MODEL 14 & 14-1/2 CARRIER DOG FUNCTION / Bulletin #7

[nambujim]

It is unfortunate that some readers to the "forum" will contact me directly and not pose their questions on the forum so that others can benefit, that is if you consider my "ramblings" a "benefit".

It comes as no surprise that few Model 14, 14-1/2, & Model 141 users have little idea as to what the "Carrier Dog" does. In their defense neither did I when I first got into these rifles and for years when I shot competitively using an Anschutz 1413 did I care how it worked........until it didn't.......LOL!! The 1413 had its own special set of annoying things like the sights were 1/6 minute adjustments and the knobs themselves rotated just the reverse of Lyman or Redfield, took me 10 years to finally get it straight in my mind.

Anyhow as I tell customers that are having feed problems, the first thing they need to do is "test" the carrier dog with the normal response being "WHAT the hell is that"! I then explain in technical terms, serparate the two pieces, and in the triggerguard assembly its "the little flippy thing" just in front of the trigger.

Many if not most feed problems are a result of the "Carrier Dog" not functioning or functioning poorly, most problems are the result of either a missing or bad "Carrier Dog Spring". Here again I have them use a highly technical test method by holding the sping down and flipping it against a fingernail, it should have enough spring to it so that you can bloody well feel it when it snaps against your nail.

If the spring is missing/broken the rifle probably won't load at all but if its weak it will load but not all the time, it depends on just how weak the spring is.

Carrier Dog Springs have become impossible to find, used ones have their own set of problems, and I finally had an EXPERT gunsmith make me some from wire that is far more durable/dependable. I have replaced more than a dozen springs with the NEW version and they work perfectly, using the fingernail test they can actually sting like the dickens.......and that's a good thing.

It is not as easy as it looks to install one of these in that you must remove the Carrier Dog Pin (hopefully without damaging the triggerguard), remove the old spring, find a new one, the long bent end of the new one fits in a hole on the trigger side of the guard, and then the "fun" part is to re-insert the "pin" while trying to hold the spring down, and the Carrier Dog in place. I have probably done a poor job in describing this.

The bottom line here is, if you are having loading problems where the Carrier is not fully bringing the cartridge up to the bolt face the problem is probably the Carrier Dog.

CAUTION: If for some reason you choose to clean your Carrier, watch out. Once you remove the Carrier Pin and go to slide the Carrier out of the slot you may well lose the "Carrier Friction Plunger" and the spring. In many cases the owner doesn't even know this key little part "ejected" itself and those little plungers are VERY difficult to find............I have but one spare in each of the two sizes.

The above is for informational purposes and of course is "my" opinion!

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC