Reader Forum

Seeking Employment I recently reread your comments to Preston on "Learning Precision Machining" in the July 08 issue. I was interested in your comments about joining the American Pistolsmiths Guild and the American Custom Gunmakers Guild. I am a graduate of Trinidad State Junior College’s gunsmithing program, and many years prior to that I completed the North American Correspondence Schools "Gun Pro" program. I am currently working as a machinist and have been for the last few years.

I am finding it hard to find a gunsmithing shop that will hire a gunsmith without 3 to 5 years of prior experience. So until I do I will continue to work as a machinist and just be satisfied to tinker in gunsmithing. Back to the root of my question. Is there an advantage to being a member of either or both of these guilds, other than just the status of being able to say that you’re a member? Is there is an advantage to me in my position? How do I make contact with these guilds?

Any other suggestions you may have that might help me find a position in a gunsmithing shop would be appreciated. Thanks for your time and attention. Bob Obarska Yakima, Washington The requirement for full membership in either guild is the submission and acceptance of gun work you have personally performed. This work is judged by senior guild members acting as inspectors. With the Pistolsmiths Guild, handguns you have accurized are submitted.

With the Custom Gunmakers Guild, you submit a rifle or shotgun you have fundamentally built and finished from purchased components or components you have machined yourself. (Note: In the latter case, a Manufacturer’s FFL would be required to keep everything legal.) With either guild, if your work is judged worthy you are offered membership. There is considerable industrywide prestige and respect to be gained from such memberships.

Other advantages include free access to the knowledge and expertise of fellow members and, with the Gunmakers Guild, one of the most extensive reference/technical libraries in existence. Whether membership in either guild will help you find employment is a question we can’t answer. We can say: It wouldn’t hurt. Your graduation from Trinidad should be a great advantage in finding a gunsmithing position.

There was an article in the November 08 issue about the success of the annual Gunsmith Career Fair sponsored by Brownells. The 2009 event will be held April 17th and 18th in Altoona, Iowa. Attendance is limited to gunsmithing students, graduates of gunsmithing schools, and practicing gunsmiths. Firearm manufacturers and manufacturers of firearm-related products with employment opportunities will be in attendance. We strongly recommend you send an email to or call Jamie Reed at Brownells and sign up.

Be sure to mention you area Trinidad grad. For additional information on the guilds, write to Marc Morganti, Secretary, American Pistolsmiths Guild (c/ o Gemini Custom, LLC, Frankfort, KY 40601; americanpistol.com) and to Jan Billeb, Executive Director, American Custom Gunmakers Guild Cody, WY 82414). Reloading Troubles My reloads are showing pressure signs. This is a load I have used for some time and have never had trouble with it in this rifle. I have checked all the components and everything is correct.

What could be causing this? Willie Knox Baton Rouge, Louisiana It’s possible for a reloader to create a headspace problem with his reloading dies. Most reloaders assume that if they screw their full-length sizing die down against the shell holder, everything is correct. Not so. There has to be manufacturing tolerances on all things machined. As a result, when you screw the die down against the shell holder, you may be forcing the shoulder of the case back when you resize it.

On rimless cases, the case is headspaced on the shoulder. If the shoulder is forced back because of this condition, you have created headspace. To correct this problem, adjust the die as follows: Use lamp black or candle soot to blacken the neck and shoulder of a case fired in the rifle. Back the loading die off several turns and size the case. When the case is withdrawn from the die, you will be able to see where the black is wiped off the neck of the case.

Now adjust your die a little at a time until the die comes down just to the top of the shoulder. Then try the case in the chamber. If it chambers without resistance, your dies are now set up to produce zero-tolerance loads for that particular rifle. Taking Down the Ruger P95DC I have a Ruger P95DC in the shop that suffers intermittently from light primer strikes. Sometimes it will fire with a second trigger pull, other times not at all.

The primers are being very lightly indented, leading me to believe there is a problem with the firing pin/spring/firing-pin tunnel. This seems to be a pretty simple action, but this is my first time working on one. My problem is that I am unable to remove the right-side decock lever. I’ve removed the rear sight, firing-pin block, and the decock-lever return Vspring.

The left-side lever removes easily, but the right side actually contracts the firing pin and will not come out, and I cannot remove the firing pin until it does. Is there a detent of some type I can’t see holding the lever in or a special process required? Thanks. The P95DC has a polymer frame and does not take down as simply as some of the other P-Series Ruger pistols.

(continued from previous page) Removal of the rear sight and firingpin block are unnecessary. What should come off first is the extractor, which is retained by a spring-andplunger pin like those you’ve seen on watch bands. The right-hand safety comes off before the left-hand safety, and after the decock-lever spring is taken out. Removal of this spring is a problem even attendees of Ruger’s armorers school wrestle with. A crosspin retains the spring and it’s a bear to get out.

The pin must be depressed while a small screwdriver is maneuvered to grab and push it out. From your message, it sounds like you’ve already eliminated the lever spring. If so, congratulations on overcoming this troublesome process on your own. Now try the proper sequence for safety lever removal. If that fails, we think the pistol should be sent to the Ruger facility in Prescott, Arizona, for repair. Loose Winchester Model 12 I have a customer’s Winchester Model 12, a 12-gauge pump.

It’s old and has been used a lot for trap and skeet shooting. When I fire it, the bolt breaks open maybe a quarter to a half inch all on its own. All you have to do then is complete the travel to the rear with the forestock. It locks into battery well. I’ve never experienced this before, and want to repair it for an old friend if I can. The "lock plunger"/slide release does have a small indent and a small amount of peened/flared metal on the front tip of the part.

I am thinking this might be the worn part and the source of the problem. We hope the problem is something simple like not keeping a grip on the forend or pulling back on it after shooting. (With the Model 12, the forend moves forward under recoil.) To check for more complex causes, look into a poor mating between the front of the action-slide lock and the rear of the action-slide arm, and check for a loose spring on the action-slide lock. In rare cases, the mag-tube band, which is silver soldered on, comes loose.

For any Model 12 parts you may need to replace, contact Nu Line Guns Erma 22 Parts? I have two (not one but two) Erma 22s in the shop with the thumb safeties flopping back and forth; in other words, no spring and ball. These are later production, very pretty guns with wood grips. They look a lot like Lugers. And except for the pot-metal receiv- 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 ers, they look to be well made. I took one of them down using the NRA disassembly book, removed the bolt-lock pin, bolt, barrel, and separated the upper receiver from the lower receiver. This let me see the safety shaft secured in back by a menacing snap ring with a hole in each end (for a fixture?) that will come half-way off. But I got scared.

The snap ring is the trigger block, and I can see no really good way to reassemble it on the back of the safety shaft once it’s off. And this would have to hold anew spring and ball in the safety lever in place also. Can you give me some advice? Thank you’I have two of them to do. This is a sticky wicket you’re trying to get through. Our search of the internet found no parts available for this pistol, but provided plenty of evidence that the Erma .22 is prone to breakage.

Before you give up, check with Bob’s Gun Shop for parts. The next bit of bad news is that the gun does not disassemble and reassemble like the 9mm Parabellum Luger’even if it looks similar. The technically correct name is the KP-69 (aka Beeman P-08), and it’s been out of production since 1986. The pot metal you refer to is probably a zinc alloy. The last known importers were Beeman Precision (in Santa Rosa, California) and Mandells Shooting Supplies (in Scottsdale, Arizona).

Neither of these companies are listed in the most recent Shooting Industry Guide. It’s possible (but unlikely) that parts from the Stoeger Luger .22a far better pistol’would work in the Erma. The current owner of Stoeger is Benelli USA. If you run out of options, they might be able to help you.