Tatereater

Evening, I recently acquired a sporterized Johnson. Took the scope and plate off and found a bit of a mess, so I cleaned and sanded the rust off. I am at a bit of a loss though what to do now. Finding a proper sight has proven less than fruitful. Managed to get the elevator, but no luck on the sight. Any advice on an alternative would be greatly appreciated.

Good afternoon, finally disassembled my Johnson and noticed something odd about the rear stock. It appears that the curved end was added on because the grain doesn’t match. So I was wondering what the proper length of the rear stock is. Trying to upload photos but keep getting an error message.

Ah. That makes sense. Thank you very much.

I poked around online looking at stocks on ebay. All were in rough shape, so I reattached the extension bit and am in the process of trimming it and reshaping it to fit the proper buttplate. The original stocks had 3 larger holes drilled into them? One hole makes sense for the mainspring tube, what are the other 2 for?

First I soaked it in krud cutter, then sanded it down, rinsed it with warm water and dried the seam w/ a hairdryer. Gave the rest of the stock about a week to dry. The glue started to flake on the edges so I was able to pick at it with a thin razor. Whoever did the joint was really skilled. Other than the mismatched grain, you’d never know it was an addition. Odd though that they didn’t have a cutout to give you access to the main spring.

Good afternoon. Finally worked the add on off the stock and this is what I found. Is that metal bit supposed to be down that low? Edit: looked a round a bit, appears that tube is supposed to be there, just not out so far. I am guessing they cut the stock down and then added the curved bit. At this point I am guessing I need to replace the rear stock w/ a repo. Any idea how I get the mainspring tube out? Couldn’t really tell what was holding it in place.

Hi Tanker, I was thinking the same. It feels awkward shouldering it as it is, so I was assuming the curved bit was added to the stock. That could work out great since the stock is other wise in decent shape. No visible cracks and only normal wear and tear dings here and there. I just need to gingerly weaken the glue, and slap the proper butt plate on when it arrives.

Thanks Blueheeler. I didn’t think of pulling a pic from the other tread. When I took that buttplate off, it does appear they drilled out a hole, but it isn’t quite big enough. What I wondering if that was just tacked on to the end of the stock. It appeared to be held on with 2 long wood screws and glue.

I like that one. I had bought a weaver rail because the site I got the m1 sight from said it was a weaver connection. Guess I misread it or there are different types of weaver mounts.

Good evening. So I bought one of these sights, https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1005844592 Nice simple m1 carbine peep sight, but it has a 1/2” dovetail that runs perpendicular to the barrel. Now the pickle is finding a rail or a plate with a cutout for it. Does that type of cut have a different name than “dovetail”? The few bars/rails I have found run parallel to the barrel.

Thank you for the diagram. It is definitely worth a try.

That is an odd stock. Maybe they planned on putting a box mag in somehow? Why I don’t know. The thing that caught my eye with these rifles was the unique rotary mag. I like to tell my kids it is pregnant and going to have a litter of cute little baby guns any day now.

I would go that route if I had more experience with metal working. Going to try the rail and an M1 carbine peep sight for the time being. Figure that will at least let me shoot it and then tinker around and boost my skill and confidence with metal. Looked at their prices. They are rather high.

Wax? Never seen that. Seen plenty of that super sticky cosmoline but never wax.

Hahahaahaha. You are the best!

Was just looking at that. Think my wife would strangle me if I mentioned it to her.

That’s not a bad idea either. Thanks everyone.

Yeah. Hadn’t realized how much they altered the receiver until I took the exiting plate off. Thinking I may order a weaver rail and maybe put an m1 carbine rear sight on it. Plan on stripping it down this week and giving it a thorough cleaning.

Meant to ask about those. I assume they aren’t original? The holes.

Thank you sir. I am going to get that book you mentioned.

Thank you very much. I have been only running M2, but supplies are getting harder and harder to find for reasonable prices. May start seriously look into reloads.

She’s a pretty rifle. Have you tried anything other than M2 ball in it? Was wondering if it has the same problem the Garand has wit modern 30-06 loads.

Sent an email about the barrels.

Good afternoon, Recently purchased a Johnson 41 that the previous owner’s father had mounted a scope onto. It isn’t a bad scope, I just don’t like it. Not much for scopes or fancy sights. I like basics. I found an elevator on Numerich but they are out of stock on the sight bit. When I called they said it is unlikely that they will be back in stock in the foreseeable future. This rifle is going to be for shooting, not a collectors piece so I don’t care if the part is original or repro. Been searching around online and have been considering an alternative rear sight, maybe a peep, but I can’t find a rail long enough to reach the perpendicular dovetail cut. Any advice on the matter is welcome. Thank you in advance.

That is what worries me. The one photo they included looks decent and I could probably live with the scope, but I am just hesitant to gamble that kind of money w/o more info. Has anyone gotten burned on GunBroker? I know their buyer protection plan only covers $400, but will a visa reverse the charge if the seller is bogus?