Reader Forum

S&W Scope Mount I need the scope-mount drilling specs for the current production Model 41, 7-inch barrel. I have an older gun that I would like to drill and tap to match the current production, but I cannot lay my hands on anew gun to measure the number of holes, spacing, distance from breech, etc. Thanks. Randal O’Brian An S&W factory technical contact measured the current production M41. He advises that you do not drill into an older model, since it would tend to lower its collector value.

Nevertheless, he provided the following data: depth of holes, .170 inch; diameter across threads, .135 inch; distance back from the muzzle for the first hole, 5.130 inches. From that point, measure back an additional .870 for the second hole. From the second hole, an additional 1.670 for the third hole; and from the third hole, an additional .620 for the fourth hole. The latter three positions are critical, since they match the base to the bolt pattern.

You should also know that S&W offers a base for the current production, 7-inch-barrel M41 that matches the just-provided dimensions and could be used as a guide for your drilling and tapping. Enfield Bolt Heads In the Reader Forum in the February 05 issue, P. Hasselbach was looking for a bolt head for a Lee Enfield. These are usually in stock at Empire Gun Shop and Curt’s Gun Shop Empire also has Mauser and Mosin-Nagant parts. Donald R. Vinson Tamaqua, Pennsylvania Thanks, Donald, for the tip.

P-Series Takedown I have a Ruger P-90 and P-94. Both need a good cleaning. The slide lock comes out of the P-94, but I don’t know how to remove the slide. The slide lock will not come all the way out of the P-90, and I don’t know how to remove the slide. I don’t want to force it out. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Tom Jones Lock the slide back and flip the ejector down with a pencil.

Keep upward pressure on the slide-release lever, get a solid grip on the frame, press down on the slide release, and ease the slide forward until the rear of the lever is aligned with its slide notch. P-Series stop pins don’t come out all the way initially. They’re held in place by a spring seated in a deep secondary groove in the stop pin. If the spring is settled into that groove, you can continue to remove the slide by easing it forward off the frame.

If you have managed to totally remove the P94 slide stop, you may have caused some damage to the trigger-bar spring. Normally, that spring would have to be taken out first. The instructions in P-Series owners’ manuals for field stripping are very specific and should be followed exactly. You can get a copy of the manuals by calling Ruger at Puzzling H&As I’ve got a real puzzler on my hands. I have two H&A 722 SS .22 rifles, and they come close to being a matched pair.

However, one has four through pins to anchor the internal parts, while the other has four screws (two from each side—not all the way through). Also one has both upper and lower tangs equal, with a throughbolt to hold the stock in place. The other one has a longer tang on the lower part and uses two wood screws from top and bottom. 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 Both have the integral triggerguard and are the falling-block-style with a small projection to activate the action. Do you have an exploded view so I know what’s what, and what I may be looking for—especially the mainspring/trigger spring—and what is that "bushing" for? I know where it goes, but why, and what does it do?

Bob Roatch According to The Blue Book of Gun Values, the number you used to identify your rifle is a catalog number, not a model number. H&A produced several falling blocks, the 722, 922, 1922, and 2922 among them. Some had round barrels, and some had octagon barrels. No schematic exists on any of these, since they predate the use of exploded drawings. You may be able to secure additional information from the Hopkins & Allen Arms & Memo rabilia Society. Check the back pages of Gun Digest for the current address.

Balky Garcia Bronco I have a Garcia Bronco .410 that has been sitting in the closet for awhile. The mechanism appears to be sticky and sluggish, and I’m guessing from the way it is designed, it was put away with the spring compressed. I would like to take it apart to clean it, and possibly change this spring. I guess what I am asking for is information as far as schematics and or takedown/reassembly so I can get the fire-control group and the rest of the gun back together right.

Any help you can give would be appreciated. Charles May The gun was discontinued in the late 1970s. It’s a swing-out single-shot,

(continued from previous page) with a skeletonized stock. Unless you can find an importer’s name on the weapon, the chances of locating a schematic—or parts—are slim. The gun can be cleaned up well, however, without taking it down. Get a large pail, half fill it with mineral spirits, and stick the butt end of the gun in the pail. Then use a rubber or plastic squeeze bulb to force the liquid repeatedly into the action and down the barrel. If the gun has a wooden stock, you’ll have to remove it first.

In this case, it’s an all metal setup. After you have flushed out the piece thoroughly and let it drain, dry it with a hair dryer or compressed air. JSterling Owner’s Manual? Do you or any of the American Gunsmith readers know where I can find an owner’s manual for a Sterling Model 400 Mk II? Thank you for your time. Dean Cascio We believe that Sterling went out of business in 1986. The gun you have is shown to be worth about $150 in the Blue Book of Gun Values.

Hopefully, another reader will read your letter, will be able to help you, and will contact you directly by email. Remington M25 Mag Follower I have a Remington Model 25 in .32- 20. I need to replace the magazine follower, mag spring, and mag plug, since the original parts are missing. I have been unable locate replacement parts, so I will make new ones. The only real problem is the mag follower. The exploded view shows along, skinny tubular follower with a shoulder on the rear end.

Looking at the disassembled parts, I can’t see what prevents the follower from going past the loading port and thus blocking it. I’m guessing the shoulder plays a role, but I don’t know how. Since I don’t understand how it works, I can’t derive the dimensions of the follower. So, I need the dimensions of the follower and an explanation of how it functions. Thanks. R. W. O’Brian We were wondering where you found a schematic until you made it clear you were looking at the same parts drawing we were.

We did, however, locate a sectional drawing of the rifle in an old Remington Factory Service Manual. According to what we initially saw, the follower appears to be halted by the cartridge stop located under the chamber and forward of the carrier. Closer examination of both parts and sectional drawings shows a rim on one end of the follower and an inward, 360-degree crimp on the receiver end of the magazine tube.

From that configuration, we can assume that the rim on the follower would be halted by the crimp on the magazine tube and prevent the follower from entering the receiver. Sorry, we don’t have Remington blueprints and can’t provide specific dimensions. If you have the magazine tube, measure its ID to get the OD of the follower rim. Magazine Catch 22 I’m working with a German Pocket Pistol (1910). I acquired spare parts from Numrich, and after some fitting, I cocked and dry-fired the pistol.

This took place without inserting the magazine catch. After inserting the magazine catch, the trigger bar would not engage the firing pin. Upon removing the magazine catch, I was again able to dry-fire the pistol, and even loaded and test fired the pistol in automatic mode. Any help would certainly be appreciated. Bob Caldwell We’re assuming you have the .25-caliber version. The caliber .32 didn’t come along until 1914. Either way, we think you have installed the catch incorrectly and it’s blocking the trigger bar.

To install the catch, the combination hold-open, ejector, and safety piece goes back in first. The upper end of the catch has to fit in front of the lug on the lower side of the combination piece. Bersa Trigger Spring I have a Bersa Model 383 in .380 caliber with a missing trigger spring. I purchased anew spring from the importer, but I need assembly instructions. Can you help? thanks. J. R. Thomason When you install the trigger and trigger spring, you need a slave pin to hold them together during reassembly.

The longer arm of the spring must be positioned to the front of the trigger. You can find complete disassembly/reassembly instructions for the Bersa in Gun Digests’ book dedicated to automatic pistols.