snus
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Posts: 16
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Post by snus on Jan 24, 2009 1:31:21 GMT -5
I've already shown it in the Photo Album, but then I disassembled it... First of all, the barrel is bulged 7-3/4 inches back from the muzzle. The diameter has been increased by .02 inches, and I am not willing to shoot with a barrel like that. Aside from this ... ... the bolt has lost a small part of material where one of the cam pins run: ... the firing pin itself has become crooked and shows heavy wear from hitting the walls of the firing pin hole: As far as I know the FN 1900 does not have a firing pin rebounding spring, in any case this was not found inside the channel where the firing pin runs. The missing material on the bolt could probably be replaced by a skilled TIG-welder, with de-hardening/re-hardening of the bolt. The barrel needs to be replaced by someone skilled enough to either machine the rear end of the barrel into the required shape, or cutting the part with the locking lugs off and threading it to a new barrel. As far as I can see it's made in one piece from the factory, but any information on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
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Post by Hardrada55 on Jan 24, 2009 12:15:08 GMT -5
My thoughts, for what little they are worth. A daunting task. Particularly the barrel. That's were I would start and what would determine whether this remained a collector's piece or returned to use as a shooting firearm. Whether I could replace or repair the barrel. There must be someone in the European Union sitting on a "junk" FN Browning 1900 from which you could salvage a barrel?! Ha ha! Talk about the proverbial "needle in a haystack".
The way I see the problem, you have two options, both of which are difficult. Either, find a salvage Browning 1900 barrel or find a gunsmith with enough skill in barrel making to fabricate another barrel for your gun. Both I see as very expensive propositions. Being a frugal "cheap skate" I would hang the one gun on the wall and rejoice that I was fortunate enough to own the second gun which is in better condition. I vote, "no repair". That being said, please know that no person, besides yourself, would be happier to see your gun restored to firing condition than I. And my admiration for your resourcefulness would be huge.
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snus
New Member
Posts: 16
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Post by snus on Jan 24, 2009 17:32:57 GMT -5
There must be someone in the European Union sitting on a "junk" FN Browning 1900 from which you could salvage a barrel?! We have lots of junk in the European Union! Too bad it's mostly heaps of useless materia called "Politicians". ;D The way I see the problem, you have two options, both of which are difficult. Either, find a salvage Browning 1900 barrel or find a gunsmith with enough skill in barrel making to fabricate another barrel for your gun. Both I see as very expensive propositions. Being a frugal "cheap skate" I would hang the one gun on the wall and rejoice that I was fortunate enough to own the second gun which is in better condition. I vote, "no repair". That being said, please know that no person, besides yourself, would be happier to see your gun restored to firing condition than I. And my admiration for your resourcefulness would be huge. Thanks for your opinions and information! I'd like to get it back in a sound condition, and shoot with it. I'll have to take a look at my special source for mint-FN-1900's-at-bargain-prices... No, I guess there's some kind of limit to what one is willing to do to get things back working. Anyway - I'll keep it until I find a solution. The gun control in Sweden would even make Kalifornians feel a bit uncomfortable. Turning this rifle into a "wall hanger" would require extensive work too, since it's a legal requirement that the change is irreversible. This includes grinding sections of the bolt face away, filling up the the firing pin hole, drilling holes through the part of the barrel where the chamber is, inserting a steel rod and weld it into one heck of a mess. I would seriously hurt my eyes if I had to watch that, so I'd rather pass.
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snus
New Member
Posts: 16
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Post by snus on Jan 24, 2009 20:56:13 GMT -5
Captured an image of the rear end of the barrel, to show it's complexity. I'll try to revive my account at the homegunsmith-board, there were a few skilled machinists there if I remember it correct.
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Post by 2verpsters on Jan 27, 2009 11:35:41 GMT -5
Might be easier to find a barrel for a model 8 in 35Rem. Obviously the chambering is the same, I am not sure if the machining done at the chamber is any different or if anything changed on the muzzle end of things either. But if the design for the barrels stayed the same on both sides of the pond, finding a barrel for a 35Rem should be much easier. You could always have the 35Rem stamping machined off or if you got lucky enough, you might find an older barrel that did not have the caliber stamped on it. If you can show me a picture of the firing pin, I have several versions from the Mod 8's, if they match up we'll figure out how to get you one from the US. I also have bolt assemblies if they turn out to be the same.
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ccic
New Member
Posts: 1
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Post by ccic on Jun 13, 2009 18:25:10 GMT -5
Hi.I'm new to this forum.I had an M1 Garand with a bulge in the barrel and I could feel the rod go loose at the bulge when I cleaned it,I showed it to a smith and he told me that the last 6 inches of the barrel were important,to go ahead and shoot it.I did and it was a tac driver..never had any problem..Kept it clean and dry.. The ? is ..Can someone tell me different...?
CCIC
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Post by 2verpsters on Jun 22, 2009 8:07:13 GMT -5
I've got a Mod 8 in 25rem that had a bulge in the barrel about 2" from the muzzle. In my case, the barrel had actually split at that point so I was losing pressure into the barrel jacket. This particular rifle would not hit a pie plate at 25 yards, but that may have been because the bulge was so close to the muzzle that the bullet did not have time to pick up enough rifling before exiting the muzzle to stabilize itself again. I was not loosing enough gas to cause the rifle to not function, just couldn't hit anything with it.
Personally, I wouldn't knowingly shoot anything with a bulge in the barrel, I didn't know mine was bulged and split till I took it apart wondering why it wouldn't shoot well. It just goes against all the safety lessons you were taught about guns growing up, but thats only my opinion. The bulge will never go away and to me it is just a place to collect lead/copper/powder fouling until it upsets the bullet/exhaust gas enough to become bigger or even worse.
Again, my opinion only, you are the one hanging onto it when the trigger is pulled.
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snus
New Member
Posts: 16
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Post by snus on Aug 19, 2009 23:07:36 GMT -5
I have several versions from the Mod 8's, if they match up we'll figure out how to get you one from the US. Thank you for your kind offer. I believe I could have a skilled gunsmith in town make a new firing pin, or possibly even straighten the current one, but I'll keep your most generous offer in mind. First of all I need to get reloading equipment, and load up some ammunition with safe and confirmed loads. I got about one hundred reloaded cartridges with one of the guns, and the now defunct company that once loaded them were well known for their inconsistent loads. I'm not willing to take the risk involved in shooting those. I'll pull the bullets, discard the powder and use the primed cases and the bullet with new powder to develop safe rounds, with the help of some quality chrony. I'm currently looking for an (preferably early) Marlin 336 in .35 Remington to try these loads in, but those guns are not easily found here in Sweden I'm afraid. That goes for other guns in the .35 Remington chambering as well.
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snus
New Member
Posts: 16
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Post by snus on Aug 13, 2010 0:05:46 GMT -5
Hi everybody! I haven't logged in here for a while. While away I got a PM from a kind board member offering to help me restore my worn FN 1900. I replied by email, and was able to do so because this user had chosen to NOT hide his/her email address. I changed this setting in my profile, so that members can now view my full email address. I'm currently in the process of giving a friend in California a rifle. We are getting all the paperwork done, and the shipment will include several guns if possible. The legal export limit from Sweden (after which paperwork get more complicated) is thirty weapons per shipment, afaik. If it's possible to include more than one gun, without having to pay multiple fees to the import dealer, there will probably be a few Swedish Mausers for sale after this is done. Feel free to contact me by email if you're interested in anything particular! My friend is receiving a mint condition Carl Gustav CG63 match rifle chambered for the 6.5x55 cartridge. He pays shipping + paperwork, but it's still cheaper than buying one in the US he tells me. Pretty decent deal to receive a free Mauser rifle, right?
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