Model 43 repair/opinions

[Tme]

Hi everyone. Attached are some photos of my late fathers early 70's Model 43 .22 Kit Gun. It was his favorite hand gun for plinking and the hg I learned to shoot with. It has had 10s of K of rounds put through it and has suffered bravely. It missed it's chance to be sent out for rebuild when the damage was lite and now I wonder if it's even salvageable for very lite use. Current problems are excessive and uneven head space, cylinder rattle, difficulty opening the cylinder, poor DA reliability, and erosion of the ? Breach? from burst cases, and generally ratty. I'd like to salvage the gun if possible for an occasional remanence target but I'm not sure if it's possible. Any thoughts or recommendations for a competent smith who won't laugh me out the door? I'm located in WNC. Thanks

 

[Retired W4]

Wow. That is some serious damage to that 43. You might want to post this over in the Smithing section.

 

[jcelect]

43 problems

The erosion is on the recoil shield around the firing pin nose bushing. You did not show the breech end of the barrel. The problem of poor DA trigger pull and the hard opening of the cylinder might be caused by gunk in the internals which can be cured by a good scrubbing and oiling of the internals. Did you measure the headspace? All these problems can be fixed and the gun will probably end up a good shooter but not a collectors piece. As you mentioned, a good gun smith is the place to start! Where is WNC?
jcelect

 

[Hondo44]

Welcome to the forum. I'm guessing WNC is western North Carolina?

Anything can be fixed, it's just a matter of how much you want it repaired vs. the cost. Those aluminum alloy framed guns just weren't able to withstand that high of a round count. Especially if .22 high velocity ammo was used.

The main problem is that it's going to need Heli arc aluminum welding to build up the aluminum recoil shield and re-machined to retain the firing pin bushing properly. Other issues will have to be addressed by the gunsmith.

Here's a couple of specialists in micro welding that might be able to help you:


PULLMAN ARMS
33 Pullman St., Worcester, MA 01606
{ t } 508.926.8730, { f } 508.853.0843
email: [email protected], Dan Harvey- Lead Gunsmith
gunsmith email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30am- 5:00pm
>> Gunsmithing Services

Wicked Welding micro-welding
5703 Webster St., Suite J, Dayton, OH 45414
Phone: (937) 454-9023

 

[Fortcouragearmory]

I suggest contacting S&W and see if they can do anything with it. You may have to pay, but the history is irreplaceable.

 

[Hondo44]

S&W will turn it down flat.

They don't repair, they replace faulty parts. The faulty part in this case is the frame. They haven't had that frame for about forty years. And they'd have to see the gun, so it'll be wasted time and expense to return it to them and back to you. They might offer you an equivalent current model which is the Model 317. But you don't want another gun, you want your heirloom gun.

But no harm in calling them.

 

[ken158]

I believe "the anything can be fixed" does not apply to your gun. I believe your dad got his money's worth and it is time to accept the fact it has become a display gun. They were not built to last forever.