Gonzo

Sorry to revive such an old thread. But would like to know if the provenance of the socalled Dunlap M1941 had been authenticated recently? The SN shows to be A0009. The Dunlap M1941 was also on Julias Auction page. http://jamesdjulia.com/item/lot-3051-extremely-early-johnson-model-1941-semi-auto-rifle-that-was-issued-to-medal-of-honor-recipient-captain-robert-h-dunlap-usmc-48279/

Took apart my Hammer Block(Trigger Group Assembly). Just thought I'd share a photo and mention how fairly easy it is to take apart and replace parts. 2 large screws only hold the hammer block to the wood stock. The entire group is only 14 parts total. 5 pins hold the unit together; only 2 pins on the hammer block needs to be punched out with a hammer; the others you can push out without hammering. And the pins that needed hammering came out easy as well, they didn't get deformed or get stuck. One thing I do not like on my rifle is the trigger and break. The trigger on mine is fairly loose(hole is larger than the pin holding it on). I want to tighten that up and try and do a trigger job for a nice crisp trigger. Will see what happens. If any one needs help disassembling the trigger, I can post more pics if needed. Don't be afraid to work on your JSAR. Just to add, I had what looked like decades of gunk built up in the crevices, especially under the sliding sear which made the trigger feel gritty. I'd recommend at least taking apart your trigger group once to clean it out thoroughly.

I can vouch for the Joseph Scott Stocks. They are spot on and comparable to the original in quality and color. Here is mine with an original forend and a Joseph Scott rear stock. Mr Scott sends them raw and unfinished. When I finished the rear stock(only added coats of Raw Linseed Oil), it matched the original forend finish near perfectly. Very happy with the repro stock and highly recommend one if you have a winfield wanting to convert back to original.

Thats great to know. Citation on Army site: http://www.goordnance.army.mil/hof/2000/2003/johnson.html Melvin M. Johnson, Jr. was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 9, 1909, and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1934. He was a successful lawyer and taught for a short time at Harvard Law School. However, his life-long interest in firearms soon led him down a different path. Johnson assisted local weapons designer, Franklin Young, in designing a rifle that, while not accepted by the Ordnance Department, motivated him to develop his own rifle. As a Marine Corps Reserve officer, he had observed early trials of the Garand rifle at the Springfield Armory and was convinced he could design a better one. Although Johnson's rifle did not compete successfully with the Garand design and the Army ultimately adopted the Garand as the famous M1 rifle of World War II, the controversial trials were helpful in identifying flaws in the M1's gas operating system that led to improvements in the final design. Undeterred, Johnson put his rifle and an excellent light machinegun he had designed into production. Although the Dutch Army placed a large order for these weapons to equip its forces in the East Indies, the Japanese overran this Dutch territory during World War II before the weapons could be delivered. However, the US Marines were able to take delivery of many of these weapons to equip their Parachute and Raider Battalions, and the light weight and high rate-of-fire made Johnson's machinegun very popular. Johnson also became involved in a series of other projects during World War II. He developed sub-caliber trainers for .30 and .50 caliber machineguns, refurbished World War I vintage Enfield rifles with new barrels, developed an 81mm shoulder-fired recoilless weapon, designed flash hiders, reduced erosion in machineguns using barrel liners, and redesigned chambers. Likewise, in the years following World War II, he was instrumental in developing an electrically-operated Gatling gun that led to the Vulcan and mini-gun weapons. In the 1950's and early 1960's, Johnson was widely recognized as a weapons inventor and designer and served as a consultant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the Chairman on Aircraft Armament, the Chairman of the Munitions Board, the Historical Evaluation Research Organization of the Combat Developments Command, and numerous civilian industries. He was also well known as a promoter and spokesman for effective small arms, authoring or co-authoring 8 books and some 80 articles on weapons, tactics, and marksmanship. In 1949, Johnson transferred from the Marine Corps Reserve to the Army Reserve with an appointment as Colonel in the Ordnance Corps, a rank he held until retirement from the Army Reserve in 1961. While actively pursuing the development of a carbine for use in counterinsurgency warfare, Johnson suffered a heart attack and died in 1965.

This is one of the main reasons why I went with a JS stock set, cause I knew it would work right out the box. Anyone can make you a wood stock set, but getting it to 'fit and function' is another issue and getting that recoil tube right is critical. I can't see anyone else properly doing it correctly unless they specialize in Johnson rifles. Sure I would of liked to just go out and buy an original stock set...but they are extremely rare and near non-existent on the market, and the JS stock set is the next best thing. I originally started out with a Winfield Johnson, and I sent my rifle to Joseph Scott to have him redo the barrel and install his woodstock. It is just perfect! Couldn't be anymore happier. That was near 5 years ago, and when I pull my rifle out the safe it puts a huge smile on my face each and every time. Thanks again Mr Scott!

I'd recommend getting a couple extra 'Magazine Cover Springs'. They are not a coiled piece of wire, but rather a piece of curved metal that is under tension. I always hear of people with broken cover springs.

Johnson discussed around 44min mark.

Is that a BAR sling in the pics? Nice.

There is a war documentary released by the Department of Defense in 1959 called the Battle of Manila. In it they show many scenes of that particular battle, which took place throughout the month of February 1945. I happened on a scene where one of the soldiers is toting a Johnson LMG. Is this proof that there was at least one Johnson LMG fighting on the Philippine islands all the way up until the end of World War II? Screenshot of the image. Battle of Manila can be watched on youtube. Johnson LMG scene is at 12:13 minute mark.

Condolences and deepest sympathy to you and your family Mr Scott! Very sorry for your loss. Your wife and you will be in my thoughts and prayers. Take care.

Finally got around to stopping by the Marine Corp Museum here in San Diego. Located specifically inside MCRD(Marine Corp Recruit Depot) base. For obvious reasons I wanted to see if they had any Johnsons, but even if they did not have any, I figured the experience would be worth while. And to my surprise there were a TON of vintage and rare weaponry there on display. I've been to many gunshows, and I never seen this many rare firearms in one place grouped together. What a great experience. Well anyways, they had one JSAR on display. It was angled in a way that I could not get a picture of the serial number. There is a weapon room that is off limits, all they give you is a large window of the two rooms, and one of the rooms was hard to see from the window...and the big teaser, I only saw part of the Johnson LMG(which was in that hard to see room). All you can see is front of the LMG sticking out. I definitely wanted to know if these two Johnsons were part of the original orders by the Marine Corp. I know many of us have seen the images of the Para-Marines training with the LMG at Camp Elliot during WWII. Camp Elliot is also in San Diego and is still semi-active. I went to their office and only one lady was working. She was only one of the caretakers of the place. I asked her if there were a chance for me to gain access in the weapon room, she mentioned I would have to come in on a weekday when more staff is working and when the weapons personnel guy was working. She was very helpful and even asked me to call or email her. Well see what happens. I just have to say, this museum is great, one of the better museums I have been to, and here in San Diego we have a ton...but this museum is just dead with visitors. I went earlier today(Saturday early afternoon) and this museum seems to have no visitors at all. There were only two other families there(and they were families of active Marines). Total of 7 people in there. If this was a Saturday afternoon, I wonder what the weekdays look like. I am guessing because it is located on a military base, many folks think this place is just off limits. Not many people know they can get past the gate if they tell them you wanted to visit the museum(there are no restrictions to the public). And this museum is free. They have an older image of one of their displays, and it looks like at one point they had the Johnson LMG outside of the weapon room and displayed in one of their glass cases(I have attached a pic of the old display as well). I'll try and talk them back in to re-displaying it out in the open.

Hi Ryche, The rear sight I have is already bubba'd. Its not all original and that was the one I was thinkin of modifying. Sorry man.

Has anyone here shot a Johnson with the V-Notch? Curious to know how it compares to the regular peep sight. I have an extra rear sight. Thinking of trying it out.

http://www.americanrifleman.org/videos/johnson-model-1941/

Sweet thanks!