I have acquired an old model 87a and it needs some work. I apologize if this post rambles or seems poorly written. Despite 10 years in the military, this is my first personal firearm (not much need for them in the USAF, fuels career field).
This is the model with the rounds held in a tube underneath the barrel and auto-loads with a spring mechanism.
The problem is the auto-loader, it is a small plate of metal that is actuated by the motion of the bolt. As the bolt returns forward, it strikes the plate as it grabs the bullet and pushes it into the chamber. The plate is moved enough to allow the next bullet to pass and then be pushed up for the bolt to catch after it extracts the spent round.
The problem is where the bolt strikes the plate is worn (on both) and the plate was not moving far enough to allow the next round to pass. I carefully filed away some metal and now it will allow the bullet to pass, but it does tend to jam because the bullet is not pushed evenly, the head drags behind and the base moves up first, causing a jam when the bolt attempts to shove it into the chamber.
I have the same rifle, and the part you are referring to is called a lifter. IIRC, the spring that makes the lifter work has been known to be a problem on these rifles. If the spring is missing, bent or damaged your gun will not feed right.
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The spring seems fine, plenty of tension and it is complete on both sides. Can I get away with removing more material from the lifter? I know if I remove too much I will mar the angle it is designed to operate at, I might try removing material farther back so I don't ruin the angle.
I probably will eventually, but right now I don't think I have the resources to purchase new parts...and I don't know where to look. There is a gun shop nearby, perhaps I will visit this weekend and try to at least price the parts.
Do you know any salvage sites online where I might find used parts? If I have to, I will make my own when I have time...and a garage or shop.
I don't know about owning guns, for now my one ancient little .22 is perfect for me. I seem to miss my bi-annual M-16 qualifying I got in the Air Force and would like to replace it with this rifle.
I like the fact that it required a little work to make it operational and look forward to doing more with it later. I won't be bluing it, I like the patina it has acquired through age. The stock has been modified to fit the hands of a left handed shooter, so I might replace it if I can find a suitably aged replacement for the right price.
Right now living in Texas, where it is very flat, I am uncomfortable shooting at a buddies farm because I observed ricochets actually bouncing out of the dirt behind our target into the cotton field. What do I need to set up as a back-stop to prevent being a danger to he neighbors?
Drew
I like the fact that it required a little work to make it operational and look forward to doing more with it later. I won't be bluing it, I like the patina it has acquired through age. The stock has been modified to fit the hands of a left handed shooter, so I might replace it if I can find a suitably aged replacement for the right price.
That there is a dangerous statement...it's what usually preceeds getting a nice large collection of old guns to fix...LOL
You might as well buy a 20-gun safe now...it's inevitable.
You shoulda seen this relic before I refinished it...it was beat to heck.
1960 Marlin/Glenfield 99-G
1913 Marlin 37 slide-action...ain't done anything to it yet...but planning ahead
Hrm...no pics of my 1952 Marlin 336...guess I better break out the camera again...LOL
Old guns can quickly become an addiction, especially if you like woodworking. You see an old, beat-up rifle and you just gotta fix it
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Nice looking rifle, and an early one to boot. Mine is a Savage-Stevens 87a, early 50's. IIRC yours goes back to the late 30's, early 40's.... Anyway I'll bet money it's just a worn lifter.
Nice looking knife. You hand forging it?
__________________ In Soviet Russia, bayonet mount you!
KF7GEH
Looks much like mine too - before they put onthe scope grooves in the mid fifties.
The prior owner of mine did some very bad carving in the stock - tried to put in a Fluer-de-lis design and failed miserably. Took a LOT of sanding to get that out!
But it shoots great - easily outshoots my Ruger 10-22 and Marlin 60 'new' rifles. I find a lot of these old 'vintage' .22 rifles will outshoot the modern designs.
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I like the bolt locking feature. Nice rife. I hope you get the feed problem fixed. If it were me, I'd replace the worn lifter instead of trying to modify the worn one. Good luck though!
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Looks much like mine too - before they put onthe scope grooves in the mid fifties.
The prior owner of mine did some very bad carving in the stock - tried to put in a Fluer-de-lis design and failed miserably. Took a LOT of sanding to get that out!
But it shoots great - easily outshoots my Ruger 10-22 and Marlin 60 'new' rifles. I find a lot of these old 'vintage' .22 rifles will outshoot the modern designs.
Longer barrel tends to make a lot of difference...I'm finding that these newfangled 18" barrels aren't optimized with the proper twist rate...they're just making them shorter without taking twist rate into consideration...although a few are doing it the right way...
__________________ Marlin & Calico Specialist
I'm not just Trigger Happy, I'm Trigger Ecstatic!!
Wow, I had no idea it might be that old. Is there any way I can find out for certain its age? With this information, now I feel obligated to replacing the lifter instead of adjusting it.
Yes, hand forging the knife. Not happy to be using a propane forge though, much prefer coal. It might be harder to get lit and takes longer to get good heat, but it is hotter and I have heard (not confirmed) that it adds carbon to the steel making a better knife. I have seen other railroad knives recently, but none are forged, all are either welded or just a small knife ground out of the spike.
While some manufactures use the serial number or a stamped code to give the year (and sometimes month) of manufacture, Savage/Stevens/Springfield never did that to my knowledge. All we can go on are certain features that we know to be 'early' or 'late'. Your rifle and mine are virtually twins - but could have been made several years apart.
Luckily these rifles were made in such numbers, in many models and variants and by many gun manufacturers - add in the fact that Numrich had the habit of buying up entire parts stocks when a gun would be discontinued - so they have beaucoup parts in stock! This is one rifle you could almost build one completely out of Numrich parts.......
__________________ If you actually passed third grade English, let it show!
Adult Literacy is your friend.
If your rifle actually is marked "Springfield" made by Stevens, then it was made in 1948 or earlier -- they dropped the Springfield name in that year. If it was made in the 30's , there are a few clues that date some of the early ones: walnut stock vs. walnut "finish" hardwood, stamped metal trigger guards and they usually had finger grooved forends in the early 30's. Also, the early ones sometimes had metal buttplates vs. plastic ones in later years.
