Reader Forum

Joe Carlos Articles I was flipping through the recent American Gunsmith while "monitoring" a remote work telecom. I’m a retired Air Force Combat Controller and always been a gun nerd and tinkerer. While not a gunsmith, I subscribed back in the 1990s when I first learned of it. I remember reading about Bill Laughridge’s 1911 course while sitting in a hooch in Asadabad in 2002 and found time to attend a year later.

Over the years as I’ve helped buddies build or tweak their ARs, built different ones for family, and just changed stuff on mine because I could. I’ve found the articles by Joe Carlos to be on par with books by Glen Zediker and Patrick Sweeney. After seeing his email in his articles, I sent a message. Thanks for replying and for sharing all of your hard earned and extensive knowledge. You share info like a "graybeard" in the Team Room; not pontificating, just, "This is what and why. Feel free to use or not.

If you prove me wrong, please up my game as well." against the tip of the firing pin so the rear of the gauge touched the breech face. This caused the center rod to extend beyond the far edge of the gauge. I turned the set screw to lock the center rod, then measured the gauge with my caliper. Because I had zeroed the gauge before pressing it against the firing pin tip, my caliper now measured the exact amount of firing pin protrusion.

If using a manual caliper, measure the gauge with the rod centered and I look forward to all of Joe’s articles. Even as parts and reloading components become like unicorns for the foreseeable future, knowledge is powerful and persistent. Stephen "Duke" Danforth A. F. Reserve Command Test Center Joe Carlos responds. I can’t thank you enough for your kind comments! We are paid for our articles but receiving mail from readers means more to me.

I started writing these articles years ago so that guys like yourself wouldn’t have to reinvent and rediscover ways to make your rifles shoot better. It is nice to know that someone is profiting from all the effort it takes to put these articles together. Walther PPS M2 I recently purchased a Walther PPS M2 LE in 9mm and it has a terrible trigger. It arrived with an eight-pound pull and is an unsmooth six pounds after 600 rounds and lots of dry fire. I sent it back to Walther and they replaced the trigger group.

The new trigger is 6.5 pounds and nasty. write down this value. Measure the gauge again after pressing it against a protruded firing pin and subtract the first measurement from the second measurement to obtain the amount of protrusion. Summary This gauge is easy to make and a valuable addition to any gunsmith’s toolkit. It can help identify ignition problems caused by a short or long firing pin. AG Any advice? I have rebuilt my share of Smith revolvers but have no previous experience with one of these.

The Walther people have been easy to deal with but haven’t offered any suggestions. Maybe this is normal but 6+ pounds seems awfully heavy, even for a striker fired pistol. Maybe the times have passed me by. I have fired hundreds of thousands of rounds in Precision Pistol shooting, even building a revolver for a Camp Perry competitor, but this offers a whole new challenge. Does anyone make a good double/single trigger for a compact handgun chambered in a suitable defensive cartridge?

I’ll stick with my 357 Magnum in the mean time as my Commander is a little heavy for my purpose. I hoped the Walther might have been fixable. From RK Campbell. This handgun will never have the smooth trigger break as you experienced with S&W revolvers or tuned 1911s. The Walther is a good personal defense handgun 050" which is within the general specification. If using a manual caliper, subtract this measurement from the zero measurement to obtain the amount of protrusion. Mike

but not a target gun and that trigger action that is about as good as it gets. There are aftermarket parts, same as for the Glock, but I’d never use them in a handgun intended for personal defense. I’ve had some luck with Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant (Permatex.com, in coating the action. Weight isn’t usually decreased but the compound seems to help make the action smoother. For plastic striker-fired pistols, Glock and SIG 320s can be set up with usable triggers.

Military shooting teams have modified both into ball guns for Service Pistol competition. Shotgun Chambers I read "The Long and Short of Shotgun Chambers" (February 2006) to fix my pre-1960s Cooey Model 84 .410 bore shotgun my grandfather gave me. Twice now upon shooting grouse I was left holding the barrel in one hand and the stock in the other. At the time I was firing a 2.5" shotshell with a 1/2 ounce of #6 shot.

That article mentions using heavy modern shotshells can lead to anything from hard recoil to burst barrels. I understand the barrel can be reamed but I’m not sure if that is the answer or post a letter to Falls Church, VA 22041. For subscription questions or mailing problems contact American Gunsmith