Rear dovetail sight too small for notch, plus other key questions...

5whiskey · October 20, 2009, 06:51 PM

Hi gang. I have an Astra falcon circa 1957. I have the .22lr slide/barrel, and the .32acp slide barrel for it. It's pretty darn nice to have a somewhat barely competant defense caliber for easy carry along with a nice .22lr plinker.

Here's the thing. My .32 slide/barrel will function fairly well. I think I've had 3 failures out of a few hundred rounds. Not the greatest track record but one I can live with since money is tight and I can't afford another pistol right now (I have others, but one is too big to carry comfortably and the other is less trustworthy than the Astra). The .22lr slide/barrel, though, has a couple of problems.

First off, the rear sight is too loose for the dovetail notch machined for it. I'm wondering if anyone has any good ideas to fix the sight to where it will stay on and aligned with out drastically altering anything. What do you think about peening the edges slightly to add a bite to it? Any ideas are welcome.

Second, and most annoying. The stupid .22lr slide will stovepipe live rounds. I know this has to be something to do with the feedramp angle in relation to the magazine. It may be the magazines fault, or the feedramp, or both. Or at least that's what I'm thinking. Anyone think that trying to find another magazine may fix this? I don't want to go crazy with the feedramp, but it is getting annoying as it does this every 5 or 6 rounds and I'm ready to try anything. Any suggestions?

Lastly. There are quiet a few FTEs with this pistol. Looking at the shell casings, the casing always swells a dimple right where the extracter contacts the casing. This causes the extracter to slip off of the rim as there is no longer a rim on that one section of the casing. This happens every 3 or 4 rounds. I'm at my wits end with that problem. The only solution I can think of is trying a stronger spring for the extractor (which will obviously not be designed for the pistol since no parts have been made for it in over 20 years). Can anyone else think of another solution? Try ammo that's not quiet as hot. That does help BTW. Remington thunderbolts work WAY better than CCI rounds. The minimags FTE almost every round.

Help would be greatly appreciated.

Walt Sherrill · October 20, 2009, 08:08 PM

I can only address the sight issue.

Use a center punch to punch divots in the bottom of the dovetail. When the point pushes down, it will raise the area around the tip of the punch a bit. Do it enough times, and the surface will raise, in spots, enough to tighten up the sight. (Seems almost counter-intuitive, but it works.)

(The 22 rounds flipping up may haveto do with the breechface and extractor not holding the round firmly as the round feeds...Look at that.)

James K · October 20, 2009, 09:51 PM

The stovepiping is almost certainly a magazine problem. I think the feed lips are releasing the round too soon. You could try bending the lips in slightly, but I will tell you that feed lip adjustment in a .22 magazine is one of the most frustrating jobs encountered by gunsmiths, plus there is always the possibility of breaking a lip off and ruining the magazine entirely.

It may also be that the magazine catch is not working right with the .22 magazine. You might try holding the magazine in and see if that helps.

Fortunately, there are new magazines available for the Astra Falcon (aka Model 4000). Try www.gunpartscorp.com . My catalog shows their stock number 151780 at around $28 plus s&h.

The case swelling problem sounds like the extractor cut in the barrel is too deep, going into the chamber. That is no problem with centerfire rounds, but can lead to what you found in rimfires. A stronger extractor spring might help, but there is no guarantee. I would try some standard velocity ammo and see what happens.

Jim

Harry Bonar · October 22, 2009, 08:22 AM

Sir;
If your rear sight fits loosely in the dovetail you can acceptably install a "gib" along the dovetail and it should take care of that.
Be advised - some Europeans drive their sights in from left to right! (looking down the slide as in firing).
Harry B.

5whiskey · October 25, 2009, 08:17 PM

Okay, the stovepipe problem with the live round is fixed. That took about 2.5 hours of fiddling with magazine feed lips, and it wasn't fun. I've run about 100 rounds through it with no problem. I'll be happy even if it does occur once in awhile, just not 3 or 4 times in 100 rounds.

The FTE problem is a little more precarious. First off the barrel was so fouled with lead that I couldn't get the punch rod through. I'm pretty sure this was causing a tad bit of over pressure that caused the base of the brass to swell big time. Firing after the barrel was cleaned I noticed that the brass was not deformed as it once was. It still FTEs. I've noticed by looking at the brass that the chamber isn't in the best of shape. I think a polishing job on the chamber is in order. That in itself, though, still doesn't negate the fact that the extractor should have a little more traction than it does. The chamber is a little rough, but it's not THAT bad. Could be better, but I can still pull the round out with hand pressure and a knife. I still think a little more poundage on the extractor spring and standard velocity ammo will help this pistol dramatically. A light chamber polish probably wouldn't hurt.

If anyone sees anything that's out of place in my thinking, please correct me. This could be such a fun little plinker if I could get the .22lr slide functioning correctly. Fired 100 rounds of .32 through the other slide today... no problems there so it's good. Thanks for the help and replies everyone.

5whiskey · October 26, 2009, 05:56 PM

Thanks for all the help gentlemen. A light chamber polishing absolutely helped matters out. I also manipulated (only by a few thousandths) the dimensions of the extractor to give it a little more "bite" on the rim. Just fired about 200 rounds without any FTEs. I do still get the stove pipe once in a while though. I know it's magazine related because the severity increases when I open up the lips. When I close them, it decreases or quits but when I close them too much the round has a hard time sliding into the chamber. I may order a new magazine but I've really brought this thing into the realm of being bearable now. I will only use the .22lr slide for plinking anyway... plus it'll help me practice remedial drills

. At any rate, thanks for the ideas. Turns out the pistol fires high velocity ammo fine, it just needed a little help.

October 20, 2009, 06:51 PM	#1
5whiskey Senior Member Join Date: October 23, 2005 Location: US Posts: 3,652	Rear dovetail sight too small for notch, plus other key questions... Hi gang. I have an Astra falcon circa 1957. I have the .22lr slide/barrel, and the .32acp slide barrel for it. It's pretty darn nice to have a somewhat barely competant defense caliber for easy carry along with a nice .22lr plinker. Here's the thing. My .32 slide/barrel will function fairly well. I think I've had 3 failures out of a few hundred rounds. Not the greatest track record but one I can live with since money is tight and I can't afford another pistol right now (I have others, but one is too big to carry comfortably and the other is less trustworthy than the Astra). The .22lr slide/barrel, though, has a couple of problems. First off, the rear sight is too loose for the dovetail notch machined for it. I'm wondering if anyone has any good ideas to fix the sight to where it will stay on and aligned with out drastically altering anything. What do you think about peening the edges slightly to add a bite to it? Any ideas are welcome. Second, and most annoying. The stupid .22lr slide will stovepipe live rounds. I know this has to be something to do with the feedramp angle in relation to the magazine. It may be the magazines fault, or the feedramp, or both. Or at least that's what I'm thinking. Anyone think that trying to find another magazine may fix this? I don't want to go crazy with the feedramp, but it is getting annoying as it does this every 5 or 6 rounds and I'm ready to try anything. Any suggestions? Lastly. There are quiet a few FTEs with this pistol. Looking at the shell casings, the casing always swells a dimple right where the extracter contacts the casing. This causes the extracter to slip off of the rim as there is no longer a rim on that one section of the casing. This happens every 3 or 4 rounds. I'm at my wits end with that problem. The only solution I can think of is trying a stronger spring for the extractor (which will obviously not be designed for the pistol since no parts have been made for it in over 20 years). Can anyone else think of another solution? Try ammo that's not quiet as hot. That does help BTW. Remington thunderbolts work WAY better than CCI rounds. The minimags FTE almost every round. Help would be greatly appreciated.

October 22, 2009, 08:22 AM	#4
Harry Bonar Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2004 Location: In the Vincent, Ohio general area. Posts: 1,804	rear sight Sir; If your rear sight fits loosely in the dovetail you can acceptably install a "gib" along the dovetail and it should take care of that. Be advised - some Europeans drive their sights in from left to right! (looking down the slide as in firing). Harry B.

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October 20, 2009, 08:08 PM	#2
Walt Sherrill Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 1999 Location: Winston-Salem, NC USA Posts: 6,348	I can only address the sight issue. Use a center punch to punch divots in the bottom of the dovetail. When the point pushes down, it will raise the area around the tip of the punch a bit. Do it enough times, and the surface will raise, in spots, enough to tighten up the sight. (Seems almost counter-intuitive, but it works.) (The 22 rounds flipping up may haveto do with the breechface and extractor not holding the round firmly as the round feeds...Look at that.)

October 20, 2009, 09:51 PM	#3
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	The stovepiping is almost certainly a magazine problem. I think the feed lips are releasing the round too soon. You could try bending the lips in slightly, but I will tell you that feed lip adjustment in a .22 magazine is one of the most frustrating jobs encountered by gunsmiths, plus there is always the possibility of breaking a lip off and ruining the magazine entirely. It may also be that the magazine catch is not working right with the .22 magazine. You might try holding the magazine in and see if that helps. Fortunately, there are new magazines available for the Astra Falcon (aka Model 4000). Try www.gunpartscorp.com . My catalog shows their stock number 151780 at around $28 plus s&h. The case swelling problem sounds like the extractor cut in the barrel is too deep, going into the chamber. That is no problem with centerfire rounds, but can lead to what you found in rimfires. A stronger extractor spring might help, but there is no guarantee. I would try some standard velocity ammo and see what happens. Jim

October 25, 2009, 08:17 PM	#5
5whiskey Senior Member Join Date: October 23, 2005 Location: US Posts: 3,652	Okay, the stovepipe problem with the live round is fixed. That took about 2.5 hours of fiddling with magazine feed lips, and it wasn't fun. I've run about 100 rounds through it with no problem. I'll be happy even if it does occur once in awhile, just not 3 or 4 times in 100 rounds. The FTE problem is a little more precarious. First off the barrel was so fouled with lead that I couldn't get the punch rod through. I'm pretty sure this was causing a tad bit of over pressure that caused the base of the brass to swell big time. Firing after the barrel was cleaned I noticed that the brass was not deformed as it once was. It still FTEs. I've noticed by looking at the brass that the chamber isn't in the best of shape. I think a polishing job on the chamber is in order. That in itself, though, still doesn't negate the fact that the extractor should have a little more traction than it does. The chamber is a little rough, but it's not THAT bad. Could be better, but I can still pull the round out with hand pressure and a knife. I still think a little more poundage on the extractor spring and standard velocity ammo will help this pistol dramatically. A light chamber polish probably wouldn't hurt. If anyone sees anything that's out of place in my thinking, please correct me. This could be such a fun little plinker if I could get the .22lr slide functioning correctly. Fired 100 rounds of .32 through the other slide today... no problems there so it's good. Thanks for the help and replies everyone.

October 26, 2009, 05:56 PM	#6
5whiskey Senior Member Join Date: October 23, 2005 Location: US Posts: 3,652	Thanks for all the help gentlemen. A light chamber polishing absolutely helped matters out. I also manipulated (only by a few thousandths) the dimensions of the extractor to give it a little more "bite" on the rim. Just fired about 200 rounds without any FTEs. I do still get the stove pipe once in a while though. I know it's magazine related because the severity increases when I open up the lips. When I close them, it decreases or quits but when I close them too much the round has a hard time sliding into the chamber. I may order a new magazine but I've really brought this thing into the realm of being bearable now. I will only use the .22lr slide for plinking anyway... plus it'll help me practice remedial drills . At any rate, thanks for the ideas. Turns out the pistol fires high velocity ammo fine, it just needed a little help.