Reader Forum

S&W 686 Reassembly I need some help on getting the handtorsion spring back in place with the hand in the trigger assembly on the S&W 686. It is a .357 Magnum. I’ve looked in all the books I have. I just can’t seem to get the spring in the right relationship to the hand. Thanks for your help. Look at the right-hand side of the trigger. The hole at its upper rear accepts the cylinder hand-spring pin. The spring should be installed with its long leg to the rear with the pin through the coil and the coil facing upward.

The short leg of the spring rests on its bearing pin, located opposite the hand-spring pin. The curved cutout in the trigger accepts the longer pin on the hand. The hole just aft of the cutout receives the short pin on the hand. Final reassembly begins by pushing the hand into place until the small pin is flush with the inside wall of the trigger. A small tool is used to move the long leg of the hand spring upward and forward until it’s just beyond the flush position of the small pin on the hand.

Hold the spring there, press the hand fully into the trigger, and release the spring. Malfunctioning Mossberg I’ve never had to call on you before, but I have a problem with a Mossberg 835 that will cycle perfectly when checked out in the shop, but when fired, it sometimes will not extractor eject. Is it true that some ammo will not function in these guns? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Gene Cosby Cosby Gun Shop It’s possible the ejector is worn or loose.

Similar wear might be present with the extractors, or the extractor springs could be damaged or impacted with dirt. Assuming that factory ammo has been used rather than overly hot handloads, we wouldn’t suspect an eroded or enlarged chamber, but you’d better check out that possibility anyway. Remove Carrier-Latch Pin I recently purchased a Remington Model 48 shotgun from an online auction site. The problem I have is that the carrier-latch assembly has a broken pin.

Part of the pin is still in the receiver and will not allow the carrier latch to be removed. How do you suggest removing the remaining half of the pin, as it appears to be driven into a blind hole? Thanks. The Model 48 in 12, 16 and 20 gauges employed a carrier-latch pin threaded at its upper end. A special carrierpin puller tool, once available from Remington, was used to remove the pin after the tool was screwed on.

We suspect that the seller of the shotgun either had no such tool for removing the pin or broke the pin off (it is small) when using the tool to pull the pin from the receiver. With your gun, there’s apparently nothing remaining of the pin, threaded or otherwise, extending outside the receiver. If we were faced with the same problem, we’d use a high-quality drill equal to the diameter of the pin to carefully drill out what remains of the pin.

To determine diameter and control the depth of the drilling, we’d be sure to have a replacement pin (or two) on hand. Incidentally, the 28-gauge Model 48 didn’t employ a threaded carrier pin. It was simply driven downward or upward to clear the latch. Non-Cocking Smith I’m having problems with a Smith & Wesson Model 52 wadcutter that will not fire all the time. If you cycle the slide and dry fire it, it seems to work fine all the time.

When working with live ammo, about one out of every 25 to 30 rounds will not fire. This is with both reloads and factory ammo. You pull the trigger and nothing happens’ nothing. It is like the sear is not engaging the hammer. I’ve had the pistol apart several times and can’t find any part in the trigger, sear, or hammer that appears to be defective. The hammer is not following the slide. When it does not fire, the slide is all the way forward. Any ideas? You’re saying the pistol occasionally fails to cock.

Without a close inspection, we can’t be certain why, but we suspect the hammer’s cocking notch, a short sear, or a couple of worn pins are allowing vertical movement of those parts. All these can be replaced. If the pin holes in the frame have deformed, you have a more serious problem and we suggest a call to S&W to see what they might be able to do about that condition. If it exists, the fix would likely be turned over to their Custom Shop, since the Model 52 is long out of production.

But just for the heck of it, clean out the mainspring housing, check the mainspring for damage, and see if there’s anything amiss with the hammer strut before placing the phone call. Smoothing the M70 Trigger I have a couple of Winchester Model 70s coming in for trigger work and am not too familiar with this model. I don’t want to lighten them, just to smooth them out. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

If the triggers aren’t sealed assemblies (most are these days), disassemble them according to instructions provided in the NRA Guide to Firearm Assembly for Shoulder Arms. Polish the sides of the trigger, the sides of the sear, their pins, and any apparent contact between them and the receiver/trigger guard. This should be accomplished with fine, truly square stones or the equivalent of crocus cloth. No power tools please. If the trigger assemblies are sealed, don’t attempt to dismantle them. Flush

out the sealed unit thoroughly with a quality solvent to rid it of any grit, dry with compressed air, and lightly lubricate with the best gun oil you have. Another alternative is to remove the factory trigger and replace it with an aftermarket unit (Timney, et cetera). If you do this, be sure to save the original trigger for reinstallation if the gun ever has to be returned for factory service. Win 1200 Screw Sheering I’m having problems with a Winchester 1200.

It’s a 12-gauge Magnum that the customer bought back in 1975. He uses it for pheasant and deer hunting. He brought it to me with the firing pin hanging out the back of the bolt body. I found the slidearm-bridge retaining screw had the head sheared off. I have replaced the screw three times, and the gun keeps coming back with the head of the screw sheared off. The customer says that it happens with both 2-3/4-inch shells and also 3-inch Magnums.

I’ve used Dykem blue on the screwhead, and I can find no evidence that it’s dragging on anything. I’ve noticed that the slidearm bridge is bowed away from the bottom of the bolt just enough to see daylight through there. Should I try to "unbend" it, or is this the way it was made? Well, today I took the gun out (I got yet another screw) and fired it once. I took out the trigger group and removed the screw and checked it’no distortion or signs of stress’put it back in and shot again. I did that 4 times.

The first three times the screw still looked good with no distortion or anything. The fourth time, when I took the trigger group out, the head of the screw was missing. I found it in the receiver and it looked like a clean break. It wasn’t ragged or jagged, it almost looked like it was cut with a saw. I have a 1300 Winchester in 16 gauge, and it does not have the retaining screw in the bridge, and it doesn’t have a hole in it for a screw.

My customer doesn’t want to retire the gun, and he also doesn’t really want to shell out for a different bolt and slidearm bridge. Can you help me get this fixed and thereby get my customer to quit calling me names? I do appreciate any help you can give. Thank you in advance. Years ago, what you’re facing was a common problem, and a technician from a Winchester Authorized Service Center steered us to a solution.

What’s happening is the slidearm bridge is jumping up on the shoulder of the breech bolt which, in turn, pops the head off the screw. Correcting the problem calls for elongating the screw hole in the bridge with a rattail file, and using a mill file to break the leading edge of the bridge at 45 degrees. This creates a positive angle plus some drag on the bridge so it won’t jump up on the breech-bolt shoulder.

On the rare occasions a gun is returned to the service center after these steps have been taken, a carbide milling cutter is used to machine a slight undercut on the shoulder of the breech bolt, creating an angled ledge to hold the slidearm bridge in place. Fortunately, the Winchester Service Center who passed this on is still very active, so if you’re concerned about tackling the job yourself, contact Nu-Line Guns at Sig P229 Barrel Peening? I have a SIG P229 in .357 SIG caliber.

I bought this gun used, and believe I am the third owner. It was delivered as a police firearm, resold as a SIGcertified pistol, and then sold again tome. I’ve fired approximately 100 rounds through the pistol and have noted lines of new peening marks running right to left across the flat upper surface of the breach end of the Technical Assistance Hotline To access AGA’s Technical-Assistance Hotline, call between 1 and 3 p.m.

ET, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday onat all dan email to Chick Blood, Technical Editor, barrel. These are at a distance of 0.875 to 1.040 inches from the rear of the barrel. I’ve also noted a burr has formed on the inner surface of the slide where the front of the barrel-locking block mates to the slide. This burr can’t really be seen, but you can feel it with a fingernail.

To me, it appears that as the barrel is cammed down to unlock from the slide it possibly rebounded slightly from the stop and was peened by the burr on the slide. The ammunition being fired in the pistol when this occurred was my own reloads developed using data from the Speer #13 manual. (Speer cases, CCI500 primer, 10.1 grains Blue Dot, and the Speer #4360 bullet’a 125-grain gold dot hollowpoint designed for the .357 SIG.

Overall length was 1.135 inches, and the bullet was crimped in place with a Lee Factory Crimp die. The load chronographed at 1330 fps at 15 feet from the muzzle. Cookbook reload and velocity or not, I can only think this load is too hot and I will be backing off my maximum load by at least 10 percent.) My first question is this: Should I carefully stone or file off the slide burr or leave it alone?

I have purchased a SIG-made .40 S&W drop-in barrel and would like to avoid the peening that has occurred to the .357 SIG barrel. My second question: Is the peening damage I’ve observed consistent with overly hot ammunition being fired in the pistol, or is there something else going on here? Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. We don’t believe your reloads are too hot for the pistol, and we don’t believe that switching to the .40 S&W will resolve the peening problem. Peening

(continued from previous page) shouldn’t be happening with a P229. Since we can’t be certain why it’s occurring and can therefore offer no solution, send the pistol to SIG Arms (attn: Customer Service, Corporate Park, Exeter, NH 03833) with a copy of your letter to us. Despite the fact your pistol was purchased used, we’ve been told that the slide and barrel will be replaced at no cost. CZ Takedown Instructions Can you assist me in locating complete takedown instructions for a CZ 2075 RAMI?

I searched my back issues through 2001 and find no articles covering this firearm. We’ve never done an article specifically on the 2075. What we did were two articles on the CZ 75, of which the 2075 is a variant. They appear in the January and February 03 issues, and the takedown instructions will apply to your gun. Locked Up Stevens 311 I understand that there was an article on the Stevens 311 in the July 94 issue, which was a couple of months before I joined.

Would you please assist with a 16 gauge I ended up with which someone had cut off to 19 inches or so. Anyway, it will not cock, and even though I compared it with another with both buttstocks removed, I can’t see anything amiss. I’ve tried changing one forend with another, as there is an apparatus in it that assists with the cocking function. I can’t move the action pieces to push the hammers back farther or cock the hammers with a tool. Please explain what should be taking place and isn’t. Thank you.

Most likely, the same person who cutoff the barrels also took the gun apart at one time or another. In reassembly, a common mistake was made: The mainspring plunger was incorrectly reinstalled. When properly placed, the larger curve on the plunger should face downward with the smaller curve upward. Otherwise, the hammers will be blocked. A second and less common cause for your problem could be that the sears are not catching on the hammers because the sears are touching the trigger.

If there’s damage to internal components of the gun, we suggest you contact Steve Simon at The Small Arms Shop He’s a fine source for older Savage and Savage/Stevens parts. Hammer Spring Replacement I own a High Standard Model 107 Supermatic Trophy (government grip) made in 1968 that I use in bull’s-eye competition. It’s a great shooter. Last year, it developed a condition whereby it misfires with various brands of LR ammo. Obviously, this is unnerving in a match.

Each of the misfired rounds has a nice heavy firing-pin dent. Since it happens on various brands of target ammo, I assumed the hammer spring was becoming weak and so I purchased anew hammer spring from Brownells. However, I can’t figure out how to remove the existing spring and replace it with the new one. I’ve worked on numerous long guns and revolvers, new and old, and have always been able to solve a problem, but my experience with semiautomatic pistols is limited, and my gun library has no info on this either.

The gun is very clean. Can you provide any info on the procedure to remove and replace the hammer spring on this pistol’or any other ideas that might be causing the misfires? Because the firing-pin indents are universally solid, we’re not sure the hammer spring is the source of the problem. But since you’ve already purchased anew one, you’ll find complete takedown instructions for yours and many other High Standards in Gun Digests’ disassembly/reassembly book on pistols.

To order, call Krause Publications Eli Whitney Barrel? I have a customer looking for a replacement barrel for an 1861 Eli Whitney revolver. The length is 7-5/8 inches and it’s .36 caliber. He is looking for an original replacement. Any Ideas where to look? Thank you. Dave Yager Cochise Muzzleloaders A replacement barrel is one thing, but an "original replacement" is a tall order. Finding an original in better shape than the barrel your customer wants to replace won’t be easy.

To locate a replacement’original or otherwise’a good starting point suggested by our contacts in the antiquegun market is Old Town Station