Reader Forum

Shotgun Tips I think a couple of suppliers and one association should get some publicity for helping me out recently. Several months ago, I got in a Winchester Model 24 on which the owner had removed a screw behind the top lever. What possessed him to do this, I will never know. He reported that all of the internal parts started rattling around. Needless to say, the gun didn’t work anymore, and information on this gun isn’t easy to come by. I slowly disassembled it and made drawings of everything as I went.

In reassembly, I found the firing pins and their associated springs a bear to get right, but eventually I did. With this particular gun, you have to assemble the upper and lower halves separately. The bottom has to be assembled first. The top half of the boxlock has to be assembled upside down and put together with the sides on their sides, not attached bottom to top or top to bottom. And this takes a few tries. The halves will not go together vertically; stuff starts to fall out if it is done this way.

In the end, the gun went together and is back in service. I made step-bystep notes of the reassembly. If anyone needs them, I would be happy to provide them. Naturally, I had to take the gun apart a second time, and then reassemble it again to make sure my steps were correct. However, make sure to have a copy of an exploded view (available from Numrich) before attempting to work on one of these devils. I hope I never get another one to work on again The next was a Remington 1894 with a broken top lever.

The customer bought it over the counter from Cabela’s for $125 and was told it would never shoot again. With the help of the Remington Collector’s Associa- Technical Assistance Hotline To access AGA’s Technical-Assistance Hotline, call between 1 and 3 p.m. ET, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday once at all dan email to Chick Blood, Technical Editor, at tion and the spectacular reproducy Wisner’s this gun is Remington Collector’s Association was able to provide me with the correct schematics and parts list at no charge.

Wisner’s sold meanew manufactured top-lever spring at a very reasonable price with very fast delivery. Then an old Colt Agent came in with a weak main spring. Numrich was all sold out, so I had to do a little research. Here, I was lucky enough to CX Antiques and was able to ured main spring for the Agent. A final note: The old shotguns were thoroughly checked before test firing.

I began all test firing with the lightest loads available, and worked up after progressive examinations of each gun before a step up to more pressure. Thanks for tips and sources, Mike. Luger Barrel/Sight Removal Any tricks to removing a 1935 "Gdate" Mauser Luger 4-inch barrel (i.e., heat or penetrating oil) aside from a proper vise? I want to replace it with anew 6-inch replacement barrel (offered by Numrich) for plinking and target shooting.

Also, any advice on removing a tight dovetail sight without having to buy some expensive tool? Thank you. There are no tricks. A proper vise with leather-padded jaws, along with an equally proper receiver wrench, is the way to go. Before you remove the

(continued from previous page) barrel, though, consider the value of an original. A G-Date Luger in good condition that hasn’t been reworked is worth about $1400; if reworked, about $800. Your intent to install a 6inch barrel falls in the "reworking" category. Beyond the lost value, keep in mind that the Luger has never been considered a target gun’let alone a competitive one. You didn’t mention the type of pistol wearing the tight dovetail.

That’s okay; there are a couple of ways you can tackle the dovetail problem on any pistol. Step one: Place a drop of penetrating oil on the dovetail seams and allow it to work overnight. Step two: If you want to save the existing sight, use a 4-ounce hammer and a brass rod or nylon-tipped drift. If you’re going to discard the sight, use a 6-ounce hammer and a steel drift punch that engages the sight and clears the dovetail seams.

If the hammer and steel drift don’t do the trick, use a jeweler’s saw to cut the sight in half from side to side and push out the pieces. Once the sight has been removed, a fine triangular stone should be applied to smooth up the dovetail to make reinstallation or any future removal easier. Floating Revolver Cylinder? A friend has asked me to help identify why he is having a problem with the cylinder stopping during fast action.

The revolver is an S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum, and shoots fine in a clear and defined double-action pull for each individual shot. However, it seems to allow the cylinder to float between chambers during rapid-fire shooting. The owner of the gun has told me that there have been many rounds put through it, but it doesn’t appear to be loose or excessively worn. Someone suggested to the owner that the cylinder stop may not becoming up high enough or the spring behind it may have become weakened.

He told me he ordered and replaced the spring, and it seemed to work for awhile, but now does the floating thing again. I’ve tried to determine if there might be some sort of timing problem or if the hand is pushing up with enough force to make the cylinder rotate past its stop before it comes up, but I can’t rightly tell. For informational purposes, the stopping walls of the cylinder stops appear to have some pinging, but not enough to create burrs or high spots. Do you have any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks for your time and consideration. The problem you describe as floating is called DCU (doesn’t come up) by S&W. This usually indicates a timing problem wherein the cylinder fails to fully rotate into alignment with the barrel. More often than not, the hand has worn or its spring has weakened or there’s a burr on the hand window in the frame creating drag on the hand.

In your friends" case, where the problem occurs only during "rapid fire, he probably isn’t allowing the trigger to reset (return to its full forward position) before squeezing it again. More M1 Garand Questions What is the correct distance between the op-rod piston head and the back of the gas port? What’s the correct distance from the piston head and the gas-cylinder lock screw head? What is the correct diameter for the gas port for the standard rifle and for the Tanker conversion?

I would like extra oprods for Numrich’s Tanker Conversion Kits. They say they don’t sell them separately and have no idea where they got them. I am also interested in sources for M1 parts kits, M1 folding synthetic stock, and Browning BAR mags. Thank you very much. Because we have no Tanker model, we can’t make comparisons between it and a standard M1, and since we have no blueprints we cannot respond accurately to your specification questions. Past experience has proven the U. S.

Army Ordnance Museum in Aberdeen, Maryland, has the information you seek, but is unwilling to share it. However, Badger Ordnance in Rapid City, South Dakota, carries tools and gauges and publishes reproductions of original Ordnance Department parts drawings. Arlington Ordnance (Winchester, Virginia) is a source for barrels, rebuilt gas cylinders, and op-rods, while Fulton Armory (Savage, Maryland) carries M1 parts and accessories, as well as offering gunsmithing services.

Perhaps Fulton (www.fultonarmory.com) can provide answers to your specification questions. We also strongly recommend you secure a copy of Jerry Kuhnhausen’s book, The U. S. .30-Caliber Gas-Operated Service Rifles, from either Brownells or VSP Publishers (Box 887, Mc Call, ID 83638).