Reader Forum

Gunsmith Search I am a lifetime American Gunsmith subscriber and a fan of the Reader Forum. I have a problem obtaining local service for a gunsmithing job and would appreciate if anyone that has a suggestion for service email me. I have a Falling Block action that is barrel up and chambered in 22 Hornet and am in need of having the extractor fitted. If anyone can recommend a gunsmith performing single shot rifle action work, preferably in the Northeast, please contact me.

Thomas Muscolino NEF Handi-Ri le Rueben Cole ([email protected]) wrote in the October 2020 Reader Forum concerning problems with a New England Firearms Handi-Rifle SB2 opening up when fired. This problem happens when the lock block in the receiver is not fully engaged with the barrel lock. Spring pressure on the lock block is not fully moving the lock block into place with the barrel. This can happen on any break open single shot, not just NEF guns.

Polish up the engaging surfaces on the lock and barrel locks. Also address any burrs, rough edges on the side of the lock block. A radius on the side edges is all that is normally needed. The receiver can be very rough, rubbing on the clearance between the lock block and receiver frame. If the lock block hangs up for any reason it will not fully engage the barrel lock. I have found that lockbox springs can go bad, but this is rare.

The hinge pin fit to the barrel is a factor on headspace, especially on a worn-out gun, as repair of the hinge pin can move the barrel back more than normal. The hinge pin and barrel should be lubricated with a good grease, not oil. How the rifle is held when firing shouldn’t have an effect, something that can be an issue with some break open shotguns like the Winchester Model 370. Regardless, spring pressure on the lock block is what engages it into the barrel. I’d guess Mr.

Cole’s 22-250 barrel is not letting the lock block fully engage the barrel upon closing. If smoothing the parts doesn’t solve this, check for high spots on the engaging surfaces. Check the barrel lock surfaces first. The angles on the engaging surfaces may not be as precise as needed. Non-drying Prussian Blue (Permatex.com, from an auto parts store or similar marking solution will help. Place a light, even coat on the parts, then open/close several times to reveal the high spots.

Remove a tiny amount of metal (0.001- 0.002) from the high spots carefully with a Dremel disk cut off wheel. Go slow and be careful! Repeat until the high spots are gone. It is likely that the 243 barrel is working fine. Note, it’s still possible to get a misfire if you pull the trigger and let up just as the sear is about to release. The safety transfer bar can drop down before the hammer hits it but this is rare. Wolsey SD 57384 AR-15 Bolt Carrier Tilt Do you really know how ARs actually function?

The bolt carrier group doesn’t tilt as it cycles because it’s not being pushed rearward/tilted up by the gas tube/gas key interface. Gas goes into the expansion chamber of the BCG where it expands and pushes the body of the BCG straight back because the bolt is still locked in battery in the barrel extension. When unlocking occurs, the cam pin rotates the bolt within the BCG. The carrier pulls the bolt the rest of the way out of the extension and takes the bolt with it as it cycles.

As for loose fits between uppers/ lowers and barrels/receivers, I suggest finding better parts, a good barrel nut socket, and torque wrench. If you’ve got play at the barrel/upper interface, you’ve got big problems. A loose fit between upper and lower impacts accuracy/precision when the upper is the entire rifle and carries the sights/scope, BCG, and barrel. No play between the upper and lower is going to throw off any parts of the upper assembly.

As for high-end ARs and their accuracy guarantees from manufacturers like Les Baer, if you’re willing to pay $2500-$3500 for that 1/2 MOA guarantee and think it’s being achieved with special parts rather than simply taking advantage of the inherent accuracy of the AR architecture, knock yourself out. I own a Les Baer Premier II Tactical 1911 with the 1.5-inch-at-50-yards guarantee and that pistol will do what it’s supposed to do with even cheap cast 200 grain SWCs.

I’ve also got two AR- 15s with 18" Wilson Combat Stainless Match barrels (5.56x45mm and 7.62x40mm Wilson Tactical) both sub-MOA with nothing but cheap uppers and lowers shooting throw together reloads using Hornady V- Max bullets. Chrome-lined, hammer-forged barrels in military ARs has a negative effect on accuracy and precision, though they have long barrel life. Pinned front sights, nonfloating handguards, pencil barrel profiles also don’t help. Daniel P. Horn D. E. Meyer Author Joe Carlos responds.

You obviously spend time researching the Stoner Platform. Book learnin’ is a good thing but if one really wants to understand the rifle at some point you have to get out from in front of the computer and either employ the

thing in real combat on the battlefield, shoot it in competition, or perform tests with it. I have done all three with many sample rifles and will describe the testing performed prior to writing "Combating AR-15 Bolt Carrier Tilt." It is not the unlocking of the bolt that is a concern with bolt carrier tilt, it is what occurs just prior to firing the round when the carrier is at rest. The back of the carrier is down, sometimes even to the point of resting on the bottom of the receiver.

That causes the bolt face to be at an angle and the round in the chamber to also be at an angle to the bore. Readers just joining the conversation can see this bolt carrier tilt by opening their gun safes and taking out and inspecting a couple of uppers. Contemporaries of Stoner recognized this carrier tilt was a design flaw with respect to shooting tight groups. Old time gunsmiths of the era silver soldered shim stock in long strips on either side of the bottom of the carrier.

Eventually, some of these pads came loose and jammed up the guns and that idea was dropped. Gunsmiths collectively stuck their heads in the sand for decades and pretended that the problem didn’t exist. When I started to experiment with solutions years ago I had already learned from those gunsmiths to avoid the silver solder approach and installed cap head screws. Because of their domed heads only the top of the curved head makes any contact with the inside walls of the receiver keeping friction to a minimum.

There is not much pressure on the dome heads so you only need a little contact surface. As soon as I started shooting groups with the pads in place I saw groups tighten up. So every gun that came in my shop for nearly a year got tested with a true match carrier of the same manufacturer without pads and with. I made dozens of test firings with the same lots of match ammo but no other changes.

At the end of the study I ran an average of the group sizes and found that those with the pads were 14% tighter than those without. I don’t know if you have ever shot in competition but I have done so extensively. When I was on the circuit I would have killed for a 14% reduction in group size at so little cost and with no downfalls. Lots of competition shooters are using my carriers with the anti-tilt pads and I have an inbox full of thank you notes but no accuracy complaints to date.

As I was closing that article I mentioned that my efforts should be only considered as steps and encouraged other gunsmiths to come up with their own designs and ideas to improve on my work. Perhaps you will end up being the person to invent a better mouse trap. If so, I will be the first to congratulate you. A word of advice, however: I suggest you perform your due diligence by doing a lot of testing on the range with scores of rifles before settling your opinion.

Barrel Rechambering I have a short-chambered (unused) barrel chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor for a Mauser 98 I would like to rechamber to another 6.5mm/.264 caliber. What other cartridges could I go with? The reason I want to change the chambering is due to differences with Mauser 98 and 96 action, the standard internal magazine, and a change in bottom metal along with a desired conversion to a detachable magazine. I’m considering 6.5 PRC. James Parr From Paul Mazan.

This will depend on what you’re trying to accomplish. 6.5 Creedmoor is among the best of the 6.5s so you’d have to decide what is gained by rechambering. It would take having a set of SAAMI drawings to compare other 6.5mm cartridges and pick those that are larger, longer, and still use the same base diameter. Also, check the cartridge specifications in a current reloading manual. Pay particular attention to the case diameter at the shoulder (0.462") and from base of case to shoulder (1.490").

About the first one you’ll see in Hornady 10th Edition Handbook of Cartridge Reloading is the 6.5mm-284 with the same case head diameter of 0.473. You might search through a list of wildcats for something else but this may become quite involved. I can visualize lots of shooters and hunters who would really cherish your barrel already short-chambered 6.5 Creedmoor. AG