• Mossberg Owners is in the process of upgrading the software. Please bear with us while we transition to the new look and new upgraded software.

Lever locking after firing

A

Aaronklittle

Copper BB
Hey guys the other day at the range the lever seemed to lock when trying to cycle the mechanism, i had only put 15 rounds through it and when trying to eject it just jammed closed and it took some considerable force to open it. This happen twice that day at the range. The gun is only had 120 rounds through it. Anyone have any ideas or should I get a someone to look at it, bit of a novice myself.
 
Do you have a 464? Which one?
What ammo are you shooting?
 
Yea sorry its the 464 tactical . I assume the internals are the same as the wooden stock version. The ammo is ppu 150 grain fnsp (flat nose soft point) 30-30
 
I have best luck with Hornady roundnose "American Whitetail" loads. I had some flat nose Fusion loads that would lock up. Is the tube feeding smoothly? Some had hangups, & those Fusions would hang at the tube & the elevator couldn't lift the round because it was "hung by the nose."
 
Yea don't have too many problems feeding, ejecting can be a problem, but in this occasion the lever actually locked and i couldn't cycle at all. Its as if the force of the bullet effected something in the mechanism causing it to go out of alignment and lock... it took some considerable force and wriggling to free up before i could get the action open
 
Is that gun painted black?

Mine is painted silver (Marinecote) and the paint was thick and rough on the bolt, rails, and other bearing surfaces of the action.

Scotchbrite and oil cleaned it up a lot, but my action was very heavy when the gun was new.
 
Yea its black... its only had 120 rounds through it so i figured it would be tight... but it only just started to lock up at the most recent trip to the range... but il percist with it.... not sure if anyone else has had that issue
 
Mine's only got 80, but it feels much, much better after polishing all that stuff.

BUT, you have to take the lever and bolt off and that voids the warranty.

I didn't care about the warranty myself, but you might.

That's it all apart in my avatar.

DSCF8810.JPG
 
CaddmannQ said:
Mine's only got 80, but it feels much, much better after polishing all that stuff.

BUT, you have to take the lever and bolt off and that voids the warranty.

I didn't care about the warranty myself, but you might.

That's it all apart in my avatar.

View attachment 10237
Click to expand...
Void the warranty? Really? Wow...wouldn't have thought disassembly would do that. Did they give an explanation in the owners manual?
 
In my photo you can see the two screws and 2 pins you must remove for disassembly.
If you take them out you void the warranty.

From the manual:

"DISASSEMBLY/ASSEMBLY Normal maintenance of your Mossberg 464™ Rimfire Lever Action does not require any disassembly. Service beyond cleaning and lubrication should be performed by a qualified gunsmith or an authorized Product Service Center only....IN ADDITION, ANY UNAUTHORIZED REPAIRS, ALTERATIONS OR MODIFICATIONS TO THE MOSSBERG FIREARM WILL AUTOMATICALLY VOID THE LIMITED WARRANTY."

According to the Mossberg rep I spoke to, taking it apart constitutes an unauthorized repair, unless you are a Mossberg dealer & certified.
 
Good to know...read the fine print!!
 
One of my 464SPXs also locks on occasion after firing.

I simply press down on the block and that gets me going again. As I put more rounds through it it seems to be loosening up a bit and happening less. I can only guess the lever and the black are very square where they meet and more rounds will round off the edges.
 
OK, I had some lockups on my 464 this week, running reloads.

I have now run 6 brands of ammo and 4 types of reloads through this gun.

After the lockups I checked the length of some reload rounds. They were all about 2.550~2.555".
The Hornadays, which ran the best, were also consistently the shortest at 2.531~2.533"

I had shot all the Fusions (which also fed poorly) & the Lever Revolutions (Which were good) so I couldn't measure them, but all the factory rounds from Federal, Winchester, and Remington fell in between 2.540 and 2.556"

So I'm going to shorten some of the reloads until I determine the best length to run.

My buddy loaded all the reloads to 2.550, in theory, but some were over & they didn't feed well (the ones at 2.555" would lock every time) and I find this gun just won't run them.

I also noticed significant variations from box to box within the various brands where I had multiple boxes to check.

I may make myself a gage for checking these rounds in the future. It takes a while with a dial caliper.
 
Same problem with my 464, (blued finish.) At the range gunsmith noticed slight dimpling on ejected brass so he recommend running a dremel with fine grit paper thru chamber to smooth out imperfections. This helped but still had 2 lever lock ups. Still trying to determine the exact cause; ammo, chamber, block? I like the rifle when its working properly, but when that lever won't cycle I feel like sending it back. In my opinion quality control is lacking on what could be a fine gun.
 
I'd try the American Whitetails.
They were the shortest of the factory loads & did not jam.
 
Thanks, & I'm still working on it. The mainspring is way too tight IMO & causing lots of friction .

If you have a cheap dial caliper, you can check those rounds, and shorten them if they are too long, or just shoot them up single shot.

2.550" is the book length, but I notice factory loads are often over this by .050".
The whitetails were short, at 2.532", but I had one in a box that was .023" longer than the other 19 rounds, while those 19 went 2.531 to 2.533...all within .002", except that one long round.

My buddy is repressing about 40 rounds he did at 2.555"
OK by the book tolerance, but too long for my gun.

I have a theory that the mag tube is seated too deep into the receiver, & perhaps can be reset or relieved. I think this is where mine wants to hang.
 
Last edited:
Pete Diaz said:
Thanks will do; unfortunately just ordered 4 boxes of PPU, then I'll try the American Whitetails. Btw, nice thread on improving yours.
Click to expand...
Btw, you should consider doing a you tube video on disassembly & reassembly. I only found one it was rather lacking but at least got me to thinking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top