Model 14 & 141 Action Bar Covers / Bulletin #11

[nambujim]

I was just telling Tom Hemphill (who you need to contact with serial number info on these guns if you have not done so) that for the last six weeks I have been totally bored with NO repairs coming in, few parts available to purchase, and in short you can sure tell the hunting season is over.

That being said I have had two chaps in the last month that needed action bar covers for a Model 141, these are quite specific since they are totally smooth except for an indentation along the entire length about 3/16" wide to provide clearance for the larger diameter barrel.

Both ironically were from Michigan, I think both were truly qualified gunsmiths, and both were apalled at the fact a replacement part was not readily avaiable.
Michigan seems to have more qualified machinists per capita, maybe because of the auto industry but these guys were of the opinion they could make one of these little goodies from bar stock. I did explain that although I didn't have any M141 Action Bar Covers at the moment, I would call when I did but they would be at least $100..................they were getting impossible to find.

A month goes by and I call the first on my list advising I have one but he says he is just finishing up one made from solid stock............oh boy! I try to explain fully that this particular part needs to have some flex to it, that they were made at a time when machining parts isn't what it is today. He agreed but had a lot of time invested and was going to give it a try. In an effort to make the story short, he called the next day advising he was sending me a check for the cover I had on hand ($105 + $7.50 shipping). The one he made
jammed up, having no flex to it made it near impossible to clear, and almost three hours later after doing a lot of cutting he got it free.

In the meantime I called the other "smith" and advised him I had one available but like the first he was going to make one from "solid stock". Far be it from me to discourage talented people (I am not being sarcastic) but told him to let me know how it works out but expressed the thought it was not the most "cost efficient" way of obtaining a replacement part. I have not called him back but sincerely hope he has better luck that "smith #1.

This part along with fore ends is the hardest to find, fore ends are fragile to begin with and take a terrific beating. The covers almost always have the flange break off, sometimes the owner will use a screwdriver to get it out and deform it but mostly 65-100 years of flexing will cause fatigue to the flange and it will let go.

The one thing I do to alleviate "some" of the stress on the flange is to open up
the screw hole (must be done carefully) thus allowing a bit more play and allowing the cover to ride comfortably in the grooves for which it was intended.
The grooves in the action bar are another matter, on every gun I get in they are full of crud, some are deformed, and if they are not free & clear the cover will not ride in an open channel it requires............if it doesn't it will flex at the flange and eventually break.

Its just my opinion but I would think a replacement cover made of Nylon or Delrin would be far more cost efficient than one machined out of solid stock, be interesting to see. I offer this information up for educational purposes in the hope it will be of some benefit.

Jim Peterson
Bored but happy in Charlotte, NC