Reader Forum

High Standard Flite Plan? I’m writing to ask if anyone on the staff knows where I might find a breakdown or schematic for a 12-gauge Hi-Standard Flite-King Deluxe? I would appreciate any help on this matter. The gun is in excellent condition, but has never been broken down for a complete cleaning, and I don’t want to try that without a "map" to go by. Thank you. Roger B.

Heim Rising Sun, Maryland A schematic for the Flite King appears in Jack First, Inc.’s parts catalog The company sells the two-volume catalog as well as parts. The "King" is in Volume II, but we’d recommend having both on hand as reference works—they’re loaded. M1 Carbine Headspace I have a Blue Sky M1 Carbine on my bench that has a broken bolt. The hollow ear that houses the extractor is broken off flush with the outside diameter of the bolt. The bolt I have is the one with the flat on the top.

The owner claims he only uses factory ammo. I’m concerned about excessive headspace. Can I use the broken bolt to check for excessive headspace (nogo and/or field)? Or do I need to buy a bolt and then check it? Is the rifle worth fixing? Thank you. Tom Hourt We have no knowledge of Blue Sky’s quality or the value of the carbine, but bolt faces of some M1s have been known to shatter. One cure for this is to silver-solder the face back together and smooth off any solder seams.

Using the broken bolt to check headspace might throw off your readings. If you can’t fix the old bolt, we recommend finding anew one. Remington Nylon 66 Mag Tube I’m having trouble finding an outer mag tube for a nylon 66. Is there any other tube that will fit or one that can be modified to fit? Also, if I make one, what size tube and wall thickness should I use? Thanks in advance. Allen We think the Model 66 is still being made. If so, Remington Customer Service can fill your order for anew tube.

If we’re wrong about current manufacture, try Gun Parts Corporation or Pennsylvania Gun Parts Rebarreling Remington 742 Is it possible to change the barrel on a 742 Remington from .30-06 to .270 without major refitting of the barrel to receiver? Thank you. Ernest Hurst That depends on what you consider to be "major refitting." The barrel/ receiver interface must be machined perfectly square to avoid misalignment and horrible accuracy.

However, if the barrel is Remington-made for the rifle, there will be no need for such machining—just the usual headspace checks. You’re also fortunate in that the Model 742 uses the same bolt for .30-06 as it does for .270 and .308. On the other hand, if you’re having the barrel made by someone other than Remington, then the barrel shoulder, barrel threads, and receiver must all be machined, as must the barrel extension, which is threaded on. Russian Break-Top Details?

I have a double-action Smith & Wesson break-top in .44 Russian that I am restoring. The gun is nickel, and I’m told that the hammer, latch, and trigger are case colored. The triggerguard is blue, isn’t it? The serial number is 6701, circa 1881. Any help would be appreciated. Tony Levato As we’re sure you know, the gun is nickel-plated, not made of nickel. But we doubt the parts you mention have been case colored; case hardened, perhaps, but not case colored—not originally, at least.

And there must be some trace of its original finish existing on the guard. Since we don’t know, we suggest you speak with Jim Supica at Old Town Station in Lenexa, Kansas. He’s great with details on old guns. Firearm Finishes Oftentimes I need to send out apart, magazine, or entire firearm to be refinished. I’m not sure I’m getting the best finish for my money. I don’t recall any articles addressing this, so could you please point me in the right direction?

Many of my customers are military and/or law-enforcement officers, so I usually desire a black or matte-black finish that is very durable and darn near impervious to rust. I know some companies, such as Accuplate, claim enhanced performance and with that in mind, enhanced performance would be a great plus. Thank you in advance for any direction you could give me. Jay T. Livziey There is no all-encompassing response to your query.

The finish you need or want depends on the gun and what you have been asked to do regarding it. For example, if restoration is the requirement, the finish closest to the original would be the best finish. Should case hardening, slow rust blue or browning be called for, you get the quality you pay for. One of the best in the business for restoration metalwork we know of is Doug Turnbull As for your military and law-enforcement customers, we’re quite certain their concern is primarily reliability.

Their cosmetic desires for a dull, tough surface could be satisfied with a baked-on finish (Brownells). This is something you don’t need expensive equipment to apply. There is also hard-black chrome plating; we’ve yet to hear of rusting on a gun so treated. "Enhanced performance" is an interesting term, since it can be in

terpreted in many ways. With your military/law enforcement clients, we’d tend to lean toward the reliability factor, perhaps in combination with a smoother action. Usually, the finishes applied by companies claiming better performance include a lubricant in their formulations. These days, it could be a compound known to bond with metal surfaces and decrease the friction between them. One such compound is molybdenum disulfide, but you don’t have to rely on an outside supplier to provide its advantages.

Thoroughly mix two or three tablespoons of moly powder with a quart of automotive transmission fluid. Lightly apply the solution to slide/frame rails as well as other areas in the gun where metal bears against metal. For example, on trigger, hammer, and sear pins. Just how slick is Moly D?

If you’re old enough to remember Andy Granatelli of turbine-powered Indy car fame and his TV commercials for STP, you’ll recall how he used to dip a screwdriver in an open can of the product and prove the coated blade could not be squeezed between thumb and index finger without escaping. The magic ingredient in STP back then was molybdenum disulfide, and for years the product decal was worn by more racing cars than any other.

Beyond that, we’re sure you’re familiar with moly-coated bullets that increase muzzle velocity because they lessen friction significantly on their trip down the bore. Marlin 1895 Takedown Could you send me complete disassembly instructions for the Marlin 1895, caliber .45-70? My printer is down, I would appreciate having it mailed to me. Thank you. Earl Colson Troy, New York An article on the Marlin 1895 appeared in the August 2001 issue.

The example in the article wasn’t stainless steel or in the same caliber as yours, but all Model 1895s made by Marlin take down identically. For a reprint, call AGA Customer Service at Hey Luigi, Why You No Shift? On my work bench I have a Luigi Franchi DU Edition 12-gauge O/U which fails to shift after the first barrel is fired. All parts are intact and move freely, and none are broken or missing.

The shifter appears to be inertia activated to the rear when firing the first barrel, and returns forward with the help of a flat spring. I can manually move the shifter to the rear and it will shift or I can press the selector button located in the trigger (crossbolt-type button) and it will fire the second barrel. The gun is clean and in excellent condition. Help me please. B. B. Valentine We think your problem lies with the inertial block and/or its associated parts.

If so, the complication will be finding replacement parts. Beretta USA has taken over sales for Franchi and Benelli, but we understand they have no parts for Luigi Franchi guns. If they did, we suspect the components you need would be on the "factory service only" list. We suggest you try Jack First Gun Parts Corporation or call Brownells and ask for a free copy of their parts source list for out-of-production firearms.

Shotgun Woes I’m getting a lot of shotgun work lately and I am surprised at the problems and variations I am seeing in basic models. First, I got what I believed to be an Ithaca Model 37 Deerslayer that would not eject spent shells. I thought the easiest thing to do first was to remove the barrel and install it on another M37, which I bought new 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 in 1970, to see if it would feed and eject dummies. The barrel didn’t fit quite right so I would never consider shooting it with this barrel on, but it did feed, extract, and eject dummies with authority. I then tried to put my Deerslayer barrel onto the problem gun and it would not go on.

Both guns are in the same serial number range, but curiously, the forend on the trouble gun is rounder and the stock has rougher pressed checkering of a slightly different pattern. The grip has a Browning red plastic Buckmark cap, the recoil pad says "Ithacagun" and the barrel says "Deerslayer," but the scenes on the receiver are exactly reversed from my M37. That is, the scene on the right side of my gun is on the left side of the other gun and vice versa.

And, the scenes are rougher on the problem gun than on mine. Any idea what I may have here? Could it be a Norinco? When pumped with the trigger held, the hammer falls just as it does on my Deerslayer. My second question concerns the Stoeger Condor (apiece of junk, in my opinion). It will only fire one barrel, then the safety has to be placed on and then taken off for the second barrel to fire.

It’s a single-trigger non-selective system that has a device attached at the top of the safety and at the bottom to the trigger. (I don’t know what else to call it; it works like an inertia block, but it’s purely mechanical.) When the safety is pushed forward into the firing position, this device, which is stepped on the face, contacts the rear of the sears. When the trigger is pulled, this device rotates up and releases the sear and the hammer, but then gets hung up on the bottom barrel hammer sear.

Placing the safety back in the on position rotates the device away from the sears and the bottom sear clears it. Taking the safety off again rotates this device

(continued from previous page) back under the remaining sear for firing the top barrel. I’ve changed all the springs and polished up everything I could polish, and still can’t get it to work for love or money. I’m pretty sure it was made by Boito, but I can’t find a model like it in the Gun Parts catalog. The receiver says E. R. Amantino. Any info? Thanks. Mike If it says Ithaca on the barrel, it wasn’t made by Norinco.

It is possible it might have been made by Chinese imitators, which might explain why the tube didn’t quite fit your 1970 Model 37 made by Ithaca. You were wise not to attempt to fire the resulting mismatch. Failure of the original barrel to mate raises a similar suspicion of the receiver, which could have been picked up at the bargain table at a swap meet; a suspicion that deepens in consideration of the cosmetic differences you mention. Frankly, we can’t tell you exactly what you have.

Of course, there may have been unannounced engineering changes in the M37, but contacting Ithaca Gun could confirm or deny them. Stoeger Industries is nowa division of Beretta, USA. The "Condor" model is mechanically the same as the identically named offering from IGA, still made in Brazil. Having no owner’s manual on the shotgun, we’re not familiar with how it is supposed to function. A call to Beretta will probably get you a manual to which you can refer.

While on the phone, we suggest yoy make gentle but persistent inquiries of customer service and/or technical personnel for an explanation of your problem. We can only guess that relieving the interference point(s) of the device you mention could be one solution. Another might be replacing worn or broken parts in the selector-mechanism block system. Marble’s Tang Sights I’m trying to mount a tang sight on anew-model Winchester 94. It has a tang safety.

I would like to use a Marble’s tang sight; I need the windage adjustment. However, all of the tang sights I’ve seen for this rifle will interfere with or negate the safety. I have seen a picture of a Marble’s sight that’s made for the new Stevens Favorite Rifle. Both mounting screws are below the sight mast and may fit quite well, but I can’t seem to get any dimensions for the mounting base.

Since the tang safety on this rifle is really a redundant "manual" safety, there is not really any opposition to blocking the action of the safety switch. But I would rather not if I don’t have to. I might be able to shim the sight and just modify the safety lever by adding a flat extension out from under the base of the tang sight to operate the safety switch.

Do you know of any source of drawings that I can use to pick a model of the Marble’s sight, maybe not one designed for the Winchester but one that I could adapt or make work? Thanks for any guidance. Vernon Krippner We don’t have any Marble’s sights on hand to evaluate, or anew Model 94, for that matter. We’re sure, however, that the manufacturer, Marble’s Outdoors (www.marblesoutdoors. com; can provide all the information and measurements you require.

And by the way, we recommend that you leave the tang safety on the rifle unaltered. Savage Light Hits I have a Savage (Westernfield) Model SB100-B single-shot 16-gauge shotgun in for repair. It will occasionally not fire alive round when chambered. The primer dents seem to be light. I have removed the trigger group and firing pin, which look to be in good shape—crisp edges, nothing deformed—but I don’t have any disassembly info for reference, only a schematic. Do you have any assembly/ disassembly info?

Also, could this be as simple as a weak spring? Any info would be helpful. R. Coles It could well be a spring or springs. There are four action-related springs shown on the schematic in Jack First’s Catalog, Vol. II. We don’t know the original length of the firing pin, which can get shortened through long use and cause light hits. You might be facing a headspace problem, though. Is there any noticeable looseness between the barrel and receiver after lock-up?

This is one of those old Savage shotguns and the best person we know regarding them is Steve Simon. He runs The Small Arms Shop in Inverness, Florida. He’s always been a help to us and would probably be able to help you. Steve also stocks old Savage parts.