Reader Forum

Special Considerations The Hogue Over Molded stock is available for Ruger 10/22 heavy barrel rifles. Since the barrel is so heavy it will benefit from pressure bedding. Hogue offers the Over Molded 10/22 stock with two contact areas that accomplish this. The first step is to install the stock with the action nearly as tight as possible. The barrel will be free floating at this point, probably not pressured bedded. If you need less pressure then file these contact areas.

If you need more, you may need to shim up the stock to have more contact. AG h. *Fitting the barrel bushing i. Fitting Extractor j. Fitting firing pin & pink. Shaping and tuning Extractor l. Fitting Slide Lock m. Fitting Fire control components/ Magazine Catch i. Trigger ii. Sear iii. Disconnect iv. Hammer n. Fire control components o. Fitting Grip Safety p. Blending Grip Safety and slide q. Fitting sights r. Fitting Grips s. Slide and frame blending t. Test firing Tactical Mistake?

I read "Hunting Tactical Rifle Stock" by RK Campbell (May 2019) and wondered why anyone would do that. I realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I’m admittedly old school and don’t care for the look or

feel of plastic guns. More than that, does the tactical style offer any advantage in the field? Given all the bad press military/assault look-alike weapons get, I would be inclined to go the other way and retrofit AR-15s with a traditional wood stock so it doesn’t look "evil." Does anyone offer such a conversion? Like it or not, at least one court has ruled that a gun’s appearance is more dangerous than its function: bit.ly/2Wx Os8s Neal Matheson From author RK Campbell.

As for politically correct rifles, I’ll let those better skilled than I delve into politics. I do not go in the face of anyone just because I can, but neither do I let PC rule my selection of firearms. I think the rock-solid Marlin 60 is pretty low on the list of anti-gunners. As for the high quality stock I tested in that article, trying it once will reveal the ergonomics are better than the original wooden stock.

The commonality with the ubiquitous AR-15 is nice as well (For AR-15 wood stocks, see "Wood- Stocked AR-15s", August 2018— Ed.) The Hunting Tactical stock puts the Marlin 60 on an even footing with the Ruger 10/22 with its huge aftermarket selection. I am all for innovation and diversity in the firearms field and this is a good example. And, brother, the Second Amendment ain’t about hunting and target shooting! Parker Shotgun ID I need some help identifying a shotgun.

The owner thinks it is a Parker but I’m not so sure. Any help would be appreciated. Bob Lowery Author Paul Mazan responds. Parker shotguns had earned such a reputation for quality that a number of makers started putting variations of the Parker name on their shotguns. This pictured gun is a prime example of one of those guns. There are several clues that tell us this is not an original Parker shotgun. The first is the back action locks. I have never seen or even heard of a genuine Parker with back action locks.

The second is the "I. Parker" name on the left lock. Parker shotguns were all marked on both sides of the receiver. The third clue is the buttplate as Parker never used the one shown on this gun. Parker shotguns had either a plain black plate with horizontal lines, or with a dog’s head carrying a bird, or a steel skeleton plate. The only exception would be on a special order gun that the customer requested a recoil pad. Parker used only the pad that had Hawkins in raised letters on it.

The last and definitive clue are the markings under the left barrel. The top stamp that looks like a fancy EL is a provisional Belgian black powder proof. The Eover LG over a star in an oval is the final black powder proof from the Liège-Belgium proof house. This tells us that the barrels were made and proofed in Belgium—most likely by Henri Pieper who marked his guns with several variations of the Parker name. Parker Brothers in

Connecticut made all their own parts in house including the barrels. It was of controlling the quality of their guns. All these clues including the Parker practice of marking the barrel rib just forward of the breech with the type of steel are definitive proof that this gun was made in Belgium and not by Parker Brothers. I wish I could tell you that your customer had found the Holy Grail of Parker shotguns but the truth is he has a Belgian-made knock off.

All the information I have on the Belgian-made guns says that they should not be shot with any load including black powder and puts their value at $100-$300 dollars for anyone that would like something to hang over the fireplace. I am currently restoring a Parker and have another on the way that also needs restoration. This will give me three original Parkers.

A Trojan (the least expensive shotgun they made and representing 45% of all the Parkers), a VH (the next one up in the line), and a GH (a couple of grades higher.) Every Parker was hand made. The parts were forged in house and hand fitted to each gun. For all practical purposes there is no interchangeability of parts Stock Crack A customer brought in a Stoeger Coach Gun chambered in 12 gauge that keeps cracking and breaking at the same place even after replacing with anew stock.

The stock cracks on the top right side next to the receiver and has done so with the original stock and two stock replacements. It breaks in the same spot every time. As you can imagine, my customer is frustrated by the costly fixes. He is using this shotgun for Single Action Shooting Society competition. Any idea as to the cause? Recommendations for a permanent fix? As designed, the stock is thin at that spot and can not be readily repaired. From Sergey Lyalko.

Most probably the customer fell on the gun holding it in the hand. I had such a case. The best solution would be to migrate to a fiberglass stock. However, if the wooden stock is required, then glass bedding the action is a really good reinforcement of the inlet area. From Shawn Mc Williams. It’s difficult to tell but it’s probably a stress riser. Looking at the fitment of the receiver, there will be a point right where the crack starts where the metal is proud.

It could be the stock but not likely given multiple failures. All that’s needed is the slightest uneven area where the recoil load is focused. This frequently happens at a radius (curve). The only way to fix it is to take a file and clean that proud edge to make it nest evenly on the metal, the stock, or both. The worst thing would be is if Stoeger simply did a suck job designing that interface where the two pieces meet. Given that Stoeger is not the benchmark for world class gunmaking that may be the case.

If your customer reloads I would encourage going to a to reduce recoil energy. Cowboy Action matches don’t need anything heavier. Another thing would be using lightweight fiberglass cloth such as used for remote aircraft to epoxy inside the stock to add strength and keep cracks from propagating. From Ray Ordorica. Without seeing the insides, all I can say is there is either a problem with inletting (too much wood removed) or insufficient metal surface of the action in contact with the wood.

Either is a lousy design. I have owned and shot many boxlock guns that are 100-150 years old and most of them have been fired a great number of times. None had problems with stock splitting. Most were of English make. Power ranged from 20-gauge to 12-bore and .470 Nitro full-power double rifles. Ken Rice Your options are to either add wood or steel to the back of the action… somehow. Glass bedding might help but not if the gun’s design is wedging the stock apart. From RK Campbell.

There is an outside chance the barrels are slightly canted the wrong direction, transferring recoil in an off-standard curve. I would examine the receiver closely and see if there is a burr or something butting out from the receiver. If the old stock can be repaired—depending on how bad. I would sand across the spot on the receiver that matches the crack line and also relieve the stock a bit. AG