New Ultra Varmit

[NewHandR]

 Hey everyone. I just found this site not long ago and had to join. Tons of good info here. I just bough a new Ultra Varmit in 22-250 and although it shoots very well, I have a few problems I hope you can help with. First the barrel comes open after firing. I did some searching and found the problem may be from too much oil on the catch. Gonna try that to see if it fixes it. The one that has me stumped is the barrel release lever. It was nice and easy to push and open when I bought it but after firing it , now it is very hard to open the barrel and I really have to push the leaver hard. I bought the gun last week out of town and everything was fine until I shot it. Any thoughts? Thank you for your time. Troy

[Spanky]

You're on the right track so far.
Take the rifle apart and clean up the latch and shelf real good.
Is it popping open sometimes and staying latched but hard to open other times?
On the times when it's hard to open it probably tried to pop open but didn't quite make it... it flexed just enough to make the latch bind up a little.
The latch and shelf will take some time to mate to each other and smooth out.
Cleaning the shelf might be enough to fix things. In any case it's an easy fix.
Most importantly... Welcome to GBO.



Spanky

[NewHandR]

Its hard to open all the time now ever since the first or second shot. Even when nothing is in the chamber and I just try to open it. It was comming open after every shot I took but that was before I removed the oil on the parts. Before I shot it and when checking it out in the gun shop the release was very easy to push and the barrel popped open very easy as well. Guess i'll have to take it apart and see what I find cause now I really have to press on the release with force. There is no binding or anything when the barrel opens, just the release is very stiff.

[cwlongshot]

Morning and welcome!!

Just clean it up and see what you feel. One thing, how is the release latch with the barrel open. I mean is it harder with the barrel closed or open or the same? I sure it's debris in, on or around the latch.

CW

[quickdtoo]

Aside from what's been mentioned already, it could be a broken latch also, you can see it with the barrel removed, check it for cracks or anything that doesn't look right. If cleaning it good as CW recommended doesn't help, you might try lapping it in with a fine abrasive, apply a fine metal polish to the latch shelf, close and open the latch repeatedly, you can hold the action closed and speed the process up just pressing the release button, I've done this to eliminate sticky release buttons. You can also check latch engagement after doing this, see the pic in barrel fitting in the FAQs to know what it should look like.  Be sure to clean it good when you're done and there's always H&R service too if all else fails. 

Tim

http://www.hr1871.com/support/repairs.asp

[NewHandR]

It's hard no matter if the barrel is open or closed. Kinda weird for it to be fine when I bought it and hard after just a shot or too. Its almost like the spring for the release latch is way stronger than when I bought it. Everything still works but instead of gentle thumb pressure to release the barrel, I have to use both thumbs to push it down. Oh well, guess ill just take it apart and see what I find. Thanks for the help guys, Ill keep ya posted what I fine in case this happens to someone else. Troy

[moorepower]

Lapping the latch is not a bad thing for lockup and accuracy on any handi. It could just be a burr on the shelf that the latch is sticking on combined with a good tight lockup.