1903 Failure to Chamber

[RandolH]

I recently purchased a 1903 Mark I from the CMP. It's in great working shape after degreasing except for the fact that the last round out of the magazine won't chamber. If there's just one round in the magazine it hangs up and gets stuck. Enough force will send it home or I can press down on the follower with lots of force to get the round loose.

I've replaced the extractor, that solved another problem where the bolt wouldn't close on a manually inserted round.

The baseplate is stamped B and the follower with an R, here are pictures of the trigger guard/follower/spring setup

http://locker.uky.edu/~rwhoop2/1903-4.jpg
http://locker.uky.edu/~rwhoop2/1903-5.jpg
http://locker.uky.edu/~rwhoop2/1903-6.jpg
http://locker.uky.edu/~rwhoop2/1903-7.jpg

Any help is much appreciated, I will happily provide any other pictures that might help.

 

[DnPRK]

Please describe how the cartridge gets hung up. Nose up? Nose down? Bolt over base? A new follower spring may solve the problem.

Also, Mauser-style claw extractors are not designed to snap over single loaded rounds.

 

[RandolH]

The round is angled to the left with the nose going in towards the left side of the chamber and the body and rim of the cartridge angled towards the right hand of the reciever. The body and the rim are pinned between the receiver and follower. I'll see if I can get a picture when I get home.