.22 Sharp Innova, A Restoration Project. Fitting New O Ring Seals To The Loading Bolt

Removing the bolt from the Sharp Innova can be a time consuming, tedious job; the majority is easy but the the little catch spring can be a total bitch to remove. This job could lead to thoughts of homicide or even suicide, but just count to ten and take deep controlled breaths and all should be well.

First, remove the the small flat head screw that holds the catch in place; this sits below and to the left of the loading bolt.

OK boys and girls, are we ready to begin? This is the arse end of the Innova action.

This small flat head screw is about 15 mm long, when I was unscrewing it I didn't think this screw would end.

Okay it's off centre but it is the right sized flat head.

Once the screw is out of the way, the bolt catch is free to move out of the left hand side, however the return spring will only allow a small amount of movement.

Tap the catch this way to make removing the catch spring easier.

I used a small pair of tweezers to pull the return spring out of it's recess point in the catch, this was not easy and needed a lot of care, time and patience.

Tease that catch spring down, it's a real pain but it can be done.

To remove the catch, the bolt has to be alternately pushed with a screwdriver and pulled with pliers, this also needs special care and attention.

Catch return spring out the way to make it easier for the catch to come out.

When the catch does finally come out, be aware that the loading bolt and srping are going to come flying out, so be careful to catch the buggers.

All the bolt gubbins once removed; there's supposed to be a tiny spring somewhere but fuck knows where that's gone.

Get the replacement seals ready for fitting; they usually come in .22 and .177 and the bolt needs two of whatever calibre you need, so I chose the larger two of the four I had on hand.

Replacement O rings in .22 and .177.

I prised the old seals off the loading bolt, they might not have looked worn but they were.

Prise those old knackered O rings off

Then applying a load of silicone grease over the two new replacement seals, I slipped them into place.

Lots of silicone grease and the two O rings just slip over, you don't really need loads of grease, it's just my preference.

I then popped the catch return spring into place ready for returning the loading bolt, though some might find it easier to do this after the bolt is in place.

If you do fuck the catch return spring up it can be replaced by a spring from a Bic lighter.

Then I slid the loading bolt return spring over the tip of the loading bolt and pushed it back into the bolt hole, it's important to push it in all the way ...

The bolt will only return if the nub at the bottom is aligned with the hole.

... this is because the bolt catch can pass through the recess in the bolt when returning it into the left hand side of the breech. Once the catch is in place you will need to tease the catch return spring back into it's recess, this is reletively easy compared to removing the bloody thing!

With the bolt pushed in the catch returns back pretty easily.

Now somehow, magically, the catch sits in the perfect place so it is lined up for the screw to be threaded into place; no waggling or teasing, it just sits there and the screw goes right on through and is ready for screwing in. 

That is one long naffing screw.

Once I had finished it, I put it over the chronoscope; low and behold, the loading bolt seals were losing me around one and a half ft/lb.

RWS Superdomes gave 11.6 ft/lb with 6 fps spread over ten shots.

Air Arms Diabolos gave me a high of 11.9 ft/lb with a 10 fps spread over ten shots.

5.6mm Eley Wasps gave 11.8 ft.lb with an 8 fps spread, though one did go over 12 ft/lb increasing the spread to 23 fps, but I put that one down to a freak of nature.

H&N Field Trophies gave 11.3 ft/lb with a spread of 10 fps.

So there you have it, I could not be more happier with results like these! Not as easy as refurbing the exhaust valve with all the fiddly bits, but a lot easier than having to sit through the Jeremy Kyle show.

That's it for now.


TTFN


Best wishes, Wing Commander Sir Nigel Tetlington-Smythe