42, a bolt bounce, and open breach during firing, COULD occur, and Mauser invented the bolt catch in 1944 to remove the possibility of MG-42's blowing up in their soldier's faces from a cartridge "out of battery" explosion. Even though your gun is a semi auto, and does not fire so soon after chambering a round, since it takes time for the hammer to fall onto the firing pin, you should STILL use the bolt catch device in your bolts to make darn sure that those rollers are FULLY locked before ignition occurs.

ALL OWNERS OF THE MG-42 OR M-53 SHOULD FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW ALL THE PARTS OF THEIR GUN FUNCTION AND THEIR PURPOSE, INCLUDING THE BOLT CATCH. Anything less when dealing with high power weapons leaves you vulnerable to having a CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENT!

[Bil]

DA -You funny guy! I tried this and the firing pin for the semi was in the way.I took it out so the catch would fit-not <---HITLET the gun won't fire?? Just when I thought I had this figured out.Don't forget to set your clock tonight-spring back,fall forward.Take two aspirin and call in the morning. ---bil [I know,I can be such a pr1ck <---HITLET sometimes!]

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

prick.

Your words.


I still luv ya, Bil.


<---Toilet Scrubber First Class!

[Bil]

Unfair cal <---HITLET on the Hitlet-I used the 1 so it would pass the censers<---HITLET -I wanted to be sure you knew exactly what I was [ as if you didn't already! ]Trick or Treat,big guy! ---bil PS-where has TC been-I miss him!

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Bil, I think you're TRULY losing your grip on language. Please. FOR ALL OUR SAKES. Pick up a goddamned dictionary or take some typing lessons. This is TRULY painful.



I think TC got mugged by the trick-or-treaters. Just too many 4th graders. Horrible scene. He wasn't packing. The police showed up only 8 minutes later, but it was 7 minutes too late. Poor TC. All that candy. LOST! He's scarred for life.

[Bil]

What is this Dishunairy thing you keep talking about-is that the german word for the springy thing inside the 42 bolt-also called the anti-bounce bolt catch? The problem is -unlike some folks we know-I can think faster than I can type! I also have to look at the keyboard while I type,sometimes resulting in lots of typing before looking up and realising there is nothing there.That is what happens when you are brought up in the days of the feather quill and inkstand-these modern contraption just confuse me.
Quick work on the Hitlets there,big guy! ---bil