Springfield, Savage 87A

[Ohioan]

My father has a 87A that was given to him by his father. It has feeding problems. I read a thread on this forum about the well known feeding problems of this gun. I told my father I would take a look at it, and see what I could do. I'm not that experienced with older firearms. I'm only 25, so anything in the 80's is a classic. Anyways, I got the gun, and racked the bolt.. It felt like someone has greased the gun 30 years ago, shot it a bunch, and never cleaned it. Looking at the chamber and feeding area reaffirmed my suspicion. So, I was hoping I would be lucky enough that all it needed was simply a good cleaning.

SIMPLE MY ASS! I took the barreled action out of the stock and pulled the bolt/firing pin assembly. My lord, someone HAD greased it, and never cleaned it. There was sludge all over everything. I took a bore light and looked things closely. Black sludge everywhere. There are lots of tiny nooks and cranies everywhere. Small parts galore! Dirt is clinging to everything! I've been scrubbing at it the best I can for a little over 2 hours with anything and everything I have cleaning wise. I cleaned it good, CLP'd everything and rubbed that in good. I reassembled the action and it runs smoother, but still feels a little gummy.. I don't know. There are places I can't reach unless I completely disassemble the whole gun. Removing the barrel and all. Too much skill involved there for me right now.

So, I'm going to rub the entire barrel down with steal wool and then soak the thing in CLP for about 24 hours. Then rub her down.

It is kind of nice working on something my grandfather owned. I didn't know him that well. He passed when I was very young. The only memory I have of him is of him sitting in his big, black rocking chair and trying to trip me with his cane whenever I walked by and then laughing at me. heh, I remember he scared me... but my parents assure me that he was just joking around with me...

Anyways, hopefully my father will see fit to bestow this family heirloom on to me..

 

[USSR]

...well known feeding problems...

??? I have a pre-war Model 87A that was passed down to me by my father, and in the 40+ years that I have used it, I have never had any feeding problems. Of course, you have to keep the action clean, but the rifle breaks down easily for routine maintenance.

Don

 

[Ohioan]

This is the thread I was reffering too...

Feeding Problems with the 87A

 

[USSR]

Ohioan,

A couple guys with feeding problems, one of which admits that his problem was solved by cleaning the rifle, hardly qualifies as a rifle with "well known feeding problems". Just MHO.

Don

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Ohioan. I posted this back in July 2005:

"Cruising a gun store on the other side of town during my lunch hour paid off. I don't get there very often. I didn't go there to buy, just to look. For $203, tax and call-in included, I walked out with a Stevens Model 87A .22 and a Stevens Model 940C .410."

I had forgotten I had it. Haven't even fired it yet. I do remember how I was attracted to the 87A when the guy behind the counter told me (jokingly) that it was a "select fire"*. That pretty much clinched the deal. Besides that, it's a fine looking rifle. Mine had had the stock refinished to a flat black so that combined with the "select fire" it quite possibly qualifies as an EBR.

Guess I need to take it to the range.

*(bolt or semi-auto)

 

[Ohioan]

WEll, I got it clean and reassmbled it and went to shoot it. I loaded 3 rounds down the tube. Pull the bolt back, round pops up, release bolt, bullet feeds, bolt goes to battery. I pull the trigger, and.... nothing. No click. I pull the trigger again, and hold on..... when I let off the trigger.. *bang* it fires. Good thing is, it fed no problem. So, I pull the trigger again.. same thing... pull it 1..2..3.. times more.. nothing. Hmmmm.... I clear the chamber, and load up the third cartridge. Pull the trigger.. *bang* first try. So, I think to myself.. well, lets try that again.. Same thing again.. So the trigger doesn't always work... interesting...

Sooooooooooooooooo, I'll have to talk to my father and see if he'll let me tear into her. I think maybe the whole thing needs a good soak in something.. maybe... kerosene...

He also gave me a Stevens favorite to clean up.. I cleaned it. Loaded a round, and *click* no contact from firing pin. I tried different brands of ammo and everything. Never any contact from the pin. I can see it there. But this thing is OOOOOOOLD. There is hardly any rifling in the thing....


ETA: mine is select fire too, bang or no-bang.... It feels like it would be a nice gun. It points well for me.. I like the weight and the feel of the stock. Nice hardwood that you don't get on these new guns...

 

[USSR]

Harry,

The "select fire" indicates that the Model 87 can operate as either a semi-auto, or in a manner that requires you to manually pull the bolt back to eject a spent case, then let the bolt fly forward to chamber a new cartridge.

Don

 

[braton1]

There is a small spring looking object on the bottom of the reciever. It wraps around the feeding tube. If you remove it and inspect it and repair or replace it, it may solve your problems. I did this with mine and it runs great.