Ted Williams Model 100 Serial Numbers

Model 74 Model 77 Model 100 Model 190 Model 490. Model 1879 Model 1887 Model 1893 Model 1897 Model 1901 Model 1911 Model 1912 Model 1912 FW Model 20 Model 21 Model 23 Model 24 Model 25 Model 36 Model 37 & A Model 40 Model 41 Model 42 Model 50 Model 59 SG 96 Expert Model Model 101 Model 370 Model 1200 Model 1300 XTR Ranger Pump. Ted Williams name did begin to replace teh J. Higgins name in teh early 1962 catalogs. Most of the bolt action rifles are not referred to by model number. I did see one listed as a model 41. Since I don't know what I am looking for other than Model 41, it is not possible to see try and determine when this rille appeared in the catalog. May 06, 2008 Maker Model Caliber Barrel Length Finish Serial Number Sears Ted Williams Model 100 30-30 19 3/8 InchesV Blue v125xxx On the left side of the barrel: Ted Williams (this looks like a signature) Model 100.CAL.30-30 WIN.SEARS ROEBUCK & CO.

nhetzer

Copper BB
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 1:04 pm
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 1:19 pm
I was walking into a pawn shop here one day just in time to hear a girl dropping a few 'F bombs' at an employee who was apparently not being very nice to her, as is par for the course with this place. I noticed she had a rifle in her hand as she stormed out. I turned around and followed her. I asked her what she had and what she was asking for it. She said it was a 'Jed Williams' rifle that belonged to her father before he passed. The pawn shop offered her $30 for it. She said she had to get $60. I gladly paid her and she went on her way.
I had no idea what this thing was, I had never owned a lever gun before but gave my buddy a call. He laughed out loud when I told him what she said it was. He said 'you mean TED Williams'? Long story short, it's a great gun. Cycles great and keeps a nice tight grouping. I would not hesitate to buy another one, even I I did have to pay more than $60 for it ; )
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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.511741,-84.389686

The store brand crossover list indicates the Ted Williams Model 100 (273.532141) crossover match is Winchester NM 94. This gun has a side mount for a scope, 20” barrel with a bright and shiny bore. The rear sight is notched,front sight is a standard blade. Wood is in very good condition. Model 74 Model 77 Model 100 Model 190 Model 490. Model 1879 Model 1887 Model 1893 Model 1897 Model 1901 Model 1911 Model 1912 Model 1912 FW Model 20 Model 21 Model 23 Model 24 Model 25 Model 36 Model 37 & A Model 40 Model 41 Model 42 Model 50 Model 59 SG 96 Expert Model Model 101 Model 370 Model 1200 Model 1300 XTR Ranger Pump.

Restoring a Ted Williams Model 100 .30-30
by Roy Seifert

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Disclaimer:This article is for entertainment only and is not to be used in lieu of a qualified gunsmith.Please defer all firearms work to a qualified gunsmith. Any loads mentioned in this article are my loads for my guns and have been carefully worked up using established guidelines and special tools.The author assumes no responsibility or liability for use of these loads, or use or misuse of this article.Please note that I am not a professional gunsmith, just a shooting enthusiast and hobbyist, as well as a tinkerer.This article explains work that I performed to my guns without the assistance of a qualified gunsmith.Some procedures described in this article require special tools and cannot/should not be performed without them.

Warning:Disassembling and tinkering with your firearm may void the warranty.I claim no responsibility for use or misuse of this article.Again, this article is for entertainment purposes only!

Tools and firearms are the trademark/service mark or registered trademark of their respective manufacturers.

I really enjoy working on a project gun.There’s a tremendous sense of pride in turning a junker into a fine looking and shooting firearm.I recently purchased a saddle and built a saddle stand for it primarily to show off my leatherwork.I wanted a lever-action rifle to display in the scabbard, but found the pewter replicas to be far too expensive at $180-$225.Searching through the used gun rack at my local gun store I found a well-abused Ted Williams model 100 .30-30, which I purchased for the very reasonable price of $225.This model is really a Winchester 94 sold by Sears under the Ted Williams name.With a magazine plug in place and the firing pin disabled, this would make a fine display piece in the leather scabbard mounted on my saddle.

Initial Assessment
This is an example of a no frills, classic, Winchester .30-30.It does not have an external safety other than the half-cock notch on the hammer, nor does it have fancy sights.It has a leaf main spring instead of the coil spring and rebounding hammer.


As mentioned before, this rifle looked like someone had very much abused it.From the amount of surface rust it was probably left in a soft gun case/bag for an extended period.It may also have been left in a closet, as there was white paint on the barrel and magazine tube.The previous owner had engraved his driver’s license number on the bottom tang, which I will have to remove.

It looked like the wood had been replaced and had some nicks and scratches, but was in otherwise excellent condition.The original Sears butt plate did not fit properly as you can see in the above photo.Because the end of the butt stock was wider than the butt plate the stock was prone to chipping.


The fore end had about 1/16 inch play forward and backward as you can see in the above photo.

I think the worst case of abuse I found on this rifle was the front sight.It looked like someone had tried to replace the front sight with a higher one, which did not fit into the dovetail, or they may have removed the front sight to mount a scope, then tried to re-install it when they sold the rifle.Most of the scope mounting hole plug screw slots were buggered.In the photo above you can clearly see the gap below the bottom of the sight.

I scrubbed the bore with Remington Bore Cleaner and fortunately, the bore looked fairly clean and sharp.The lands were nice and sharp at the muzzle, indicating to me that the rifle was not used much, nor cleaned very often.There was, however, some surface rust in the bore.

Restoration Plan
This rifle is not really going to be a shooter, although it could be.It’s mostly for display purposes so I plan to reassemble it so it cannot be fired.However, since I have it apart I’ll do some basic work to it if I ever want it to be a shooter.

  1. Remove the front and rear sights.

  2. Completely disassemble the rifle and check for internal rust/damage.

  3. Unscrew the barrel from the receiver.

  4. Remove the surface rust from the barrel and lever.

  5. Remove DL number, polish and refinish lower tang.

  6. Refinish receiver.

  7. Lap the bore.

  8. Clean up the muzzle crown.

  9. Lap the barrel shoulder to the receiver.

  10. Modify bolt for smoother action.

  11. Perform a trigger job.

  12. Reassemble the rifle with dry-firing firing pin.

  13. Glass bed the fore end to remove looseness and refinish.

  14. Replace and install the sights.

  15. Fill chips in butt stock.

  16. Replace and fit new butt plate.

  17. Refinish butt stock.

  18. Add a saddle ring.

  19. Inlet a Morgan silver dollar into the butt stock.

See full list on gun-data.com

Remove Sights
Removing the sights was easy; they tapped right out from left to right with a brass punch.The front dovetail on the front sight was peened up because the sight was installed incorrectly, so I took a punch and flattened as much of the raised lip as I could.

Completely Disassemble the Rifle
I completely disassembled the rifle and found no rust inside.This was good news!Some screw-heads were buggered from someone using hardware store tapered screwdrivers, or incorrect sizes of screwdrivers, but I cleaned those up with a file and cold-blued.

Unscrew the Barrel from the Receiver
I used my Action Wrench with a universal head, and my barrel vise to unscrew the barrel from the receiver.I put tape around the front of the receiver before installing the action wrench.Separating the barrel and receiver will make them easier to work on.


Remove the Surface Rust from the Barrel and Lever
This rifle did not really have any deep rust pits, so it was easy to remove the surface rust with 000 steel wool and gun oil.I put a few drops of Hoppes gun oil on a piece of 000 steel wool and worked it over the metal.The surface rust came right off but left a slight blemish.With a coat of good gun oil you can hardly see these blemishes.After rubbing with the oiled steel wool I wiped off the part with a clean rag, sprayed with brake parts cleaner to remove any old oil and grease, then coated with Breakfree CLP. The photos above show the results.

Remove DL Number, Polish and Refinish Lower Tang
That driver’s license number was unsightly on the lower tang.First I removed all parts from the tang, then, using a bastard file, I draw-filed just enough to remove the DL number.Using a shoeshine motion, I then polished the surface with 320-grit wet/dry paper until there were no file marks.I taped the edges of the tang to protect the bluing then bead-blasted the newly polished surface.I cleaned the blasted surface with acetone, then cold blued.The result is shown in the above photo.

A note about cold bluing:I use Van’s Instant Gun Blue because I like the results.The part I’m bluing must be perfectly clean; I use acetone for cleaning.For small parts, I like to immerse them in the gun blue solution.I use small aluminum tins I purchased at the grocery store.For large parts, I use a toothbrush to brush the liquid on the part, constantly keeping the part wet so the bluing can work.This is not a “wipe and go” product.I let the part soak/stay wet for 3 to 5 minutes, wipe it dry, then coat with a good gun oil.


Refinish Receiver

This receiver could not be rescued with just steel wool and oil.I bead-blasted the entire receiver until all rust and old bluing was removed.I thoroughly cleaned it with brake parts cleaner and acetone, then immersed it in the cold bluing solution for about 5 minutes.I removed it from the solution and wiped it clean, then sprayed it with Breakfree CLP and let it set for a while.I removed the excess CLP and the photo above shows the result, with which I was quite pleased.Cold blue is not as durable as hot bluing, but I think this will be good enough for my purposes, as long as I keep it oiled.

Lap the Bore
Since I had the barrel off I decided to lap the bore.The bore did have some rough spots and maybe some pitting, so I decided to see if I could smooth it out a bit.I may eventually fire-lap it, but for now I’m going to hand lap.I put a .22 bronze cleaning brush on a rifle cleaning rod and put masking tape on the end of the rod.I put just enough tape to make a snug fit in the bore.The tape prevents molten lead from running down the bore.I inserted the brush into the barrel from the chamber end until it came about one inch from the muzzle.I poured molten pure lead (NOT lead alloy) down the bore from the muzzle end until the lead came almost to the end of the barrel.

I pulled the lead lap back through the bore until I could unscrew the cleaning rod.I attached another cleaning rod, this one without tape, and pushed the lap through the bore until it protruded about two and one half inches beyond the muzzle.I coated the lap with 400-grit lapping compound and worked it back and forth through the full length of the barrel.I reloaded the lapping compound twice before having to make another lap.I loaded that lap 3 times with lapping compound before calling it quits.

Ted Williams Model 100 Serial Number Lookup

I sprayed brake parts cleaner down the bore and around the muzzle, then swabbed out the bore to thoroughly remove all traces of grit and lapping compound.I then ran an oily patch down the bore to protect it.After I was done the bore was shinier, but I could still see some rough spots.I will definitely have to fire-lap it to get it really smooth.

Clean Up the Muzzle Crown
I always perform this procedure when I acquire a new gun.I purchased brass muzzle laps from Brownells and selected the appropriate size for .30 caliber.I put the lap in my hand drill and dipped the end in 400-grit lapping compound.With the drill on slow speed I put the end of the lap against the muzzle and used a rotary motion with my wrist to prevent the lap from wearing unevenly.Notice the angle of the lap in the photo.After about 30 seconds I cleaned the muzzle with brake parts cleaner and oiled.This made the ends of the lands and grooves nice and sharp as you can see in the above photo.

Lap the Barrel Shoulder to the Receiver
For most modern firearms the barrel is usually screwed much too tightly to the receiver.This can cause undue stress in both the barrel and receiver, which can have an adverse affect on accuracy.Before unscrewing the barrel, I took a prick punch and made a witness mark between the bottom of the barrel and receiver.This is so I would properly align the barrel when I put it back together.With the barrel just touching the receiver, the two witness marks were about one quarter inch apart.I put 400-grit lapping compound between the shoulder of the barrel and the receiver and alternately tightened and loosened the barrel until the witness marks were about one eighth inch apart.I was careful not to get any compound on the barrel threads or the barrel would be too loose.I cleaned all the compound from the barrel and receiver with brake parts cleaner and acetone.When it came time to reassemble the barrel and receiver, I put Loctite 222 on the barrel threads and Loctite 609 on the barrel shoulder.Using my barrel vice and action wrench I tightened the barrel until the witness marks were aligned.

Modify Bolt for Smoother Action
The action on this rifle was very stiff.Actually, it’s no different than any other Winchester 94 I’ve handled.I sometimes could not even open the action with the rifle mounted on my shoulder.After examining all of the moving parts, I determined that the mainspring and the hammer rubbing along the bottom of the bolt caused most of the stiffness.I completely backed out the hammer tension screw thereby setting the mainspring (a leaf spring) to its lowest setting.

In the photos above you can see where the hammer rides along the bottom surface of the bolt.The arrow points to the camming surface that cocks the hammer.The arrow in the right photo shows the corresponding surface on the hammer that rides along the bottom of the bolt.I wanted to reduce the amount of surface area rubbing against the hammer by milling the edges of the camming surface leaving only about one eighth of an inch in the middle as shown by the red box in the left photo.This would reduce friction making the action lighter.First I took my Dremel tool with a Cratex wheel and polished the bearing surface of the hammer, then refinished it with cold blue.


I put the bolt in the machinist vise on my mill and used a one-quarter inch square end bit to mill each side of the bolt bottom even with the rear of the cam as shown in the two photos above. The bottom photo shows the depth to which I milled the bolt.I then polished the entire cam surface and cold blued.This reduced the amount of bearing surface, which significantly lightened the action.I can now easily work the action from my shoulder.

Perform a Trigger Job
The trigger on this rifle was long and creepy and broke at 8 pounds.I decided I wanted a lighter, crisper trigger so I performed a trigger job.Please note that these procedures should not be performed without the appropriate tools!Trigger weight was determined by a number of factors:

  • Sear spring weight

  • Mainspring tension

  • Quality of the sear/hammer engagement surfaces

  • Amount of sear engagement in the hammer

I decided not to change the mainspring or sear spring tensions, primarily because they are both leaf springs that are more difficult to adjust.The hammer engagement surface was already 0.014” deep so I decided to leave that alone also.

The sear looked like it was only engaging about 1/3 of the hammer-mating surface.First I put the sear in my Power Custom Series 1 stoning fixture with the Ruger MKII adapter and rotated the adapter until the sear surface was parallel to the ground as seen in the above photo.I then adjusted the fixture so a coarse ceramic stick was perfectly flat against the sear surface.I did this by marking the engagement surface with blue marker and taking a couple of strokes with the ceramic stick.I adjusted the jig until the blue was removed evenly across the surface.I then polished the entire engagement surface first with a coarse ceramic stick, then with a fine ceramic stick.

I then rotated the adapter so the rear edge of the sear was up, and stroked that edge about 15-20 times with the coarse ceramic stick.This put a breakaway angle on the sear.This method reduces the amount of sear that engages the hammer without having to remove any metal from the hammer.Finally, I cut an angle on the left edge of the sear so only about 2/3 of the sear was engaging the hammer as illustrated in the above photo.

I reassembled and lubricated the action, and found that the trigger now broke cleanly at exactly 4 pounds with no creep.This is great for a shooter.

Reassemble the Rifle With Dry-Firing Firing Pin
I completely reassembled the rifle to check for function.I noticed that the cartridge guides were originally installed with some type of lacquer to prevent them from coming loose.I used Loctite 609 when I installed them by first cleaning the guides and their corresponding channels in the receiver with acetone, then applying the 609 to the back of the guide.Loctite 609 is specifically designed to be used where metal touches metal as in this application.

The locking bolt has a chamfer around the firing pin striker.When the rifle is dry-fired and the hammer strikes this chamfer it peens the corners of the hammer, which raises burrs and leaves unsightly marks on the hammer.I wanted to be able to lever and dry-fire the rifle, but did not want to use Snap Caps because they would be ejected.I also did not want the rifle to fire a cartridge.

I took four coils from a 0.197” diameter spring made of 0.033” wire from my Brownells spring kit #71 and placed it on the front of the firing pin as shown in the photo above.When I reassembled the rifle I had to press in on the firing pin to get the locking bolt in place.The lever pivot pin held the firing pin in place, and the spring allowed me to dry-fire the rifle without actually firing a primer.I inserted a 16-inch long, 1/4-inch dowel in the magazine tube.This way the rifle can’t be loaded from the magazine tube, nor fired.

Glass Bed the Fore End to Remove Looseness
As mentioned before, the fore end was loose so I decided to bed it to the frame.I added enough bedding compound at the rear of the fore end to make it fit tightly against the receiver.I drilled a few holes in the rear surface of the fore end to help give the epoxy more gripping surface.I taped the outside edges of the fore end and receiver and put some clay plugs at the top of the fore end to act as a dam.I then sprayed the receiver, barrel and magazine tube, and outside of the fore end with release agent.

I put the rifle back together being careful not to get any release agent on the rear face of the fore end.I mixed my bedding compound that I purchased from Brownells and poured it into the gap.I kept turning the rifle over and wiping away the excess.I added more compound to the gap as needed.In the photo above you can see the clay I used to make a dam to prevent excess compound from running out.Even so, you can see some epoxy did spill over.

After the epoxy hardened to the consistency of plastic I removed the clay, tape, and the fore end.A large quantity of epoxy had run into the magazine tube channel, which I had to remove with a sharp knife.I also had to cut away excess epoxy from other places around the fore end.This was an easy task thanks to coating the areas with release agent.I then let the epoxy set for 24 hours.The photo above shows the result.The tiny hole in the upper right corner is one of my drilled holes that did not get filled with epoxy.

Once the epoxy cured, I removed the old oil finish with oven cleaner and commercial finish remover.I sanded it lightly with 320-grit, then 600-grit sand paper.I steamed up the grain and dents by putting a wet cotton T-shirt over the wood then running a hot iron over the wet shirt.I did this three times, and lightly sanded with 600-grit sandpaper after each time.Finally, I coated the wood with three coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil.You can see the result in the above photos.


Replace and Install New Sights
I purchased a Marbles 45W 1/16 gold bead front, and a Marbles #67 long semi-buckhorn rear from Midway USA to replace the buggered-up sights.These sights were just a bit wider than the dovetail slots in the barrel so I took my 60-degree dovetail file and started to remove metal from one side of the sight a little at a time.I took off just enough metal so I could start the sight by hand on the left side of the rifle.I then took my homemade sight punch and tapped the sight in place.I do not like to use steel or brass punches to drift sights because brass leaves marks, and steel can mar the sight.I take a steel punch and wrap thin leather around the front to protect the sight as shown in the top photo. The bottom photo shows the new sight installed.

Fill Chips in Butt Stock.
I took some leftover epoxy from bedding the fore end and filled the chips in the butt stock as you can see in the above photo.When the epoxy was hard enough I cut along the edge and removed the butt plate to allow the epoxy to fully cure.I sanded the epoxy ball in the process of fitting the new butt plate.

Replace and Fit New Butt Plate
As with most of the rest of this rifle, the original Sears butt plate had pits, dings, dents, and scars and was very unsightly, which you can see in the photo above.I purchased a Winchester butt plate model W52 from Vintage Gun Grips.This butt plate fit the stock much better than the old Sears butt plate, but the original screw holes did not line up.

I drilled out the old screw holes with a 1/4-inch drill bit, then glued in a piece of 1/4-inch hardwood dowel. I carefully measured where to mount the new butt plate, marked, and drilled the new holes.I then mounted the butt plate to the butt stock.I used my belt sander mounted in a vise to carefully sand the edges even with the butt stock.I sanded the edges with 600-grit sand paper, then finished them with fine polishing grit and a felt Dremel pad.

Refinish Butt Stock.
I removed the old finish with oven cleaner and a commercial stripper.I completely sanded the stock, then steamed out the dents and raised the grain three times, as I did with the fore end.Walnut has many gaps in the grain so after raising the grain the third time, I went over the entire stock with a walnut-colored wood filler and sanded with 320-grit sandpaper.I went over the entire butt stock with 600-grit sand paper to ensure it was nice and smooth. I finished the butt stock with three coats of Tru-Oil, lightly buffing with 000 steel wool between each coat.

Add a Saddle Ring
I have always like the looks of a saddle ring on a lever-action rifle, so I decided to add one.I found a photo on the internet that clearly shows the location of the saddle ring hole in relation to the hammer and carrier screws.In Figure 31 above, the carrier screw is on the left, and the hammer screw is on the right.The distance between these two screws, measured on my rifle with calipers, was 0.96 inches.I imported the photo into Corel Draw and sized it until the screws on the photo were 0.96 inches apart.I drew a line from the center of the saddle ring hole to the line between the two screws, which measured 0.149 inches.I then drew a horizontal line from that vertical line to the center of the hammer screw, which measured 0.373 inches.

I carefully measured on my receiver and made a mark with a center punch as shown in Figure 32.I protected the receiver with tape and put it in my machinists vise in my mill/drill.The saddle ring I purchased had a 10-32 stud, so I drilled the hole using a #21 drill bit.

After I drilled the hole, I removed the drill bit and inserted the 10-32 tap.I left the chuck loose so the tap would spin freely and used vise-grips to turn the tap as shown in the above photo.This method ensures that the tap starts straight.I removed the receiver from the vise and finished tapping the hole with a tap handle.

In the photo above you can clearly see the new hole.It is in a thick part of the receiver away from any moving parts.However, the drilling and tapping process raised a burr.I took a flat jeweler’s file and filed the burr flush.There was also a raised burr on the outside of the receiver, which I removed with a 3/8 round end mill bit.I turned the bit by hand until the burr was removed and a slight chamfer was left. This chamfer was going to be covered by the stud so it didn't matter that it was there.

I cleaned out the newly tapped hole and the receiver with brake parts cleaner, then coated with Breakfree CLP.The saddle ring stud must have had a tapered thread because it got harder to turn as the shoulder of the stud got closer to the receiver.I had to use a hardwood dowel through the ring to get the stud seated.

Inlet a Morgan Silver Dollar into the Butt Stock
When I started cowboy shooting I selected a gambler as my character.I wanted a money theme for my character, so I decorated my leather with Morgan silver dollars from the 1880 decade, and I selected “Eight Bits” (as in a dollar) for my alias.I wanted to carry this theme into my rifle so I decided to inlet a Morgan silver dollar into the butt stock.

I went to my local flea market and found a beautiful, sharp, 1882-O Morgan silver dollar for $15.00.It measured 1.488-inches in diameter by 0.11-inches thick.In the photo below you can see the CAD design for the inlet hole.The blue line is the actual 1.489 hole, one-thousandth over the size of the coin.The red line is the tool path for a 1/8” bit that will cut 0.11-inches deep.On the right are the tool commands for my hobby CNC mill.


I removed the butt stock from the rifle and clamped it onto the mill table.I put foam between the stock, the table, and the clamps so I did not damage the finish.I adjusted the mill and ran the program, which you can see in photo above.While the program was running, I polished the dollar then coated it with a clear lacquer so it would not tarnish.I discovered that the hole being 1.489-inches was too narrow so I had to open it up a couple of thousandths to get the dollar to fit.

After the milling was completed, I took some 600-grit sandpaper to gently sand off the feathers of wood that were left around the edge of the hole.I then coated the inside with Tru-Oil to protect it from moisture.I put a few drops of epoxy to hold the dollar in place and pressed it into the hole.The result is shown in the above photo.

Here is how the rifle looks in the scabbard. Ok, so far I am very pleased with the result.The action is fairly smooth for a ’94, the wood and metal look very nice, and I tested the function with some .30-30 dummy rounds and it works perfectly.

My shooting buddy, Dave, purchased a used Winchester 94 .30-30 that came with a side-mounted scope for the great price of only $130.00 (can you say great deal!) and I could not help but compare them.Obviously, mine was the cheaper of the two.His action was as smooth as mine was with no modifications, and his trigger broke at 4 pounds with just a hint of creep.A little polishing of the sear would take care of this.

We took our rifles to the range to try them out.I had some 150-grain Remington® Express® Core-Lokt® and he was shooting the same but with 170-grain bullets.I could not get my rifle to sight-in at 100 yards using the 150-grain bullets, but I was able to sight-in with the 170-grain.Once sighted-in with the 170s it seemed the 150s were shooting 30 inches high.I tried to justify that with my ballistic software, but could not get it to work.So, if I decide to use factory, or reload, I’ll be using 170-grain bullets.

The rifle functioned perfectly with no misfires or failures to eject.If I decide to use this rifle, it is definitely a shooter.Dave was able to use my rifle and put two shots next to each other at 100 yards using just the open sights.I probably will not go to the trouble to fire-lap the barrel since the accuracy is very acceptable for an iron-sighted gun.

The bottom line here is that I am proud of my restoration work, and the rifle functions perfectly.

Addendum 4/8/2012

I recently installed a Marbles tang peep sight to this rifle because I find the peep sights easier to use with my old eyes, and faster to acquire a sight picture.170-grain bullets were now shooting about 18-inches high at 100 yards with the peep sight at the lowest setting.This meant I would have to install a taller front sight.

I calculated how much taller the front sight had to be and used my hobby CNC mill to fabricate a front sight similar to the one I made for my Marlin 39A as detailed in my article Fabricating a Custom Front Sight.The white line really shows up.

While cleaning the rifle after sighting it in I discovered I had some copper fouling.This is normally caused by a rough bore stripping copper from the bullet jacket.This copper is exposed to the expanding hot gas which turns the copper into plasma and deposits it in the bore causing copper fouling.

I decided I wanted to polish the bore by fire-lapping, but didn’t want to use the aggressive method of impregnating a bullet with lapping compound.Traditional fire-lapping drives bullets impregnated with lapping compound through the bore at very low velocities.Cases used for fire-lapping have to be thrown away because the brass case neck gets contaminated with the lapping media.Although this method does wonders for the bore, it also lengthens the barrel throat which can reduce barrel life.My method polishes the throat without increasing its length, laps the bore and I don’t have to throw away the cases!

First I loaded 15 rounds of .30-30 with 5.0 grains of Red Dot behind a 150 grain FMJ boat tail .308 bullet and a large rifle magnum primer.I used magnum primers because there is so little powder in the case, and anything less than 5.0 grains of powder will cause the bullet to get stuck in the bore.I used spire-pointed bullets because I had a bulk supply of them, and wasn’t going to load them in the tubular magazine.

I put a fired case in the chamber to prevent the lap from depositing compound in the chamber.I wrapped a .45 cleaning patch around a 25-caliber bore brush, and then impregnated the patch with USP Bore Paste™that I purchased from Midway USA# 257358.I ran the tight-fitting patch back and forth through the entire length of the bore 20 times being careful not to allow the lap to come all the way out of the muzzle, or all the way into the chamber.This performed the hand lapping part of the process and left a small amount of compound in the bore.For this first hand lapping the patch felt tight for all 20 passes.This indicated a rough bore.

See Full List On Gun-data.com

I removed the empty case from the chamber and fired one low-velocity round through the barrel which performed the fire-lapping.I inserted the empty case into the chamber, then again using USP Bore Paste™ ran an impregnated tightly fitting patch back and forth through the bore 20 times.This cleaned any powder residue and fouling from the bore and prepared it for a second low-velocity lapping shot.This time, after only 2 back and forth passes the patch felt much smoother and required less pressure to push and pull it through the bore indicating the bore is becoming much smoother.

After performing the lap/shoot process for 5 shots, I thoroughly cleaned the barrel using solvent and dry patches.This removed any residual lapping compound in preparation for the next finer compound.

Serial Number Data - ProofHouse.com

The photo above shows a recovered lapping bullet.You can see the dark areas caused by lapping the lands and grooves in the bore.

I threw away the first empty case and inserted a clean, empty case into the chamber.Now I impregnated a clean patch with J-B® Bore Bright #083-065-100 that I purchased from Brownells which has a finer grit and performed the hand lap/fire lap sequence another five times as before, then thoroughly cleaned the bore again with solvent and patches.

Serial Number Data - ProofHouse.com

Ted Williams Model 100 Serial Numbers

Ted Williams Model 100 30-30 Serial Numbers

Finally, I performed the same hand lap/fire lap process another five times using ISSO bore cleaner
#073-000-002 that I also purchased from Brownells which has the finest grit.This process performed the final polish of the chamber throat and bore.The bore was mirror bright and smooth and was now ready for full pressure loads.This should eliminate most, if not all, copper fouling and make the bore easier to clean.