Deactivated MG42 Bolt Stuck

[Shackles101]

Hello all from the UK,
I have a 1944 deactivated MG42 that I have recently been gifted. Unfortunately the bolt appears to be stuck on some kind of rail located on the bottom of the gun at the point where the spent cartridges would be ejected. I don't know if this is related but the safety button will not move either. I am worried that if I try to force it I might damage the gun. I have had a look on the forums but cannot see anything related to this problem, hopefully it is a relatively simple fix...

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Luke

[JBaum]

The "rail" with the hooked end that you are seeing is part of the charging handle. It's not in the position it is supposed to be in for a functioning gun. I'm not familiar with UK rules for deactivating guns, so I can't say whether or how your gun should function. The safety won't operate unless the bolt is rearward and caught by the sear.

[Shackles101]

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. This gun is an older spec uk deac. So it should dry fire without any issues. All that has been done to deactivate is the barrel has been slotted and welded and the bolt face has been cut away. Do you have any advice on how to get it back into position? Would it be reasonable to carefully lever it into position?

[JBaum]

take off the buttstock, buffer and recoil spring, then remove the trigger group and take out the bolt if it will come out. You may have to manipulate the charging handle to get the bolt out. I'm guessing the charging handle is in crooked.

[Shackles101]

I'll give that ago tomorrow evening. Thanks for the advice...

[Shackles101]

I managed to get everything freed up after I stripped it as you mentioned along with a few 'precision' hammer strokes...I straightened out the charging handle as it was bent and wouldn't move due to friction. I haven't completely straightened it as I am unsure if it should have a slight gradient to it or not??? I have reassembled everything correctly to my knowledge but now there is an issue when the bolt is pulled back. It does not 'latch' and returns to the original position despite the charging handle being pulled back as far as it will go. Is there anything I should be checking?

[JBaum]

The charging handle bar is indeed supposed to be straight.

Of course, when the bolt is pulled fully rearward, it is caught by the sear in the trigger group. You'll need to look there for the cause of the problem. Of the two tabs that protrude downward from the bolt body, the rearward tab is caught by the sear. First verify that the bolt is being pulled back far enough, then figure out why the sear isn't holding the bolt. (The front tab is used by the charging handle to pull the bolt back.)

Post a profile picture of your trigger group.

[Shackles101]

I managed to sort it last night. When I was stripping it down I noticed there was dirt and excessive dried grease on the trigger group and the general area so I cleaned it up and blasted it down with compressed air... I put it back together and is working as it should. Thanks for your input!

[JBaum]

A few drops of oil at the pivot points should prevent the trigger group from sticking for years. Glad to hear that all is well.