Reader Forum

Custom Gunsmith Casting Call I’m a casting producer for a production company out of Los Angeles. We’re currently working with a major cable network to find artisan custom gunsmiths for anew TV project we’re working on. We are looking for the "go-to" gunsmith for a small town or community. Does everyone in the community go to this gunsmith for buying or repairing their guns? Has gunsmithing been in their family for generations? Do they forge or repair creative custom firearms?

Gunsmiths that might be a good fit for this project should contact me. I’d love to chat with you. Luke Swinney This Is Just A Test 2nd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90006 Office: Mobile: Carlos On Sierra Bullets I have mentioned in a number of articles how the 90 grain Sierra Match King .224 bullet designed in 2005 was prone to mid-air blow ups due to jacket issues.

I talked about this most recently in my December 2016 article, "Gain Twist Barrels For Palma." Those of us who write frequently for American Gunsmith sometimes find our articles "in the pipeline" for awhile from the time they’re written until they are published. Changes can take place in that interim. This was the case with the Sierra’s 90 grain bullet. Sierra’s original 90 grain bullet remained on dealer shelves for nearly a decade in its original flawed condition. However, it was recently redesigned.

I have been testing the newly redesigned Sierra with Berger 90 grain Match Boat Tail and Sierra’s new bullet appears to be blow-up proof. I have torture tested it and have experienced no failures and am obtaining speeds of 2,800 fps in 30" and 32" Palma barrels with stellar results. I also have customers using it and they like it. Accuracy is comparable to the Berger and the ballistic coefficient of the new Sierra is higher than any other 90 grain AR-15 bullet on the market.

I’d like to formally update the record and apologize to Sierra for statements that were correct when written but out of date regarding the new bullet when published in my December 2016 article. Readers should be careful when purchasing Sierra 90s to be certain they are getting the new bullet. I would be leery of any boxes of 90 grain SMKs that have been on dealer shelves for much longer than a year as they may be of the old design.

If the dealer will permit you to open the box, the new bullet is factory pointed (which helps attain the high ballistic coefficient) and the older bullet has an open hollow point. Thanks for your understanding and look for a full article on the new bullet in the near future. TIJAT.com J. C. Higgins And More Regarding reader William Reinhart’s question about the origin of his customer’s J. C. Higgins Model 101.24, my info says it was likely made by Savage/Stevens but the comparable model number was not available.

For the stuck bolt, I would start by soaking with Kroil or another good penetrating oil and tapping with a nylon hammer about every six hours. It may take a day or so but that should free it up. On RK Campbell’s article on grip screws, the last paragraph says to rotate the bushing extractor clockwise to remove the bushing. Shouldn’t this be counterclockwise? Norman Johnson’s article indicates he may even older than I am. Ben Franklin and I went to school together… A great issue!

I always like articles from Joe Carlos and anything from Chick Blood is a keeper. I have every issue from 1993 forward. Charlie Briggs ‘Smithing Since 1985 RK Campbell responds. Yes, sir. I stand corrected! Thanks for reading. Model 1903A4 Referencing Mike Lawrence’s "Model 1903A4" in the June 2016 Reader Forum, it sounds to me like he has a rifle assembled from parts. It would be nice to know what the barrel stamps are and more info such as is the stock cut for the A4 bolt.

I suspect that someone has installed a 1903 barrel on a Remington A3 receiver with the 1903 rear sight and base. Turning it back into an A3 is a simple matter. Remove the front sight base cross pin and drift it of the barrel with a wood block or brass rod. Drive out the rear sight base cross pin and drift it forward of the barrel the same way. Leave the rear sight in the base so as not to distort the rear of the sight base so that you may save it.

The 03A3 hand guard ring fits over the receiver so the slightly smaller diameter of the 03 barrel at the receiver does not cause any problems. Joe Carlos Install an 03A3 front sight base and sight to get the proper front sight height. I suggest a letter "A" front sight blade. Some after market front sight blades may be thinner than the correct width of .050" as was the original. You will have to drill anew hole for the cross pin as the 03A3 pin is in the middle of the sight base instead of at the rear as on the 03.

Then install an 03A3 hand guard and an 03A3 rear sight assembly. If the rifle has a milled 03 upper band for the bayonet the front part of the hand guard will have to be trimmed back slightly to accommodate it. All of these parts are still available through the various parts suppliers but are getting harder to find every year.

An 03A3 parts gun assembled with all milled parts with a nice clean stock and new Parkerizing makes an unusual conversation piece that was never produced as far as I can tell from my research.

An upper milled band with a Remington "R" stamped on it makes a nice touch. Great research job and commentary Reader Angst. We’ve passed it on to Mike Lawrence. Barrel Break-in Can properly broken-in barrels be ordered and shipped that way? If so, about how much extra is this? Do you use brushes at all, or are you relying only on patches for your break-in procedure? I’ve heard of a ten day breakin per barrel.

Does this mean firing around, taking the upper home to clean with copper solvent, and then repeating the next day for a total of ten days? Does it matter which bullet is used when firing for break-in? Should longer match projectiles be used during initial break-in firing? Joe Carlos responds. Break-in means break-in and that begins with the first shot and the formal process ends with shot ten.

After that, I recommend cleaning more often than normal and never allowing the Submit a question or letter to the Reader Forum column by addressing an email to or posting a letter to American Gunsmith, Alexandria, VA 22310. Send subscription questions to barrel to heat up for another 200 rounds. Barrels that have been test fired before a formal break-in are very difficult to break in. The more rounds fired, the greater the difficulty.

The breakin process is never fun but I would at least attempt to perform it on a barrel that has been test fired. Ken Angst I don’t know of any barrel manufacturer who performs a break-in for customers. As far as I know I am he only custom gunsmith who breaks in barrels for customers. It is very easy to damage a barrel due to cleaning rod flex during the break-in, especially in stainless barrels that are more easy to damage. I spend ten days breaking in every barrel.

As a professional gunsmith and former competitive shooter I have a range on my property so I simply step out the back door and fire the shot into a safe backstop. I use Montana Xtreme Copper Killer which is the most aggressive copper solvent I know of. Even at that it takes me the entire day to get the copper out (running a fresh patch about every 15 min.) from the previous shot. Hence, a ten day total investment.

I use what ever scrap ammo I have lying around for breakin shots but the use of longer match Casey Terrence bullets would likely result in a longer bearing surface burnishing the bore, which is probably not a bad thing. In the case of gas guns I can’t over emphasize placing the gas port down so the solvent pools in that difficultto-clean area. To clarify, I normally only position barrels I am breaking in with the port on the bottom. I don’t install a front sight or gas block and gas tube on guns I am breaking in.

I operate them manually using the charging handle, leave solvent in the bore for 15 minutes, then run another patch wet with solvent. I continue the process until I am sure I have gotten all the copper out. I don’t use any brushes or other abrasives during break-in. In part, you are trying to burnish shut the pores in the bore. Use of abrasives during break-in will open the pores which is opposite to your goal.

After break-in, however, you will want to use an abrasive every time you clean (each day you fire the rifle). The abrasive, such as a bore brush, will get the bakedon hard carbon fouling that solvents won’t remove. Volunteer Commando Mk 45 The question from Steven Murfin about the Volunteer Commando MK45 in the December 2016 Reader Forum rang a bell with me because that weapon is covered in The Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly: Part VI Law Enforcement Weapons by J. B. Wood.

Although I can offer no help on troubleshooting, I can offer help on disassembly procedures. The book shows a complete step by step photo sequence for total disassembly. This includes a great picture of the firing pin itself on page 160. Might help determine if something is bent, broke or too short. Looks to me like it would be easy to fabricate anew pin from a drill bit shank. The process of removing it might give a clue if other issues exist. John Maka Good tip. Thanks for the info! AG