*REQUESTS PT. 2*

There were a number of requests that basically asked the same question...one of the most asked was...how to slick up a leveraction rifle so the accuracy is improved....

SOME ARE OLD, SOME BLUE, SOME ARE EVEN NEW...

But they all can be made to shoot MOA...

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Gaining accuracy in a leveraction rifle is really not much different than doing it in a bolt action. The principles are the same. There is no mystery, it is just that most folks take it for granted that 3 to 5 inches at 100 yards is normal and you have to live with it. That is of course, utter nonsense...first of all on today’s market there is not one brand of leveraction, one style, or one make..... that won’t generally shoot into less than 2 inches with the right ammo. Some few individual guns (lemons) may go into larger groups...but bolt actions have the same problems with the unusual stinker in a group. But many older guns need help...

Say What? Free Float a levergun barrel?

You bet! First lets go down the list of things that effect the accuracy of the leverguns most.

Numero uno is the cleaning wear at the muzzle of these fine guns. When I clean a levergun, I take a cut off cartridge case, just the shoulder and neck section of a 30—30 in a 30 caliber rifle for example, and put it in the muzzle of my 30-30s or 32 Specials, like a funnel...that saves the crown from cleaning rod wear. A tight necked 30—30 case section will do the 30—30. I use a fired and slightly opened 32 Special case section for 356s and 358s, a fired 358 section for the 375...you get the idea. If the wear is already there, then the gun has to be recrowned. That is a job for a gunsmith.  Tell him to go back only as far as it is necessary usually only a 1/4 to 3/16s of an inch. I like an 11 degree crown from bore out, instead of the normal rounded shape. The 11 degree is a target crown cut for benchrest rifles. Might as well do the best for your levergun.

I know a few fella’s that really keep their guns in fine shape. Always cleaning and tightening screws and such...nothing wrong with all that if you are careful about some unexpected problems. The cleaning wear we already spoke of from the cleaning rod rubbing one side of the crown and bore...but also tightening barrel bands and the screw at the end of the loading tube can lead to inaccuracy. Have you ever heard of the problems bolt action rifles have if a hunk of wood INSIDE the forearm presses against the barrel? It causes a pressure point, and as the barrel heats from firing and expands, it moves more away from that touching/pressure point, giving lousy groups at the target. The same idea holds true for tight barrel bands and for that first front screw of the loading tube that’s into the underside of the barrel, behind the crown.

Lets take that screw first...turn your rifle over and look at it. Just a hole through the tube and screwed into the barrel at the crown. Simple. If the tube is too tight a fit to the barrel it becomes a pain in the rear end of accuracy. There has to be room for expansion of the barrel, and at the muzzle the most movement occurs. If it’s tight the tube pulls down on the barrel as it heats up, and stringing of shots is the usual result.

But it’s easy to fix. A gunsmith can cut a dovetail cut in the bottom of the barrel right where the screw hole is...he then puts a piece of hardened dovetailed steel into that cut. The steel has been drilled and tapped for a larger hole and screw...the hole in the tube is cut a little larger than the new screw, and a small, thin, washer of polyethylene is placed between the barrel bottom and the tube on that screw. When it is put together that tube hole and washer gives a little expansion room at the tube hole. Now it might seem that you can get away with just enlarging the barrel screw hole and rethreading, opening the tube hole and putting a larger screw directly into the barrel and cut out all that time consuming dovetail cutting and fitting.   NO!

The larger screw sets up much more impact. The tube hits the screw because of the play that needs to be there...every time the rifle is fired...from the tube bump at firing it will push the screw out of the hole ruining the threads. And after two or three score rounds of smart ammo, the hard front screw rips the softer threads out of the barrel hole. But a hardened hunk of dovetail steel set in place, drilled and tapped lasts forever. Believe it or not the tube end and the screw are harder then the barrel. The barrel is tough steel, not hard...if it were hard steel, it would be brittle and couldn’t take pressure. Now see why gunsmiths charge so much? Their knowledge has to be very vast in many fields,  good ones are hard to find.

Next is the barrel bands...their only function should be cosmetic   They were there in 1885 so they should be there in 1999. That’s part of the reasoning for owning a levergun..it’s like yesterday in looks, but you want it to shoot like today, 1999 accuracy.  I take the bands off...put two thin blocks of wood in my vise and lock the band into it tight so the part that grips the barrel is up and clear to work on. Take a dowel stick that fits into the chuck of your drill, with a hacksaw put a deep cut down one end through the middle of the wood dowel. Tear a piece of fine grit sandpaper or gritcloth in a strip, and slip it into the cut in the dowel so that when it is locked in the chuck and turns the rough side is exposed.

Next is a lot of work, about an hour,   you only have to do it once and it is worth it. Take the forearm off. and with a hunk of broom handle with sandpaper,  relieve it so it won’t touch the barrel when put back on the rifle. How does the forearm stay in place you wonder? Easy, but you must do this next very carefully.

Leaving the loading tube out of the gun, hold the forearm in place against the barrel...then from the forearm at the chamber end, place a mark about two inches back on the bottom of the forearm,  then mark the barrel in the same place. I use a felt tip pen. I then lay the forearm aside for a moment. Putting a heavy cloth in the vise, lock the rifle upside down in the vise by the action. (don’t squeeze like you are tying up the Battleship New Jersey, firm is fine)

At the felt tip mark on the barrel, go to the bottom side of the barrel and cut a groove across the bottom with the round file. Go only as deep as one third of the file at it’s deepest point into the barrel. Be sure this is at the same point in the forearm.

At the corresponding mark on the forearm cut a groove in the bottom of the barrel well of the forearm,  the same depth as the cut in the barrel. The depth of these two cuts together will be the size of the drill rod you are going to use...I use 1/4 drill rod. These two grooves together will allow the piece of drill rod to fill them. (cutting the groove inside the forearm can be done with your electric drill and a small round nose router bit, sold at Ace type Hardware stores) When that drill rod is epoxied in place in the forearm...it will fit into the barrel groove and hold the forearm in place at recoil, but not creating a pressure point.

Then take your hunk 1/4inch drill rod and cut a piece that will fit that cross groove in the forearm...fit it to the rifle to be sure the two grooves and the drill rod piece line up...you will most likely have to take a little more wood or steel out to get the 1/4 inch drill rod to fit. Once you have a firm but not tight fit (be sure they are fitted first) then epoxy the drill rod into the forearm. When dry reassemble the rifle. You have relieved all the pressure points. Because the drill rod is at the chamber end, where it is thick and less movement occurs it doesn’t effect the accuracy but holds the forearm in place.

The last accuracy item is important...no accuracy is worth crap if the trigger is rough and gritty on the let off.  It is worth the cost of a GOOD gunsmith to tune the trigger and set it at around 3 ½ pounds. That makes the difference between a snap shot hitting a bouncing deer and not hitting...it really does when you have practiced with the new trigger.  Even a heavy trigger that breaks CLEAN is better than a gritty light let off.

Try this first....cock the EMPTY rifle...put pressure on the hammer with your thumb...then pull the trigger slowly....forcing the hammer with your thumb....then do this fifty or sixty more times...that will clean up any rough edges on the sear engagements....the lightness of the trigger pull is another matter. Taking a little (one coil at a time) off the hammer spring....or if it is a flat spring....DON’T TRY THINNING THE SPRING!!!!!!! TO LIGHTEN IT>>>>!

Narrow it along one side a little at a time with a grinder....A LITTLE AT A TIME! It doesn’t take much...remember if you lighten it too much it won’t pop the primer...and you will need a new spring.

So that’s the way you get a levergun to shoot like a bench gun...a little work, and it’s not hard...take your time and a few hours investment..it’s worth it.