FullAuto556
.270 WIN
So basically, I got this Mav 88 for nearly nothing. Initially, I was gonna buy it from a friend of a friend for $150. It was in okay condition and its the 7+1 model, so I felt it was fair. The day we were going to meet up and officiate the transaction Jeff calls me up and tells me it wont cycle. After asking him a series of questions to try to determine what might be going on, he says I sound like I really know my way around guns and if I wanted to take a shot at it, he'd give it to me for $40. SOLD, without hesitation.
I saw in the picture he had previously sent me that it had an Aimtech receiver mounted rail. Having experienced an ejector screw backing out slightly on another side saddled Mossy 500 which locked the bolt forward to prevent cycling, I was almost sure that this was going to be a similar issue with this 88.
So I pick up the Mav, get it home, taken down, and BAM, wouldn't ya know!! Backed out ejector screw just like I thought!! I still had the an extra ejector screw and takedown pin off of the 500 I installed the side saddle on, so I tossed the Aimtech and its accompanying hardware in the parts bin, and replaced the pin and screw in the 88. Problem solved, or so it would seem....
So I head out to the range a few days later for some skeet shooting and bring along the 88 to check out its function. First round. Clack clack, "Pull", boom, clack clack. Second round. "Pull", boom, clack clack. Third round. "Pull" click. Shuck the action open and closed, pull the trigger, click again. Eject the round and inspect both misfired rounds. No visible primer strike at all. Odd... Okay, so I set the gun back in the case and return to shooting. I'll check it out later at the house.
So I get home, take it down, and I cannot find any rhyme or reason for this misfiring. I put it back together, rack and dry fire. What I notice now is after pulling the trigger, it almost seems to have a feeling of a reset and I can pull the trigger again hearing a very audible click as if its firing again without racking the slide a second time.
I hit Google, Bing, Yahoo and everything in between to find out if anyone's ever had this issue. No luck. So it seems to me its probably most likely only to be one of two things. Either the firing pin is sticking, or the hammer isn't striking with enough force. So I go ahead and order a new trigger group and a new bolt as well. They come in, I install them both, and now the gun wont fire at all. Pulling out the trigger group I notice a slight gouge to the top rear of the trigger assembly housing. Looking down into the receiver the stock bolt is protruding a good 4 or 5 threads into the receiver. Turns out this is the source of the problem, and it's hanging up the trigger!! I back the bolt out, add a couple washers, and presto, she's a runnin' like a top again!! Head to the range, run both new and old bolts and trigger groups, problem solved.
I don't really like the black plastic look on shotguns, so I also got a new slide tube assembly and wood furniture for it. Re blued it, threw a Fox butt cuff on it and BANG, shes a whole new gun.
So, in retrospect... This gun retails new at Academy for $189. I paid $40 for this gun. $90 for a new bolt and trigger group, and $65 for new furniture and a slide tube assembly. So the pessimist in me says, "You spent more time and money on a broken gun than if you'd have just bought in t new." While my optimist side reassuringly says "life's a journey, not a destination. No better teacher than experience."
