Reader Forum

Replacing a Slide Handle I have received an old Winchester Model 1906 from a friend that is in poor shape. He needs it cleaned up and checked out. I’ve done all of that and the rifle functions fine, but he also wants the slide handle replaced, and I’m not sure how to remove the magazine tube without damaging it. Do you have any suggestions on how to do this easily? The Winchester 1906 was an economy version of the Model 1890 and the forefather of the Model 62.

You don’t have to remove the outer magazine tube to replace the slide handle. The latter is attached to the action slide by two screws and two escutcheons. Backing out all four will permit the slide and its handle to be removed from the rifle. The outer tube will remain affixed by its seat in the receiver and its two support rings, which are dovetailed into the barrel. Miroku Shotgun Questions I recently acquired a Charles Daly/ Miroku semi-auto 12 gauge, and two things have me puzzled.

Number one: In the middle of an exciting course of trap the other day, the charging handle fell out. In breaking the gun down, it appears this is held in place only by a spring detent in the bolt and a dimple in the handle. I cleaned up the detent with some light stoning and reinserted it, and the gun seems to fire and function with no problems. Of course, it still has me worried. Is the handle held in place by spring pressure alone?

If so, do you think it prudent to cut a bit deeper detent and install a stronger spring? I know that Daly no longer imports these guns. Is there another source or importer of this shotgun? The next head scratcher is the lack of (or my inability to find) any recoil buffer. I really hope the previous owner did not do away with it. Numrich lists one (out of stock), so where would said buffer be located’in the forearm area or in the mainspring housing back into the buttstock?

If one is not available off the shelf, could another auto’s buffer be modified to work? And if so, any ideas on how to make such modifications? I’ve been very impressed with the gun thus far, and would really like to keep it healthy. Also, do you have any idea where I could get a schematic for this firearm? Thank you for your time. The Miroku/Daly connection ended in 1976, as we reported in our article on the Daly VR-MC autoloader in the November 02 issue.

The schematic in the article shows a bolt buffer at the rear of the receiver. It’s epoxied in place. We can’t say for sure whether this would fit your shotgun. The bolt handle on the VR-MC is retained by seating in two holes within the bolt. No springs. No detents. Admittedly, we did not conduct an in-depth search of the internet for a schematic of your particular shotgun, but oftentimes that produces results.

Regarding the recoil buffer, we suggest you email a gunsmith we know who is thoroughly familiar with the old Miroku-model Daly. He might have a schematic, and he could have that recoil buffer in his stash of spare parts. Walnut Stain Feedback While I always enjoy reading American Gunsmith, I hope you will forgive me for saying that the technical articles are occasionally just a teeny bit dry.

What a pleasure it was to read Paul Mazan’s December 06 article "Stalking the Wild-Walnut Stain and Stock Filler." I laughed out loud until my wife asked to read the article. I also learned some useful information. This article brought back memo- 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 ries of my African experience in the Peace Corps bottling palm wine on the Ivory Coast. KABOOOM! Thanks so much. We won’t apologize for our "dry" reporting; gunsmithing is a highly technical topic. But we agree with you that Paul Mazan’s "dry" sense of humor was an unusual and welcome bright spot in these pages.

We hope Paul will become a regular contributor, and we hope we’ll see more of his humor woven into future articles. Remington 3200 Action I have a Remington Model 3200 which has a broken yoke (part no. 90309). I would like to know, when putting it together, does the yoke go into the grooves on the firing pins or does it go in front of the pins' grooves toward the back of the receiver? Or does it go in toward the shell side of the grooves? The yoke was broken, so I don’t know the proper location.

Also, how do the ejector trip rods work (left and right) when you open and close the gun? And where can I get a disassembly/reassembly manual for this gun? Thanks for any info that you can give me. The grooves on the firing pins are engaged by the yoke. Stated another way, the yoke fits in the grooves of the firing pins, not in front of or behind them.

As for the trip rods, during cocking (opening) the action, a cam lug on the bottom of the firing hammers moves the trip rods forward, placing their front sections under the ejector hammer sears. After firing,

(continued from previous page) reloading, and during closing of the action, disengagement between the ejector hammer sears and trip rods occurs, allowing the sears to rotate under spring load and readying the sears to reengage the ejector hammers. Simultaneously with that reengagement, the trip rods contact cams on the right and left rear of the foreend iron to position the turned ends of the rods under the lower projections on the firing hammers.

We ran an article on troubleshooting the 3200 in the August 96 issue. The article did not include takedown instructions, since they appear in the NRA Guide to Firearms Assembly. Marlin 1894 Conversion? I had a customer bring in an 1894 Marlin, factory chambered in .45 Colt. He wants it rechambered to .454 Casull. It appears this modification is possible, but I have serious reservations about doing it’t he .454 being a higher-pressure cartridge than even a hot .45 Colt. Is it feasible and safe to do this conversion?

And could you tell me where I can obtain SAMMI info. Thank you. Your reservations are well founded. First, we suspect there will be problems with the feed mechanism. Overall case length of the Colt is 1.285 inch, and 1.385 for the Casull, and we didn’t check the case diameters, which could compound the problems. We’d also be concerned about chamber pressure. The Marlin receiver is strong, but it was never originally intended to withstand the continuous pounding it would take from the Casull.

Unless SAMMI assures you otherwise, we’d pass on the project. Remington M3200 Adjustment Can you give me any information on adjusting the travel of the hood that locks over the chamber end of the Remington Model 3200 barrel when it is closed? The hood seems to stick out over the barrel too far, making it hard to break the action open. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Be mindful that the 3200 should open with some drag.

When in full production, these shotguns' top locks were fussy to fit and were fitted individually. Remington no longer services the 3200, one reason being that adjustments to the opening and closing of the firearm can shorten the life of the action. Worth noting in your case is the position of the top-lock lever when the gun is closed. It should be centered or slightly to the right. If not, it’s an indication the top-lock screw is broken and the mechanism is allowing the top lock to ride forward excessively.

Replacing the screw requires complete takedown of the receiver. Instructions for doing so appear in the NRA Guide to Firearms Assembly for Shoulder Arms. If the screw is not the source of the problem, we recommend against attempting other repairs or adjustments. Instead, we suggest you contact Pat Laib a gunsmith who specializes in the 3200.

Same Problem, Different Cause Regarding the "Shaky Tauruses" that Ian Dalgliesh asked about in the July 06 issue: I have experienced similar symptoms to what was described in a personal firearm purchased used at a gun show. The firearm would lock up and become very difficult to open, sometimes after a few rounds and sometimes after a fairly good number. It would seem that a previous owner, unaware of the left-hand threads in the extractor star, stripped those threads thinking he was loosening the ejector rod.

This allowed the rod to back out, blowing any hope of controlling the cylinder/forcing-cone gap or much of anything else, like timing. Once I had determined the real nature of the problem, I contacted Taurus about a replacement extractor. I was informed it was a factoryfitted part, and that the gun had to be returned to Taurus, which I did. In spite of the fact that the cylinder face had been cut to allow the use of moon clips, they beautifully fit anew extractor star matching the rest of the cylinder face.

I was concerned when I sent it in that they would send it back with a note saying it had been altered and that they couldn’t or wouldn’t do anything for me. I got my gun back in short order, and haven’t had a lick of trouble with it since. I hope my experience can alert others to a possible problem that some revolvers can experience. Thanks, K-Mac, for sharing your experienceboth with the revolver and with Taurus' factory service.