356Win Jamming:

[oldmax]

When I joined the forum I asked about the 356W dropping a bullet under the loading
ramp. Was advised to ' Modify' the tab on the end of the link.
No improvement,

Did learn something, The loading ramp ( elevator ) does not snap down.
My 45Colt, when the lever is being closed, about and inch before closure.
The ramp snaps down. The 356W does not snap down, it has no spring action..
I Tryed to see inside if it was binding, looks like the back of the ramp ( split end )
is spread wide.. ?

What makes the ramp snap down ??? Like to know what to look for before I take it
apart again.

Thanks,,

[Marc]

The carrier spring is in a recess on the left side of the receiver. The carrier has a cam on the left leg just above the carrier screw. The spring presses down on the cam. When the carrier is down the spring should be pressing on the back side of the cam to hold it down. There are lugs on the bottom of the bolt and the top of the carrier. The bolt lug hits the carrier lug to lift the cartridge. When the carrier rises the peak of the cam will pass under the spring and then the spring holds the carrier up. When the bolt closes it pushes the carrier back down enough for the spring to cross the top of the cam and snap the carrier all the way down.

If I had to guess what the problem is, I would guess that the end of the spring is worn or the spring is sprung and has the wrong shape. In short the spring isn't doing its job. The carriers are cast and are hard steel so it is not likely the carrier is out of spec. It could be but I would suspect the spring first. You need to partially take it apart to get the spring out and then you can make sure the carrier isn't binding.

The carrier on the right below is from my 356W. You can see the inverted V shaped cam on the left side nearest the camera just above the hole. That is what the cam should look like.

[Griff]

What Marc said...

Here's a drawing of what the spring looks like:


Item #20 and it sits in the slot below the left side cartridge guide. It will have a bend leaving about ¼" laying directly across the "V" on the carrier. If you open the action and push the carrier back down, it should be visible with a good light shining in the top, if the carrier doesn't "spring" down when doing this, the spring is either missing, broken or....?

[oldmax]

Thanks Marc & Griff:

Marc, The ' Not as Clean " carrier , Thats the 356W ,,,,

The " V " over the hole is where the spring engages

[Marc]

The dirty carrier on the left is a pre-64 carrier that I modified to allow feeding longer cartridges in my 356. The clean one on the right is the stock 356 carrier.

[C. Cash]

Great post! Marc....please keep those 356 Win. posts comin! Really enjoyed your work with heavy bullets in the 356 several years ago.

[oldmax]

Marc: THANKS..... Hope to get it apart this week.....

[Marc]

Chris, unfortunately there aren't any suitable lead free bullets for the 356 so it has been on the back burner. It is one of my favorite rifles. Maybe Barnes or somebody will come out with a lead free FN one of these days and I can hunt with it here in Cali again. I have a cow elk tag for Colorado so it will go back to Colorado in October.

oldmax, you don't need to completely disassemble the rifle . Drop the lever and lower link out and take the loading gate out. Then you can work through the bottom of the action. Good luck!

[O.S.O.K.]

lead free .358" bullets can be had for a little work - check the posts here - a member has successfully modified Barnes TSX bullets by drilling down to cause a flat nose/hollowpoint with them - 250 grians down to 220ish IIRC.

Anyway, it's just a matter of centering the bullet under a drill and setting the drill guide stop.

[oldmax]

Update, Checked spring/carrier operation. Carrier would not drop until bolt was almost closed.
Took carrier and spring out ( Carrier screw was loose ). When I reassembled everything
the carrier would 'snap' down when bolt was about 3/4 " from closed.
Fixed Yes, NOT. Still jams bullet under carrier. The bullet drops from the Tube
when bolt is about 1/2 way closed......

I guess I Gotta do the weld job on the Link Tab....

Tryed to get a new link, None available, anywhere.....

Project on hold , vacation time..

Thanks All !!!!