Mossberg MVP Predator... possible firing pin problem?

[DogGreen44]

Hey all. I have a Mossberg MVP and have put about 1300 rounds though it. I clean it after every time i take it shooting/hunting. One thing I notices is I have had 6 cases where when I squeeze the trigger, the gun misfires, dented primer, no bang. When I checked the primer, it was dented in just as much as the others so I figured it was a bad round here and there. The other day I experienced something entirely different. I recently decreased to trigger pull so make it easier to fire and less chance of me pulling the shot. Two consecutive times in a row, I fired the rifle, and again click, no bang, ejected the round, and there was no dent in the primer. I set that round aside, chambered a new one, same thing repeated. No dent in the primer, no discharge. I then put this same round back into the chamber and it fired no problem. The first round I then loaded and it fired flawlessly. Anyone got any ideas what it could be? Like I said it's never happened to me before and I've fired a lot with this rifle. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Dog Green

[JW1914]

Not sure, but I'm certainly considering purchasing a MVP slightly less now! Gee thanks. Considering there was no contact between the pin and the primer I would suggest disassembling the rifle and more importantly the trigger group and bolt if possible and then reassemble the rifle. That's all I can think of but since it isn't consistent problem I'm not sure, if the gun fired after all I would think that everything is assembled correctly. Seems odd, I would be calling mossberg. But you know what they will say, send it back.

[DogGreen44]

Yeah their customer service and return policy are both annoying and time consuming.

[DogGreen44]

I should add that just before this happened, I did lessen the trigger pull from about 6 lbs or so to about 2 2.5. i wonder if that had anything to do with it. In all seriousness it shouldn't have.

[USMC3531]

what ammo are you using? sounds like hard primers on "surplus ammo"

[theunrulychef]

Disassemble the bolt & clean out the firing pin channel. After 1,300 rounds, it certainly would need a deep cleaning - not sure how far you clean each time.

When you lightened the trigger pull, did you do that by reducing springs, cutting coils or anything like that, or is it an adjustable trigger from the factory? Since you say you did that "just before" this happened, obviously it's suspect. Often times, reduced triggers are achieved by reducing spring tension on the firing pin, hammer etc.

Let us know how it goes. I've also been interested in the MVP rifles as a 556 partner to my 308 Ruger GSR.

[DogGreen44]

Hey guys. thanks for your replies. I actually just got off the phone with Mossberg and they said its common for the bolts to get dirty inside after that many rounds so they advides me to strip clean the bolt. it makes sense because I've never taken the bolt apart to clean it ( yes i know stupid me). Anyway they said they've tested a lot of MVPs in 7.62mm that generally have the exact same issue after 100 rounds. But this shouldn't deter anyone from purchasing an MVP. they are rock solid and just like any other firearm they require maintenance. About the light trigger pull, no I didn't shorten any springs or modify anything.Mossberg has as a feature on the mvp a screw in the trigger housing that you can back out to customize your preferred trigger setup. you can go feom 7 lbs to 2. Its really an awesome feature. Anyway ill update youguys after the cleaning. F

[theunrulychef]

Ok cool. Yeah, that firing pin channel can get amazingly filled with crap.

[Tomcat088]

I should add that just before this happened, I did lessen the trigger pull from about 6 lbs or so to about 2 2.5. i wonder if that had anything to do with it. In all seriousness it shouldn't have.

Hey guys. thanks for your replies. I actually just got off the phone with Mossberg and they said its common for the bolts to get dirty inside after that many rounds so they advides me to strip clean the bolt. it makes sense because I've never taken the bolt apart to clean it ( yes i know stupid me). Anyway they said they've tested a lot of MVPs in 7.62mm that generally have the exact same issue after 100 rounds. But this shouldn't deter anyone from purchasing an MVP. they are rock solid and just like any other firearm they require maintenance. About the light trigger pull, no I didn't shorten any springs or modify anything.Mossberg has as a feature on the mvp a screw in the trigger housing that you can back out to customize your preferred trigger setup. you can go feom 7 lbs to 2. Its really an awesome feature. Anyway ill update youguys after the cleaning. F

Personally, I suspect the trigger adjustment, and I'll tell you why. The first thing I'm curious about is do you have an MVP that has the trigger with the little aluminum shroud? That's like the Savage Accutrigger? I'm guessing the answer is yes. I know when Mossberg started releasing some of their modern rifles, they started using this trigger, and it had the same downfall as the Accutrigger. The accutrigger and mossberg trigger always had this little feature built into the safety, that if you pulled the actual trigger without pulling the aluminum shroud, you'd hear the slightest click, or you'd feel the trigger move. After this, as a safety feature, even if you pulled the shroud and tried to get the rifle to fire, it wouldn't. You had to lift the bolt to recock it, and then you could fire the rifle. It was designed this way as a safety, but I felt it was a slight detriment because if something in the field did touch trigger, it was nice that the rifle didn't go off, but it could be bad if you weren't aware that it happened, ready to shoot, and your rifle won't go bang when you need it to.

With that being said, my guess is the trigger adjustment is just a little bit off. I think you're probably right on the threshold of some of the engagements barely making it. I bet that on a few rare occasions, they're not quite engaging, and so it's staying in that "half cock" kind of safety position. The one that happens if you pulled the trigger without the shroud. This then blocks the firing pin and it never will strike the primer, and would explain why you're seeing what you did. So without knowing it, the trigger is basically engaging the safety features built into it because it may not be fully engaging all parts of the trigger now that it's been adjusted. Moving the weight up just a touch may fix this, or if there is an adjustment for that shroud, that's what is causing it. Let me know your thoughts, and if a little more adjusting fixes this problem. 1,300 rounds is a lot of rounds down the tube, but bolts don't usually get that gummed up. They can get gummed up and you'll have light primer strikes, but not usually so much that you get zero primer impact. So I really think it's the adjustment making it engage the safety engineered in.

[DogGreen44]

The technician at Mossberg said he swears he's seen it multip,e times. Dirty bolts. I know what you mean but I didn't pull the trigger without the lightning bolt center. The technician at Mossberg said that the trigger adjustment has no effect on the firing pin because it just takes less pressure to let the hammer fly, but the firing pin and spring are under the same tension and are not weakened by it. I'll clean the bolt. If the problem reoccurs, i'll tighten back the trigger pull weight. Ill let you know how it goes.