Reader Forum

Scoping A Mauser I read your article "Scoping 1896 Mauser Actions" by Wendell Deaner in the August 2013 issue and thought it was pretty good, however, I have had some issues in the past with the drilling jig you used. I have drilled two Mauser 98 actions with this same B- Square jig and the rear base is canted to the left.

This causes the scope to not be close to center of its adjustments and is an issue when shooting longer ranges, though for typical hunting situations it doesn’t really matter provided there’s sufficient range of adjustment for initial zeroing. At first I thought it was me or the jig, but I have an action that was done by another gunsmith on a milling machine (an Interarms Mark Xthat is factory drilled and taped) and it is canted the same as the two I drilled myself.

I have tried to turn the base around but to no avail. I have put adjustable rings on as well as carefully filing the high side of the base off so that it will "roll over" and orientate straight up and that seems to work. Have you experienced this before? I use Weaver bases and have never had any problem with them. You also mention rumors of actions too hard to drill. In my limited experience with Mausers I have never seen this and only one time with an Enfield did I ever have problems.

After I spot annealed the area to be drilled, things were fine. Someone once told me that you can almost always drill a hole even if you have to use a carbide bit, but you can’t always tap it. Love the publication and get lots of little helpful hints and tips from it. Michael Malenovsky Author Wendell Deaner responds. Thanks for your kind words about my article and thanks for reading our magazine.

I checked the latest Mauser 96 I drilled and tapped using the B-Square jig and the problem you described does not show itself. It was not exactly clear from your letter if you mean the scope base is out of alignment from left to right or if the base is tilted with one side higher than the other. In the first case the only cause of this would be the jig tap guide holes are drilled off center. If so, that is a factory problem and good luck with that, since the jig is not produced anymore.

I checked mine with Brownells sleeved scope alignment rods and it is well within spec. If your base is tilted, the stripper clip guide on the top of the receiver may not have been ground to match the original contours and will not fit the base properly. I used a #55 rear base and it fits pretty well, especially after it is tightened to the receiver. The two holes should go exactly in the middle of the slot for the guide rail of the bolt on top of the receiver. If they do, your base is where it should be.

I mentioned the hardness issue only in passing and have never seen one either. Your letter inclines me to believe you are knowledgeable and experienced in your trade. I don’t doubt that you are having a problem; I just can’t duplicate it with my equipment. Perhaps some of our other readers will comment. Green Mountain Barrels Like Wendell Deaner, I own and shoot a T/C Renegade (several, actually) so I was interested in his article, "Thompson Center Renegade Upgrade," in the May 2013 issue.

My experience with these rifles and two accompanying Green Mountain barrels has been different from his but, as they say, your results may vary. I would, however, like to suggest another solution to the problem of a loose barrel lockup, without resorting to, as we called them in one shop I supervised, "caveman tools." Remove the lug, drill and tap a hole for a machine screw (your choice of head/thread) in the bottom of the lug. Install the screw and attach the lug to the barrel.

Fit the wedge by filing the head of the screw. After you have achieved a snug fit, Loctite or stake the screw in place if you wish. You might also, if you have suitable equipment, place a spot weld in the same place and fit in the same manner. I prefer the screw as you can easily replace it if you file too far. Either way, I believe that this is a more elegant approach to the problem. Brian Leavy Author Wendell Deaner responds. Thanks for reading and for your comments.

Even though I have not tried it your fix seems to be a good one. However, I would suggest a better one that I will use in the future if necessary. Green Mountain Rifle Barrel Co. is a reputable company, and I don’t think the problems I mentioned are too common. I think contacting them for help in this matter would be the best thing to do first. If I hadn’t been in a hurry, and if the gun had not been my own, that is what I would have done. I’m sure they would be more than willing to work with their customers.

As far as caveman tools go, I’m guessing that you don’t ride a Harley- Davidson motorcycle like I do or you would know that almost any problem can be fixed with a large screwdriver, a cold six pack and a very big hammer (sometimes a little duct tape can help.) Thanks for your comments and good luck with your gunsmithing. Ammo Drought I was impressed with the numbers and reasons for the ammunition shortages we’ve seen lately.

I live in a small community (500 or so) and do a lot of gunsmith work for people in town and the surrounding areas. We have at least our share of varmints to shoot at, so don’t often require a regular shooting range. I have one of my own, 60 yards long, and some folks have even longer ranges on their property. Trouble is, we use our share of ammo of all types and replacing ammo means a drive of about 70 miles round trip to stores that now have nearly empty shelves. I’m not talking just .22s either.

I’ve seen some ammo with names I’ve never heard

of from countries I can’t pronounce, but not the standby stuff I prefer to shoot. I’m too old to try the other stuff and couldn’t reload a .22 rimfire if I wanted to! Last I checked, Brownells won’t even back order ammo but will tell me when ammo is available for backorder. I’m currently backordered on ammo I ordered in February and haven’t heard a word of encouragement yet. Gun shows are selling ammo at obscene prices and I won’t touch it, and in fact have stopped going.

Whatever folks are hoping to achieve by hoarding and gouging is going to come back and bite them one day. In the meantime, I’ll use my subsonic ammo with care and only where needed, target practice with my pellet gun, and rely on my .45 for everything else. Thank you for a great explanation of a serious problem and keep up the great gunsmithing articles. They help me a lot. I hear you.

The Army Reserve Marksmanship Program was forced to cancel an ammunition contract established early this year because the vendor was unable to obtain sufficient components to fill it. We were scraping and redistributing at Interservice and the National Matches to make sure everyone had enough to compete with. Industry friends have told me manufacturers are starting to catch up and light is appearing at the end of the tunnel.

Being a belt-and-suspenders sort, I manage ammo like finances and keep something set aside for rainy days. I plan to compete in some shooting discipline for decades to come, so it’s not like my supply will ever go to waste! Winchester 1890 I’m working on Winchester model 1890. It is a second model, blued, serial number 1767xx, marked 22 long on barrel. Is is possible to shoot .22 Short in it? What about .22 LR? While it is possible to fire .22 Short in a rifle chambered for .22 Long don’t fire them very often.

Mike Lusby Extensive use of the shorter cartridge can erode the chamber making extraction of the longer case difficult. The cavitation, or enlargement, can eventually make extraction so difficult it can’t be accomplished without mechanical assistance, meaning the application of a six or eight ounce hammer to get the charging slide and action bars moving to the rear. We think you have a "for real" shooting gallery gun in for service.

Most of these long-gone attractions relied on guns intended for the .22 Long or limited to the .22 Short in an effort to hold down noise and ricochets. Besides, it didn’t take more than those velocities pushing a 39 or 40 ounce pill downrange to knock over a slow moving tin duck, ring a bell hiding behind a bullseye or convince a papier-mâché clown’s grinning open mouth to partially inflate a balloon. Ah, those were the days. What about .22 LR?

As long as it’s not hyper velocity, far less accurate than standard velocity for target use, we can see no reason why not. Except, not all .22 case rim thicknesses are the same. They’ll vary from brand to brand. Select a .22 Long, measure its rim thickness and be sure the .22 LR chosen matches it. This will help eliminate extractor glitches as long as you keep the extractor cut in the breech face clean. Kel Tec Sub-2000 I have a customer that has a Kel Tec Sub-2000 in .40 S&Wand the plastic barrel hinge is broken.

Have you done an article on this gun? The part is screwed on. Will it require heat on the knurled sleeve to remove? The knurled sleeve was inside of the plastic hinge. R. J. Litchfield Sam Caudell No articles as yet, however, we would not recommend applying heat to a plastic, or polymer, joint. As for the presence of a screw, contact Kel Tec and secure an owner’s manual. The schematic it contains will quickly confirm or deny the existence of the screw.

We repeat our recommendation against using heat on what you refer to as a "knurled sleeve." We assume it is metal and could easily transmit sufficient degrees to weaken or warp the surrounding hinge material. AG