Gun Info for Rookies Archives - Page 5 of 41 - You Will Shoot Your Eye Out

I’ll stand up and admit it — I’m a gun plumber.

In case you aren’t aware, a “gun plumber” is an oft-derogatory term for someone who works on firearms despite a lack of proper tools, basic knowledge or any real skills. The telltale cry of a gun plumber is the famous announcement of, “Sure, I can fix that” — even though he might not even be sure if the object in question is animal, vegetable or mineral.

In other words, a gun plumber is someone who, without a care in the world or any shred of self-doubt, dives into the innards of a firearm in hopes of repairing a problem even though they are more likely to be named Playmate of the Month than fix the gun. In some cases, they do resolve the problem using high-quality repair parts such as paper clips or hot glue, but more commonly, things are generally made worse.

If the person in question actually repairs the firearm, and can do it repeatedly on demand and with minimal watching of YouTube videos, they’re dangerously close to becoming a legitimate gunsmith and will soon discover they can charge $500 an hour for using a file. I’m far, far from this point and so are most of my gun friends.

Look In The Mirror

Let’s be honest — most of us who attempt firearms repair will, sadly, almost always remain a gun plumber. We want to do better; we might even buy some of the required tools, but actually learning the required skills just seems like so much work. “Why bother,” the gun plumber asks, “when any dummy can figure this out?”

My own journey started in my youth, about 15 minutes after I got my first Daisy Model 102 BB gun. This is perhaps the most low-frills model in the entire product history but it did sport a “real wood” buttstock. At the ripe old age of 12 — as near as memory serves me — I decided I needed a “custom” rifle to hunt chipmunks, squirrel, elk and other game, so I embarked on my first journey into the world of gun plumbing.

The stock on the M102 is a chunk of some non-descript wood held in place by a long bolt, which engages two pressed-steel ears on either side of the receiver. Honestly, it’s one of the ugliest pieces of firearms cabinetry ever conceived, but it served the purpose of allowing the gun to be used as a shoulder weapon, and more importantly — I assume — it was cheap to manufacture.

My stock was among the ugliest of the ugly and I’m assuming the raw wood had started life as a packing crate at the Daisy factory. After reading about the joys of custom hand-rubbed Circassian walnut in my hand-me-down copies of GUNS Magazine, I realized I wanted the same quality for my “rifle.”

By The Book

I had a copy of an old 1940s deer hunting book I’d won as the prize for scoring the highest on the State Hunter Education test in my junior high. Sadly, the book is long gone from my library and I don’t remember the name or author.

The book included a chapter on how to sporterize your own Mauser (common and cheap following WWII), including instructions on how to refurbish the stock. After reading the chapter several times, I was imbued with completely baseless confidence — the hallmark of the gun plumber — and snuck off to the garage where I used pliers from my dad’s toolbox to remove the stock.

I selected a nice piece of white pine that had been lying around for several years after it had been cut off the end of a 2×4 during a home project. The wood had been sitting under the workbench and was periodically used in various capacities as door stop or hammering surface, thus it sported quite a bit of “character,” a nice word for dings, stains and mashed cobwebs.

As a proto-gun plumber on his first deployment, I’ll admit I took shortcuts. The piece was a little too long by about 3″, twice as thick as the factory stock and shy a few inches of height. Ignoring these inconvenient truths, I cut a notch about halfway back using a handsaw to approximate the bend between wrist and stock, planning to round it later. Then, rather than trying to make the stock thinner by using a planer or belt sander we didn’t own, came the attack of the sandpaper.

After 10 or 12 strokes of 80-grit paper — it was the only thing lying on the workbench — I decided the stock was thin enough and the wrist looked just fine sporting a more contemporary straight profile. I then considered all the checkering and intricate scrollwork I wanted. After pondering the time this would require to complete, at least an hour of work, I decided to dispense with the rest of the niceties. After all, I reasoned, this was a hunting gun and such extensive craftsmanship would undoubtedly be ruined after a season or two of hard use in the cornfield behind my house.

Pleased with my 30 minutes of intense effort, I grabbed a mostly empty rattle can of aerosol varnish and gave the stock a thorough coating, spraying until the can was empty and the wood was well-protected. The varnish did add visual interest in the form of drips and runs, which, if you squinted, resembled some type of grip-enhancing undulations.

As you might imagine, the stock wasn’t unattractive, but I’ll grudgingly admit it wasn’t collector-grade, either. Upon seeing my BB gun, most people would immediately inquire about the stock, asking things like, “What happened? Did a beaver attack your gun?”
Who cares what people think. Thick skin is another requirement for a practicing gun plumber.

Pro Tips

Now, armed with decades of hard-won experience, I’d like to share a few tool recommendations for those considering working on their own firearms:

Dremel tool — A stalwart of the practicing gun plumber, you should keep a rotary tool on your workbench at all times. Whether you’re trying to remove too much metal, remove too much wood or create deep scratches in a gun finish, a rotary tool is a vital centerpiece of your arsenal. I’ve discovered you can save several valuable seconds in cleaning up sears, notches and other fire-control mechanisms with judicious application of a small grinding wheel. Granted, you might end up facing hunting violations or manslaughter charges later but at least you won’t have wasted much time working on the gun.

Hand drill — Who needs an expensive drill press when a hand drill can do almost the same work? If you’re very, very careful and brace on an immobile object, you can drill straight, perpendicular holes for scope mounting nearly 15% of the time. As an added bonus, some of the deep furrows where the drill occasionally wanders across the surface can be claimed as custom engraving, thereby raising the value of the gun.

Punches — You’ll need a series of punches if you want to knock out pins or drift sights to correct for windage, but a common framing nail or Phillips screwdriver works almost as well. See the tip above for ideas on dealing with scratches.

Screwdrivers — Gunsmithing screwdrivers are horribly expensive, but flea-market sets are quite reasonable. You’ll save considerable money, plus gain valuable practice using a file to fix “boogered” screwheads!

Vice — I can attest most of us have a vice or two, while some have many. Good character requires we try to keep our vices confined mostly to those which don’t rise to the level of felonies.

Files — Files are nice and most of us have a few sitting around. If not, sandpaper works almost as well, and I’ve been known to rub parts across the concrete floor of the garage to smooth things out.

Die, tap, forge and other tools — All of these other tools are nice to own, but a real gun plumber considers such things as candy-ass niceties, something a Real Man or Woman doesn’t need to fix a malfunctioning Marlin or busted BAR. A screwdriver, a Dremel tool and proper motivation are key here!

One final but crucial tip: Have a well-prepared alibi ready. This is important when you have to take a box of gun parts to your local gunsmith because you can’t get the stupid thing back together, or worse, you have two screws and a spring left over when you’re done.

In this case, I’d suggest the old standby: “I’m dropping this off for a friend. He said it’s some kind of gun …”

“You see, this has got to be learned; there isn’t any getting around it.”

Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

Don’t you just hate those old-timers who go around muttering, “Things ain’t like they used to be.” I always did, and still do, even when I’m the one doing it. So what is the curmudgeon crabbing about this time? It worries me so many people seem to have forgotten how to learn a new skill. They seem to think there’s some magic trick or inside tip, and it will all be easy.

This may not be want you want to hear, but becoming a good shot takes time and effort. Real improvement doesn’t come easily, nor does it ever get easier. To add a note of encouragement — it doesn’t get harder either.

It takes me a lot of training to acquire a new skill, but on the plus side, once a skill is learned it tends to stick. I can maintain a reasonable skill level with 20 minutes of dry fire two or three times a week, along with 25 or 50 rounds live fire monthly.

To improve, though, I find it more productive to train fairly intensively over a shorter period of time. Let’s say we can afford the ammunition to fire 50 rounds a week, 2,600 rounds annually. My experience has been I’d see considerably more improvement using my 2,600 rounds in sessions of 200 rounds, three times a week, for a month (2,400 rounds). Through the remaining 11 months of the year I could retain most of the improvement with dry fire and 20 careful live fire rounds a month.

I’m not recommending this as a training schedule, as it would take several years to reach our goal. The idea is to get the best return on the investment of resources we do have. When I was competing regularly, I used to average around 25,000 rounds annually, but not spread evenly over the year. As weather and work permitted I’d shoot 200 rounds a day for 10 or 12 weeks. When time and weather was against me I’d use dry fire and shoot a couple live fire sessions a month to maintain what had been learned.

Where’s The Magic?

There’s no magic in 200-round sessions. I’ve found 50 rounds doesn’t show much progress, as it isn’t enough repetitions. On the other hand going much over 200 rounds leads to lack of focus. If I want to shoot more in a day I’ll split the day up into two or more 200-round sessions. Again, what works for me may be too much or not enough for you.

I begin and end every session with precision slow fire, 10 rounds at 25 yards, two hands unsupported. It serves two purposes; it confirms the gun is sighted in, and it reinforces focus on a perfect sight picture and clean trigger break. The last 10-shot group should be roughly the same size as the first. If it is noticeably larger it likely means you’re getting mentally tired and losing focus.

What to practice? I suggest training in one skill at a time. After the ten precision shots, move to a specific skill. Have a written goal and keep a record of every session to track progress. Without a record there’s no way to measure progress.

The goal might be to draw and fire two A-zone hits from seven yards in two seconds, five times in a row. This would not be too hard from a speed holster, but tougher from concealment or a police duty holster, so tailor times to your equipment, needs and the level of skill at which you start out. Set realistic goals. They should make you work, but be achievable within three or four sessions. As skill level improves goals can be set higher.

It never hurts to start at the beginning. Learn to keep your eyes open as the gun fires. Sounds simple? Hardly anyone can do it all the time; many can’t do it at all. Learn to fire one shot accurately. If you can hit an 8″ circle every time at 25 yards you might not win any bullseye matches but you are better than most of the people I see at ranges.