Reader Forum

A Rare Topper I’ve recently received an H&R Topper Model 158 in .22 Hornet with a broken firing pin. I replaced the firing pin and spring, and test fired the gun. The firing pin pierced the primer. After removing the firing pin, I examined the shell casing and found that the primer was backing out of the primer pocket. Also, on closer examination, I noticed that the hinge-pin recess is slightly worn. I drove out the hinge pin and turned it 90 degrees and reinstalled it.

After reassembly, the primers were not pierced, but had a large ridge around the firing-pin dimple that made break-open very difficult. The primer was still backed out of the pocket, flush with the top of the primer pocket. I also noticed that the firing-pin hole was slightly oversized. There was also a slightly brighter ring on the shell casing above the rim of the case. I would appreciate any recommendations on repairing this gun. I haven’t been able to find any information on the Topper rifle.

The only information I’ve been able to find is on the Topper shotgun. Thanks. You may have been handed a rare Topper. H&R won’t even confirm that the gun was ever produced in anything other than .22 rimfire and .32- 20 WCF, and the factory that made them no longer exists. (The company is now H&R 1871, LLC, and is part of Marlin Firearms.) It was with the cooperation from Marlin that we were able to prepare an article on anew NEF "Pardner," which appeared in the October 03 issue.

Reading it over will help measurably in the disassembly and reassembly of most H&R/NEF single-shots. The problems you’re facing extend beyond takedown, however. As far as we know, the new H&R will not service or provide parts for guns made by the previous company, and we believe the gun you’ve been asked to repair has a seriously worn chamber’hence, the expanded cases. It’s also possible the rifle has been fed a constant diet of hot reloads, since backed-out or flowing primers area sure sign of excessive pressure.

Frankly, we’re a little surprised hard extraction wasn’t among the complaints you received. Locating parts means getting into the aftermarket, but the archivist at the American Single Shot Rifle Association, Rudi Prusok might be able to point you in the right direction. You might also contact the H&R Collectors Association. You’ll find their address listed in the back pages of any current issue of Gun Digest.

Remington Model 742 Extractor Installation Could you give me some help with the installation of a Remington 742 extractor? Over the years, I’ve installed several hundred of these, and have often had them break when attempting to do the slight bending as you described in your article. Other articles I’ve read on this subject give the same directions, which are almost word for word what Remington gives as their directions on the proper assembly of this type of extractor.

I got so frustrated with the breakage problem one day that I called Remington to see if they had any recalls on the extractors due to their being too brittle to slightly bend as they say. I was told there was no problem that they knew of. Have you heard of any such problems, or am I the one that has the problem? If I’m the problem, please give me some detailed lessons. Remington was giving you the straight answer.

They have had no history of brittleness problems with these extractors, but they haven’t inventoried the rivet-type extractors for the Model 742 for over 20 years. If you’re getting your parts from aftermarket sources, then it’s very possible that the maker of the part is not heat-treating them properly. As far as additional instructions are concerned, try this: Hold the extractor by its tip, and cover the extractor hole with needle-nose pliers or press the hole against your bench for support.

Then carefully flex the extractor inward. And when blending the installed extractor into the bolt, use a stone rather than a power tool. Browning Sweet 16 Barrel I have a customer who is looking for a ventilated-rib barrel to replace the slug barrel on his Auto 5 Sweet 16. I’ve checked every web source I can think of with no results, and was wondering if you might be able to suggest a source. Jack First shows all types of Sweet 16 barrels in Volume II of their catalog.

You didn’t mention the dimensions of your customer’s gun, but the gun listed in the Jack First catalog has a 2-9/16-inch chamber. Yours is likely built for the standard 2-3/4-inch 16-gauge shell. Therefore, we suggest you run a check on the receiver to ensure compatibility before ordering anew tube. Browning BT-99 Rebuild I’ve searched my library and the web, but can’t find any info on rebuilding the BT-99. I have one that unlocks occasionally upon firing, and think I need to rebuild the locking setup.

I can get parts but I need some advice on reassembly. I have a schematic, but it’s sketchy and small. Your help would be appreciated. The usual reasons why the BT-99 shoots loose area worn locking bolt and/or barrel lug, a worn hinge pin or hinge-pin socket, or sometimes a loose forearm bracket. If the problem is with the forearm bracket, remove the forearm from the shotgun and the bracket from the forearm. Working on a solid anvil

with a staking tool the same width as the barrel slot in the bracket, place the tool at the rear of the bracket slot about 3/32 inch from its edge. Stake the rear of the bracket to move metal forward, thus reducing the width of the slot. An alternate method, applied in cases where too much metal would have to be displaced to tighten the barrel slot/bracket engagement, is to silversolder a shim inside the rear edge of the bracket slot, and then adjust the fit with a file.

Whether either of these approaches work can be determined by cocking the action, holding the gun horizontally and releasing the action to see if the barrel drops down on its own with slight resistance. If not, the barrel-lug notch is worn. When this wear is not excessive, an oversize locking bolt can be installed. These should be available from Browning and require fitting. There’s a step in the barrels’ locking bolt lug. It should be .010 inch high.

Otherwise, the new bolt may wedge itself into the bolt lug and the barrel will be very hard to open. The barrel lug/locking bolt surfaces must be adjusted to a line-to-line contact at an angle of approximately 6 degrees. Do this with 320-grit emery cloth backed by a flat file. Use this until the rear of the top lever is about 1/4 inch to the right of center when the gun is assembled and tightly closed.

The only substitute for installing an oversize locking bolt is the building up of a TIG weld across the barrellug locking surfaces and reforming the weld to the aforesaid specifications. If you don’t have TIG equipment and aren’t skilled in its use, the shotgun should be returned to Browning’s Arnold, Missouri, parts department for repairs. Beat Up Remington 742 BDL I don’t know if you can help me with this question, but here goes: I have a Remington Model 742 BDL in .30-06 that has an ejection problem.

It doesn’t eject consistently. It appears that the bolt-locking lugs have chewed up the shelf that they ride on (on the left side of the receiver) and may be binding. I’ve experimented with different bullets from 130 to 180 grains and loads from the Lyman manual from minimum to maximum, and nothing ejects consistently. I did a chamber cast and there is no deformation and there is nothing obstructing the gas port. What do you recommend as the best way to fix this problem?

I have capabilities to weld new material in with acetylene or TIG, but I’m a little hesitant to put that much heat into the receiver which could warp. Got any ideas or hints? Because there were numerous incidents involving worn or battered boltways in the receiver of the Model 742, Remington used to offer a factory repair that involved welding up the damage and remachining the receiver. They have discontinued the practice, but all is not lost.

Along-time factory authorized service center for Remington’Nu Line Guns provides this service. We suggest you turn the job over to them. Enfield P-14 Ignition Problem I have unreliable ignition with a P-14 converted to .300 Winchester Magnum. This happens with either new or reloaded ammo. The rifle has been converted to cock on opening and has a Timney trigger installed. I’ve checked the headspace and it is within spec.

I have .037 inch of firing-pin protrusion, and I think this is insufficient, but I don’t know the correct length. I’ve checked for clearance of the cocking piece and cocking notch and that seems okay. I have about 3/16 inch of protrusion of the cocking piece beyond the aft end of the bolt sleeve. 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, The customer supplied me with another firing pin, but the nose end is too large in O. D. to go through the firing-pin hole in the bolt. I suspect this pin is for a P-17, but I can’t confirm that. The sear-return spring is missing and has a steel filler plug in its place. Is this correct for the Timney trigger installation?

This arrangement allows no movement of the trigger during cocking as is required for this rifle in its normal configuration. I’ve polished the firing pin and seem to have sufficient force to ignite a primer. I think the firing-pin spring is okay, because it takes all I can muster to compress it to install the cocking piece. I think I need some kind of sear-return spring, but I’m not sure. Any thoughts from you will be appreciated. We’re not certain if this trigger has a sear-return spring.

We think you might be referring to the trigger-return spring, but you can check with Timney on that. As for your customer-supplied replacement striker, it should have an "X" on its shank if it’s a P-14 replacement. The P-17 striker has a larger diameter tip that will not fit through the hole in the boltface of a P-14. While you could turn down the P-17 striker to fit, you’d be better off with a true P-14 part, even if you had to peen the end slightly to increase primer contact.

The protrusion is commonly about .06 inches, which could solve your problem. Rebarreling the Smith & Wesson M41 I have an S&W Model 46 (it appears to be a presentation model), which I understand is a downgraded 41. After

(continued from previous page) seeing a couple of articles about using the Model 41 as afield gun, I purchased a 5.5 inch Model 41 barrel from Numrich, thinking it should be a drop-in since they use the same frame. It seems to fit, but something seems to be blocking the trigger guard from closing to lock it in place. Are there dimensional or significant design differences which preclude using the 41 barrel on the Model 46? Thank you for your assistance. Something is indeed blocking the trigger guard.

The guard won’t lock up into the slide of a Model 46. You’ll have to purchase a Model 41 slide to solve the problem. And, unfortunately, that goes way beyond "fitting." Zoli Shotgun Parts I have an Antonio Zoli & Co. 12-gauge over/under Silver Snipe. It was imported by Eagle Arms of New York. I’ve tried the usual sources for parts with no luck. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

There is a slight possibility that Beretta USA, also the maker of an over/ under shotgun known as the Silver Snipe, has parts, but you’ll have to check with Beretta to find out if their parts will interchange with those of the Zoli model. If you have no luck there, call Bob’s Gun Shop They may be able to help you. Super Blackhawk Accuracy I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum that shoots 3 inches to the left with the rear sight adjusted to the right as far as possible.

Can I turn the barrel in slightly to correct the sight adjustment or is it "glued" in place? No glue is used, but Ruger barrels are turned in very tightly at the factory. You didn’t mention the range at which the revolver is being fired. We’ll assume it’s 20 to 25 yards. You probably won’t be able to crank the barrel sufficiently to correct the point-of-impact problem without unscrewing it, removing a few thousandths of metal from its shoulder, and remounting the barrel to the frame.

To remove and replace the barrel, a solidly mounted barrel vise and a Redhawk frame wrench (probably augmented with a cheater bar on its handle) are absolute necessities. A lathe is the proper machine tool to employ for reworking the barrel, if necessary, and you’d best mark both barrel and frame before separating them so you have a starting point reference. (If you take off too much metal, your point of impact could end up 3 inches to the right.

Or if you takeoff metal unevenly, your frame-tobarrel interface will be cockeyed.) If you’re not equipped for this type of repair, we suggest returning the gun to Ruger. First, fire five rounds at 25 yards with factory ammo, holding dead center on the bull’s eye. Retrieve the target and send it to Ruger along with the gun and a note requesting a corrective repair. If the revolver is under warranty and hasn’t been damaged through misuse, the charge should be minimal’if there is any charge at all.

Winchester 12 Safety Switch Is it possible to reverse the safety on a Winchester Model 12 shotgun to make it left-handed? Thank you. It’s possible, but not without a modification. In the Model 12, the safety plunger and its spring are housed in a hole that’s covered by the safety button. A same-sized hole (depth and diameter) has to be located and drilled on the opposite side of the triggerguard.

If you’re equipped to modify the guard, you can switch the safety as follows: With the red band not showing, insert the proper-size drift punch in the hole located in the end of the button. Use the drift as a lever to rotate the button 90 degrees to the front of the guard. Remove the drift and apply your thumb to the button, pushing it until it extends far enough from the opposite side of the guard to be pulled free. Your thumb will be covering the plunger and spring at this point.

To reinstall, insert the spring and plunger into the new hole. (It should be smooth inside.) Depress the plunger and install the plain end of the button in the guard until the plunger "snaps" into the button’s detent grooves and the red end of the button is showing. Re-rotate the button with the drift punch. Work the button in and out a few times to be sure it moves freely and is appropriately engaged at the end of its travel by the plunger.