Reader Forum

Remington Hepburn No. 3 I have a Remington Hepburn No. 3 stamped "40.2 1/2" under the barrel that is exposed forward of the forend and stamped ".45-70" next to the serial number of 3008 under the barrel that is covered by the forend. Factory .45-70 cartridges will not chamber in this gun. The round goes in almost all the way, but lacks about a millimeter from going all the way down. The falling block will not clear to allow the block to come up. A caliber gauge in the muzzle measures 0.45.

What is the proper cartridge for this rifle? Ron Beene Murfreesboro,TN The reason the block is getting blocked is due to the fact the cartridge can’t be, or isn’t being, completely chambered. Remington Hepburn No. 3 rifles were manufactured in sporting, short range, mid range, match, long range, Creedmoor, and military configurations. The sporting, or hunting, version was chambered for a total of 27 different black powder centerfire cartridges. The low-production mid range packed the .38, .40 and .45 centerfires.

The short range (even lower production) housed the .38-40 WCF. The Creedmoor, a relatively few ever produced, fed on the .44-77, .44-90 and .44-100 straight or bottleneck cased centerfire. The match, for short or mid range target shooting, ate a variety of .25, .32, .38 and .40 centerfire ammo during its twenty year production run. The military had a .44-85 chamber. You’ll have to make a chamber cast and do some research into cartridge dimensions. Call Remington and ask to get in touch with the Remington Museum.

Provide them with the serial number and details of your rifle. Winchester 1895 Is there a review, write up, or AGI video available for the 1895 Winchester in .30 Government 1906? The Winchester 1895 was a great old gun. Accent on the "old." It was last produced in 1940 and only one was made that year. The rifle was based on Browning patent #549,345.

Its action was able to withstand the most powerful cartridges of the day and gave birth to the .405 Winchester, considered adequate for the taking of elephant, water buffalo and rhinoceros. We have never done an article on this rifle and you’ll have to contact AGI about their coverage. The aforementioned patent will contain abundant information on how the rifle operates.

A copy can be secured online (uspto. gov or google.com/patents) or at nominal cost directly from the US Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D. C. General information can be viewed or downloaded by entering "Winchester 1895 Rifle" in your browser. 1911 Questions I have been trying to make a 1911 to fire 9mm 40 S&W, and 10mm. In each case the round hits the bottom of the barrel and won’t feed except for the last round.

I’ve tried different magazines, polishing the feed ramp and the bottom part of the barrel, but nothing seems to work. It looks like I have to lower the barrel, but I’m afraid to ruin the frame. All these frames were bought from Sarco and Essex. The ones from Sarco I know are not up to par, but the Essex frame is good quality. Barrels are Swenson. If you cut into the frame you’ll wreck the pistol. So don’t.

It’s true there must be approximately 1/64 to 1/32 inch of space between the bottom of the barrel ramp and the frame. Any material to achieve that has to be removed from the ramp. Simple polishing has little to no effect on feed problems and the lower ramp should be radiused to make it easier for a cartridge to "turn the corner" and enter the chamber. The Bill Henshall lips of the magazines you are using may require adjustment inward or out Be sure to use top quality magazines.

We like Metalform and Tripp Research Cobra best. If you don’t have copies of Jerry Kuhnhausen’s Colt .45 Automatic: A Shop Manual you should. On a subject not dedicated to your query, we do not know if you presently hold an FFL. We are reasonably certain you are not licensed as an FFL Manufacturer. What you are undertaking could lead to you being classified as a manufacturer by a visiting ATF Inspector. If you intend to keep the resulting pistol as your own you might be in the clear.

If there is any intent to sell it—ever—you risk being in violation of Federal Law. If you want to end up with a multi-caliber pistol while being both certain of its end performance and your continued freedom, contact the American Pistolsmiths Guild (americanpistolsmithsguild.com). Some of its members hold Manufacturer FFLs. Others do not produce enough custom handguns to require they be so classified. Turn the project over to one of the latter two.

Canjar Triggers I have a Winchester 52 with a Canjar Match Trigger installed. The trigger has been set so light that the sear will drop when the bolt is closed if I do not close it slowly. I want to get into match shooting with it but I think this is far too light. I think it is set in ounces not pounds as I can just feel the trigger shoe when it fires. Gregg Hosac Do you have any information on adjusting these triggers?

Canjar went out of business in 2007 and I haven’t been able to find any useful information on the Web. If I remove the action from the stock there is an Allen screw with a lock nut available. I think this may be where the pressure is set but before I start twisting screws I wanted to ask someone who might know more than I do. Steven Douglas Ellensburg, WA

We have no information on hand but have heard a Keplinger or Moyers trigger, both available from Brownells, is a worthy substitute for the late, lamented Canjar. If that thought turns your tummy, log on to Shooter’s Forum (shootersforum. com). Free it is not but joining up gives you access to a plethora of downloads, including one about adjusting Canjar triggers.

Browning Auto-5 Lockup I amanew gunsmith and I have a old Browning Auto-5 (serial number 46808) with a locked up breech block and I can’t get the barrel off. I called Browning but they said they didn’t give advice over the phone. I have not been able to release the breech block and pull it back to the cocking position so that the barrel can be removed. The locking block latch pin appears to be in the latched position and the bolt release button does not release the bolt.

The bolt may have been released earlier with the barrel removed, which I know should not be done. What might be causing the lockup and how can I fix it? Before going to work on that Auto-5, order in a set of thin Magna-Tip blade bits from Brownells. The narrow screw head slots on the A-5 demand them. This shotgun is a "busy" one with a multitude of small parts. Without having the piece in front of us we can only surmise regarding the cause of your lock up problem.

We don’t think your suspicion of a barrel-off bolt release to be a distinct possibility. Its possible occurrence brings forth nasty images of other forms of abuse. As one of the things this old timer at ‘smithing would like to know is whether the A-5 you’re facing is an old or new model. The latter mentioned has several pages devoted to it alone in a Browning Field Service Manual. Now that we have you really worried, don’t be.

You may be in luck and discover the cause to be a protruding pin or weak/broken spring somewhere in the firing mechanism. Equally lucky would be to discover whomever abused the gun initially was way off base in its reassembly. Full instructions on disassembly of the A-5 appear in The Gun Digest Book of Shotguns Assembly/Disassembly. Follow them to remove the entire firing mechanism from the Phil Martini Remer, MN gun and check on its proper reassembly.

If that fails to uncover the cause, contact Nu-Line Guns (nulineguns. com, They used to be a Browning authorized service center. Ask to speak with Jerry Stevens and let him know we suggested you call. Shop Tools I have been looking on the Internet as well as print publications for sources other than Brownells, Midway, and some other more hobby-related companies for tools for my gunsmithing business. These companies area fantastic source and but they’re honestly my only source.

They can’t be the only go-to place in the United States. I’d appreciate any recommendations you may have. Jon L Granteer No one can beat Brownells when it comes to gunsmith-specific tooling. Of course there are other highly sources.

For chamber reamers we like Dave Manson Precision Reamers (mansonreamers.com, For customizing pistols, parts or in total, there’s Bill Laughridge at Cylinder & Slide (cylinder-slide.com, or Jim Clark Jr. at Clark Custom Guns (clarkcustomguns.com, For revolvers, it’s usually Ron Power at Power Custom (powercustom.com, Seek out Grainger Industrial Supply (grainger.com, In the huge inventory department, there is MSC Industrial Supply (mscdirect. com, Their catalog fills a four-inch thick three-ring binder and has everything from six-foot lengths of cold rolled steel to jeweler’s screwdriver sets.

Check into machine tools with Grizzly Industrial (grizzly.com, or contact Blue Ridge Machinery (blueridgemachinery.com, if you’re aiming for fatherland-quality lathes, drilling/milling machines, and the like. As for coatings, the best we’ve worked with are Dura Coat (lauerweaponry.com, G