She Lives Again

[M48TANKER 0]

Today I shot my "new" 1941 Johnson for the first time! What a pleasure. I loaded ten rounds in the magazine and proceeded to fire them all in rapid succession. I think that the rifle did great. The brass was thrown in a low arc 90 degrees from the action and landed about 20 feet away...that may be too far? If that seems to be an unreasonable distance for the brass to go, does that mean I may need a new action/buffer spring? I managed to find nine of the ten spent brass casings. They all had a tiny pencil dot size ding about 3/4 in. from the back rim of the brass. Nothing that won't disappear with a tiny file, but I wonder what the brass is hitting and how to cure that.

[Joseph Scott 0]

Dinged cases and far throw are indication that your main spring has taken a set. Measure it, should be 12" long. New springs are $20 each. Try cleaning your chamber with a shotgun brass brush, it may help. Johnson's are very sensitive to chamber condition, especially small fine pits. To check this, polish some ammo with Scotchbrite by chucking the bullet in a 3/8" variable speed drill, turn slow until case is clean/bright. When you fire them, any imperfection in chamber will show on case, use a magnifier. Sometimes I can hone out the smaller pits and get barrel to cycle properly.

[M48TANKER 0]

Thanks Mr. Scott. I measured my mainspring and found it to be 11&5/8 of an inch, so I'll be ordering a new mainspring. In comparing the stock on the gun, which has a cheekplate and recoil pad on it, the "buffer" tube seems to be farther forward than a buffer tube on another stock that I bought. One which has no cheekplate and just the steel buttplate. This "plain" stock's buffer tube is set so far back that it keeps you from screwing the buffer tube cap on the back far enough into the stock to put the metal buttplate back on. I am thinking that the buffer tube on the "plain" stock has slipped backward at some point by about 3/4's of an inch. This would have the same effect as a short buffer spring would it not? So I didn't put this "new/plain" stock on the rifle. The holes on the side of the stock are filled in anyway. In order to use this stock, I'm assuming that I'll need to remove the plugs from the holes in the sides and reposition the buffer tube farther forward? What would be the proper distance for the buffer tube to be away from the rear of the trigger housing?...or some other point of reference, and what is the proper way to reposition it using the key stock that I hope is inside? Thanks.