Reader Forum

Winchester 1400 I contacted the conglomerate that has Winchester and Browning now and their techs had no idea on where to start. My customer has a Winchester 1400 and the action release is made of plastic and needs to be replaced. I have the metal replacement but am not sure on how to remove the old plastic one. It appears to be held in place by a plastic "plate" that extends down and around the magazine tube. How do I remove the release?

Other than an increase in the number of magazine throats from one to two, we aren’t aware of any other design change in the 1400. You can find take down instructions for the 1400 in The Gun Digest Book of Shotguns Assembly/Disassembly. Model 1903A4 I have a Model 1903 with a serial number in the range of 3,386,xxx. This should make it an A4 but it is an ‘03 of Remington manufacture. It has the dovetail for the rear sight but the sight is typical ‘03 and is located forward in ‘03 fashion. Any insights on this?

In 1943, due to the lack of and sudden urge to acquire a sniper rifle, Remington was directed to modify the 1903A3 to be able to mount a scope. The 1903A4 was the result. As a sniper rifle, it wasn’t a great success. In the first place, the A3 was never meant to serve as a sniper rifle. To allow the scope that was applied initially, a Weaver of the day, the entire front sight assembly was removed, neutering the gun for any purpose other than that for which it was originally intended.

Complicating things further, the scope mount prevented loading the rifle with a clip and it became a single shot, only gainfully employed by a proven marksman instead of being the primary weapon carried into battle by a platoon, company, regiment, or division of infantry. Though we found no mention of an A4 with its rear sight still positioned forward as per an A3, we suspect you are not the rifle’s original owner and it has been reworked by persons unknown.

Be that as it may, we recommend The Springfield 1903 Rifles by Lt. Col. William S. Brophy. Maverick 88 I started to disassemble the trigger housing for a Mossberg Model 88 Maverick and am having trouble getting the sear spring back in. Also, my customer wants the safety button switched for left handed use. Can this be done? Are there any assembly instructions available for this trigger housing? Ron Jester John D.

Savely Skeeter Creek Gun Repair Though widely considered a clone of the Model 500, there is a major difference between the safety systems in the respective shotguns. The M500 is tang mounted, thumb operated to the front and back. The M88 safety button is mounted inside the trigger assembly and operated via lateral movement. The trigger assembly of both guns is very similar except for the M500 safety linkage leading downward from the tang.

You will find disassembly instructions for the trigger assembly of the M500 in The Gun Digest Book of Shotguns Assembly/Disassembly and Firearms Assembly: The NRA Guidebook to Shoulder Arms. Mike Lawrence Of course, the trigger assembly has to be removed from either gun first. This has ordinarily occurred previously during field stripping. Examine how the M88 safety is installed. Its basic composition includes a small spring, a very small detent ball, and the button which has a detent in which the ball can seat.

Once those elements have been removed, most are installed for right hand shooters unless otherwise requested by the end purchaser to be reversed. The detent in the button must face upward. Be careful you don’t lose the spring or detent ball in the process. We just have to ask: How come so many left handed shooters don’t order a left handed gun in the first place? In aside-ejecting gun like the 88 or 500, the spent hulls will be repeatedly flung out immediately in front of them.

Marlin 39A I have acquired an old Marlin 39A but can’t get it apart. Following the instructions in the owner’s manual, I loosened the take down screw, griping the forend in one hand and the stock in the other, and tapped the end of the barrel on a rag-covered surface but that didn’t work. Is there something about older 39As or some other villainous mechanical contrivance obstructing my pleasure? I believe this rifle was made in the 1940s. R. L.

Wurdack LMA Ranch Nothing villainous, except the 39A, derived from Annie Oakley’s pet Marlin 1878, hasn’t mechanically meaningfully changed. It’s always been a take-down lever gun. You’re having trouble because you have to do more than merely loosen the take down screw. It must we backed off until wobbly. Don’t worry, it won’t pull all the way out. Now you should be able to separate the action from the stock. See the NRA Guide to Firearms Disassembly and The Gun Digest Book of Rimfire Rifles Assembly/ Disassembly.

The latter is easiest to follow if detailed disassembly of the receiver, including the firing mechanism, is required. Cold Rust Bluing I recently read about cold rust bluing in NRA Firearms Sourcebook and

this would be the perfect process for me. What is your recommended cold rust bluing solution? When Bob Brownell first opened his gunsmithing supply business, bluing materials were among the first he offered. Today, the business he created in a small Iowa town has grown to a number one status and remains the best source for information and products for bluing firearms.

Among them are cold rust bluing, While this type of finish is the most labor intensive of all bluing practices, it has the deepest roots and is capable of producing the most exquisite, seemingly bottomless finishes and is still employed by custom gunmakers as well as superior, top-end producers such as James Purdey & Sons Ltd. Remington Versa Max I have a Remington Versa Max with the extractor broken off.

I have removed hundreds of other extractors from different makes and models of firearms, but this bolt head does not appear to have an exit hole for the extractor retaining pin. There is an offset hole on the opposite side of bolt head from the extractor retaining pin, but it does not open to the retaining pin that I can see. I have tried using several different punches to get the pin to move without any luck. Can you advise me what to do to remove the retaining pin?

William Artz There is a blind offset hole above the pin itself. With a punch exactly matching the diameter of the pin and slightly angled toward the extractor, start the pin downward. When enough of the pin has been exposed beneath the bolt head and below the extractor, the pin can be removed from the bolt head with smooth jaw pliers. Reline Savage/Stevens 1915 I have a Savage/Stevens 1915 and want to reline the barrel. Can I do this in .22 Magnum or would it would be better to reline it to a .22LR?

The rifle is close to being over 100 years old. This causes us some concern about crystallization of metal. If this is true in the receiver to a significant degree, you may have to abandon the .22 Magnum due to its increase in pressure over the .22LR. Accurate determination of the degree should be determined by a metallurgical lab. Further, the .22 Magnum is much longer than the .22LR and any liner installed would have to be chambered for it.

Brownells Gun Parts Source List, available free upon request, also reveals a few sources for relining. Unless the metal test permits otherwise, stick with the .22LR. Slugs And Chokes A friend of mine went into a "big box" gun store to purchase an improved cylinder choke insert for shooting lead and sabot slugs. He was told he doesn’t need one, just take out the modified choke that came with the gun. Larry Black I maintain he runs the risk of fouling the choke threads.

He seems to think the store "expert" is right and the slugs won’t foul the threads. Please settle this for us. Clayton Thornber Steel is harder than lead. When lead come into contact with steel it is going to get a shave. The whiskers from that shave can be deposited in rifling and elsewhere, such as choke threads. The deposit can be cleaned out but great care must be taken. Choke threads can be very fine depending on the choke maker and the thickness of the shotgun barrel into which they’ve been cut.

Paul Kester The sabot slugs your friend intends to use provides some defense against lead shaving. However, the strength of that plastic providing the defense is also softer than steel. It, too, can be shaved to build up in choke threads. The positive side of plastic build up is it can be readily removed with a solvent and bronze brush, neither of which are harder than steel. AG