Working The Stevens 39A

A customer brought in a Western Field SD14A that was firing when the bolt closed. I first looked in the Numrich Gun Parts Brand Cross Reference guide and did not find it listed. It wasn’t listed in Jack First Gun Parts Reference Book, either. After examining a similar Savage/Stevens shotgun I was able to determine I had a Stevens 39A, essentially the same as the Stevens 59A, Band C with minor changes. The Sears 101.125 and 101.600, Western Field 14 and SD14A are all basically the same gun.

All of these guns were a .410 bolt action with a five shot tubular magazine. The model 39A was made from 1939 to 1947, while the model 59 was made into the 1960’s. The model 59 has the takedown screw in front of a stamped steel trigger guard. The 59B has a black forend tip. I was not able to find a 59C to know the difference from the others. Before starting on this or any gun, unload it first.

We had a hunter in my neck of the woods recently shoot himself in the foot after cleaning his firearm and pulled the trigger on an "empty" gun. Open the bolt and check that there no rounds in the chamber and none in the magazine. Proceed only after insuring weapon is unloaded. Disassembly To remove the bolt, first loosen the bolt stop screw on the left side of the receiver. While holding the trigger back, pull the bolt back and free of the receiver.

The magazine inner tube is removed by twisting until the pin is lined up with the slot and pulled out of the outer tube. The action is removed from the stock, by backing off the front trigger guard screw on the 39A or the screw forward of the trigger guard for the 59 A, Band C. Remove the two screws holding the safety and its positioning spring. The trigger and trigger spring are held in place by across pin in the lower portion of the receiver. Maintain control of the spring when removing it.

The screws on each side of the lifter housing are removed next. Drift out the lifter pivot pin to the left. The lifter housing can now be removed to the rear while pulling down and back. The lifter is moved forward and then down. Gently lift the looped ends of the lifter lever spring out of the grooves of the cross pin and remove the spring. The pin can now be pushed out and the lever can be taken off. Remove the cross screw in the magazine tube hanger and remove the tube and hanger off the front of the barrel.

The flat lifter positioning spring is held in place by two screws in the carrier post. Watch for the filler block to fall out. The pin that holds the magazine tube in place is driven out to release the magazine spring and follower. Caution: Leave the band on the front of the magazine as removing this can damage the magazine tube. No further disassembly of the action is needed unless one of the remaining parts needs to be replaced. The ejector is pressed into place.

Bolt Disassembly Drift out the cross pin that is in front of the bolt handle. This will release the front half of the bolt body. Remove the bolt head stop plunger and spring from the bolt handle base. The spring is probably stuck in the hole so use care when removing. The firing pin is screwed into place on the striker. Using non-marring pliers or a vise, unscrew the firing pin. Put the striker in the fired position and drift out to the left the pin holding the cocking piece cross pin. Remove the cocking piece.

The striker spring retainer is an omega shaped piece. I broke several punches trying to get this piece out. Looking ahead at having to put this part back in, I made a disassembly tool to make life easier. Starting with apiece of ½" cold rolled steel longer than two inches, drill a K drill size hole 0.750" deep. Turn the outside down to 0.430" for a length of 0.900". I used a 0.250" end mill bit and milled across the drilled end to

a depth of 0.125", then milled one side to a thickness of 0.150". Using the small end toward the striker spring retainer, put the tool on the striker end and squeeze in a vise until the retainer is loose. Slowly back off the vise and the striker assembly can easily be removed. To remove the extractors, insert a small flat tip screwdriver in between the extractor and plunger. While pushing the plunger into the bolt body, lift the extractor out of the slot. Maintain control of the plunger and release the plunger.

Remove the spring. Repeat for the other side. The extractors are left and right so do not mix them up. The extractors are angled down to the bottom. If it worked before and it doesn’t feed and extract after removing them, they are probably on reversed. Removal is best done using a padded vise. The bolt is now completely disassembled. Cleaning And Inspection The gun on my bench had been disassembled sometime in the past as evidenced by the way the pins were battered into place.

However, all the spring recesses were full of dirt. Only by soaking overnight and using a pipe cleaner was I able to get these holes cleaned. The inner magazine tube was clean using a nylon .410 brush followed by an old .410 mop. The cocking piece is not harden steel, which is the reason the gun was firing on closing. There was a groove worn into it approximately 1/8" deep. It would slide out of cock after pushing the cocking piece into the cocked position.

A little TIG welding and filing back into proper shape solved this problem. I was going to harden it but it lasted some it was. Besides, I might have caused the bolt to wear instead. If the gun is not ejecting the shells, check the edge of the ejector tab in the receiver. More than likely it is rounded over as there is very little of the shell case to grab on to. It should be a 90 degree edge, so touch up this edge to get reliable ejection. Bolt Reassembly The firing pin is screwed back into the striker.

Use a drop of blue Loctite to keep in place. It is possible to screw the firing pin in too far where it will not make a good dent in the primer. Check to see that there is approximately 0.045" firing pin protrusion. The striker has an angled face that must be aligned with the trigger. Failure to line this up correctly will cause the bolt to drop by pushing on the back of it and fire the gun. When reassembling the striker, spring and washer, line up the slot in the washer to accept the tabs on the retainer.

Use the tool to squeeze the striker assembly enough to insert the retainer. Once the retainer is in place make sure the retainer is in the slots of the washer. Slowly release the tool. If the pin is not in the slots, rotate the firing pin to lock it. Put the extractors back into the bolt. Drop the spring in with the

plunger, then the extractor. With the bolt in a vise, push down on the extractor until it locks into place. Put the bolt head stop plunger and spring into the bolt handle base. Put the bolt head on the handle base and reinstall the cross pin. Check for free rotation of the bolt head. Reassembly If the dovetail blocks are loose use a center punch to peen the dovetail on the receiver to tighten. If the blocks are loose the accuracy of the gun will be affected. Reinstall the magazine tube and put in the cross pin.

The lifter assembly is put back together insuring the ends of the spring lock into the slots of the pin. Reinstall the lifter from the front and line up hole so that the lifter pivot pin can be driven in. The lifter housing is put into place and the lifter pivot pin is driven in from the left. Screw the lifter housing screws back into place. Reinstall trigger and trigger spring, which is easier to do with the bolt out of the gun.

Put the safety back on using the two screws, insuring that the positioning spring is in the correct position. Put the action back into the stock and reinstall the trigger guard screw or takedown screw. The bolt goes back in while holding the trigger back. Tighten the bolt stop screw. Drop the follower and magazine spring into the outer magazine tube. Insert into the outer magazine tube and lock into place.

I always use dummy rounds to prove the action will work before firing, filling the magazine with three rounds and cycling the action to make sure everything was put back into place correctly. With the gun cocked and safety on, push on the back of the bolt trying to get it to fall off the sear. After working on this gun, rapping it with the handle of a hammer could not get it to fire, indicating a successful fix. After reassembly of the action appears satisfactory, go out and test fire. AG

1 Firing Pin 2 Striker 3 Cocking Piece Pin 4 Cocking Piece 5 Striker Washer 6 Mainspring 7 Bolt Body and Handle 8 Mainspring Retainer 9 Safety Pawl Spring 10 Safety Pawl 11 Safety Pawl Pin 12 Bolt Head Retaining Pin 13 Bolt Head Stop Plunger Spring 14 Bolt Head Stop Plunger 15 Bolt Head 16 Extractor Plunger 17 Extractor Spring 18 Extractor (left) 19 Extractor (right) 20 Barrel 21 Filler Block 22 Front Sight 23 Bolt Stop Screw 24 Receiver 25 Safety 26 Safety Spring 27 Trigger Spring 28 Trigger 29 Trigger Pin 30 Safety Screw 31 Lifter Spring 32 Lifter Spring Screw 33 Lifter Pawl Pin 34 Lifter Pawl 35 Lifter Lever 36 Lifter Lever Spring 37 Lifter Lever Pin 38 Lifter Assembly 39 Lifter Pin 40 Dovetail Block (rear) 41 Ejector 42 Dovetail Block (front) Stevens Model 39A (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 43 Outside Magazine Tube 44 Magazine Tube Yoke Screw 45 Magazine Tube Yoke 46 Magazine Tube Collar 47 Magazine Follower 48 Magazine Follower Spring 49 Inside Magazine Tube 50 Magazine Plug 51 Magazine Plug Pin 52 Lifter Housing Screw 53 Lifter Housing 54 Trigger Guard Screw (long) 54A Trigger Guard Screw (long) 54B Trigger Guard Screw (short) 55 Trigger Guard 55A Trigger Guard 56 Takedown Screw 57 Butt Plate Screw 58 Butt Plate 59 Stock