The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Ithaca model 72 .22 lever

cntryboy1289 · October 19, 2005, 01:39 AM

Do like Mr O'heir suggested and clean it it very well and then retry. It sounds to me like you are on the right track with the spring. Good luck finding a new one for the rifle as Numrich and others have nothing available on this particular rifle. If the firing pin isn't broken or worn down, I would take the spring to a local hardware store and see if you can match it up to a spring of the same length that is a little bit stiffer and replace it. If this works, then you got it running, if not, then I would suggest letting a smith take a look at headspace on the rifle as this is possibly the reason you are getting light strikes if the firing pin turns out to be ok. Normal headspace on a lot of rifles is a bit too excessive for my taste right out of the box. I would suggest taking it down to as close to .043" on your bolt as you can get it. Good luck with it.

October 19, 2005, 01:39 AM	#3
cntryboy1289 Senior Member Join Date: July 19, 2004 Location: Ms Posts: 1,160	clean it first, then change if necessary Do like Mr O'heir suggested and clean it it very well and then retry. It sounds to me like you are on the right track with the spring. Good luck finding a new one for the rifle as Numrich and others have nothing available on this particular rifle. If the firing pin isn't broken or worn down, I would take the spring to a local hardware store and see if you can match it up to a spring of the same length that is a little bit stiffer and replace it. If this works, then you got it running, if not, then I would suggest letting a smith take a look at headspace on the rifle as this is possibly the reason you are getting light strikes if the firing pin turns out to be ok. Normal headspace on a lot of rifles is a bit too excessive for my taste right out of the box. I would suggest taking it down to as close to .043" on your bolt as you can get it. Good luck with it.