Reader Forum

Rifle ID and Higgins Restoration I need help to identify a .22 bolt-action, magazine-fed rifle. While it appears to be a military training rifle, there are no markings apparent. The barrel is stamped "IMC2 1989 M-0316" and there is a cleaning kit under a trapdoor in the butt plate. The striker is broken and could be rebuilt by a machinist but I’d rather obtain anew one, if I had positive identification of the model. Concerning "J. C.

Higgins Restoration" by Norman Johnson (February 2017), I had an older Model 583.25 brought into my shop with the forend split as described in the article. With nothing missing, it should be a simple fix with epoxy and pins. I noticed Mr. Johnson did not use pins with his Score High Pro-Bed 2000. Given the two guns are so nearly alike with the same damage, I wonder if the stock from the trigger guard all the way up is too thin for the magazine tube?

It seems the stock bolt pulled in tight causes a lot of upward pressure on the forend where it contacts the magazine. I can relieve that by adding a shim or glass bedding in the recoil lug area for a free float effect. According to The Blue Book of Gun Values the M583.25 is the same as the H&R 121 discontinued in 1942. H&R sold the rights to Sears, Roebuck & Company, having it manufactured by High Standard. Blue Book doesn’t say when. My guess is the M583.25 was made for Sears by H&R.

I could not find any references for the M585.22. Thanks to all American Gunsmith authors for publishing interesting articles. This along with the Reader Forum gives me a glimpse into their shops and projects. Christian Stauffer Author Norman Johnson responds. The ID request for this .22 bolt action rifle is a bit puzzling. Given the stampings described, I believe it is military oriented. While in the Marine Corps (1952-54) I recall rifle familiarization with very similar rifles.

You may well be forced to improvise a repair solution for this rifle. It may help to send your query with photos to The National Firearms Museum Fairfax, VA 22030, nramuseum.org.) Concerning the J. C. Higgins restoration project, I used no pins on the repair. A good, clean, dry repair results in wood contact as strong as the wood ever was. The owners were thrilled with this repair and treasured their copy of American Gunsmith describing the restoration.

As for the Model 583.25 and the underside of the stock being too thin, that is likely a valid concern. Aside from some sort of reconstruction efforts as suggested, all we can do is repair these stocks as we find them with a little TLC. Unfortunately, many such guns receive a great deal of abuse. Letter From Brownells I happened to be reading through the June 2016 issue of American Gunsmith recently and came across your very kind mentions of us in the Reader Forum section.

The first was a reply to a gentleman who was inquiring about cold rust bluing and the second concerned someone wanting to reline a Savage/Stevens 1915. Thank you for pointing them in our direction! It really pleases, me to know you think of us as number one. Dad was just trying to earn a few extra dollars to feed me and my sisters and it grew larger than he ever could have imagined.

It’s quite humbling even after all these years to know what the business has become—even more so to know good folks like you regard us so highly. Hillsboro, OH Thank you for your continued support of us, it’s very much appreciated. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if there’s anything we can provide for upcoming projects. Frank R. Brownell, III Chairman, Brownells Genesis Of The Henry Rifle The February 2017 article about the 1860 Henry rifle has a couple of errors.

The original 1860 rifle was chambered in .44 Rimfire, not 44-40/.44 WCF. It held 16 rounds of .44 Rimfire loaded with 26 grains of powder and a 200 grain bullet. The .44 WCF did not come out until 1873 for the new Winchester 1873 rifle, was loaded with 40 grains of powder and was the first centerfire cartridge for the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The article further states use of the .44 S&W Special cartridges in the new Henry, but this is incorrect. .44-40 does not interchange with 44 Special.

Always use only the correct ammo for the firearm, as marked. Finally, Hunt and Jennings should also share credit for the design of the Volcanic, not just Smith & Wesson. Joe S Foley, Author Chick Blood responds. Perhaps "genesis" was too biblical a term to employ since the bones of the article was to bring attention to errors in the owner’s manual and the correct method of achieving its basic functions as well as fundamentally servicing the rifle.

You are quite correct regarding to Smith & Wesson’s .44 Special being non-compatible with a .44-40 chamber. The .44 S&Wis a straight case and the .44-40 is a bottleneck, though it was adapted by Colt in the same caliber and load for use in their revolver. Along with the 1873 Winchester, I reckon that makes for two guns that won the West. The S&W input was provided by a technician who should have known better. It took me longer than it should have to realize the guy was mistaken.

By the time I did, the publication had gone to press. I hope this response will serve to end any concerns and know your letter has prompted me to respond as above with the following historically checked and double-checked facts added. Brownells.com

I’ll begin with your mention of Hunt & Jennings. Hunt’s contributions were the ill-fated "Rocket Ball" ammunition and an advance (some say) in lever action technology. A bit of both probably moved Messrs. Smith and Wesson to buy the patents and establish the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company. Jennings patented an improvement in after being hired by Horace Smith to improve Hunt’s lever action design. Jennings did so and soon partnered with one Cortlandt Palmer to produce the resulting rifle.

Only two of these exist today. It was Benjamin Tyler Henry who extended the S&W partnership by convincing them and their new temporary partner, Oliver Winchester, that the future lie in cartridge-firing rifles. Oliver didn’t need big time convincing The result was his buy out of Volcanic and the establishment of New Haven Firearms.

Benjamin went with Oliver and in 1860 the first Henry Rifle reached the public, It was chambered for a .44 caliber Henry rimfire cartridge with a 25-26 grain charge pushing a 200-216 grain projectile. The Henry led to the 1866 "Yellow Boy." Your comment about correct ammo can only be preceded by, "Alcohol and shooting or reloading don’t mix." And consider that hereby done. Pin Gauges I need some help finding something called pin gauges for measuring chambers on my handguns.

Direct your search engine to "Handgun Chamber Pin Gauges" and you’ll be rewarded with along list of pin gauge sources. As for exact chamber dimensions, specifications for all U. S. manufactured firearms and ammo must comply with those established by SAAMI (saami.org, Quality Punches Which roll pin punches should I buy that won’t bend? Those cheap brass punches are practically worthless. Arthur D.

De Invest in a set of Starrett roll pin punches (Starrett.com, They are of steel but can damage a metal surface easier than lower grade brass tooling. Brownells still offers hollow starter punches that envelope smaller diameter pins of all varieties to assist or by mail at Big Sandy, TX 75755. in getting them moving on their way prior to applying a roll pin or other punch to complete the installation.

S&W J-Frames I have four Smith & Wesson J-Frame revolvers that I’m trying to improve the triggers on but I can’t seem to get the weight of the double action pull down. I have used the lightest Wolff springs throughout. The insides now shine like mirrors and the single action pulls are exceptionally good, all done without taking metal off of the key contact parts and just eliminating high spots. The DA pulls are smooth but unduly heavy. Single and double action light the spark on each trigger pull without exception.

These are my own revolvers, so I’m not concerned about customer liability and I’ll put the Smith springs back in if I ever decide to part with any. Any suggestions? Joseph Mike Lawrence Lawrence The J-frames sound like they’re a reliably functioning quartet of revolvers. We recommend they be allowed to remain as such. Should you pursue further single action trigger work, never reduce the pull on any S&W revolver to less then 2 1/2 pounds.

A pull of lighter than this can be heavied up a bit by lightly stoning the top of the trigger hook with seven or eight strokes using an Arkansas (not an India) stone. Conversely, an overly-heavy double action pull can be lightened by degrees with only one or two light strokes using the same stone to round off the rear bevel of the trigger. Test and repeat as necessary until you’ve achieved the desired lightness without compromising consistent primer ignition.

Combine that measure by replacing the factory rebound spring after consulting Wolff (if you haven’t done so already) and brightly polishing the sides and bottom of the rebound slide plus their contact surfaces in its frame slot. Confirm proper function with test firing. AG