Reader Forum

Savage Side Mount? I have a customer who wishes to acquire aside mount for a Savage Model 340. Does anybody still make such a thing, and can you suggest a source? Bill Van Steamburg We don’t believe aside mount is made specifically for the Model 340, but there are several side mounts available for other bolt-action rifles. Perhaps one could be adapted for your customers’ gun. We suggest you call Williams Gun Sight Company and discuss the possibilities with them.

SIG Trigger I recently purchased a used SIG 220 whose trigger stacks up at the end of the pull. It seems particularly evident in single action. (I have a SIG 226 that does not have this problem.) Can you give me any direction as to what I can do, or where I can go to get further info on making the trigger pull better? Could it be as simple as fully dismantling and cleaning (or using a preferred spray cleaner), or will it require some kind of stoning, etc.? Thanks in advance.

Doug "Jack" Goodworth A good cleaning can’t hurt, particularly since you don’t know how well the gun was cared for by its previous owner. The cleaning should be followed by proper lubrication. Three past articles were dedicated to the SIG pistol and may be of further help; they ran in August 2001, January 2000, and January 1994. Mistimed S&W I hope you can give me some hints for a problem I’m having with an S&W Model 629-1 .44 Magnum a customer brought in.

About twice in every cylinder load, the hammer will fall on the empty case that was just fired. It does this in both single and double action. I numbered the chambers to see if it was doing this on the same chambers, and it is not. It’s allowing the cylinder to come unlocked when this happens, and I can rotate the cylinder about 1/16 inch to make it lock back up. This only happens during recoil; I can’t reproduce the problem when dry firing with the gun empty. Let me know if I didn’t give you enough information.

Thanks. Ed Cockrell York, South Carolina You have a timing problem, Ed. Specifically, the hand may be deflecting away from a ratchet because the frame window is worn. This can be corrected with an oversize hand that’s thicker than the original. Another possibility is a high ratchet. For more information, see the articles "Revolver Science" (December 2000) and "Correcting Timing Problems with S&W Revolvers" (September 2002).

If you need copies of these issues, call The Ithaca M37 Slam-Fire Myth In reference to the letter about the Ithaca Model 37 that fired while closing the action with the trigger squeezed, they do that. It is not safe, but is normal for earlier Ithaca pump shotguns as well as the Winchester M97, M12, and many other brands of older shotguns and slide-action rifles. They do not actually fire unless the breech bolt is locked.

If the trigger is held on an old-style lever gun and the Winchester/Browning single shot and the action closed, they will also fire. This also happens with my Browning Traditional Hunter. When and where the "slam-fire myth" originated I cannot say. Back in the 1970s, gun dealers used to sell the Ithaca M37 shotguns with the words "Slam Fire" on the price tag.

Then they would proceed to tell you that the Ithaca Gun Company had invented the Slam Fire: "All you gotta do is hold the trigger back, and slam the action back and forth, and keep firing." If the Winchester M1897 predates the M37 Ithaca by 40 years, and fires while closing the action with the trigger pulled (as does the 1890 .22 pump), then the Ithaca Gun Company didn’t invent anything.

Somewhere I read that when Browning reintroduced the M12, the action had to be redesigned with a positive disconnector to prevent this in order to be imported. The Ithaca has also been modified, but I do not know when or at what serial number. The term "slam fire" probably originates from the Vietnam war, and is exactly what the GI point man would do in jungle combat—hold the trigger and keep firing, especially during an ambush. Earlier Ithaca M37 repeating shotguns can be uncocked.

Clear the firearm of any live ammo and with the safety off, release the bolt stop, slide the action back about 3/8 inch, and release the hammer with the trigger. The hammer will hit the back of the bolt, and prevent an actual dry-fire. This is good for long-term storage. This is the same procedure used for some autoloading rifles and shotguns, such as the M-1, the M-14, the Mini-14, the Remington M8, and the Ithaca -51. The Model 37 is the only pump shotgun that I know of that will do this. Kenneth H. Windeler St.

Augustine, Florida Belgian Double I have a double-barrel, side-by-side 12-gauge shotgun that I need some parts for, but all I know about it is from the markings on it. One side is marked "Occidental," while the other side says "The Interchangeable." On the barrel, it says "Belgium, Choke Bore, Best Rolled Steel." It also has an oval with a crown on top, and inside the oval is "." One last note: It has two external hammers in the shape of "6." Do you have any info on it?

Jerry Griffith The only note we could find on your shotgun turned up in an early edition of The Firearms Price Guide. There-in, it is cited as Belgium, circa 1880, various gauges, external hammers, and

Damascus barrels. Maximum value is listed as $150. You might get more information by writing to the NRA Museum (Waples Mill Road, Fairfax VA 22030). We doubt you’ll find any parts for it, and seriously suggest you do not fire modern high-brass loads in the gun. Winchester Model 93 Parts I recently acquired a Model 93 shotgun in great shape. The problem is it doesn’t always strike the firing pin with enough force to fire.

I’m thinking to give it a good cleaning first, but with that failing, where can I get parts or drawings for the 93? Will parts for the Winchester 95 or 97 work? Also, is it safe to fire modern loads in the 93? Thanks for your time. Charles Potts The actions are different and the 93 parts do not interchange with the 95 and 97. We suggest you try Buckingham’s for parts and the NRA Museum (Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030) for a schematic.

Mosin-Nagant Firing Pin I have a Mosin-Nagant M-44 7.62 X 54 that I am sporterizing. I want to replace the bolt handle with a bent handle to accommodate a scope. I am able to break down the bolt to a point, but I don’t know how to get the firing pin out. The screw in the back of the bolt turns out to a stop and in to a stop, but doesn’t release the pin, and I’m hesitant to force it. It seems to me that all this screw does is adjust the firing-pin travel. Any information you have for me would be greatly appreciated.

Tom Jones From what we’ve read and heard, the bolt-cocking piece is pulled back and turned counterclockwise (to the left as the cocking piece faces you) until it stops turning. The bolt head and firing-pin guide are pulled off to the front. The bolt head is then turned to the left and removed from the guide. Get a good grip on the remaining assembly, push the firing pin down against a soft wooden block firmly enough to disengage the cocking piece from the bolt.

Then unscrew the cocking piece and remove the firing pin and firing-pin spring. Silver Solder Info In your May 2002 issue there was an article about silver soldering. The author recommended inserting a hardwood dowel into the barrel before heating it to prevent "scaling." Well, the dowel charred up and left charcoal inside the barrel next to where I removed the sight ramp. I am having no luck removing this, and fear that I have ruined the barrel. Any ideas on how to remove it or what I might have done wrong?

What is "scaling" and how does this technique prevent it? Dave Belzak "Scaling" means to flake and form scales—almost like fish scales. As stated in the article, when it accumulates on rifling, it is next to impossible to remove. During the silver-soldering process, the hard wood dowel is supposed to prevent scaling when the wood chars and smokes.

If the deposit remaining in your barrel is charcoal, try immersing the muzzle in turpentine, Varsol, or mineral spirits to soften the material, then attack it with a bronze bristle brush. If the deposit is indeed scaling, and little more than a hazing in thickness, you could try a dry bronze brush, then the same soaked with copper solvent and again with the brush wrapped in 0000 steel wool or synthetic steel wool. Should all those measures fail, the barrel will likely have to be re-rifled.

Technical Assistance Hotline To access AGA’s Technical-Assistance Hotline, call between 1 and 3 p.m. ET, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only. For assistance at all other times, you can send an email to Chick Blood, Technical Editor, at You didn’t mention what type of silver solder you employed, but the condition existing in your barrel suggests it had a high melting point.

Custom Gunmaker’s Guild metalsmiths have advised the use of 444 silver solder (available from Brownells) which contains no lead and has a low melting point. These experts tin both cleaned surfaces to be joined with 444, secure them in position, and then apply heat to "sweat" the related parts together. Model 12 Carrier I am having a problem with a Remington Model 12, .22 Rem. Special. The customer brought this gun in because it had no carrier.

I have since replaced this, but it won’t lift the cartridge high enough into the bolt face to feed. I also tried anew carrier dog, but that also did not cure the problem (same problem). Is the carrier of the .22 Long Rifle different from the .22 Special? Thanks. Wade Bentley There are significant differences between the .22 LR and .22 Rem. Special in base diameter, rim diameter, case length, and overall cartridge length. It follows then that the carrier, at least, would be as different.

We suspect that this is the problem. Hot Smith & Wesson 27-2 I am going to attempt to "restore" a Smith & Wesson 27-2 revolver, which was left in a burning motor home. It was a real mess! So far, everything checks out good, except for a few springs, which have just been replaced for good measure. I still feel that I want to totally strip the weapon and check everything for hardness

(continued from previous page) and spring strength. Now come the dumb questions: Before I punch out the barrel-retaining pin and attempt to remove the barrel, I need to know if the thing has a right-hand or a lefthand thread. The 27-2 has a right-hand twist in its 8-1/8-inch barrel, and my 1911 .45 ACP Norinco clone has a left-hand twist in its 5-inch barrel. Is this just a Chinese thing, or what?

My understanding is that handguns have a right-hand twist so that the torque of the fired round pushes the grip into the shooters hand (For right-hand shooters, that is). Incidentally, I have run a lot of rounds through the Norinco and, bad press notwithstanding, it has always functioned perfectly. I would appreciate an answer about the thread on the S&W at your convenience, and any comments on the CW/CCW twist difference. Bill Farrant No question is dumb and we admire your ambition.

Fire-damaged guns present all manner of problems as has been reported before in these pages. Testing for hardness usually involves the use of a calibrated center punch (see "Flintlock Repairs" in the June 2002 issue). The equipment is expensive and the test can mar or deform the part being examined. Beyond that, some components of the 27-2 are case hardened, which could be violated by the testing. Consider carefully the high pressures generated by the .357 and reconsider your project.

Our advice is to retire the gun. If you decide to press on regardless, the barrel comes off counterclockwise. No, the left-hand twist isn’t a Chinese thing. Hold your right arm straight out from the shoulder as though firing a handgun. Try rotating it to the right, then to the left. You have about 180 degrees of movement in the latter direction before your elbow joint yells "enough" and maybe half that amount clockwise. The M1911 was originally checked out for use by the military with the U. S.

Cavalry and has always had a left-hand twist. The pistol, so equipped, had less of a tendency to separate itself from the hand of a hard-riding trooper. Although right-hand-twist aftermarket barrels can be purchased, they make recovery more difficult due to the anatomy of the human arm. Now you know why the RH twist on some of today’s larger hand cannons can and do cause considerable joint pain. And why rapid fire with such guns is infrequently pursued or, when pursued, not often enjoyed.

We are happy for you regarding your experience with the Norinco clones. Ours has not been likewise. In more than one case, the machining was so rough it was impossible to move the slide on the frame. It must have been a bad day in the land of the Great Wall when some of those things rolled off the assembly line.

Polishing Compounds I was reading in the March 2002 issue, in the article "Modifying Pistols for High-Performance Ammunition," about polishing the feed ramp and the sides of the magazine to help the bullets feed and to eliminate any burrs on the magazine. I was wondering what kind of polishing compound is recommended. I’ve noticed a lot of different ones out there, and even heard that some toothpastes will work. Could you please steer me in the right direction? Steven D.

Allen We like Crest for teeth, but prefer a fine grit Cratex wheel (from Brownells) in a slow-turning Dremel tool held by a steady hand for feed ramps. And we suggest you use nothing coarser than fine crocus cloth on the magazines. Smoothing the 700 My Remington 700 Titanium has a rough feel when opening and closing the bolt—sort of a "grinding" feel. How can I smooth it up? Also how can the trigger pull be adjusted—it’s hard at 5 pounds? Did you ever do an article on this gun?

Tom Leshsinski You could try smoothing up the bolt ways in the receiver, and polishing the bolt. There’s an article in the October 2002 issue on correcting other people’s mistakes that covers adjusting the trigger pull. But don’t take it down under 4 pounds for field use.