Mossy Creek Custom

We get asked questions from time to time about troublesome 1911’s that have feeding problems.  Our experience is that this is exception to this style of pistol and not the rule, but every now and then a 1911 will start to experience a strange type of hiccups.  When this happens there are two culprits to rule out before you go any further.

1.  Magazine:  Are you using a cheap GI type magazine that came with the gun?  If you are, upgrade to something like a McCormick or Wilson mag.  Most feeding problems in autoloaders can be traced back to the magazine.  Both of the aforementioned mags are high quality.  We have found that Wilson’s mags cure even the crankiest of guns.

2.  Extractor:  Proper tension on the extractor is key to getting a smooth running gun.  Slide a round under the extractor when the slide is off, and it should hold it.  If not, you need to tweak it a little.  If you are brave, you can bend the extractor to get the desired tension.  If not, this is something your local gunsmith you should be able to take care of for you in a matter of minutes.

***If you take your 1911 to your local gunsmith and he doesn’t know where the extractor is on your 1911, RUN don’t walk out of the shop.  Find someone who is familiar with that weapon system.

If you consistently load and unload your ammo from mags after you duty shift ends or when you come home, you need to consider that every time you load and unload the same cartridge it could have a bad effect on the bullet.  I have seen this many times with rounds that are noticeable shorter because they were loaded and unloaded many times.

If you are going to be doing this, rotate the cartridge to the bottom of the magazine.  This will keep the bullet from being pushed back into the brass.  Worst case scenario is that you have a bullet that won’t function.  In the case of the .357 sig mentioned earlier, it was pushed all the way back into the case.  The other thing that could happen is higher than normal pressures.

Keep your gun functional and your ammo good by being mindful of wearing out your ammo.

Sobriety tests are often administered in the field  to see if there is reason to believe someone has been drinking and driving.  These officers didn’t have to go much farther.

Do you need +P ammunition for your gun?  Most people don’t know what +P means, or if they should use it.

Quick rule of thumb:  If you have an older gun, stay away from the atomic loads.  This includes new model Colt Single Action revolvers.

+P is a rating given to ammunition that has higher than standard pressure ratings for a particular cartridge.  For instance, +P loads for the 9mm increase pressure by about 10%.  This allows a higher muzzle velocity, greater chance of bullet expansion, and obviously more felt recoil.

For most applications there is no need for +P ammo, but two notable exceptions come to mind.  The first is hunting.  +P ammo for handgun hunting can be a real advantage for those taking medium to large game on the North American continent.  The other is for short barreled revolvers chambered in .38 special.  The shorter your barrel is, the more velocity you loose, which can lead to bad expansion.  Several companies including Speer have added cartridges specifically designed to perform in short barreled revolvers and pistols.

We have used Speer Gold Dot ammunition in many different pistols and found it to be a reliable performer.  If you are going to be hunting or using a small framed revolver you will definitely want to check them out.

The Nashville news stations reported today that the TN Legislature is considering laws to allow CCW holders to legally carry in State Parks.  I don’t have to remind you how big this would be for our state.  For any of you who hunt, fish or hike, your personal safety would be dramatically increased.  So please, make sure you get the word out to your Congressman and Senator so they will approve this measure.

Last week the TN House and Senate ended the senseless fingerprint rule for the 4473 form.  Governor Bredesen should  sign this into law soon.  Our leaders are showing that commonsense can still prevail in our state even as the world and our country continues to believe that more legislation will make them safer.  They should be applauded.  Keep contacting them.  It makes a difference.

A good gun presentation is crucial to solid shooting.  It involves pushing the gun out to where your eye is on target.  In this video you will notice that Dave Sevigny does this every time he changes directions.  This makes the first shot true to where you are looking.  You can practice this at home with a post it note on the wall.  With the gun UNLOADED work on presentations from different points in the room.  When you get this fundamental down you will see your shooting drastically improve.

I was at a class recently where an instructor said that a magazine spring would likely never have to be changed as long as you own the gun.  Normally I try not to be argumentative, so I didn’t say anything, but as I thought about it a little more, I decided I would address that topic here.

In a semi-automatic gun there is primarily one major cause of malfunctions; the magazine.  This could be from deformed lips, but more often than not it comes from the magazine spring.  So why would you not regularly change magazine springs?  Is it because they cost too much?  Surely you can afford a $5 spring for you $1,000 Colt.  Money isn’t the issue, so what is?

Most of you simply never think about the operation of your gun.  If you pull the trigger and it goes bang you are happy.  This type of mentality works fine for recreational shooters.  Why fix it until it’s broken.  However, if you just got to the state IDPA match it might be important for that gun to run properly.  Further more, if you carry a weapon for your job it only takes one malfunction to send you on a permanent vacation.

Don’t let $5 stand in your way.  It’s simply to easy to make sure you don’t have problems with your magazine springs.  Change them every year in your duty or competition gun, and you may never have one problem.  It is no doubt a great investment.

This week I got to spend some time with a few folks who were new shooters.  It was interesting to watch because many of the shooters were women.  We wrote about the Taurus Judge, and told you that it was a gun worth looking at.  Seeing it in action was confirmation of what the gun is capable of doing.

Shots were taken at several cans lined up.  On more than one occasion the cans were dispatched in one shot.  Recoil was mild, and even the smallest framed ladies had no problem with it.  No one had any complaints about the gun.  In fact, many shooters were so impressed they said they would like to had it to their collection.  If and when guns ever become available again, this should be one you look at.  The .410 option makes it a great home defense gun because of the low risk of hurting unintended neighbors and relatives, and the simplicity of the revolver makes it a logical choice for someone that doesn’t shoot much.  Check it out.  We don’t thin you will be disappointed.

Recently we had a customer bring a Remington 58 into the shop for service and repair.  The gun showed visible signs of rust on the 60% of the barrel and the frame was badly pitted.  The customer wanted the surface rust removed and functionality restored.

If you own one of these guns, you may be aware that there is virtually no information available for take down procedures and parts are not cataloged anymore.  Even though you may not know much about the 58, don’t let that intimidate you.  They are closely linked to the Remington 1100 and 1187.

Remington’s website says that approximately 271,000 were made between 1956 and 1963.  It was made in 12ga, 16ga and 20 ga in various models such as trap and skeet.  The particular gun that we worked on was a 16 ga.

To take the gun apart you will simply remove the barrel and fore end as on the 1100 or 1187.  The gas system works on a piston that is linked to the bolt with an arm extend into what you may think is the magazine tube.  To remove the bolt you will need to place a screwdriver down the magazine tube to restrain the piston.  Please note; the piston is under pressure and can fly off.  Make sure you restrain it well and use safety glasses as always.  Move the piston down with the screwdriver until the bolt arm and clear a notch in the piston tube.  This will allow you to continue disassembly just like the 1100.

There is nothing difficult about cleaning this gun.  The only tricky part is getting the piston and bolt arm to line up in the piston tube for reassembly.  Try it a few times and you will get it.

If you have one of these guns you should be able to maintain it and continue to shoot it for a long time.  If you need some parts you could try Numrich.  From time to time they have parts available for obsolete guns.

This is for my brother-in-law who thinks that DeWALT is the only manufacturer of tools worth having.  Someone sent this to me this week and I just had to laugh.  I think the furniture may be from Cavalry Arms.  They make some different colored AR stuff.  The usefulness of this tool is endless.  Think how fast your next project will go.  Just get someone to hold the board while you snipe from a lawn chair sipping iced tea.  Pretty cool.