Reader Forum

Mossberg 500 I recently purchased a Mossberg 500 .410 pump-action shotgun with 24 inch barrel. Soon after, I began experiencing some ejection problems. The shotgun will chamber and extract, however, the it does not always eject a shotshell or spent hull. Can you offer any suggestions, or direct me to a parts list and owner’s manual? I have written to the folks at Eagle Pass, TX but have not yet received a response. Also, do you have a good, current address and phone number for contacting O. F. Mossberg?

Robert Lindamood Whitleyville, TN Some possible causes and cures: Loose ejector screw needs tightening; broken ejector needs replacement; damaged extractors, springs or pins need replacement; right and left extractors are reversed and must be reassembled/reinstalled correctly. The address you sent us in Eagle Pass, TX is for Maverick Arms. The address you want is O. F. Mossberg & Sons, North Haven, CT 06473, phone When contacting them, request an owner’s manual for your .410 with schematic and parts list.

Ohaus Powder Measure I have been enjoying the two-part article "Requiem For A Gunsmith" by Wendell Deaner (American Gunsmith September and October 2013) and saw the picture of his Ohaus powder measure. It is much too good a machine to let lie idle due to a broken hopper. I suspect all of them have broken hoppers by now due to a design flaw in the hopper. My cure is both elegant, simple, and inexpensive.

Take a one liter plastic soft drink bottle and thoroughly rinse it out (like making sure a gun is empty before working on it.) Reduce the OD of the threads on the neck of the bottle until it is a snug fit in the body of the measure ( I used a belt sander.) Cut the bottom off the bottle and turn it around to make a lid. Author Wendell Dwight Deaner responds: Thanks for reading our magazine and commenting on my article. I really like my Ohaus measure and powder scale, which is the same as the RCBS 10-10 scale.

While there are a lot of good products on the market for reloaders, some of the old ones can’t be beat and deserve to stay in service. My measure "fixed" with the duct tape has been in use for a very long time. Your fix is simple and well thought out. I am going to try it. By the way, search eBay.com for some of this stuff. It’s amazing what you can find. Charter Revolver Reassembly I ran across a "fix" that might help the readers along the way.

I recently had a Charter Bulldog Pup in the shop that had a very rough second stage of the ejector rod. Disassembly of the cylinder (ejector rod, extractor star, and accompanying parts) revealed some very rough surfaces that were quickly cleaned up. During reassembly, you need about four sets of hands to align the ejector rod pin hole, the extractor star pin hole, and the ejector rod bushing pin hole—all of them under spring pressure—to reinsert the small slave pin that holds the entire assembly in place.

The problem with four sets of hands is that you run out of space! I did solve the puzzle, though, with the use of an extra Dremel tool collet I had in the tool box. The collet is the perfect size for inside and outside diameter to depress the ejector rod busing into the extractor star area and keep it depressed while moving the ejector rod in perfect alignment with the slave pin holes. Once aligned, a small pin punch was inserted (with my third hand!) and then the slave pin was reinserted afterward.

I have put that collet in my "specialty parts" box and labeled it for Charter revolver cylinder reassembly. I am sure there are actual tools made to perform this task, but this might help the gunsmith that doesn’t want to buy a specialty tool for every gun type and application. Rocky Giordano Mark R. Hollensen Bench Mark Performance Services benchmarkperformancesvcs@aol. com Thanks for this tip! Should prove helpful to some readers.

Walker Sight In Since the 1847 Walker Colt shoots about a foot high at 30 yards, would it be possible to file the hammer notch deeper or would it be more advisable to barrel mount a rear sight? Garry Moore Neither. Add material to the height of the front sight incrementally until you have established lower hits on the target. Then make the adjustment permanent whether it is composed of metal, rods of light-collecting plastic, such as a Fire Site, or highly illegal ivory.

Browning Buck Mark Do you have any info on field stripping a Browning Buck Mark pistol? I checked my back issues and the Browning web site. R. Presnall You didn’t find a Buckmark reference because we covered its predecessor, The Challenger, in October 1995. There are plenty of differences between the two pistols but we don’t believe field stripping to be among them. Call Browning/Winchester Customer Service, they should be able to come up with an owner’s manual.

Union Arms Model 24 I have a Union Arms Company Model 24 pump shotgun in my shop and can not get it disassembled. John Harris Harris Gunsmithing

The shotgun was last produced in 1913. In 1917 Union Arms was taken over by the Ithaca Gun Company. In turn, Ithaca dissolved and was re-instituted as Ithaca Gun, USA We have our doubts they have much knowledge regarding a gun that old but they might be able to steer you to someone who does. S&W Model 1006 I’m looking for information on the old S&W 1006 in 10mm. I have tried Smith and Wesson, Brownells, Numrich Arms, and book dealers at the gun show but nobody seems to have any literature on the 1006.

I need data to repair and adjust the rough trigger pull. Can you direct me to where I can get detailed information? The owner’s manual gives cleaning and other superficial information only. By George, we addressed the Third Generation pistols in our June 1993 issue. Being a member of that family the 1006 was included. Before discussing your request further, these S&W pistol’s sear and hammer engagement angles should not be altered, merely refined.

In that respect they differ not from any other firearm, especially those primarily manufactured to serve as duty weapons. Therefore, your request for lessening a gritty trigger pull will not involve engagement angles. It will instead be dedicated to the reduction of friction.

At every Armorer’s School this responder has attended, which includes most that are offered, the instructor has stressed to all present that the best way to respond to "trigger job" requests from members of their respective departments while assuring reliability was and will remain a matter of reducing/eliminating friction between the weapon’s internal and external components. Friction causes drag. Drag causes gritty and/or weighty trigger pulls.

Smooth out the causes and, though a trigger pull of over 7 pounds may actually remain 7 pounds, it will feel much lighter to the operator. In extreme cases of generally poor production practices or the rare final assembly mishap, the reduction of friction has extended to a need for brightly polishing every pivot pin in a pistol and doing so without changing tolerances. We trust and believe your S&W will not have suffered either extreme.

We advise against George Ohara the use of any files and recommend using only the finest of emery cloth along with the reamers to be mentioned in the following text. One of the things that can cause drag in your pistol is the presence of burrs or roughness in the draw bar spring and plunger hole. It’s located forward of the trigger guard and requires the first reamer you’ll be using. Drag can also be caused by the draw bar rubbing against the frame.

Solution: Polish both flat sides of the draw bar and smooth up any frame surfaces it has been contacting. Another reamer is required to remove any roughness from the disconnector and magazine catch holes in the frame. A third reamer is required for the slide stop lever hole, a fourth to true the hammer/trigger insert pin hole and a fifth to do the same with the sear pin and magazine catch plunger spring holes. Do not attempt to substitute these reamers.

They’ve each been designed specifically for the jobs they do and they do them without any risk to tolerances necessary for safe, reliable function. Brownells should be able to provide each reamer mentioned. If they cannot, consult with S&Wand be certain any reamer purchased meets their specification for the intended task. Finally, the Third Generation disconnector is supposed to move freely when riding between the sear tangs.

Assure that it does by polishing both disconnector flats and the inner surfaces of the tangs. Two other things to consider are the hammer spring and the polishing of the hammer strut. A Third Generation factory spring is rated at 20 pounds. Wolff Precision Springs offers 16, 17 and 18 pounders. The lighter spring will lessen pull somewhat while the strut polishing reduces, you guessed it, friction. Remember, sissy triggers and full power loads do not always perform as required of a duty weapon.

Test fire the pistol after all work has been completed. AG