Browning BAR only fires sometimes - help?

[Pat]

Howdy, folks. I have a Browning BAR .30-06 - the Browning Arms gun, not the 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle unfortunately - that, as I mentioned in my introductory thread, is "non-functional". What I mean by that is, it'll only shoot about a third of the time.

I load it up fine, release the slide and everything. However, more than not, pulling the trigger produces a "CLACK" almost exactly like dry-firing. When I pull the bolt back and extract the round, it's untouched; there's no impact on the primer or anything. Yet, usually after the initial fail-to-fire, it will fire the next round. The one after is anybody's guess.

Of course, naturally, I don't shoot the gun anymore because of the possible danger.

I know it'd be hard to pinpoint a problem just from a description, but does anyone know of what mainly could be causing this problem? It's a shame, because the gun is beautiful if you look past the finish deterioration. It's even got 'Made in Belgium' inscribed on it, instead of 'Made in Japan' as they would now, if I read things right...

I give thanks to anybody who lends me some aid here. I'm mainly just looking to see how major the problem could be.

[Caster]

Broken firing pin?

The pieces may line up enough to fire once in a while.

[c.a.willard]

You may have already tried this, but i would recommend detail stripping it and giving it a thorough cleaning. Sometimes buildup in the bolt will soften the hammers hit on the firing pin. In extreme cases it can build up thick enough to keep the firing pin spring from compressing. Other than that my only suggestion would be to see if the action spring is worn or damaged preventing the bolt from going fully forward.

The below link is a really good schematic and great source for replacing any worn or damaged parts.

http://www.midwestgunworks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=mgwi&Category_Code=browning-bar-rifle-parts&view_perpage=all

[mikegideon]

Broken firing pin?

The pieces may line up enough to fire once in a while.

That's my guess. I've seen the same symptoms on different guns

[Lumber_Jack]

I ditto Caster and Mike. I've had a broken firing pin Oma Remington 1100 shotgun, would fire sometimes, other times not.

I'd at least try that as a first step

[Pat]

I see... hmm... thanks, y'all. If it's as simple as a broken firing pin, that'd be great. I'd hate to spend even a few hundred bucks to have it fixed up.