Reader Forum

Spring ield XD I would like to know how to remove the front and rear sights from the XD 9mm pistol. Can they be drifted out with a brass punch and a hammer? The front sight of the XD has no tenon. It is dovetailed into the slide from right to left and removed from left to right. The rear sight is also dovetailed, installed right to left and removed left to right. A brass or nylon drift should be used.

Rossi Single Shot I am writing requesting information on reassembling a Rossi Single Shot Youth Matched Pair Combo, .410/.22 LR. The firing pin was broken and it was brought to me in pieces. I have a new firing pin from Braztech but they wouldn’t give any information on how to install it. I have figured out where all the pieces go but would like to know the order of replacement. A good exploded parts drawing would help. The best place to secure a schematic is from Braztec.

Be sure you can give them the model number.. P.38 A co-worker brought me a P.38 he received from his father and asked if I can tell if it is safe to shoot because of tales that these guns have been sabotaged at the factory. On the left side the slide is stamped "P.38" then "byf 44", then "2191 a." On the right side of the slide is stamped three horizontal lines (each lower line is shorter that the one above) with "Wa A138" under the lines.

Next to that is stamped a German eagle holding around with a swastika in it and two stamped horizontal lines, again with each lower line is shorter that the one above, with "Wa A135" underneath. I assume the 2191 on the left side of the slide is a serial number? My research tells me that the "byf" indicates that it was built at a Mauser factory and I’m guessing that the "44" might indicate the date of manufacture. Can you help me with any further research with this gun?

Is there any way of telling whether this gun was one of those that were possibly sabotaged during manufacture? The gun appears to have been fired. Finally, if it is indeed sound, is there a danger with shooting modern ammo as compared to that produce back in the 1940’s? Jerry If the pistol was manufactured or assembled in a Nazi-occupied country, sabotage is a definite possibility. Your best source for determining where the gun was made is the NRA Museum, Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030.

Send them photos showing both sides of the pistol and include all the markings along with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. Mosin Nagant, Dragunov Stuart Reed Flaxville, MT Some time ago you fielded a couple of questions about difficult extraction of spent cases from a Turkish Mauser and a Mosin Nagant. The Turkish Mauser could have a rough chamber, rough bolt face or excess headspace. The Mosin Nagant is probably suffering from burrs in the mouth of the chamber and roughness.

In my experience the Soviets had a hard time getting the chambers uniform during the war. What I usually do is run a chamber reamer into the chamber until it slightly marks the rim seat and then polish the chamber with a strip of one-inch wide emery cloth in a split rod run by a power drill. The Dragunov problem in the January issue may be solved by replacing the hammer, trigger and disconnector with Tapco parts for the AK. The problem may be too tight headspace.

It may also be debris in the firing pin channel caused by an oversize firing pin hole. This hole should not be larger than 0.095-inch. On aside note, I am no longer be working for Century Arms as of January 1, 2010. I have enough business to go full time in my shop. Keith You have been an invaluable source of information and assistance in the past on foreign and domestic guns, both handguns and rifles, and military and former military stuff in particular.

Hope this brings a whole bunch of new business your way from our readers so we’re publishing your email address. Bob Erma .22 Auto I was sure I had seen something in American Gunsmith, but my extensive index turned up nothing. What do you have on disassembly and cycling/reliability for the Erma .22? "Charlie" Nothing to date in the publication with the possible exception of another reader who handed this Luger look-alike.

Place the emphasis on the "look-alike." Except for the toggle, any similarity between this Erma .22 and the long-time German sidearm is missing. Try two other sources: Bob’s Gun Shop and "Erma Pistols" on the Internet. Bent Gun A friend has a Winchester Model 70 that is about ten years old. It is chambered in .270 Winchester with a tapered barrel, no front sight and a plastic stock. During the hunting season the gun was sticking out of a four wheeler and hit a tree.

The stock is broke at the wrist and the barrel is bent. By looking at the bend along the outside and view down the bore it is definitely no longer circular. Can the barrel be straightened? Who would be a good choice for anew barrel and stock? Ernie Bennett SFC, US Army (Ret.) Weston, WV

Well, at least it isn’t a pre-1964 model! We think your best course of action would be to return the remains to Winchester. It would probably take them less time to turn around repairs on the damage, especially if it extends to the receiver and damage is a distinct possibility at the junction of the receiver and the barrel. The company is Browning/Winchester these days, and can be reached at Tell your friend the cost of the carelessness could come close to equaling that of anew rifle. That shock remains to come.

Winchester M100 I had a Winchester 100 come in my shop that a customer had cleaned but the bolt could not be moved far enough to the rear for the operating slide assembly to clear the forearm and allow the barreled action to be lifted out of the stock. I racked my brain until I found that during reassembly my customer either assembled the gun with the hammer in the fired position or it was knocked off the sear during assembly.

If this happens and you install rear guard screw (screw #27 in The Gun Digest Book of Exploded Long Gun Drawings) the hammer will not have enough room to pivot all the way back to cock or chamber around and this will jam the bolt too far forward to allow proper disassembly. My cure for this problem was to first remove the magazine, then remove the rear guard screw. Use something to reach up through the magazine opening and push the hammer to the rear until it is cocked or caught by the sear.

Put it on safe and continue with the assembly or disassembly as normal. Mr. Luc ien Langois wrote in that he had this problem (January 2010 Forum.) Thank you, Preston. We’re passing this along to our readers although the issue Mr. Langlois was facing led us to believe his problem was not associated with improper reassembly because we faced this same problem with the first Model 100 we ever serviced. The problem was self created because we weren’t holding the cocking lever fully to the rear as we should have been.

Trapdoor Spring ield A customer has an original 1873 trapdoor Springfield (.45-70) and would like me to check it out to determine if it’s safe to shoot low-pressure factory smokeless ammo that I recommended. Besides checking headspace and a general inspection of the overall condition and integrity, what specific things should I also look at and check? John vito Hope you can get the following advice to your customer pronto!

Though we haven’t heard of any there may be commercially made black powder/smokeless equivalent loads available. Check with black powder, black powder projectile and black powder firearms manufacturers for possible sources. Warn your customer not to fire the Springfield with any other type of smokeless load! Equally important, you did not specify whether the gun was a rifle or carbine.

If the latter, it might have been a US Calvary model which only contained a Should this be true of the Springfield on hand, the equivalent load should be for .45-55 and not .45-70. We assure you, in a gun more than 100 years old these matters are not to be trifled with. Preston Parts Interchange I have a Sears Ted Williams Model 75, 20 gauge autoloader. My Numrich book does not show an interchange. Thumbing pages I found a High Standard Supermatic Deluxe that looks very similar.

Do you have any info in your library? I think the major problem with this one is dirt and a possible weak action spring. The bolt closing is not positive. James Look in the Cross Reference section of your Numrich Gun Parts Company catalog. If it says the Ted Williams was made by High Standard you may have an chance at interchangeability. In this is the case, check in with G. W. Elliott, Inc. who may have parts. AG