M48TANKER

The "forestock" is one of the Sporter type, which does not have the notch cut out on the right rear corner near the mag well. This means that if it has a front take down pin it will just be a piece of metal dowel rod...or I have seen a fiberglass rod used. The rear takedown pin appears to be just a metal dowel also with no rotating retainer clip. Because of the shortened taper pins in the bayonet lug and the front sight, and no visible markings of the Gladius swords or J. A. or caliber designation can be seen through the holes of the radiator. I'm pretty sure it's a replacement barrel. The magazine spring is wrong also. The pictures below will show what should be there and then another pic of the auction rifle showing some of the irregularities. All in all it's still a nice Johnson and wouldn't take much to make it right.

Thanks WHIG, very interesting. I'd like to find out more.

It looks great to me. Well worth the current bid of $5000.00 and a lot more. I would like to see the markings on the barrel to be sure it's original. The position of the bolt indicates that it is equipped with the "Bolt hold open" device. The only thing I noticed is that the forestock has some sort of "reinforcing pin" installed. This is evident on both sides. (I couldn't get a good picture of it and sorry for the blurry photo)

BBBQ, That is an astute observation. Now I'll have to go inspect all the sights I own.

This appears to be a British Enfield bayonet blade which was mated to a 1941 Johnson bayonet rear section. That would be much easier to do than to fabricate an artwork like Bill Short's "Johnson Dagger Bayonet" Even I could duplicate this: The "Donor Blade" is shown below: I've looked at literally thousands of pictures of bayonets from all over the world and haven't found one like Bill's: ( I want one so much!)

I've always suspected that the barrels were shortened to eliminate excessive muzzle erosion. Usually the shortened barrels will show signs of "Bubba-like" gunsmithing in the repositioning of the front sight and bayonet lug. (Don't get me wrong, I really like Bubba...at least he tries) The taper pins are the dead give-away. I believe that the workers at the plant assembling the original barrels were more professional installing these pins. They are tapered for a reason. A tight taper pin does not have to be "staked" to keep it in place. All that being said, perhaps the barrels were short to begin with and Bubba only replaced the front sight and bayonet lug? Compare the following photos: The photos you posted: ==================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================== Sorry for the poor quality pictures showing better "craftsmanship" below.

I've read about the addition of this wooden fore-stock in one of my "Johnson" books. I can't remember which book had the info. But the existence of this design is no surprise to me. I seem to remember that the addition of that wood fore-stock might have been done in order to meet the criteria for competing with the design of the M1 Garand. I'm certain this modification didn't work out because of the additional weight which the wood "fore-stock" added. The 1941 Johnson already had enough problems cycling with the Garand type bayonet and that's why the simple "spike bayonet/tent peg" was used. Please someone chime it with book, chapter, and verse where I read this. I'm going to have to go back to the books and read the whole story. There exists a prototype "Johnson Dagger Bayonet", owned by one of our collectors, Bill Short, which was an interim compromise design. I don't know if there are any more than that ONE wood handled bayonet in existence, but I would sure like to own one. It is pictured below:

Ausnake, Joe Scott had a lot of info to pass on in some old posts on the topic of difficult extraction. The chamber hones which Joe recommends work great. This is a common problem with many mil-surplus rifles, including the 1941 Johnson. I bought a set of the 30.06 chamber finishing hones and used one on a Johnson barrel on which I was working. I had just re-cut the depth of the chamber to fix a tight headspace situation and then used one of the hones for the final step. Well worth the money. These hones are not expensive and if used conservatively, as recommended, you can get several uses out of them. You might be able to just clean and polish the chamber with a brass brush and shine it up. Casting the chamber won't hurt either, but that is something I've not had to do yet. Looking closely at your ejected brass can give you an indication of any abnormal conditions on the walls of your chamber. Make sure your loaded brass is clean and polished before firing for effect.You may or may not be able to diagnose the problem by looking at the brass. Anyway if won't cost you anything to thoroughly clean and polish your chamber with a good brush and solvent until it shines like a buffed penny. Maybe use some automotive "valve lapping" compound on a cotton chamber cleaner? You might want to check your headspace with "go/no go" gauges before you do anything else. I sometimes imagine wild theories which others might not think of. For example: "Is it possible to have enough excessive head space that the cartridge goes into the chamber too far? That might jam the bottle neck and shoulders of the cartridge too tight into the chamber and make it stick.... AND... keep the firing pin from striking the primer hard enough?"

DRAIN THE SWAMP

Joe, I'll keep you in my prayers. Cancer is one disease of which my family has seen it's share. (Old Sister Silvia would be proud of me for not ending that sentence in a preposition!)

Camstuff, My brother might have such a bayonet? I'll check with him. Plus I'll look through my bayonet collection to see if I might have one.

Thanks camstuff! I would appreciate that. I'll pm you my address. Is there anything you are looking for?

Eb in Oregon, Thanks for sharing that info. I've added your post to my "Reloading Notes" Presently, I only hand load .50 BMG and .50 Beowulf, but 30.06 and .308 are on my bucket list.

Ausnake, That's a very nice looking rifle indeed! There isn't much I can add to Art's suggestions as to light primer strikes. Of course, you might want to check things like the headspace to be sure it's right, and the length of the firing pin protrusion. The firing pin spring most likely only affects the chance of slamfires, but I suppose if a different firing pin spring that is too stout has been installed, it could affect the ability of the hammer spring to provide the proper power. As Art said, clean the bolt assembly well and check for burrs both on the bolt and inside the receiver. Joseph Scott might tell you about many Johnson needing to have the chamber polished, but that is usually due to extraction issues. When you clean the bolt head's interior, make sure there is no carbon or other build-up that might prevent the firing pin from going all the way forward. Then once you install the firing pin into the bolt look to be sure the firing pin protrusion from the bolt face is enough to give a sufficient primer strike. It is probably just my imagination but in the photo of your firing pin I thought I could see slight "mushrooming" of the tip of the firing pin? You might want to check it for both length and diameter. I just looked at your photo of the firing pin again...it appears that something, at some time, has caused some scratches on the front of the pin near the tapers. Good luck and keep us posted.

I believe the lower receiver, with it's full auto hammer/trigger/sear intact, would be the only item of interest to the BATFE. The upper receiver is not, by itself, a restricted part. Someone correct me if I'm mistaken. (I'm never wrong...but once I thought I was wrong and it turned out I was only mistaken)

That piece of wood is so close to being a valuable Johnson stock. For me the mainspring tube hole would be the most tedious part...if only I had a "jig" Has anyone on this board ever come up with a "jig"/"fixture" to drill the mainspring tube hole? I have the drill motors and the long bits to do the job and lots of clamps. I have a lathe and milling machine, but not the knowledge of how to make a solid set-up to drill the hole. I can, however, follow instructions and recreate a jig I have seen. I want to be able to drill that hole! I can cut off the front and the back end, and set the stock up in my milling machine with a router type bit to inlet the trigger group, buttplate, and sling swivel...so I'm almost there.

Offalert, I've totally restored several Johnsons and it's a lot of fun. Sometimes, they are so close to original that doing nothing is best, but I think your rifle has gone beyond that point. Personally, (and this is just my opinion) I'd bead blast and parkerize all the metal. Then minimal sanding on the wood and a walnut stain....no high gloss please! Mr. Joe Scott can advise you on the proper stain and application. I've used MinWax Special Walnut with just a bit of Mahogany added to it for that slightly reddish look. It looks like a great project to me and I'm sure you'll be proud of it when it's restored. I've been able to make several screws when I can't find them. You might be surprised at what you can do with a dremel and a hacksaw. Get the correct thread size and pitch from the hardware store and then alter the head size and shape to suit your needs. I'm always available for advice...whether you want it or not. M48TANKER

Has the hole for the mainspring tube been drilled yet? The stock looks like it will take a skilled woodworker to make it usable, but there seems to be hope for it.

War Path, So far I've located a very nice "Winfield sporter barrel made from what appears to be a Remington barrel. It has the "sporter front sight" and is blued...no bayonet lug. Then I found a Chilean military configuration barrel with bayonet lug and original front sight. It looks very nice but of course is chambered in 7mm mauser. No one could tell from the outside if the barrel was original 30.06 or the 7mm mauser. I'll keep looking but I think that's all I have at present.

Ed, I might have an extra. I'll dig around out in my warehouse and see if I still have it. I will let you know soon. Does it have to be an "original" J.A. stamped barrel assembly or can you use a barrel assembled from a like new Springfield 1903 or 1903A3 barrel ? M48TANKER

I can't believe that I didn't think of this before! THE BOLT HOLD OPEN LEVER might be infringing on the shell follower as the last round is presented to the bolt. It is at this point that the front tang/tongue on the bolt hold open bar/lever, starts to be pushed down as it's struck by the angled section at the rear of the shell follower. Joe Scott has always advised that the front tang on a "BHO" must be fitted to each individual rifle in order to work properly. I suppose it's possible that your "BHO" needs some fitting. You could leave the "BHO" out of the rifle just to see if that cured the problem. You might have to file just a bit off that tang or change the angle of the tang that is presented to the shell follower "cam lobe"....that angled piece on the back of the follower.

I think you have discovered the culprit: The Magazine Door is somehow restricting the action of the follower trying to present the last round. The magazine door must be bent out of shape or warped so that it is rubbing on the magazine housing. I can think of a few things to check and perhaps adjust. Check the rear end "wall" of the magazine to be sure it's straight and not bent in anywhere. Check the magazine door where it's touching the rear wall of the magazine....in your pictures we can see a small shiny/silver looking spot where it obviously touches or rubs. Also there is the possibility that the magazine door itself is warped... inward at the back and outward at the front causing the cartridge to hit the magazine door at the back sooner than it reaches near the front. Could the magazine door spring have been bent excessively at some time. I can imagine any of these being contributing factors. So if the rear wall of the magazine is pushed in a little bit...push it back out a little. If it appears that the magazine door has been warped from perhaps being pushed in too hard sometime...take it out of the gun and bend it out so it won't put pressure on an approaching round. The door should return to the outer, resting position when it returns from being depressed during loading. If the magazine door is rubbing against a straight rear wall...remove some material from the rear edge of the door where that shiny spot is appearing. We have to free up that door so it moves freely in and out under just the spring pressure of the magazine door spring. Flatten the door spring out just a bit if you have to. When you explained about prying out the magazine door 1/16 to 1/8 and that allowing the cartridge to advance into position...that must be made to happen without having to pry on it with a tool.

Quoting: Bad news: last round still needs some coercion in getting seated a little higher to get picked up. It's possible that your magazine spring is indeed a bit weak. I would remove the magazine from the rifle, fill the magazine, and then watch and listen as each successive round is pushed to the top. Check for any rubbing or scraping of the magazine follower on the parts inside the magazine. I've never compared the shape of the magazine followers, so I can't say how "straight" they are supposed to be. I'd assume that the follower should closely resemble the shape of the cartridge? That would present the cartridge to the bolt aimed straight at the chamber. (any experience with the "follower" out there?) Good luck...keep us posted!

Thanks camstuff! It's nice to be appreciated. Plus I'm always open to correction if I leave something out or if I need to be educated. That being said, I was a bit concerned about my description of the parkerizing process. Different folks have different ways. Some people use a "pre-heated" rinse/bath just before dropping parts in the "Park" tank. Some go right from the park tank to the oil bath without a rinse. If you get into parkerizing, study all the info and then make your own decision about what seems best to you. Once a gun has been parkerized, I treat it like it needs an additional through cleaning and a new break-in period. There are as many opinions about lubrication and the right oil to use, as there are folks with the oil can in hand. I don't think you can go wrong with a tried and true light gun oil like Hoppe's or Rem-oil, "CLP" etc. I'm likely to use the military "LSA" on most of my guns. I really learned my lesson on that amber-tech. (my opinion) https://outdoorworld.reviews/best-gun-oil/

cvgresch, Here are my thoughts: Usually part of the preparation for parkerizing is sand-blasting or some form of abrasive media blasting. Then all the blasted parts should be thoroughly cleaned of all blasting media residue...with emphasis on THROUGHLY! I rinse very well with a strong flow of water and blow dry with compressed air. The parts should be immediately placed in the parkerizing tank before the bare metal begins to "flash rust"...which can happen in a matter of minutes. Once the parkerizing process is completed, the parts should be throughly rinsed again, blown dry and soaked in oil. Hopefully all of this was done. To me most of your parts look very clean, but not very oily. I do think your mainspring tube could use some more cleaning inside and polishing, along with the mainspring, follower, and buffer. This might help to increase the amount of forward pressure available to cycle the action and to chamber, then extract a round. Have you measured your mainspring? lt must be at least 12 inches long, NO LESS...and you can't cheat by stretching it just that last 1/4 inch. What I'm trying to emphasize is that the weapon must be clean and the parts slick as ice in order to function properly. The entire gun should be disassembled including the fire control group, magazine parts, inside the mainspring tube, all bolt parts, and also polish the chamber of the barrel. The goal is to eliminate every last bit of friction that you can. I would like to see the mainspring tube, below, not only clean but shining like a mirror. As well the follower and buffer. Anywhere grit can hide, or mating parts can get sticky with old grease. If you have access to a "sonic cleaner" you might be able to clean some groups of parts, like the hammer/trigger/disconnector/bolt open lever, aka: "firecontrol group"...without complete disassembly? But I don't have a sonic cleaner yet so I just take it all apart. From what we can see of the magazine, fire control group, etc. the assemblies appear to be clean, but are they SLICK and OILY? What about the "innards" (Jed Clampett) which we can't see? Are the surfaces clean which contact each other, the pins in the fcg, the mainspring tube, the INSIDE of the upper receiver, the insides of the sear housing where the trigger pivots, the hammer pivots, the sear travels, and the bolt hold open rocks? Rough surfaces and friction are your opponents. (And yes, really good close up pictures can emphasize even a slight build up of crud. ) SHINE ME UP PLEASE...WAAAAH