New to board and a new Johnson owner

[Sgt.Hollywood 0]

I have wanted one of these guns for a very long time and tonight I bought one. I am curious if anyone has seen this gun before? I was informed that it came from California.

http://www.gunrunnerauctions.com/listings/...emnum=841447677

Can't wait to hold her in my hands.

[nralifer 0]

She sure looks good to me. It looks like the rifle I looked at 30 years ago at the Fresno gun show for $300. Hindsight is 20/20 isn't it? The sling is probably a repop. Congradulations on your find.

[Sgt.Hollywood 0]

Thank You. Some of my friends and family think I am nuts but I have always wanted one of these rifles. I just can't wait to try it out!

I was wondering if anybody had seen this one or heard of its serial # before.

I think you are right about the sling, but the gun looks like it is in new condition so why not the sling!

Thanks

[ArtR 0]

Well, for what it is worth, to heck with the friends and family. We only go around once in this life. If you want to own one, and have the means, you should. If later you want to sell it, you can and maybe even give someone else a chance to own a piece of history.

You have a nice looking rifle. I have one, not as nice looking, but one just the same. It is a good shooter, and is always a conversation piece at the range. Last time I took it to a rifle match, brought some extra rounds and after the match let a few others shoot a JSAR. I am sure they now have told their friends that the not only saw a JSAR, but got to hold and shoot it.

Your SN has not shown up before on this new forum. Cannot search beyond that for history.

Enjoy!

[Sgt.Hollywood 0]

Thank you for posting.

As I stated earlier, I have wanted one of these rifles for a long time. The first time I saw a JSAR was in 1985 at a gunshow in Concord N.H. I was just a kid at the time and knew nothing about it at all. I do remember that the ventilated barrel guard and potbelly magazine caught my eye and spoke volumes about possible military service. I knew then that someday I would find one for my own. At the time the asking price was $900......a fortune to a 15 year old!

In all that time I only saw one other JSAR, at a local gunshop, and it was not for sale {its a #B----}. Wherever and whenever I would ask a shop owner or military weapon enthusist about a Johnson they would tell me that I would need a lot of luck to find one, so this puchase is a small victory for me.

When I get the weapon {and eventually a manual, I don't dare break it down yet for fear of buggering it up} I will post all the serial #s and details that I can find here. Thanks to all who own and operate this site it is a treasure trove of info, keep up the good work.

[webmaster 0]

Field stripping instructions are on the main site pages.

[Brian Alpert 0]

In addition to the main Johnson Website pages, I can highly recommend getting Joseph Scott's VHS (or perhaps now DVD) video of JSAR assembly, dissassembly,

care and maintenance. It really helps! http://jmscottparts.com/

[Sgt.Hollywood 0]

Thanks once again. I have read the main page dis-assembly instructions and it looks fairly straight forward. "Using a cartridge or similar drift to press the pins", is this ok for the finish of the weapon? Don't want to sound stupid but I don't want to mar the finish either. What do you guys use as a "punch" or drift?

I would also like to shoot this weapon, I have some Korean and some Danish 30-06 that works great in my June '44 SA Garand and '43 Rem 03A3, or should I use commercial modern cartridges?

Like everyone else I would like to find a bayonet, any leads on an original? Thanks again for your time.

[Sgt.Hollywood 0]

I just got the call from my FFl holder and picked up #A9143. Its like New Year, Christmas, 4th of July and my birthday all at once! This is a sweet rifle....everything is as described at Gunrunner.com. Scott and Brian are real nice guys and were extremely gracious with my questions and sent the weapon very well packed and insured.

For fun I have placed it with my Garand and SVT-40. Very interesting to see how different designs were utilized with the same purpose in mind. Later, when I have access to my camera I will post pics if that is allowed here.

Thanks, Hollywood

[Sgt.Hollywood 0]

I was looking at the sling, looks too new to be original....manufactuers name is BRAUER BROS. MFG. Co.

ST. LOUIS I3

The stiches are done with brown thread on the keepers and the metal hardware looks like gold colored plating on steel with shiny steel rivets. Maybe it is a real M1907 sling after all?

[ArtR 0]

While you may post your SN's on the forum, your rifle is a PREFIX gun, that is it has "A" or "B" prefixed SN, and to date, the production logs on these rifles have not been located.

I want to also recommend Joe Scott's video, especially for a first time owner. A lot of time and effort went into making the video on Joe's part, and it pretty good.

Another nice addition to your new found plaything is a good book to curl up with. May I suggest "Johnson Rifles and Machine Guns" by Bruce Canfield, with Robert L Lamoreaux and Edward R Johnson. stores.Avail thru the authors web site, online, and at many fine book stores.

[Sgt.Hollywood 0]

Last Friday I got to finally take my Johnson for a test spin! Also brought my M1 Garand for a low key comparision.

The range was about 80 yards, we use an old gravel pit. It was just plinking but it was great. I noticed right away that loading the Garand with ammo was much easier than the stripper clips for the Johnson, but part of this was the fact I was being very careful with my expensive toy and want to prevent to much wear on its finish.

I put about 100 rounds of Korean 30-06 through the M1941. One of the first things I noticed was sounf of the recoil spring inside the butstock as the action cycled. Sort of reminded me of firing an Ar-15 telescoping stock carbine I used to own. Also there was trigger backlash with each round fired{ makes the index finger tingle!}. I was amazed at the force of the ejected shells and the distance they travelled! All in all it was a dream come true! Can't wait to do it again!