Reader Forum

Trigger-Pull Adjustment I recently bought myself a lighter rifle, but its trigger pull is heavy. It goes way over my 72-ounce scale, so it must be 5-6 pounds. Breaking the rifle down and looking at the trigger, I find two screws sealed with wax or threadlocker. I’m wondering if you can tell me if this is an adjustable trigger, and, if so, how to adjust it? I installed a Timney trigger on my Mauser 98 and know the top screw is the trigger-pull adjustment. Or would I be better off to order another Timney for the 700?

Also, I see in the index that there was an article in the April 1997 issue titled "Modifying a Trigger to Suit the Shooter." Would this be of any help? (I started my subscription in 2000.) Thanks for any advice and help. Both screws are sealed with epoxy to discourage tampering. The lower screw can be turned counter-clockwise to reduce the pull. The upper screw is for travel adjustment. Turn it clockwise until the action won’t release when the trigger is pulled.

Then hold the trigger back and begin turning the screw clockwise until the sear releases. Yes, you’d be better off with another Timney for all the reasons stated regarding trigger work in the June 2001 issue. Star Model B Parts? I’m interested in information on the Star automatic Model Bparts list. Specifically, I’m looking for an extractor, but I would like to have the complete parts list and complete breakdown of the automatic. I would also like to know where I can get parts for it. Thanks.

There are schematics for the Star Model Bin Gun Digest’ s book of exploded handgun drawings. The pistol is a Spanish-made variant of the M1911-A1, with a different lockwork and without a grip safety. There are no detailed take-down references for the Model Bin our files, but the Model BS is well covered in the NRA Guide to Firearms Assembly, combined shoulder arms/handgun edition.

Some parts for the Model Bare available from M&M Gunsmithing Firing-Pin Protrusion I’m wondering if you can provide some info and advice. I just put a firing pin in the bolt assembly of a Mosin-Nagant. The firing protrusion as is measures out at 0.091 inch (cocking piece down). It’s my understanding that protrusions for centerfires run anywhere in the range of 0.060 to 0.075 inch. Are protrusions for Mosin- Nagants normally this large?

Since I’ve been told that all firing pins for Mosin-Nagants are the same, and this one is as it came from the supplier, I’m wondering if I should take the pin down to 0.075 inch. Mike’s Gun Repair Haliburton, ON, Canada The protrusion is excessive. It may be that the newly installed firing pin is too long or simply that it has been screwed in too much. Back it out so the protrusion measures .074 inch. Sticky Remington I have an 1100 on which the gaspiston assembly was broken and the link was damaged.

I’ve replaced them along with the action spring. Now the action is slow to return; sometimes it needs assistance. If I take out the firecontrol assembly, it works fine. I used afire control out of another one and it works fine. Some ideas please. I also have an 11-87 that short cycles. I cleaned the action, and now it doesn’t cycle at all. Thanks. On the 1100, the action bar is probably binding on the fire-control assembly (also known as the trigger mechanism) but not on the others you have tried.

Mark the trigger housing with Dy Kem, assemble the shotgun, cycle the action, disassemble, and check to see where the contact is taking place and relieve the area. We doubt the action bar is bent since it works with the substitute assemblies you’ve tried. On the 11-87, are the piston and Oring assembled incorrectly? Check the owner’s manual. Also, the Remington 11-87 barrel is designed to allow the interchange of 2-3/4- and 3-inch field loads. It will short cycle with target loads.

A Different S&W Attached are pictures of the inside of what appears to be a Smith & Wesson Model 10, except that it has four screws instead of the usual three or five. It has atop-plate screw, but no screw on the front of the trigger for the cylinder stop. Upon opening, the design is different from any other S&W that I’ve ever seen. The cylinder stop and the trigger are made differently, and the rebound slide has a leaf spring attached to the front of the grip that actuates it. My first question is: What is this?

And, second: Where can I get parts, as there is a nipple that sticks up on the cylinder stop that appears to have part of it broken off. Thanks for your help. The pictures are too close up for us to identify it precisely, and you did not specify caliber so we’ll assume it’s a .38 or a 32-20, which shared the same frame size. This revolver is among some of the first side-swing revolvers that S&W made, and it predates the Model 10 by about 60 years.

It is either a Model 1899 (.38 Hand Ejector First Model) or a Model 1902 (.38 Hand Ejector Second Model). You can identify the specific model easily, because the 1899 has no extractor-rod lug under the barrel, while the 1902 does. The two guns use triggers and cylinder stops that are identical. The little nipple on the cylinder stop is its cam, which is simply a tiny, hardened, spring-loaded plunger with an angle

ground onto its face. Parts for this gun might be available from Jack First Gun Parts or from Numrich Gun Parts Corp. Remington 788 Parts In reference to the article in January 1998 ("Remington 788 Part Sources"), I am in need of a 6mm Rem clip for a 788. Also, I have another customer with a bolt handle not properly rewelded. You recommended Chuck Lutz and I sent him a letter but my letter to him came back as undeliverable. Also, I struck out on the phone.

I would appreciate help in locating him if he is still around, or perhaps you could recommend someone else. Thank you for your help. If Pennsylvania Gun Parts can’t supply the clip, try Tom Forrest Mr. Lutz is a member of the Custom Gunmaker’s Guild Contact them for an update on his address. AR Drawings Do you know where I might be able to get a dimensioned drawing of the barrel extension/breech collar for the M16/AR15 series of rifles? Thank you, in advance, for any information you may be able to supply.

If you mean "blueprint" or working drawing, you can probably get a copy for the M16 from the Army Ordnance Museum in Aberdeen, Maryland The AR15 will be tougher to secure. Try Colt (800/962-COLT), Olympic Arms and Fulton Armory Slugging a Barrel I was interested in the comments in a recent Reader Forum about slugging a barrel ("Checking Bore Diameter," April 04).

Here’s the way that has always worked well for me: First you will need a brass or steel rod, 2 or 3 inches longer than the barrel, of a diameter that will slip down the bore with not too much clearance. Also, you will need a 6- or 8-inch length of the same material. Square one end of each piece, break the edge, and polish everything smooth. For the long piece, you can use a clearing rod if you have a flatface tip of the proper diameter.

Now you will need a soft, pure-lead bullet, just larger than the expected groove diameter of the bore in question, or a bullet that can be upset to be that way. Alternately, you can use a pure-lead muzzleloader ball and forge it to a suitable rough-diameter cylinder (hammer it out on your handy vise anvil). Shape one end like a bullet point, so that it will enter the muzzle at least one diameter and so that you have half or so sticking out. What sticks out should be just too big to enter. Not super big.

With the rifle, you don’t have to take anything apart, but if it’s a boltaction, you might as well remove the bolt. Clean the bore and lightly oil it. Stuff some rags or crumpled paper into the opened action up to the chamber, but don’t fill the chamber. You are going to drive a lead slug through the bore from the muzzle and it will fall when it emerges into the leade and chamber, and you want to cushion it.

Swivel your bench vise so that the jaws are over the floor, and clamp the rifle barrel vertically so that the muzzle is an inch or two above the vise jaws and the buttstock is solidly supported against the floor. Oil the slug and insert the bullet nose into the muzzle until it stops. Take a brass, copper, or plastic-faced hammer and drive the slug into the muzzle until it is flush. You won’t hurt the crown. Technical Assistance Hotline To access AGA’s Technical-Assistance Hotline, call between 1 and 3 p.m.

ET, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only. For assistan at all dan email to Chick Blood, Technical Editor, You should have cut a lead ring off the slug, sort of like seating a ball in a percussion-revolver cylinder. The lead that enters the muzzle now completely fills the groove diameter. Take the short rod and hammer and drive the slug a couple of inches or so into the barrel. Ideally, it should feel snug’not hard. Now take the long rod and push, or bounce the rod gently on the slug if necessary.

You will see everything progressing down the bore. If it feels and acts the same all the way down, you are in luck. If things suddenly fall before you reach the throat and chamber, grab your own throat and squeeze hard until you are no longer able to breathe (just kidding). In this case, you could say there is a problem. All kinds of things are possible. Try not to let the push rod fall or follow the slug into the chamber because, padding or not, you might mar the slug.

That’s all there is to it, but good luck if you have to do this with a .22caliber barrel. Donald R. Vinson Tamaqua, Pennsylvania R&S Loading Arm I have an old Rogers & Spencer cap and ball in for restoration. It needs a complete loading-arm assembly. Dixie Gun Works has a reproduction assembly, but they’re not sure if it will work. Do you know if it will work? William Hamm Randolph, Alabama The only way to be sure would be to buy the DGW replacement and try it. It would help to know why Dixie has doubts.

For example, did whoever made the replacement part make it to Rogers & Spencer specifications or someone else’s?

Southerner Derringers I’m inquiring about a project that a friend and I have been struggling with. We are restoring two Southern .41 rimfire derringers. The problem is that we don’t have the ejectors for either gun. I would appreciate any help in acquiring info and schematics for this firearm. The owner wants them converted to .22 cal. Thank you for your time. Your Southern derringer doesn’t show up in the Standard Catalog of Firearms, The Blue Book, or The Gun Trader’s Guide.

However, in Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms, a Southerner derringer is shown. It was produced by Brown Manufacturing & Merrimack Arms, Massachusetts, from 1866 to 1873. Caliber was .41 rimfire, and the barrel pivoted sideways for loading. No mention of ejectors is made, but the handgun had an extractor mounted under the barrel. The design was patented April 9, 1867, long before schematics as we know them today came into use.

If you can secure a copy of the patent ($3) it would contain many drawings and a description of how the mechanism works. The problem is you don’t know the actual patent number, just the date it was issued. Call the Patent Copy Sales office anyway and perhaps someone can help you. Worn Remington Rails I have an old Remington 742 with a bolt that won’t work properly. I’ve disassembled it, looked for burrs, etc. and everything looks to be okay. The bolt sticks in the forward position.

When I get it loose and bring it back to locked open, everything is fine. When I release the bolt, it won’t go all the way into battery, and gets stuck again. I cleaned it, greased it, and everything else, but nothing seems to work. I heard from an old retired gunsmith that once upon a time Remington offered a repair on these because they said the rails were wearing out. I can’t find any information to substantiate that. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Take out the magazine box and look inside at the rails. It’s very likely they are wearing, and the Remington factory no longer services the 742. However, you can go to Remington’s website and you’ll find out how to locate an authorized service center that can handle the fix. Sighting In I have a question about a Simmons scope my buddy bought. He has it mounted on a Savage .308 that has no iron sights because it has a bull barrel. We went out shooting to try to sight the scope in.

At only about 60 yards, we found that the bullet was hitting too high. We lowered the reticles as low as they would go, but found that the rounds were still hitting 5 to 6 inches high. He does not have high mounts, and the base mount and rings were checked several times to make sure that they were securely fastened. I think it’s possible the scope is defective, even though it is brand new, but was looking for a second opinion. Any feedback would be appreciated. Try the point of impact at 100 yards.

If it’s still hitting high, a shim under the rear scope ring should solve the problem. Balky Red Label I have a Ruger Red Label 12-gauge (serial #411-30830) in for repair. The problem is the gun returns to safe after each barrel is fired. The customer says the gun is about a year old, and started doing this intermittently after about 200 rounds. It now happens almost every time. The internal mechanism is clean and the safety-ball detent is snug.

We understand the Red Label was plagued by gremlins in the safety system a year or so ago. Changes were made, and now the entire system has to be refit. The parts needed to make corrections are probably restricted, but Ruger will do the work at no charge if the gun is shipped to Customer Service (Sturm, Ruger & Co., Newport, NH 03773).