Category: Gun Info for Rookies
I’m pretty sure Dirty Harry delivered a subtle message to aspiring hobby gunsmiths. It’s good advice because sometimes you gain the most valuable experience by learning what not to do. If the cost of such a life lesson is a butchered gun and subsequent “can you fix this” visit to a competent gunsmith, chalk it up to education expense.
Let’s rewind to a time long ago and not so far away, when I knew even less than I do now. I’ll just say my hubris was only surpassed by my ignorance and leave it at that. I urge you to remember there may have been a time when you did something equally stupid, so please be gentle — I’m baring my soul in the interest of higher learning.
As a freshly minted gun owner, I got a bug up my butt to buy an old Walther. Money was tight, so I was looking for deals on the auction boards. One caught my eye: “Gunsmith Special! Interarms Walther PPK/S!” It arrived rough. I figured it had been through a couple of wars and at least three seasons of “Desperate Housewives of Possum Kingdom, S.C.” It lacked grips, ejected magazines randomly when firing and only cocked the hammer when cycling on odd-numbered days. The finish resembled the interior of a construction dumpster.
Now What?
All of those seemed surmountable problems to an expert like me with precisely zero experience working on guns. I bought some wood grips and new magazines, looked for anything broken, reassembled the pistol and took it to the range for reliability testing. I wanted to carry this 007 classic, so I had to make sure it fed self-defense ammo without fail. In case you didn’t know, that stuff is expensive. A few magazines in, I figured out this pistol couldn’t feed three rounds in a row.
No worries. Maybe it was just “ammo sensitive” being an old gun and all. Fast forward to another expensive trip to the gun store and a return to the range with different, although equally abusive on the wallet ammo. The result? Same problem. So, I tried again. And again. Not only did I prove the definition of insanity, retrying the same failed strategy hoping for a different outcome, I burned through second and third mortgages with my ammo bills.
Finally, I got smart and took it to a gunsmith. Sounding supremely confident to a noob like me, the counterman informed me, “These old Walthers are finicky about the magazine lip profile. We see it all the time.” After making some adjustments, he returned the gun. Still no love. I’ll spare the details, but I made repeat visits to this local ’smith, and many others, and received nothing but a bucket of fail for my efforts. With the benefit of hindsight, I now see those local “gunsmiths” were guys just like me who thought they knew more than their experience supported.
Power Tools
Enter the Dremel. Having bought and adjusted somewhere north of 13,512 Walther magazines to no avail, I was now confident the problem emanated from the feed ramp. I’d been reading about the importance of “polished feed ramps” so I buffed the snot out of this one using a felt Dremel bit and some grocery store metal polish. While it looked great, the pistol still shot with the same success rate as monkeys in a Food Network baking competition.
No worries.
I surmised I needed to bevel the feed ramp just a hair to ease feeding of modern hollowpoint bullets. The fact the pistol didn’t even feed Cor-Bon Pow’R Ball ammo, which not only have a round nose, but a slick polymer one, eluded my logic.
I broke out the Dremel, and I might have used, let’s just say, “aggressive” bits on the feed ramp. And I learned. If you practice dry-firing at home, you know not to keep the firearm and ammo in the same room. For safety. There’s a lesser known apothegm, and I’m taking full credit for it. Don’t allow those orange and green Dremel bits having the texture of bricks and cinder blocks in the same county as your firearms. You’re welcome.
If you want to use a Dremel tool, knock yourself out. Just make sure the bit has the letters F, E, L and T in its name. Needless to say, the results were about as good as the first iteration of the Affordable Healthcare Act website.
So, let’s recap. I didn’t learn the importance of knowing my limitations after spending eight or 10 figures on premium ammo for testing, working through every crank gunsmith in town, depleting the national Walther PPK/S magazine supply, polishing like no one’s business and finally, performing steel liposuction. Yes, I can be stubborn occasionally. It was time to suck up my pride and call for help — professional help.
The Pros
Enter the Cylinder & Slide shop. I’d seen their ads and read volumes about their pistol artistry for years in American Handgunner. There were two roadblocks to seeking help. The first was pride. I overcame that easily enough since I was mailing the gun to them. I didn’t have to endure a face-to-face walk of shame with my bag-o-parts. While I didn’t exactly lie outright, I might have implied the guy I bought this pistol from “sure messed it up.”
The second was cost. The pistol in question was worth maybe a couple hundred bucks at the time — before I started “improvements.” From a resale perspective, doing a custom job didn’t make fiscal sense. I rationalized by telling myself I would make this a personal keeper — a cool and historical gun finely tuned for everyday use with modern ammunition while looking like a million bucks.
The pros at Cylinder & Slide opened my eyes, not only to what was required to fix this little pistol, but to possibilities to make it better. See what happens when you listen to the experts?
Before quality custom work, my not-very-professionally installed wooden grips had a tendency to move around with each shot because there’s a single grip screw passing through the frame holding both panels in place by friction alone. A glass bedding job on the back of each panel to match the steel cutouts solved the slipping problem once and for all. Good idea guys!
As for metal work, they, umm, repaired the damage “some guy” did to the feed ramp. It’s now slick, gouge-free, feeding any .380 ACP ammo I care to supply — without fail ever. That’s valuable, but the nifty work was apparent in the extras my Cylinder & Slide consultant recommended. Note the radius work on the trigger face. Sure, this is a preference decision, but that polished and rounded trigger face changes the feel of the double-action press dramatically. It now operates more like a finely tuned revolver.
Live And Learn …
A few other improvements rounded out this custom job. The gun gurus at C&S suggested, and received my enthusiastic approval for, a re-bluing job, so the frame and slab sides of the slide are mirror finished. The curved sections of the slide now sport a matte surface, reducing glare. Since the gun was broken down for all the other work, I decided to have C&S polish all internal surfaces. Last, but not least, I had the barrel re-crowned with an 11-degree bevel because part of its “gunsmith special” heritage was a beat-up muzzle.
So, what does all this have to do with DIY gunsmithing? Simple. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. If you can minimize the cost of bad judgment by knowing your limitations, all the better.
Enjoy your DIY gunsmithing endeavors, just proceed with caution. If you’re embarking on a learning journey, start with the basics. There are several beginner-friendly DIYs in this issue. Those projects are a great place to start!
For more info:
www.cylinder-slide.com
Ph: (800) 448-1713
As much as I enjoy hunting my native New York—with its Catskill and Adirondack Mountains and all the other beautiful places—I simply love traveling abroad to hunt new countries and continents. Canada, Alaska, the Rockies, Africa, Europe and Australia—there is an entire world out there to be explored and hunted. Doing so is not as easy as hunting in your home state; it requires an extra measure of research and planning.
The legality of traveling with a firearm for hunting can be a daunting task—when leaving the country—due to the multi-national laws involved. I’ve also been on a couple of hunts that involved more than one country, and it took a bit of homework to have things in order before I left. Then, you face another set of hurdles once you return to the US of A, so there is an entire flock of ducks to have in a row.
Let’s deal with the trips that stay in the continental US first. You’ll need a good gun case—one that meets all the TSA requirements—and a set of TSA approved locks. These locks feature a unique key for you, but they can be opened by a TSA master key for inspection. I’d highly recommend that you break down your firearm (if possible) within the case, by removing the bolt or dismantling a double-barrel shotgun, to assure the agents that the firearm is not loaded. Keep any and all ammunition in an approved container (original cardboard box or one of the plastic ammo containers) and put it in your checked-on luggage, separate from the firearm. I declare my firearms to the ticket agent when checking into the flight, and ask them (kindly) to summon a TSA agent. While the ticket agent may look at you in horror at the mention of traveling with firearms, the TSA agents are much more familiar and comfortable with the processes involved. Other than that, if you’re staying in the States, you should be good to go.
International travel with a firearm can be a bit of a different story. The same flight rules apply as described above, but there are permits and temporary licenses that must be obtained and carefully guarded throughout your travels. The first stop—long before your trip begins—is to make an appointment with U.S. Customs to have Form 4457 (Certificate of Personal Effects Taken Abroad) filled out and signed by a Customs Agent. This will assure that you can bring your firearm back into the United States upon your return; it is the proof that you owned the firearm before your trip commenced, and that you didn’t purchase it abroad. I’d also recommend that you put your scope and binoculars (with serial numbers) on the certificate to avoid any issues. I like to make a clear copy of my completed Form 4457 and put it in the bottom of my rifle case, as an insurance measure. I’d like to throw a shout out to the ladies and gentlemen at the Albany, New York Customs office; they are pleasant and more than accommodating for the multiple 4457’s I’ve needed over the years.
You’ll definitely need to keep any ammo separate from the firearm case, and I like to keep it in a plastic case—I’ve used MTM Cases for years with great results—and I use a bit of duct tape to keep things secure. Some countries in Africa want you to declare the amount of ammunition brought into the country, and some have limits on the amount you’re able to bring in. Some even collect a surcharge, per round of ammunition, upon entering the country.
There is usually a fee associated with the temporary import of a firearm into another country. I remember Canada gets $25, and the African countries all differ. It will pay to be very familiar with the location of the serial number of your firearms, as they will be required for your temporary permit. That permit, which allows you to carry a firearm in another country, needs to be well taken care of. I remember hunting in Zambia, where we had to make sure that paperwork was with us at all points in time—even in the most remote places—as we were hunting with a government Game Scout at all times, as is common in many African countries.
Once you’re done hunting, you’ll want to keep things equally tidy for the return trip. I save all of the empty cartridges I can (I’m a stingy reloader) to show that I didn’t leave any ammunition in the wrong hands. You’ll need the necessary exit paperwork—usually an exit stamp on your import permit—and upon returning to the Land of the Free, U.S. Customs will need to see that Form 4457, and you should be all set.
There are several travel agencies that specialize in assisting the traveling hunter, my own personal favorite being my pal Steve Turner over at Travel With Guns. They have all the necessary forms and the know how to help you get in and out of your destination without a hitch. Steve and his team can give you the requirements on medications (a very important point when traveling to an area known to harbor malaria), as well as handy maps of and tips on the area you’re visiting. While they charge a nominal fee for their services, it is money well spent; there’s been more than one occasion where Steve & Co. have helped me out of a jam. I remember sitting in the Bulawayo, Zimbabwe airport, waiting in a long line for guys to fill out the import paperwork (and needing to share the vintage carbon paper); we had the forms already filled out thanks to Travel With Guns and avoided a long wait. There was also a time Steve got us out of JFK Airport a day early because of an impending hurricane. When I travel to hunt in a different country, Steve gets my business.
You’ll want to make sure that your passport is valid for at least six months after your trip is over, to avoid any hassles. Many times, you can fill out paperwork for international transportation ahead of time—which helps get through the process quicker—and you’ll need to provide your passport number. I always keep the number of the US Embassy in whatever country I’m hunting tucked away in my wallet, along with a Xerox copy of my passport, just in case. And, let me leave you with one last piece of advice: pack light. The overweight baggage costs are astronomical; I learned that the hard way!
The last part of the hunt can often be addressed before you leave, and I’d recommend you do. Getting your trophies home—especially if the species you’re hunting falls under a CITES classification—can be not only a hassle, but a real drag. Contact a good import company—I use Bob and Rosella Quartarone of Safari Specialty Importers—to provide my trophies with the best possible care during the trip back to my taxidermist. They will provide identification tags, so your hard-earned trophies don’t get lost in the shuffle. Though there are other companies to choose from, I feel Bob and Rosella are among the most knowledgeable and diligent in the industry.
Pick up the phone, fire up the laptop, and plan your adventure; life is indeed short and international hunting will provide some of the best memories of your hunting career.