I recently took possession of the above rifle, after many years of lusting after one. This morning I took the stock off to ogle its innards and give them a good cleaning and oiling; I avoided doing that when I first got it home because it was perfectly sighted in and ready for hunting and I wanted to use it during deer season; took a lovely buck with it, too.
So today, I had it apart, ogled its double set-trigger mechanism, gave it a good once-over...and then could not get it back together to save my life.
The simplest imaginable job, simply re-assembling the barreled action into the stock, and I couldn't get everything to go together. The barreled action fit into the stock like it grew there...the triggerguard/magazine-well unit fit its recess perfectly...and both of those pieces dropped right into the stock individually...but no way could I get all three lined up and re-assembled.
Spent hours on it, getting madder and more embarrassed by the minute. Hell, my dog quietly got up and left the workshop; he could sense the tension. Couldn't find anything online about this issue...if indeed it is one...and must have had it apart a dozen times trying to figure it out. Tried it with the safety in both positions, with the trigger set and un-set, and of course the dang triggerguard is plastic and is famously fragile so I was trying to handle it with kid gloves.
Then, suddenly, as I jiggled and manipulated it, with the air getting bluer and bluer...it just popped into place with a frightening click...frightening because of all that 50-year-old plastic. But it was fine, the stock bolts leaped into position and it's back together and functions perfectly. Won't test-fire until after I cautiously retorque the stock bolts, and I'm just not interested in any more stress right now so that will have to wait.
Does anybody have any tips or suggestions as to what I might have been missing? As it stands, I have zero interest in ever taking that thing down again, ever, unless I can find out what was going on. Any suggestions, hints, tips, etc. would be hugely appreciated.
So today, I had it apart, ogled its double set-trigger mechanism, gave it a good once-over...and then could not get it back together to save my life.
The simplest imaginable job, simply re-assembling the barreled action into the stock, and I couldn't get everything to go together. The barreled action fit into the stock like it grew there...the triggerguard/magazine-well unit fit its recess perfectly...and both of those pieces dropped right into the stock individually...but no way could I get all three lined up and re-assembled.
Spent hours on it, getting madder and more embarrassed by the minute. Hell, my dog quietly got up and left the workshop; he could sense the tension. Couldn't find anything online about this issue...if indeed it is one...and must have had it apart a dozen times trying to figure it out. Tried it with the safety in both positions, with the trigger set and un-set, and of course the dang triggerguard is plastic and is famously fragile so I was trying to handle it with kid gloves.
Then, suddenly, as I jiggled and manipulated it, with the air getting bluer and bluer...it just popped into place with a frightening click...frightening because of all that 50-year-old plastic. But it was fine, the stock bolts leaped into position and it's back together and functions perfectly. Won't test-fire until after I cautiously retorque the stock bolts, and I'm just not interested in any more stress right now so that will have to wait.
Does anybody have any tips or suggestions as to what I might have been missing? As it stands, I have zero interest in ever taking that thing down again, ever, unless I can find out what was going on. Any suggestions, hints, tips, etc. would be hugely appreciated.
