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Today at a gun show I filled a gap in my collection by adding a model 61. I brought it home and gave it the once over and shot it. It seems accurate enough but is somewhat tight at the rear of its pump stroke. I have to consciously think about pulling it back all the way and firmly send it into battery. It’s a post war rifle and looks fairly clean with an over abundance of old oil on it. I plan on a complete disassembly, ultrasonic cleaning. I’m hoping this will help with the tight issues. While I have it disassembled is there anything I should look for that would account for these issues other than the old lube and our 10 degree temps? Thanks in advance, Neil
Neil,
Ten degree temps with old gooey lube will surely make the rifle cycle hard, you are on the right track to give it a thorough cleaning. I believe your problem will be cured with a proper cleaning and a light lubricant applied.
I just went through the same thing with a first year model 42 that I believe was never cleaned after it left the factory. It was stiff and very sluggish. After a proper cleaning I can now hold the shot gun vertically and hit the slide release and it fully opens on its own.
Erin
After cleaning and while reassembling I noticed if I tightened the forearm screws to much the problem got much worse. I first thought the screws were to long but that wasn’t it. Over this rifles life the forearm was replaced and when tightened down the tube was binding on the front of the forearm. A little inletting black and sandpaper now has it running slick. I’ve never shot a 61 until yesterday so I can’t judge, but did they come with a light trigger pull? This one breaks like glass at under 2.5 pounds. I’m guessing it’s been worked over. Bump testing confirms it’s safe just light.
Northwoodneil said
Today at a gun show I filled a gap in my collection by adding a model 61. I brought it home and gave it the once over and shot it. It seems accurate enough but is somewhat tight at the rear of its pump stroke. I have to consciously think about pulling it back all the way and firmly send it into battery. It’s a post war rifle and looks fairly clean with an over abundance of old oil on it. I plan on a complete disassembly, ultrasonic cleaning. I’m hoping this will help with the tight issues. While I have it disassembled is there anything I should look for that would account for these issues other than the old lube and our 10 degree temps? Thanks in advance, Neil
Good morning,
I would love to add the rifle into my survey. https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-survey-discussion/model-61-research-survey/
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
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