Reader Forum

Balky Ithaca 12 Gauge I have an Ithaca Model 37-12 gauge. When you work the action holding the gun at port arms, the action locks to the rear and I have to use a mallet to loosen it. When the gun is pointed at the ground, the action works perfectly. Any suggestions as to what I should do to correct this? Generally, the problem you’re having with your shotgun can occur with any pump gun.

It’s frequently caused by excessive dirt or foreign matter in the slide apertures, by a jammed breechblock, and/or by a jammed slide. Inspect the latter two components for signs of wear or breakage, along with the action bar and its receiver way. The slide stop should also be inspected.

Check to determine if its spring has been bent or improperly installed. (See The NRA Guide to Assembly for Shoulder Arms.) The fact that jarring the gun with a mallet (hopefully rubber or rawhide) corrects the problem temporarily leads us to believe the hangup isn’t a major one. If new parts are needed, the company that acquired Ithaca is making the Model 37 and has parts available. American Arms Takedown I need takedown information for the American Arms Silver II 12 gauge over-and-under shotgun.

The cocking pieces don’t cock the hammers completely, and I can’t get the mainsprings off of the hammers. Please tell me how to disconnect the mainsprings from the hammers. Thanks. There are a couple of ways to go about this, depending on who made the gun. The first method applies when the mainspring guide rods have holes in their rears. In this case, retracting a directly related hammer slightly will expose the hole.

Placing a short length of small diameter pin (apiece of a paper clip will do) captures the spring in a mildly compressed state and relieves the rod pressure on the hammer somewhat. It is then possible to drift out the hammer-pivot pin for additional disassembly of the action. In some cases, you can grasp the front end of the rod with long-nose pliers, compress the spring further, remove the pin from the rod, and withdraw the spring/rod assembly from the side of the frame.

A second approach is taken when no hole is present in the rod. Here, smooth-jaw long-nose pliers are required to prevent galling of the rod. The front end of the guide rod is grasped with the pliers, and pushed rearward to compress the spring and relax tension. The hammer is then pushed forward to partially disengage it from the rod, and the rod/ spring assembly is withdrawn from the action. However, it’s possible that your problem could be rooted in more than the mainspring and lie elsewhere in the mechanism.

Inspect the cocking lever, cocking-lever rod, cocking-lever spring, both sears, and both sear springs. Three Questions Please give me any information you have on the following questions: The Winchester 1911 shotgun requires two fiber washers in the recoil system; where can I find them, or are there any substitutes for them? Where can I find parts for the Whitney 1886 and the Whitney- Kennedy .44-caliber lever-action rifles, or are there prints available that would allow me to machine these parts?

And finally, can you point me to a parts source for the Martini-Henry Cadet .310 caliber rifle? Thanks in advance for your time and effort. For Winchester 1911 parts, try Pennsylvania Gun Parts The Whitney and Whitney-Kennedy are rare birds and may be worth considerable money in the collector market. For general background on the rifles, contact the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (bbhc.org/firearms/ collections.cfm). They may also be able to lead you to working drawings or patent numbers.

Using patent numbers, you can secure copies from the U. S. Patent Office. Patents often contain extensive drawings of the object being patented. If you have some original parts to serve as a scale, you can have the patent drawings enlarged to equal that scale, thereby creating a rough but serviceable guide for making the parts you require. On the other hand, there may be some antique Winchester parts that will interchange with the Whitney parts.

To determine this, call Dixie Gun Works and ask to speak with Jamey Andrews. We can offer no better or more reliable parts-source reference for the Martini-Henry than the American Single Shot Rifle Association (email: or Journal Editor@ ASSRA.com). They can refer you to one of their member-providers. Misfeeding Rossi I have in my shop a Rossi .22 pump rifle that has "Short, Long, LR" stamped on the barrel. I have only tried Long Rifle. It will function if only one shell is put in the magazine.

If more than one shell is in the magazine, it won’t lift the shell to put it in the chamber. This Rossi is just like my Taurus Model 62. Charles Griffin Quanah, Texas After receiving your question, we asked whether or not around was fed back from the magazine when it contained more the one round. You replied it fed back but not up. That tells us that something is out of whack or worn in the feeder mechanism. We recommend you replace the feeder, its lever, lever pin, spring, and spring screw.

In other words, the whole works. You must order replacements by serial number. Around the time Tau-

rus and Rossi (which is now under the wing of Braz Tech) became closely related, there were some dimensional and material-quality changes made in the small-bore trombone rifles. If Taurus made your rifle, they can supply the parts. If Braz- Tech was the prime builder, they’re your source for parts. Stevens Trigger Adjustment Regarding your article in the July 06 issue of American Gunsmith, it would appear that the lawyers at Savage/ Stevens have been busy.

There is no trigger-engagement screw in the nose of the trigger. There is not even a hole where you might install one. In addition, the safety screw and trigger-travel screw have some kind of sealer applied to them. My rifle came out of the box with a gritty, creepy trigger pull at 6 pounds. By using Microlon Gun Juice and adjusting the trigger spring, I was able to realize a pull that varies between 4- 1/4 and 4-1/2 pounds. I can go a bit lighter but, I have occasional pulls at 3 3/4 pounds.

The pull is still gritty and creepy but is much better. I am going to adhere to your reminder and keep the pull at 4 pounds and above since this is a hunting rifle. With continued use, the engagement surfaces may smooth themselves out, eliminating the gritty feel. An obvious simple solution to the creep problem would be the installation of a thin steel shim on top of the trigger nose to limit sear engagement.

Since this is a brand new rifle, still under warranty, I think I’ll leave it alone for this year and go try to put some venison on the table. On another topic regarding this rifle, those wishing to convert this piece to an inexpensive Scout Rifle will find that the B-Square (#15580) Remington 700 Scout Base is a very nice fit. All you need to do is drill and tap two holes in the barrel for the forward mounting screws. This mount is available from Brownells.

Again, this will be left until next year when the warranty expires. Should this letter make its way into your publication, I strongly discourage anyone who does not have the proper experience and equipment from trying to drill and tap a rifle barrel. There’s no better way to spoil your day than drilling through the sidewall of a barrel and into the bore! We find the absence of a trigger-engagement screw on your rifle more than mystifying. There was one on the rifle we received for the article.

Perhaps a call to Savage regarding the missing part is in order. The sealer on the trigger mechanism you mention is not exclusive to Savage; we’ve mentioned the presence of such substances on many previous occasions. Nearly all manufacturers use a similar material so factory service people can easily see if the firing mechanism has been tampered with when a gun is returned for service. Note that anything you do to resolve the creep problem should not result in a trigger/sear clearance of less than .015 inch.

Steyr Hahn 1911 Barrels I’ve been looking for a barrel (or two) for the Steyr Hahn 1911 pistol. I’ve tried several sources (Gun Parts and some others online) to no avail. I can use any caliber. Thank you. The pistol was introduced for commercial use and soon snapped up by the Austro-Hungarian, Chilean, and Rumanian military. Some were overhauled by the Germans in WWII to fire 9mm Parabellum as opposed to the original 9mm, so choosing "any caliber" may be neither suitable nor safe.

We contacted Steyr Arms in Cum- 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 mins, Georgia, for parts sources. They could suggest none beyond the usual but did mention a web site (www. Mannlicher-Steyr.com). Looking further, we found a fax number for a contributing editor to The Standard Catalog of Military Firearms who specializes in Steyr-Mannlicher pistols. Perhaps he can be of more help to you.

Rust Removal Techniques I read Greg Wood’s letter in the August 06 issue on repairing water-damaged guns. It seems he is interested in preservation as much as restoration. Here are some techniques I picked up over the course of 30 years collecting and restoring edged weapons: First, it must be understood that iron oxide comes in two basic forms, black and red. Black oxide is called "bluing"; red is called "rust," and there is always black oxide under the rust.

Penetrating oil is the best way to break frozen parts loose, but then how do you remove the rust without removing any of the original finish that’s still present (likely more than you think)? The oldest method is to make tools from deer antler. The tines can be sharpened to threeor four-sided points, and the main shaft cut into sections. The cut ends are shaped on a bench grinder and used as scrapers to work flat or curved surfaces.

These tools work because antler happens to be harder than rust but softer than bluing. By the way, elk and moose antler work just as well. A modern product that also works is the type of scouring pad made for stainless-steel sinks and cookware. (They look like coiled drill chips.) You need to degrease the parts before trying either of these methods. Another rust-loosening technique that helps when working with smalld an email to Chick Blood, Technical Editor, at

(continued from previous page) er parts is to degrease and boil them in water. Then take them out of the boiling water and place them into a shallow container with just enough water to cover the parts and put them in the freezer overnight. The next day, thaw the parts with hot tap water and, while they’re still warm, dry them and continue with the above methods.

For areas where the rust has piled up making lumps, tapping with a small hammer (4 ounce) using very short strokes on the order of 1/4 to 1/ 2 inch will crush the rust and make it fall away without making dents. CZ 52 Takedown and Cleaning I just bought a BRNO CZ 52 7.62 mm Tokarev pistol, and I don’t have a clue how to take down the pistol for cleaning. I especially need to get the barrel out of it, since I intend to shoot a lot of corrosive ammunition through it.

Can you help me out regarding field-stripping of this pistol? Also, I have another question about shooting "corrosive" ammo. Cana clean, non-corrosive cartridge or two be fired behind (or last) after a corrosive-ammo shooting session to clean out the salts and whatever is left behind by the corrosive ammo? Is this a good practice in addition to regular cleaning? How do you clean a barrel that has been used with corrosive ammo? I’ve heard of the hot-water trick, but is there a solvent that does the job?

It seems to me I heard somewhere long ago that "Shooter’s Choice" would do it. Is this true? I’d greatly appreciate your response to the above questions. James A. Johnson Brookfield, Missouri Complete instructions for disassembly, assembly, and servicing the CZ 52 appeared in the May 04 issue. If you don’t have it, reprints are available by calling In answer to your next question: No, a noncorrosive round will have little or no effect on the deposits left behind by corrosive ammo.

The hot-water trick you refer to isn’t really atrick. Salts are formed by corrosive ammunition. Oils don’t dissolve salts, but hot water and detergent does so quite well. After the barrel has been dried out from the soap and water, any good lubricant’ Shooter’s Choice among them’will serve to protect the barrel until the next batch of corrosive ammunition is run through it. The pistol should always be field stripped and cleaned within hours of shooting any corrosive ammo.

Changing Right-Hand Bolt To Left-Handed Operation I’ve read about changing right-hand bolt-action rifles to left handed (before lefty actions were made commercially). I think they still eject to the right. I know it wouldn’t be cost efficient, but I thought it might be fun to try to make this change just for my own amusement and education. Could you tell me how this is done or where I can find information on this kind of conversion? I have a large-ring Mauser kicking around I thought I’d try it on.

Thank you for any help you can give me. Jay Mc Phetres Sharon, Vermont You are correct, it would not be cost effective. Extensive receiver and bolt modifications are required. Beyond that, ATF would consider you a manufacturer, and unless you hold a manufacturer’s FFL, you could be in a world of trouble if the converted rifle was ever sold.

Nevertheless, to satisfy your curiosity, we suggest you contact the American Custom Gunmakers Guild for the name of a member metalsmith who’d be willing to walk you through the necessary steps. Star PD Takedown I have a Star PD pistol in the shop and am at a loss as to how to remove the rear sight. The pistol was dropped and hit the rear sight blade, causing it to misalign. I don’t want to tear into it with a big hammer. Also, if there is a guide or manual that will help me with this gun, where can I get one?

Thanks. A schematic for the pistol appears in Gun Digest’ s book of exploded handgun drawings. With a drawing in hand, you can see the rear sight is not dovetailed in, but is a blade secured by several adjustment screws. Backing out those screws will free the blade. Hopefully, this is all that has been bent and repairs can be made by replacing the blade. If you don’t already have it in your library, purchase a copy of Gun Digest’s book of disassembly/reassembly instructions for pistols.

The Star looks a lot like an M1911 and is a wellbuilt gun, but is quite different from "Old Slabsides" internally.