Reader Forum

Renovating Sporterized M98 Mausers I just finished reading your fine article on restoring Mausers. In 1960 I renovated my Springfield 1903A3 that was sporterized when I bought it. I glass bedded the action, free floated the barrel, and rechambered it in .30-06 Ackley Improved and the rifle shot like a dream. I now find myself with anew laminated wood stock for the rifle.

Of course, I will glass bed it and free float the barrel, however, I did notice that the picture of your parts included pillar bedding sleeves which I did not do the first time. How do you use these? Are they available in a size suitable for the 03A3 A1 stock? I think this would be an improvement on what I originally did the first time. From Paul Mazan. I am delighted that you enjoyed my article.

The pillar bedding sleeves you saw in the picture were purchased from Brownells and I would refer you to their excellent technical staff regarding a size suitable for your 1903A3 stock. Each set of sleeves comes with a complete set of instructions. Rather than try to explain the process, I suggest you get a set of illustrated instructions from them. The instructions are free and they will help you select the correct size and answer questions about installing them.

Mossberg Shotgun What is the proper way to remove the magazine tube from a Mossberg 590A1 pump shotgun? Are any special tools required? Unless there has been an engineering change we’ve not heard about or encountered, the mag tube of a Mossberg 590 isn’t pinned to the receiver. It screws in like the tube on a Model 500. That still being true, the tooling necessary would be a magazine cap wrench and a blade screwdriver to assist in the removal of the magazine spring retainer.

Note, once the retainer is removed the spring will attempt to escape. Often, freed magazine springs assume all the attributes and behavior of a snake slithering off in fear of losing the ability to slither in the future. Absolutely necessary items area bench vise, padded jaws for the vise, a closefitting hardwood dowel to prevent crushing the tube when it is secured in the vise, and a rectangular insert.

This insert has to fit snugly within the receiver after the trigger mechanism is removed and extend two to three inches below it. Brownells may still offer a block of ABS plastic made specifically for undoing Model 500 mag tubes. Hopefully, they still do. If not, check industrial supply houses as a source for your very own length of ABS 3/4 inches thick. It’s strong. It’s tough. It’s non-marring and easy to work with.

Richard Stuber OK, you’ve got the ABS insert in the receiver, the dowel is in the tube and the tube secured between padded vise jaws. Grasp the ABS firmly and use it as a lever to turn off the mag tube. When you install the new tube, follow the same procedure in reverse. Do not over tighten and smear a dab of good gun grease on both the tube and receiver threads. Dicropan IM Bluing Process Many thanks to Paul Mazan for his article way back in October 2011 on how to perform bluing with Brownells Dicropan IM.

I recently purchased a .45 ACP conversion cylinder that came from a Ruger Blackhawk. Unfortunately, the cylinder had been stored in the red felt bag they used to come in and was pitted from rust. I didn’t want to cold blue the entire cylinder but I remember reading Paul’s article and dug out my back issue to refresh my memory. A quick order to Brownells, plenty of elbow grease to polish out most of the pits, and 14 applications of Dicropan IM had the cylinder looking al- Rick De Marinis most factory new.

I couldn’t get all of the deepest pits out because I didn’t want to remove too much metal, but I was very pleased with the results. I can’t wait to try it on the receiver of a 1947 Marlin 39A I recently acquired that had surface rust all over it. Roy Seifert From Paul Mazan. I simply cannot tell you how delighted I am that my article was able to help you restore that cylinder to almost like-new condition.

It is a time consuming process but is invaluable in allowing a small shop or hobbyist get a truly beautiful and very durable finish without having to go through the expense of a hot dip bluing system. I have successfully used it on old Colts, Rolling Blocks, a Stevens Favorite, and any number of old shotguns and military pieces. I am sure you will be just as pleased with the results you get on the Marlin 39A. Thank you so much for taking the time to write. You’ve put a smile on this old man’s face.

Kahr Refinish I have been interested in doing one of those spray on and bake gun finishes to my Kahr Model K9, having done a rifle and a pistol with the Brownells material, and wouldn’t mind getting one of those Dura Coat kits. I tried the Cerama-Coat after reading an article in American Rifleman by Bryce Towsley for refinishing a "barn shotgun" which I believe was a NEF Pardner or similar model. I think the finish gives a classic look and exceptional wear along with lubricity property for moving parts as well.

One of the only things I would say about the Cerama-Coat is that it appears to have a shelf life if you don’t plan to use the material in a fairly timely manner as it will come out thick or not at all. Of course I would like to take it down past a basic field strip to get at the individual parts and doing the best job I can the first time. I did get on the Kahr web site to look at their schematic and I have noticed that

they list some sort of plug or spacer that appears to help in disassembly of the slide components. Otherwise, I haven’t really found anything in regards to complete disassembly/reassembly instructions for this model. After I bought the gun I had mixed emotions about it but now I think it’s a great little gun and ended up getting a second one. I really think it would do justice to the look and feel of this interesting little pistol to be able to do a Cerama-Coat finish treatment.

Any articles for the Kahr K9 or similar refinishing jobs you can direct me too? The K9 was covered in our May 1995 issue. No reprints dated that far back are available but we are printing your email address in the event a fellow reader has a copy of that issue and would copy it for you. We have always liked the Kahr. Several law enforcement officers we know adopted it as their back up in .40 S&W caliber after seeing and firing it on their range.

There are no mechanical differences between the K9 and the larger caliber model. It is important, however, that the pistol actually undergoes the 200 round break in recommended in the owner’s manual. This would be true of anew gun or one that has been recoated. Your choice of a coating material does concern us. We have not worked with Cerama-Coat as much as Dura Coat and your comment regarding Cerama-Coat coming out thick is worrisome. The Kahr is held to close tolerances.

Dura Coat can be applied thinly enough not to disturb those tolerances while being very strong against wear and is available in a huge choice of colors, even passionate pink! We have used the Dura Coat Parkerized coating and were delighted to see it was indistinguishable from the original GI Parkerized finish in all cases. Charles May Mossberg Model 352 I just received a Mossberg Model 352. I’ve been told these malfunction often and after firing it I found that the firing pin was causing the problem.

It appears that it was not staked in place and sometimes stays near the chamber when the bolt is trying to go to the rear. Can I stake it myself or would it be better to contact Mossberg and let them do it? If I can do it myself, where is it normally staked? When the bolt is out of the receiver the firing pin drops into my hand. Jim Ham We spotted a parts drawing of the Model 352 in Jack First’s Volume Two catalog. There is a retracting spring and retracting spring plunger just aft of the hammer.

Are these present in your rifle? We don’t believe the firing pin was staked in. This would interfere with or prevent its free movement forward to impact the primer compound within the .22LR case rim. Also indicated is a pin in the bolt we suspect serves to retain the firing pin in the bolt.

We recommend you check these possibilities with Vic Havlin of the Mossberg Collectors Association His knowledge of old Mossbergs is vast, heavily relied upon by the current manufacturing operation and he usually has parts to correct most problems. 8mm Mauser And Parker-Hale Is there any difference between 8mm ammo and 8x57mm ammo? How do you know if a receiver has been heat treated? I purchased a Parker-Hale barreled receiver in the white, drilled and taped for scope, with a midland barrel slotted for sights.

I am having trouble finding parts for this receiver. Some 98 Mauser and 1903 Springfield parts fit. I can not find a bolt stop/ejector complete assembly. I have contacted several dealers including Numrich without luck. Is there another rifle that will interchange these parts? Donald Burney, Yes, there are differences and you can compare each one in a good reloading manual and/or Cartridges of the World.

You can double or triple check heat treatment with the manufacturer, who should also be able to help you out with a parts source and intelligently respond to your query on interchangeability. AG