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Bren MKII won't fire...suggestions please


chip5244
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Hi and thanks in advance for your reply.

 

I recently acquired a Bren MKII and when dry cycling it everything appeared to function perfectly. But when using live rounds nothing happens. I know the operating procedure is pretty simple so why I can't figure out what is wrong is beyond me. So here's the issue....

 

Bolt slides forward, grabs the round and chambers it. At this point the hammer is suppose to more forward and engage the firing pin which would then put a really nice dent on the primer. In my case everything happens as it should except the firing pin is not engaging the primer. As in nothing! Not even a small dimple. I then pull the bolt back and the bolt properly extract the round.

 

I have changed out the firing pin with a new one but before doing that I used a micrometer and measured the overall length and the old and new firing pin are exactly the same length. This leads me to believe that something is not allowing the hammer to push forward at the end of the cycle to engage the firing pin, but for the life of me I can not figure out what the hell is wrong.

 

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated....

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Just for clarity of communication, there is no "hammer" in a selectfire Bren. There is a vertical striker post on top of the rear of the carrier.

Since you note that the bolt goes fully into battery and reliably extracts and ejects the chambered cartridge without marking the primer one has to ask If the top of the firing pin striker post been modified to prevent firing? Possibly demil'd oprod/carrier......?

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BRMCII,

 

Sorry for my terminology, you are correct no hammer just the striker post. And that is a very real possibility...I did notice the top of the post has a small cutout that creates a flat area that, I assumed, is where it engages the firing pin. Maybe someone cut it out to "demill" it a long time ago. For $30 I will order a new post and see if that is where the issues lies. Small price to pay to get this thing working right....Thanks for the idea!

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And BRMCII (Bob)...I met you about 25 years ago and purchased a really nice all matching Thompson M1A1 (ex-movie gun) from you when you were down in South FL. Still have the gun (and many more now)...Thank you for your time today and also 25 years ago. Chip

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BRMCII,

 

Sorry for my terminology, you are correct no hammer just the striker post. And that is a very real possibility...I did notice the top of the post has a small cutout that creates a flat area that, I assumed, is where it engages the firing pin. Maybe someone cut it out to "demill" it a long time ago. For $30 I will order a new post and see if that is where the issues lies. Small price to pay to get this thing working right....Thanks for the idea!

Just take some photos of the internals of your BREN and post them.

Edited by pstidan
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With the bolt and carrier outside of the gun you can run it thru the motions and should be able to see the tip of the firing pin protrude as the back end of the bolt cams upwards (this is when the bolt engages the locking shoulder in the top of the receiver).
The action of the BREN is not really complicated and its hard to imagine what could be the cause of this failure to fire.
Have you looked at the locking shoulder to ensure it is tight in the top of the receiver (it is located right behind the magazine well)

Is your gun using a receiver that was welded back together?

Richard

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