Reader Forum

Winchester M59 I am having trouble getting a Winchester M59 12 gauge into proper adjustment. I have books that describe servicing this action throughout and I understand it, however, when I carefully set the plug in the rear of the action return spring according to instructions, the tube underneath the buttplate creates a tendency to jam.

Moving the bolt to its rearmost position, letting it remain locked open, adjusting the plug inward to contact the inertia rod, and then backing it off two and a half turns with the plug as instructed tends to lock it in place with the plug retaining spring and I get a bolt that jams before it locks in an open position. If I go further it jams even worse. However, if I close in on the plug at 1.5-2 turns from contact instead it seems to work fine. What am I missing?

Will using less than the recommended 2.5 turns damage something? Christian Stauffer The Winchester Model 59 was designed by David Williams based on patents by Jonathan Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company from 1959 to 1965 with 82,085 units produced. Directly from the Model 59 owner’s manual, the factory recommendations were to pull the bolt open with cocking handle and allow it to stay locked open. Tighten buffer until it just takes up on the inertia rod.

To check this condition there should be a slight amount of movement in right slide to avoid jamming of parts. Then back off or unscrew the buffer plug 2 1/2 turns to the first set of holes for the locking clip to lock in closure spring housing and buffer plug. This will allow the slide handle to move between 3/32" and 1/8" reward from its normal locked open position. An indicator the timing is off is if the empty hulls are being thrown farther.

Make sure the stock is snug first (and don’t over tighten) before making timing adjustments. Check if the shotgun was factory modified with a hole at the end of the bolt handle groove, a change that helps but still can allow the bolt to hit the back of the receiver, which can crack it back near the stock bolt attachment area if the spring is worn. Check the length of your spring; it should be between 11-13 inches. Anything less and no amount of adjusting can help the bolt from striking the receiver.

Lessening the timing adjustment is not recommended. If the spring is worn the receiver will eventually crack at the rear of the charging handle slot. Remington Model 121 I am searching for a detailed schematic and a source of parts for the Remington Model 121 22LR pump action rifle. Hillsboro, OH Joseph Fasano Numrich Gun Parts (Gun Parts Corp. com, has a detailed schematic. For a source of parts, Classic Firearms (CFNparts.com, and Homestead Parts (HomesteadParts.com, has them available. AG