I have been meaning to write up a thread to share some of the mods I made on my Papoose. Most of them were ideas borrowed from around the interweb, except the 4 shot mag, I came up with that one.
I will start with the mag. I had 2 of the 7 shot mags and 2 10s. I always thought the 7 shot size was a bit odd. at least with the 10 shot you could dump 2 rows of 5 out of a box. I decided that it would be handy to have a low profile one for if I wanted to carry the thing. the bottom plate of the mag slides on sort of rails that fold out 90 degrees. I left the rail area a bit long so I could clamp the mag in a vice between some steel pieces with sharp 90s to bend over. After i did my best to reproduce the sharp bend I cut cut and ground them short. I also cut some out of the follower spring.
10 shot, 7 shot, custom 4 shot
this is what it looks like in the gun
Probably the one of the better mods I did was to drill and tap the trigger for an 8-32 set screw. This was to remove 99% of the creep. I rounded the end of the set screw on my belt sander. You have to use keep making minor adjustments and re-assembling the action till it feels right. I used small thread purple thread locker. I also removed the heavy spring from the trigger and replaced it with one from a 3-1/2" floppy disk. I have also heard some people remove it all together.
the floppy disk spring is shown here
notice the hole is drilled left of the centre line
My gun was missing the front sight hood when I got it. I made this one out of a SS sleeve insert for a 3/4" plumbing compression fitting. I do find that It shades some light from the orange front sight so I may make a hole in the top one day. I also slid the orange sight out and used a sharpie to black out some of it.
I don't know why they don't come from the factory with useable storage in the stalk. The butt plate is very tight and is actually quite difficult to remove. first remove the screws. if you try to use something like a flat screwdriver to pry it out at the edge, it will likely mark it up. I think the best way to remove it is to use a large wood screw, like maybe a #12, hand threaded in to the hole and gently pull straight out. I cleaned up the sharp edges and used some string to make a handle to open it. I also drilled a hole in the side of the top screw hole and countersank it so I could pin the end of the string with a flat head screw.
I loosely followed some ideas from this guy named "dude" on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcoZlNEDSF4 Some of his ideas seem a but silly but I did polish up some of the moving parts. I used a 1/2 round file that I ground the sides down to make it a "safe" file. Also used were some different grits of sand paper and my belt sander with a leather belt and honing compound.
lastly, I made a sort of speed loader out of a paint stir stick. It pushes the follower down to allow a SS cotter pin to hold it. The cotter pin is attached with some shock cord that allows it to stretch when you pull the stick out. It only fits 9 rounds, the 10th must added after you pull the pin. You have to sort of shake the mag as you drop rounds in to make sure they stack up right. Sometimes they hang up if they sit wrong. It does save your thumbs.
I welcome any questions or constructive criticism. Other Papoose mods would be interesting too.
thanks
I will start with the mag. I had 2 of the 7 shot mags and 2 10s. I always thought the 7 shot size was a bit odd. at least with the 10 shot you could dump 2 rows of 5 out of a box. I decided that it would be handy to have a low profile one for if I wanted to carry the thing. the bottom plate of the mag slides on sort of rails that fold out 90 degrees. I left the rail area a bit long so I could clamp the mag in a vice between some steel pieces with sharp 90s to bend over. After i did my best to reproduce the sharp bend I cut cut and ground them short. I also cut some out of the follower spring.
10 shot, 7 shot, custom 4 shot
this is what it looks like in the gun
Probably the one of the better mods I did was to drill and tap the trigger for an 8-32 set screw. This was to remove 99% of the creep. I rounded the end of the set screw on my belt sander. You have to use keep making minor adjustments and re-assembling the action till it feels right. I used small thread purple thread locker. I also removed the heavy spring from the trigger and replaced it with one from a 3-1/2" floppy disk. I have also heard some people remove it all together.
the floppy disk spring is shown here
notice the hole is drilled left of the centre line
My gun was missing the front sight hood when I got it. I made this one out of a SS sleeve insert for a 3/4" plumbing compression fitting. I do find that It shades some light from the orange front sight so I may make a hole in the top one day. I also slid the orange sight out and used a sharpie to black out some of it.
I don't know why they don't come from the factory with useable storage in the stalk. The butt plate is very tight and is actually quite difficult to remove. first remove the screws. if you try to use something like a flat screwdriver to pry it out at the edge, it will likely mark it up. I think the best way to remove it is to use a large wood screw, like maybe a #12, hand threaded in to the hole and gently pull straight out. I cleaned up the sharp edges and used some string to make a handle to open it. I also drilled a hole in the side of the top screw hole and countersank it so I could pin the end of the string with a flat head screw.
I loosely followed some ideas from this guy named "dude" on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcoZlNEDSF4 Some of his ideas seem a but silly but I did polish up some of the moving parts. I used a 1/2 round file that I ground the sides down to make it a "safe" file. Also used were some different grits of sand paper and my belt sander with a leather belt and honing compound.
lastly, I made a sort of speed loader out of a paint stir stick. It pushes the follower down to allow a SS cotter pin to hold it. The cotter pin is attached with some shock cord that allows it to stretch when you pull the stick out. It only fits 9 rounds, the 10th must added after you pull the pin. You have to sort of shake the mag as you drop rounds in to make sure they stack up right. Sometimes they hang up if they sit wrong. It does save your thumbs.
I welcome any questions or constructive criticism. Other Papoose mods would be interesting too.
thanks
