New member with a new addition

[TimH 0]

 
Hello.  I was in the right place at the right time when I came into this JSAR. I had the fortunate opportunity to run into an older gentleman who was selling off some his firearms and this was one of them.  I’ve always wanted one but the examples I’ve seen were too beat-up, sporterized or too expensive to consider.

 

I purchased Canfield’s book which is a great resource and realized there is a lot more for me to learn about these unique rifles.  

 

Hopefully the pics show up. Thanks for looking. 

 

 

 

[tinsoldier 0]

Great looking A prefix rifle!  Congrats and welcome to the forum!

[ArtR 0]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. Nice acquisition. We had seen this on GB back in November, but it closed with no bids, which was very surprising, considering condition.

[camstuff 0]

WOW, That’s a nice looking rifle. Great buy!  You won’t be disappointed, and don’t be afraid to shoot it!  Have some fun with it.  

[Rarecat 0]

Very nice and welcome!

[TimH 0]

I’d love to run some rounds through it and I’m wondering if that’s a good idea. The wood has no splits or cracks.  What’s the risk if I run some rounds through it?  I’d be devastated if I caused a crack.  Its seems there’s a lot of rifles with damaged stocks out there. 

[kennethg 0]

Welcome to the forum. I have gained much useful information from fellow members. To answer your question, I had my rifle for several years before I decided to take it apart. That was not a problem and after doing so, I reloaded some mild loads and took it to the range. 

I fired it as did several of my friends. All went well with no damage to my rifle and the rifle functioned perfectly. I would think yours could be fired with the proper rounds and not do any damage to it if it is in good condition.

[tsmgguy 0]

I shoot mine (occasionally) with full power Danish M2 ball from the early 1960s. Perfect functioning, and no problems.  

[TimH 0]

I have an ammo can of ‘66  LC in 20 round boxes.  This may be a good time to put it to use. 

[M48TANKER 0]

TimH,

You might want to check the length of the recoil spring. It should measure a full 12 inches for the rifle to have the best chance at functioning properly. We hear many stories of jams and other malfunctions caused by an aged spring. Usually the culprits will be springs measuring 11 inches....11&1/2 inches....11&5/8 inches....11&3/4 inches, etc.

I would field strip and clean the rifle, paying attention to the recoil spring and spring tube...an area that sometimes gets neglected in even the best looking rifles.

A good main recoil spring cushions the recoil impact on the firearm and aids in proper extraction and ejection.

[ArtR 0]

As some have pointed out, any NATO M2 ball should function well in your rifle. I have shot Korean, Greek, and US M2 in mine with absolutely no problems. Your LC '66 should be fine. Just avoid any commercial .30-06 Springfield. The photo of your barrel is quite encouraging, as it shows as bright and sharp. A good, thorough disassembly, inspection,  cleaning, and lube is warranted, prior to firing.  Tankers advice to measure the mainspring is a good idea. JSAR's are notorious for spreading brass and imparting a good ding in the brass.

[tsmgguy 0]

10 hours ago, ArtR said:

... JSAR's are notorious for spreading brass and imparting a good ding in the brass.

If your rifle is doing this look first to the recoil spring. The action should cycle gently, almost as an afterthought, dropping brass just a few feet to the shooters right. It should not be flinging dented brass to the far right of the firing line. Worn guns will cycle violently, too, causing excessive felt recoil and further battering the internals.

[TimH 0]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your help. My next step will be to field strip the rifle and check the recoil spring. On that note, can someone  recommend a good source for a replacement spring?

[WHIG 0]

Welcome and what a great looking Johnson 1941 rifle you have gotten! Take some time to carefully field strip your new rifle and learn the parts. If you have any problems, ask and we'll help. I learned a bunch from the great and friendly members here before I bought my Johnson rifle. I had trouble removing the mainspring threaded cover on my rifle since it probably had never been removed since it was manufactured. I made a special tool and got it done without too much trouble. I bought a new mainspring from one of the members here. Ebay has them for sale also.

 

The suggestion about using military ammunition, like your Lake City ammo, is important. The harder primers on military ammunition are important. If you shoot commercial .30-06 ammo, you can easily have slam fire full auto mishaps. I had this happen in mine when I was testing different ammunition. I reload and use CCI #34 large military primers for reloading, if you do your own. 

Good luck and keep us informed. There are great posts here that you can search out for help in using or repairing your rifle, if needed.