Working the Remington Model 12

We’ve all probably spent some time in the shooting gallery at a county or state fair trying to win a prize with our shooting prowess. Most often, the rifles were pump action, fired .22 shorts, and had sights that were never lined up with bullet impact. One of the more common rifles found at these fairs was the Gallery model of the Remington Model 12, and many of these guns are still in service. This model is another design from Remington’s premier designer, John Pedersen.

The two most common styles you’ll likely see are the round-barrel model with the flat buttplate and the octagonal-barrel model with the crescent buttplate. There are several stock configurations as well. Some have a slight pistol grip, and others will be seen with the straight or English-style grip. This article will help you to ensure that everything is safe and functional, and if not, what’s involved in restoring the rifle to a workable condition.

The takedown procedures detailed here will work for all Model 12s produced by Remington, including the Model 121. Removing the Wood There is a through-bolt holding the stock to the receiver, which is accessible once the buttplate has been removed with a #240-4 Magna-tip bit. The stock then slides off the receiver and is set aside.

In the event the stock bolt is missing and you need to make a replacement, the measurements are: 1/4-20 thread, 1/2-inch long; overall length is 3-3/4 inches; and the bolthead diameter is .470 inch and is .160 inch thick. The screwdriver-slot width is .060 inch. The forearm has two retaining screws and one lock screw for each retaining screw. The retaining-screw lock screws are removed with a #120-3 bit, and the retaining screws with a #240-4 bit.

Later Model 12s have only a single retaining screw on each side of the forearm. The forearm will need to stay in place for the time being. Receiver Takedown As always, make sure that the chamber and magazine tube are empty. Secure the barrel in your padded-jaw vise with the bottom of the action facing up. On the right side of the receiver, just behind the ejection port, is the takedown screw. Make sure that the action is cocked so the hammer is back.

This screw has straight knurling on the periphery of the head for turning, and also a slot that a nickel fits in should the screw become stubborn on removal. Once this screw has been removed from the action, the trigger group will now slide backward and away from the action. If the trigger group is reluctant to depart the receiver, a few gentle whacks with a plastic-faced mallet on the front of the triggerguard will convince it to move rearward. Set the trigger group

aside for later attention. Slide the forearm back until the breech-block assembly is protruding about 1/4 inch out the rear of the receiver. Tilt the rear end of the breechblock assembly upward, and hold it in place while the forearm is pushed forward. This action will disengage the breech-block assembly from the action bar. Set this assembly aside. The action bar along with the outer magazine tube will now slide out of the forearm and out the rear of the action.

As the action bar is removed, be aware that the retainer (#257) may also come out of the receiver. The retainer hooks into a rectangular recess in the barrel just below the chamber mouth; it plays a very important role in the function of this rifle. The rear end of the retainer is also the ramp that feeds the cartridge into the chamber mouth, so don’t lose it. This part is also used on the Remington Model 121, and will definitely need to be scrubbed with a solvent to remove gunk buildup in the milled cutout areas.

The ramp portion needs to be looked over closely for any sharp edges that will peel the hide off a soft-nosed .22 rimfire round as it feeds into the chamber. Polishing this area judiciously will prevent the abrading of bullets and lessen the accumulation of crud in this area. All the internal parts have now been removed from the action. If restoration is part of the plan, the front and rear sights will need to be drifted out of the dovetails they reside in, along with the outer magazine-tube hangers.

I use copper drifts to remove Consider polishing the feed ramp. parts such as these to prevent any deformation of the part, and a copper smear is easier to remove than the smear left by a brass drift. Keep in mind that production of the Model 12 began in 1909 and ceased around 1936 when this model became the 121, so these sights and hangers have been in place for as long as about 95 years.

I use an aerosol called "Kroil" to spray in and around these parts to help break the habit they’ve formed over time to stay where they are. When turning out the outer magazine-tube hangers, the outside diameter of the hangers can easily be deformed if a plug is not used to support them on the inside. I turned a cold-rolled-steel rod to a slip fit that will insert inside the hanger during the process of drifting out and back in. The outside diameter of the steel

plugs will vary a bit as the inside diameter of the hangers vary. Breech-Block Disassembly Remington produced two styles of breech blocks for this model. The earlier version has a slot along the left side of the breech block that houses a flat firing pin. As the Model 12 was beginning its transition toward the Model 121 (around serial number 650,000), the design changed to use around firing pin going through the centerline of the breech block as depicted here.

With both breech blocks, the firing pin also serves as the ejector. This particular type has a spring-loaded plunger inserted into the front face of the stock. As the slide moves the breech block backward, the hammer is lowered into the cocked position and the firing pin contacts the rear face of the spent case. The spring-loaded plunger in the stock then pushes on the firing pin with enough pressure to allow the extractor to throw the case out the ejection port.

There are only a few components that comprise the breech-block assembly. To remove the firing pin and firing-pin return spring, the retaining pin is drifted out with a 1/16-inch punch while the breech block is resting on a bench block. Look over the firing pin nose for any deformation, mushrooming, or chips. Roll the firing pin in the "V" in your bench block or spin it in your drill-press chuck to see if it’s bent.

It’s possible Numbers 3 & 4 are originals. to make a replacement or to straighten the firing pin if it’s bent. You can often reshape the nose while staking the metal back to shape. But as long as Brownells has replacement firing pins for $13.95, it’s hard to justify the extra work. Keep in mind that an aftermarket firing pin will need to be fit for function, as wear on the hammer and breech bolt varies.

It’s a tedious process, so go slowly, taking a few thousandths off the firing pin tip at a time, and then reassemble the bolt until primer ignition and ejection have been accomplished. The firing pin will surely get bent or broken if it has not been fit for correct length. The extractor, extractor plunger, and plunger spring are removed by retracting the plunger and holding it back in place while the extractor is picked from its place. The rifle here

1 Action Bar 2 Action Bar Plunger 3 Action Bar Plunger Pin 4 Action Bar Spring 5 Barrel 8 Butt Plate, Rubber 9 Butt Plate, Metal has seen a lot of rimfire ammunition without much cleaning in this area, so the recesses were quite full of gunk. A thorough soaking in solvent to loosen most of it and then a stiff stainless steel brushing removed what was left.

When I encounter rimfire rifles with this much gunk buildup, I normally soak the parts overnight after a good 10 Butt Plate Screw 11 Carrier 12 Carrier Dog 13 Carrier Dog Pin 14 Carrier Dog Spring 15 Cartridge Stop 16 Ejector Pin spraying with Quicksilver engine cleaner. This stuff will soften some of the hardest crud I’ve run into and makes it much easier to remove.

After cleaning and then drying, these parts were then blasted with #270 glass beads to give them a satin finish and clean away whatever the brush and dental picks missed.

Before reassem 17 Extractor 18 Extractor Plunger 19 Extractor Spring 20 Firing Pin 21 Firing Pin Pin 22 Firing Pin Spring 23 Firing Pin Spring Guide 24 Forend 26 Forend Escutcheon 27 Forend Screw 28 Front Sight 30 Hammer 31 Hammer Bushing 32 Hammer Pin 33 Magazine Follower 34 Magazine Pin 35 Magazine Plug 36 Ejector Spring 37 Ejector Spring Plunger 38 Magazine Ring 39 Magazine Screw 40 Magazine Spring 42 Magazine Tube, Inner 44 Magazine Tube, Outer 46 Main Spring 47 Main Spring Rod 48 Rear Sight Leaf 49 Rear Sight Base 50 Rear Sight Elevating Screw 51 Rear Sight Screw 53 Receiver Bushing, Plain 54 Receiver Bushing, Threaded 57 Retainer 58 Safety 59 Safety Plunger 60 Safety Plunger Pin 61 Safety Spring 64 Stock Bolt 66 Takedown Screw 68 Trigger 70 Trigger Spring 71 Trigger Spring Case 75 Plug Screw 78 Magazine Lever 79 Magazine Lever Spring 80 Magazine Lever Pin 85 Take Down Screw Retainer bly, the recess that holds the extractor plunger and spring was given a few drops of Break-Free CLP.

The Trigger Group Before we get to the trigger group there are a couple of components that need to be removed from the action bar. The screw that retains the outer magazine

tube in place is removed with a #120- 3 bit, but the outer tube can prove to be very difficult to remove. The outer magazine tube has a fine thread on the insertion end, and is usually found to be rusted in place. I’ve seen a few of these magazine tubes that were man-handled off with the aid of a pair of pliers. Clean the inside of the outer tube with a .270-caliber bore brush dipped in solvent, and then run patches through until dry. For rebluing, it’s just as easy to do the tube and action bar assembled.

The carrier-dog spring screw will need to be removed with a #180-3 bit, which will then allow removal of the carrier-dog spring along with the cartridge stop. Cocking the hammer will reveal a small hole at the back end of the mainspring rod. Insert apiece of wire or bent paper clip into this hole and allow the hammer to go forward. The wire will retain the mainspring on the mainspring rod but relieve the tension of the spring.

I’ve made up a stepped punch that supports the hammer bushing during the drifting-out process. This same punch works for all early Remington slide-action rifles where the hammer bushing is used. Once the hammer bushing has been removed, the hammer and its components can be removed from the triggerguard. As is so often the case, these rifles are stored with the hammer cocked, compressing the mainspring coils.

Over time, this will cause the spring to "set" and become reluctant to open to its original length and therefore weaken the blow from the hammer to the firing pin. Twopacks of extra-power hammer springs manufactured by Wolff Gunsprings are available from Brownells at a very reasonable cost. Drift out the pin above the safety with a 1/16-inch punch, and the safety spring and plunger will come out the top of the lower triggerguard tang. The safety will slide out of the triggerguard from either side.

To remove the lifter, lifter plunger, and spring, along with the trigger, the pin directly above the hole for the trigger is drifted out with a 3/32-inch punch. These parts needed some extreme cleaning as they were badly gunked up. Evaluation Results One of the first things that the owner of this rifle and I discovered was that the rifling was quite eroded. This created a discussion as to whether rebarreling or lining the original barrel would be more feasible.

The decision was to keep the rifle as original as possible, so that meant a liner was to be installed and chambered. With either decision, the barrel needed to come off the receiver. An action wrench was made in the milling machine from a solid block of aluminum, and barrel blocks were fashioned from the same material. There are witness marks from the factory telling how this barrel and receiver should be aligned.

The firing-pin nose was damaged beyond repair, so that was replaced with a reproduction as sold through Brownells. The hammer spring was left in the cocked position for quite a few years, and this caused enough set in the coil spring to weaken its power substantially. I installed one of the replacement hammer springs made by Wolff. All of the retaining pins in this rifle are of standard diameter, and could be easily replaced should one become lost or bent.

The only aftermarket springs available are for the mainspring, but all of the springs used could be substituted with one found in Wolff’s service packs. Once the liner is installed and the barreled replaced on the receiver, the entire gun will be rust blued. The stock will be refinished in a finish typical of the period.

Conclusions Controversy abounds as to whether an old firearm should be restored or "modernized." While I like to see older guns restored as closely as we can get to where they once were, as gun-fixers we should recognize that the owner of that firearm has the final call on what he’d like to see done with his gun. All we can do is recommend procedures to maintain the look of the period the particular firearm came from. After all, the bottom line is to get that firearm back into service. ■