capthowie

That's a gorgeous looking gun....but stop laying it in the gravel!

This is embarassing, I asked this same question 18 months ago ...I guess I am really hung up on trying to shoot blanks ( they're cheap to shoot and you never have to worry about going down range to change a target). I just love the noise!

Was there ever a blank adapter developed for the JSAR? If so, where could you find one today? Would a blank have enough energy to cycle the gun without one?

Is Joe Scott's parts website up and running again? Last I heard is was down for repairs and that was like six months ago.

Yes, as a matter fact one of the guns was a military and the other was a deluxe Winfield. The Winfield is keyed at 8" ,but was the one with the 11 1/2" mainspring and had a slight tacky old oil residue on it and the buffer . The military was at 12" and lightly oiled and clean. Before I replace the springs, I really need to document exactly what's going on. So another trip to the range is in order. I'll try to capture the action with the camcorder. The ammo was made by Winchester -Super X 30.06 SPRD 150 Gr Silvertip

Here are some casings from both guns with distinctive signatures. One of the rifles did in fact have a shorter mainspring (11 1/2") the other measured 12''. At the time I wasn't aware of a problem, so I am not sure which casings belong to which rifle. But in view of Joe Scott's observation, I guess we know. Question- Are the other markings that are further down on the right three acceptable?

My Naval Officer son-in-law was out shooting with me the other day and he commented on how far the spent casings fly. I had two of my JSAR's at the range that day and both were spitting them out farther than anything he had ever seen. Seemed normal to me, as I always have warn people to the right of me that I am not doing that purposely. I am thinking of setting up a secondary target to my right to see what kind of a grouping I am creating with the flying brass.

Shirt arrived today...great choice of color with the washed denim look. Perfect job on the art work. Now we need a group photo with everyone wearing their shirts...your place or mine?

Beautiful green........you got to be kidding! I'd be horrified if I found the presence of the condition you describe. I know we all get in a hurry but the cleaning and care of a collectible takes a deliberate effort. A lot has been written on the number of patches thru a bore and related solvents /chemicals .....when all is done that last patch better be clean.......or your setting yourself up for the leftovers to grow green. Clean will never be green!

I just recently acquired a bag full of blanks and was wondering whether the gun would cycle properly or cause damage if I used them.. Anybody ever tried blanks?

I've read your dilemma regarding the main spring tube. Sounds like errors during previous attempts of removal resulted in its cracking. The mainspring tube has a small saddle blazed on it (from the factory) which accomodates a square recoil key (screwed from both sides of the stock). Because of this saddle you can only remove the mainspring tube in the direction toward the receiver. What kind of damage was done to the tube during repair and do you still have free movement of the mainspring and buffer ? Mainspring tube should be approx. 10 1/8 " in length, center of saddle approx. 4 1/8" from front.

On page 103 of Bruce Canfield's "Johnson Rifle" book. it shows a curious photo of "one handed" firing of the light machine gun which shares similar mechanical characteristics as the rifle. So this would might be viewed as not needing a whole lot of shoulder in the shot. None the less Melvin is straight armed and the machine gun has a pistol grip. Anybody ever try firing a Johnson from the hip?

How many wifes do you have?

Here once again we have a seller that over states what he's selling... and someone bought the story. This seller is stating that the bayonet has "dull green paint" , boy does this speak volumes on the sellers knowledge of military coatings. Other than that it looks fine. But do you trust him....does he know what he's taking about? The scabbard appears to have some irregular or pulled stitching...certainly not at a level of excellent condition as stated. You have to wonder about some anxious buyers.

I have two bottles of the MinWax Rosewood Wood Sheen ... Lowes carries this locally for $4.98 plus tax. See a posting dated Jan 20,2006 for more details on how to apply it. Call me if you still need need this stain. Howard 913-345-1522