Reader Forum

Working the Winchester M100 I have a question about the Winchester Model 100. I’m having difficulty removing the barreled action from the stock. Also, do you have any advice on tuning the trigger assembly? Lucien Langlois New Vineyard, Maine For removal of the action, take the magazine out, and loosen the forearm and guard screws. Pull the cocking lever fully to the rear, and hold it there. Grasp the forearm, push the barrel up to pivot the receiver against the recoil block, and lift the action out of the stock.

There are no "kits" these days for the Model 100’s trigger. We recommend you purchase a copy of Firearms Assembly from the NRA. An M100 schematic is in the book. The detail on the guard-housing assembly shows several polishing possibilities, and you’ll also want to contact Wolff Co. about lighter springs to replace the originals. S&W Top-Break Query A friend has asked me to look over an inherited revolver, which I have tentatively identified as an S&W topbreak Double Action Second Model in .38 S&W.

I say "double-action" because it functions as a double action; however, it also has a spur trigger and the intro paragraph to the S&W top-break section in the Blue Book of Gun Values says these guns "include single actions (spur trigger or triggerguard), double actions, and safety hammerless designs." Additionally, the hammer will not lock to the rear preparatory to firing singleaction, as the spur on the trigger appears to bottom out on the trigger guard, thus preventing the hammer from being pulled any further to the rear.

Is this revolver malfunctioning, or is it double-action only? Secondly, do you know or know where I can find the specifications for barrel/cylinder gap and headspace for this pistol? Being a break top, I doubt the specs are the same as for a modern swing-out-cylinder Smith & Wesson. Finally, do you have any tips on disassembling this gun? It has a single small sideplate on the left side, but no amount of tapping or prying seems to loosen it. Thank you.

Ed Holler The initial offering in S&W .38 double-action revolvers was the First Model introduced in 1880. (Previous S&W revolvers in that caliber were all single-action.) The Second Model DA was made from 1880 to 1884. It did have a single sideplate. Serial numbers of the Second Model are estimated to start close to #4,000. Our two primary reference books on S&W handguns show no Second Model with a spur trigger/trigger guard combination.

We are convinced you have a Sheath Trigger, which has an integral "spur" at its upper rear, as opposed to a true, spur trigger. Your handgun is supposed to function in SA and DA. If it fails to cock for SA, the rear sear or hammer (or both) is broken or damaged. Maximum barrel/cylinder gap is the same for the Second Model as for a modern S&W revolver—.008 inch. Headspace is also the same with a maximum of .006 inch. Beyond those maximums with your revolver is an indication of a stretched frame.

And a stretched frame in your case could mean the gun’s been fed improperly. (These old S&W revolvers were blackpowder handguns.) Furthermore, the .38 S&W had a shorter, fatter case and the bullet is a larger diameter than today’s .38 Special. (We think blackpowder ammo in the .38 S&W caliber is available from Goex or Tennex.) You frighten us when you talk about "prying" to remove a S&W sideplate. This can bend a sideplate into uselessness.

Rapping on the grip frame opposite the sideplate has never failed us, even when the plate was somewhat corroded to the frame. Dakota Revolver Info I would like to know about the Dakota .357 single-action revolver (Western style). The marking on the gun reads: "Intercontinental Arms Inc., Dakota .357 Mag., Hammer Switzerland, Salford Imports, Culver City, California." Is this gun still in production or has it been discontinued? Can parts be obtained, and who can I contact about this gun? Thank you.

Jerry Spadorcio Intercontinental was a previous importer back in the 1970s. Their singleaction revolvers were manufactured, surprisingly, by Hammerli, a trademark purchased by Walther in 2006. Current distributors of Hammerli handguns are listed in The Blue Book of Gun Values. They include Larry’s Guns of Portland, Maine; Brensovich Firearms of Fort Hancock, Texas; and Champions Choice of La Vergne, Tennessee. You can get their phone numbers on the internet or from longdistance information.

Winchester 370 Woes Every time I fire a heavy load (#4 turkey) my Winchester 370 12-gauge actually opens up and ejects the shell, and once it caused the forearm to fall off. Is the locking-bolt assembly the problem? Thank you. J. R. Weaver Fair Grove, Missouri Your shotgun was manufactured for Winchester in Ontario, Canada, as a single-shot break-open in several calibers. It was a replacement for the Winchester Model 37 and was itself replaced in 1973 by the Model 37A, also a break-open single-shot.

As such, it has no locking bolt similar to that of a pump action. What it has is a barrel lug that engages what is called a "locking bolt" in your gun. Lack of integrity in this engagement is the root of your problem. The barrel lug/bolt must be refitted, possibly including a build-up with the original lug angle modified. We have no specifications on the refitting. It depends on the condition of the shotgun, and the Model 370 hasn’t been in production for at least 25 years. The forearm coming off at dis-

charge is probably due to wear. At one time, the mechanism holding it to the gun relied on plastic, and plastics back then weren’t like the plastics of today. Nu Line Guns can do the refitting, and they have metal forearm-locking components to replace the plastic ones. Ask for Jerry Stevens at extension #5. Compensators for the M1911 I’m looking for some information about 1911 compensators and their installation. Could you direct me to a resource? Thanks.

Ben Boyette There’s quite a variety to choose from, so you can do it the easy way or the hard way or a lot of ways in between. The easiest solution is a drop-in combination barrel with comp attached. The next easiest would be another drop-in where the barrel is ported and requires no additional comp. Another approach involves a barrel with the outside of its muzzle end threaded to .685-40 tpi (or to whatever inside threads used in the screw-on comp you choose). There are also several bushing/comp combinations.

These, as well as all other options mentioned may require some amount of fitting to the pistol. A primary source for further information on the amount of fitting required would be the manufacturer of the components purchased, be it Wilson Combat, Clark Custom, Cylinder & Slide, or EFK. And there’s no better book for reading up on how M1911 parts should be fitted than Jerry Kuhnhausen’s Shop Manual on the pistol. The book and all the "comping" options mentioned here are available from Brownells.

But do remember this: Comps and ported barrels don’t significantly reduce actual recoil. (One 230-grain hardball round is going to generate as much "kick" as any other .230-grain hardball round.) But by diverting propellant gas, comps do a great job of taming muzzle jump. Misfeeding Stevens 67E I have a Stevens Model 67E chambered in .410. When I received this gun, it was missing the ejector and all parts of the magazine except the tube and the magazine-tube adapter in the receiver.

I have replaced all the missing parts and the gun seems to dry cycle correctly. My problem arises when I load the magazine tube and try to cycle rounds through it. When I retract the slide, the first round will feed onto the carrier. Once the slide starts back forward, the carrier will lift the round and it chambers.

However, when the second round feeds up to the cartridge stop—a protrusion on the bottom of the bolt slide—there is so much room around the cartridge leaving the magazine it’s allowed to fall down and slide under the cartridge stop. It then travels all the way back to the trigger group and the round behind it enters the receiver and bypasses the cartridge stop, too. Obviously this jams the gun.

I’ve tried to work the slide without the trigger group to see what might be happening, and when the rounds start out of the magazine, all will shoot out like a spring-loaded snake from a peanut can. My question is: What’s supposed to keep the round from dropping below the cartridge stop? I’ve worked the action for hours trying to figure out if the cartridge cutoff should be adjusted higher to support the feeding round.

But in so doing, it gets the timing off, and the cartridge cutoff jams against the round trying to feed from the magazine when the slide is retracted, again preventing the gun from cycling. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer. Wes Vining If you ever call Savage regarding parts or service for this or any of their other old timers, they’d refer you to the Small Arms Shop in Inverness, Florida The fellow who runs the place is Steve Simon.

He can tell you what’s acting up with the shotgun, and he’ll be able to sell you the parts you need to fix it. He takes phone calls from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays only. Universal Arms Over/Under? I have a Universal Arms over/under shotgun (12 gauge) with two triggers. I can close the shotgun and both barrels go off sometimes, and then sometimes the back trigger will fire and sometimes it won’t. I can’t find a schematic on this. Any ideas? It is a Model 2036, and has "666" on the trigger guard. Thank you. J. R.

Weaver Universal was acquired by Iver Johnson in 1983 and liquidated by I. J. in 1987. Neither The Blue Book of Gun Values nor The Standard Catalog of Firearms mentions a Universal Model 2036 or any shotgun with double-set triggers. Universal was best known for a low-cost knock-off of the M1 Carbine, and Iver Johnson shut its doors for good in 1993. It does sound like your shotgun is suffering from multiple problems.

Among the possibilities are worn sears, worn out inertia block, possibly wornout triggers and hammers, and you might have a headspace problem to boot. You might find an Iver Johnson Collectors Association on the internet or listed in the back pages of Gun Digest. If we had your particular set of dilemmas, we’d start with that association. S&W/DCU I have a five-shot S&W Airweight .38 Special. When I fire it, all five rounds will fire, but on one round the cylinder will not rotate to the next round.

It’s not the same round all the time. I’m shooting factory loads. When I put snap caps in, it rotates fine. When I shoot blanks, the cylinder rotates fine. When I shoot factory loads or reloads, on one round, the cylinder will not rotate. When I pull the trigger the round fires, and then when I let upon the trigger and pull it again, the

(continued from previous page) hammer falls on the spent round. I think the recoil is making something stick inside, but I have no way to find out what. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say. Thanks. Mr.

Kelley Unless the problem is being caused by excessive cylinder endshake, high primers on some of your reloads, overly thick case rims on some factory ammo, or your cylinder stop gets stuck (all of which can jam rotation), you appear to be experiencing DCU, which stands for "doesn’t come up." Sometimes this only occurs on one chamber, while other times it happens with more than one. This is usually an indication of a hand/cylinder ratchet-engagement problem.

Fitting anew hand can resolve this as long as all chambers are in alignment with the barrel. (Check for true line-up with a range rod.) Severe misengagement between the hand and ratchet(s) can also require recutting the ratchet— which is akin to brain surgery for those who’ve not done it many times. When serious damage is present on the ratchets, the gun has to be returned to S&W, since they won’t sell you anew cylinder.

Remington Model 341P Feeding Problem I have a Remington Model 341P with a cartridge feeding problem. When the rifle is empty, the cartridge carrier moves up and down with minimal resistance to the bolt closing. When cartridges are feeding, the carrier wants to stay in the up position and it takes either a slight pressure from the thumb pushing the carrier down or significant pressure from the bolt to force the carrier down to allow the bolt to close.

When I compare this rifle (it has been well cared for but has fired a lot of rounds as a target rifle) to another one of the same model that has had a lot less use, I notice that one of the two small horizontal metal pieces inside the bottom of the carrier (the one with the largest cross-section) does not lay horizontal, but has its rear end up slightly—about 3/16 inch from horizontal. Any leads to articles about this rifle or suggestions you may have will be very welcome.

Dennis Sandoz The Remington 341P went out of production in 1940. There’s no schematic on it, but some very old and fragile pages from our field-service manual or post a letter to American Gunsmith Reader Forum, #322, San Antonio, TX 78240. attribute feeding problems to a binding translator, an out-of-adjustment carrier, a binding magazine follower, or a cartridge guide in need of smoothing up. Only one outfit we know of has been around long enough to have useful knowledge of and, hopefully, parts for the 341P.

That’s Nu Line Guns a former Remington authorized service center in Rhineland, Missouri. Misfiring Dragunov I do a little amateur gunsmithing for friends and coworkers. Recently, a friend brought me a Dragunov rifle that was hit or miss as far as firing the round in the chamber. After basic field stripping, I determined that the Dragunov’s hammer wasn’t locking down far enough to ensure a good hit on the primer.

I haven’t torn the rifle down further to determine the exact problem, but I think the problem must be with either the hammer or the trigger. I’ve been unable to find a parts source. Could you direct me to one? I have an AGI video on the AKS/Mak90 and the "innards" on both look similar. Would a trigger or hammer from an AK work with the Dragunov? Thanks for a great magazine. Ves Marion Sulphur Springs, Texas You might also consider a weak firing-pin spring, broken firing pin, weak hammer spring and/or mainspring.

We don’t think an AK or Mak trigger would swap, but for a definitive answer on that subject and parts availability, call Century International Firearms and ask to speak with one of their technicians.