Springfield Caliber .30 1903

Learned a bit about the Springfield 1903 today, thanks to  Hatcher’s Notebook.   This rifle was built with a Mauser action and was used from WWI all the way into the Korean war.

I was surprised to find that Remington picked up production of this rifle in 1941 making enhancements like a 2 grooved barrel which led to the A 3.  I was further surprised that the Smith Corona Typerwriter Co. was the other manufacturer of the A 3 model during WW II.  They produced almost 235,000 over in less than two years.  Remington was also responsible for the A 4 (sniper) model by adding a Weaver Telescopic sight.

Let the fun begin

Starting my education process by ordering the master gunsmithing course from The American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI).  I’ve researched their program and  found the feedback to be positive.  So far my work with the company has been positive.  I can tell that they are interested in a positive experience, not just to sell product.

Clearly there are more exhaustive means of getting this type of education, but few that will fit my situation.  This program has well over 200 hours of material in the course I purchased and my guess is that I will need to spend twice that much time with it.  My goal is to finish in approximately seven months.   I’m very excited to begin.

To augment the course work, I will be working up firearms from close friends.  I will do basic cleaning and repair work for free and I already have quite a few takers – very exciting.  My expectation is that I will need to train for 12 to 18 months before I will feel comfortable getting a small part-time operation off the ground.

What do you think?  Too aggressive?

Semi-auto mechanisms

One of the first learning topics for me was the understanding of the difference between locked breech (Browning) and blowback semi-auto designs.   I often wondered why my Glock barrel tilted upward when I racked the slide backward.  Now I know.  The locked breech system found in my Glock, 1911′s, and vertually every semi-auto of 9mm and greater etc. have a design the locks the slide to the barrel for a short distance after firing.   As the barrel and slide move in conjunction with one another, the bullet leaves the barrel and the pressure falls to safe levels, the case is ejected, and the barrel falls away from the slide, pivoting in an upward position and positioning itself to receive the next round.

The blowback operation finds the barrel fixed to the receiver – immovable.  The slide, therefore, is the only mechanism that moves rearward in response to the bullet’s forward momentum.

As I understand it, a key difference between the two seems to be the pressure release in the two mechanisms.  The blowback design is often found in lower caliber systems because the case is ejecting more quickly, limiting the time for the pressure to release.  There seems to be some differences of opinion on this.  Any clarification on this would be helpful.

Further information:

http://yarchive.net/gun/pistol/blowback_vs_locked.html

 

 

Where to start

Where to start.  When I began, my first consideration was to open an indoor shooting range.  I see a need for more coverage in the area where I live.  I spent a quite a bit of time researching this.  I became a member of NSSF, the quintessential organization for anyone considering opening a shooting range.  I poured over their market information, visited quite a few ranges, and even worked with a range owner on the details of his operation.   I have what I think is a secret sauce and a plan for a successful range.  However, I’m not comfortable with the price tag ($1.5M – $2M) combined with a reliance that I would need to have on others with the professional experience.

So, that brought me to the gunsmithing.  If I’m successful in learning the trade, maybe the range can come later.  That first step is not a small one, though. I’ve clearly got a lot of work in front of me.

Constraints

I’m also constrained any ability to learn this trade through any classroom training.  I will need to find a combination of home training, a lot of trial and error, and maybe some apprenticing.

Advantages

Some of the advantages of my situation include a career that can sustain me while I learn the trade.  I also have a great space to work in my garage where I can work (> 20′ x 20′).   Finally, I have good friends in the machining and wood trades that can do some work that are beyond my skills or requiring tools I don’t posses.