Problem with Original 45 - advice please!

[andrewM]

I have an unexpected problem with my Original 45, as bought in the early '80s. These rifles, in my opinion, are the equal of the FWB. Firing it the other day, it accidentally discharged itself as I snapped the barrel back into position. This it continued to do consistently for several shots until I ceased. I am presuming that the small jolt from the barrel being placed back into the firing position (via the ball-bearing jumping the protruding catch to engage the barrel) caused the rifle to fire. However, I also noticed a failure of the safety catch to engage and the rifle seemed to discharge itself without restriction from the safety catch mechanism.

I have tried tightening (and loosening) the trigger screw situated immediately behind the trigger, by one complete revolution in each direction but to no effect.

Perhaps there is some wear after the usage which, perhaps, is around 5-10,000 shots, probably closer to 10k but difficult to estimate.

Earlier in the day, after the introduction of perhaps too much neatsfoot, a few days previously, there were some loud diesel cracks which, just possibly, might have accentuated an existing weakness.

Can anyone advise the problem and solution?

Many thanks.

[Hsing-ee]

You are going to have to strip it down and replace whatever worn or broken parts have caused this situation. It's very ill-advised to continue using any kind of gun that discharges of its own accord, I am surprised you persisted. There may be issues with the piston rod, the sears, springs in the trigger mechanism or with lubrication. The dieselling, if strong enough, may have forced the piston back hard and the latch may have damaged the sear/bent.

You will need a spring compressor as the mainspring is under some tension on this rifle.

Parts diagram:

https://www.gunspares.co.uk/showcatimage.asp?id=24388

[andrewM]

Thank you - a very helpful reply Hsing-ee. I might mention that I only persisted with several further shots under careful conditions, ie pointing the gun in such a direction that no harm could be done. You might be correct about the dieseling. I used neatsfoot compound, under the impression that this dieselled rather less than ordinary oils but the crack was loud and it blew some gunk down the barrel, which I thought was old solidified oil fragments from the past.

[crowbar]

Check the bolt that screws into the action and the stock bolt screws into , this bolt has a guide which locates
in a slot in the trigger sleeve and can bind so the trigger does not set and will discharge with the jolt
of closing the barrel .

[Big Seth]

I have an unexpected problem with my Original 45, as bought in the early '80s. These rifles, in my opinion, are the equal of the FWB. Firing it the other day, it accidentally discharged itself as I snapped the barrel back into position. This it continued to do consistently for several shots until I ceased. I am presuming that the small jolt from the barrel being placed back into the firing position (via the ball-bearing jumping the protruding catch to engage the barrel) caused the rifle to fire. However, I also noticed a failure of the safety catch to engage and the rifle seemed to discharge itself without restriction from the safety catch mechanism.

I have tried tightening (and loosening) the trigger screw situated immediately behind the trigger, by one complete revolution in each direction but to no effect.

Perhaps there is some wear after the usage which, perhaps, is around 5-10,000 shots, probably closer to 10k but difficult to estimate.

Earlier in the day, after the introduction of perhaps too much neatsfoot, a few days previously, there were some loud diesel cracks which, just possibly, might have accentuated an existing weakness.

Can anyone advise the problem and solution?

Many thanks.

They may be a match for a FWB when they work but I have owned two O45's and they both ended up with exactly the fault that you described. I suspect many other O45's fail at around a similar mileage due to poor materials in manufacture..?

[the green man]

the is a little like sledge that's on the cocking arm make sure its in places it happen to me

[Drew451]

Had the same problem with one of mine and couldn't determine the cause. It used to discharge when the barrel closed or when the safety was clicked off. As others say- there could be various causes but sear wear was my best guess . As the rifle had a bit of damage in another area I broke it for spares.
I have had very well used 45s and a quite tired 50 T01 which have operated perfectly.

[PCPShooter]

Mine that did that required new sear
It wasn’t properly hardened apparently (diagnosed by v Mach)
I bought some of the last spares from Chambers years back, there are a couple of variations of the triggers in 45s make sure you get the right spare part, if you still can -

[andrewM]

Thank you very much, everyone, for your most valuable advice. I thought my problem was a 'one off' but it seems that quite a number of other people have experienced the same problem, judging from these posts. I must say that the rifle is still performing at the same rate as it did out of the box so the spring must be of exceptional engineering origin. On the other hand, there seems to be engineering weakness elsewhere to have caused this; perhaps not so good as the FWB after all (but saying that is akin to opening the equivalent of the Mk3 v Airsporter debate), although the latter has its problems with the safety catch.

I will, of course, report back once I get to the bottom of it.