"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
The most gunsmithing thing I ever did was pry the firing pin out of a Zastava M57 pistol. The gun came slathered with cosmoline, and I thought I needed to take it apart as far as I was able. It was a hell of a job getting it out, and a hell of a job getting it back in (if memory serves, it was Mrs. Paco who finally got the thing reinstalled). And I didn't even need to do it at all. As I found out when I bought a similar handgun (a Zastava M70 pistol), all you really have to do is field strip the gun and submerge it in mineral spirits for an hour or so, and just depress the firing pin several times to let the liquid work its way in.
Yeah, cosmoline is funny like that. Try degreasing a rifle stored in that stuff!
I've changed stocks and added accessories, like grips, new sights, heat shields, etc, but the closest I came to actually gun smithing was modifying an SKS to eliminate slam fires.
I found out the hard way that the SKS has a floating firing pin, i.e., no spring. That means the pin rattles around inside the bolt.
Normally, this is not an issue, but a lot of the old Soviet ammo has cheap primers, with thin walls. Thin enough that the firing pin could set off a cartridge, without the trigger being used, when the bolt slammed forward to rechamber a round. Multiple rounds could be set off with one squeeze of the trigger ... ... and you never knew when that might happen.
Not good. Not good at all.
After some research, I found a modification kit which added a spring to the bolt. It came with instructions, but I had to disassemble the bolt, normally a task for an armorer or gun smith.
I got a Mauser from Mitchell's Mausers made somewhere in former Yugoslavia in the 40s and stored in cosmolene since then. It was easy to clean, the hardest part was the bolt, but a few minutes with some Qtips and CLP and it was clean as a whistle. It looked as though it was made yesterday, all matching numbers, even the bayonet. Of course, the bolt is the only moving part except the sights so it was not a problem. I see a lot of hate for Mitchell's Mausers online, but that one was perfect. I got a German one with Wermacht markings not Nazi, that was advertised as rough. They got those from Russia, not matching numbers, but they said they were rough. I got what I expected. Also, since they got it from Russia, I figure Germans used it to kill commies then Russians used it to kill Nazis. Kinda cool.
I bought a Yugoslavian Mauser and the first time I took it to the range, it wouldn't fire at all. I'd pull the trigger, and I got the merest soft little thump of the trigger. I took it home and dismantled the bolt, and it was positively clogged with cosmoline. After I cleaned it it all off, the rifle worked fine. I noticed that you do have to be careful about moving the safety catch; it's possible for the bolt to lock up tight. This has happened to me on a couple of occasions. Fortunately, I found a video that told me how to "unlock" the bolt.
I've shot mine a lot. I got a bunch of Turkish bandoleers when Cheaper Than Dirt was actually cheap. I've probably put 100 or more rounds through it and have never had a problem with the safety. I leave it unloaded with the safety off in storage, I only move it when I'm playing with it or pulling the bolt.
That's a level of restoration I would not care to attempt, especially fabricating replacement parts.
ReplyDeleteThe most gunsmithing thing I ever did was pry the firing pin out of a Zastava M57 pistol. The gun came slathered with cosmoline, and I thought I needed to take it apart as far as I was able. It was a hell of a job getting it out, and a hell of a job getting it back in (if memory serves, it was Mrs. Paco who finally got the thing reinstalled). And I didn't even need to do it at all. As I found out when I bought a similar handgun (a Zastava M70 pistol), all you really have to do is field strip the gun and submerge it in mineral spirits for an hour or so, and just depress the firing pin several times to let the liquid work its way in.
DeleteYeah, cosmoline is funny like that. Try degreasing a rifle stored in that stuff!
DeleteI've changed stocks and added accessories, like grips, new sights, heat shields, etc, but the closest I came to actually gun smithing was modifying an SKS to eliminate slam fires.
I found out the hard way that the SKS has a floating firing pin, i.e., no spring. That means the pin rattles around inside the bolt.
Normally, this is not an issue, but a lot of the old Soviet ammo has cheap primers, with thin walls. Thin enough that the firing pin could set off a cartridge, without the trigger being used, when the bolt slammed forward to rechamber a round. Multiple rounds could be set off with one squeeze of the trigger ... ... and you never knew when that might happen.
Not good. Not good at all.
After some research, I found a modification kit which added a spring to the bolt. It came with instructions, but I had to disassemble the bolt, normally a task for an armorer or gun smith.
After that, no more slam fires!
I got a Mauser from Mitchell's Mausers made somewhere in former Yugoslavia in the 40s and stored in cosmolene since then.
ReplyDeleteIt was easy to clean, the hardest part was the bolt, but a few minutes with some Qtips and CLP and it was clean as a whistle.
It looked as though it was made yesterday, all matching numbers, even the bayonet.
Of course, the bolt is the only moving part except the sights so it was not a problem.
I see a lot of hate for Mitchell's Mausers online, but that one was perfect.
I got a German one with Wermacht markings not Nazi, that was advertised as rough. They got those from Russia, not matching numbers, but they said they were rough. I got what I expected.
Also, since they got it from Russia, I figure Germans used it to kill commies then Russians used it to kill Nazis. Kinda cool.
I bought a Yugoslavian Mauser and the first time I took it to the range, it wouldn't fire at all. I'd pull the trigger, and I got the merest soft little thump of the trigger. I took it home and dismantled the bolt, and it was positively clogged with cosmoline. After I cleaned it it all off, the rifle worked fine. I noticed that you do have to be careful about moving the safety catch; it's possible for the bolt to lock up tight. This has happened to me on a couple of occasions. Fortunately, I found a video that told me how to "unlock" the bolt.
DeleteI should have said, "the merest soft little thump of the bolt".
DeleteI've shot mine a lot.
DeleteI got a bunch of Turkish bandoleers when Cheaper Than Dirt was actually cheap.
I've probably put 100 or more rounds through it and have never had a problem with the safety.
I leave it unloaded with the safety off in storage, I only move it when I'm playing with it or pulling the bolt.