Iver Johnson took a dump, what now?

S

SigP6Carry

New member
I've got this Iver Johnson that was my grandfather's (he bought it in the 1950's), it's a Sealed 8 Target pistol (solid frame, not break top) and today it took a spectacular dump on me. I went to the range and the first two rounds sprayed lead (to the point that it felt like I was hit by a metal BB in the stomach) and key holed. I cleared the cylinder, checked the barrel and fired a few more rounds, and it was fine. Then it did it a few more times. I called it a day (after about 20 rounds, 5 of which key holed and sprayed me) and check it out with the store's gun smith.

It's probably going to be $100 plus parts to get it fixed, and it's generally a $100 gun, anyway. They suggested that I just accumulate the parts I need over time from parts stores, gun shows, etc and then get it fixed. The gun is in immaculate conditions (99% blue, no rust, MAYBE a quarter square inch of patina on the barrel and it's generally accurate) and it's got sentimental value, so I don't want to get rid of it. What I'm missing is the SA sear and spring and it looks like the bolt is warn down and not locking the cylinder.

I checked out the Taurus .22 Tracker and it's a nice revolver. It's not fullsize, but it fits my hand fairly well, feels nice, holds about 8 or 9 rounds and it a GREAT upgrade over the Iver Johnson. Plus it looks darn cool. Only catch is: it's $400?!

I also looked at the Ruger 22/45 and Mark II and would like one of those with a bull barrel if I get one. I liked the feel, weight and features, but I didn't exactly like the looks. Plus, the price is a touch more than I was looking to spend on a simple "fun gun"

I do have a Sig P6 for home defense (and if IL ever allows it: CC), so I was thinking a Sig Mosquito or Walther P22 would do nicely as a "trainer" for the Sig. I'm generally a Walther fan (I love their guns), but the Sig Mosquito seems to have the exact features of my P6, making it better to work on muscle memory. The same price issue comes up with these, as I would rather spend $200 or less on a "fun gun" to plink with.

I was wondering what you guys would do in this situation. My next gun was going to be either a FEG PA-63 or a Romanian TTC, but it looks like I'll need to buy a .22 or get mine fixed before I buy any other "cool" surplus guns.

Thanks for the advice and opinions, guys.
 
Personally I would retire the Iver Johnson but keep it for sentimental reasons. Buy a new, high quality, dependable .22 pistol of your choice for shooting.
 
remington... I'm not quite sure if you're telling me to either a) stop shooting the IJ before it backfires worse, b) quit shooting all together and sell all my guns because you don't like me and don't want to be involved in a hobby that I'm associate with or c) think it's a good laugh to insert a snippet that leaves the OP bewildered and confused when he asks for realistic advice....

In anycase, I'm asking for advice on what ya'll would advise someone who's next purchase was going to be $200 to do when he's suddenly looking at getting a new .22 revolver or auto when he was going to get a mak or tok. I like the taurus, but I can't justify $400 for a .22lr revolver from brazil and I like the Ruger, but I can't justify $250-350 for a gun that there's about 40 billion of on the market and I like the P22 and Mosquito, but they seem like toys. Any advice on guns not mentioned that might fit the criteria.
 
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For $200 you might be able to get this one and just put yours in the box. :)

When mine quit indexing I was able to stretch the hand a bit by peening. I remember it wasn't easy to hold everything in place to get it back together. Once it was shooting okay again I put it away and haven't fired it in several years. If you're going to put yours away I suggest fixing it first so that its safe to shoot when your children want to have a turn with it. Otherwise think about disabling it altogether some way and making a wall hanger of it.

Numrich may have the parts you need to get the I-J working as well.

You mentioned the 22/45. I've got the 4" bull barrel on mine and my sons and I all like to plink with it. Couldn't be more reliable.
 
You might check out the Heritage Rough Rider 22 revolver. Folks say the work fine,and most times can be found under $200.
 
I agree with above...

Or if you dont want to fix the IJ, save it for parts for some of us guys with IJ revolvers. Even a single screw can be a hard to find and most valuable item.
 
For the kind of money you're talking about I'd save a little bit more and then get a Buckmark or a Beretta NEOS. Good quality .22 revolvers are annoyingly expensive. I finally got a used one but it was still more money than you're talking about.

As for Grandpa's IJ... I might fix it up once I had some money but I'd also be tempted to leave it original and take satisfaction from having worn it out having fun shooting it.
 
As others have said, I would definitely get Grandpa's gun fixed at some point... think the 'smith gave good advice about collecting the parts needed over time.

In the mean time I would say do some looking around, contrary to what you hear there are some deals to be had. I have two of the Taurus Trackers and they are great .22s... I picked up both brand new in the box for less than 300 each. I bought a Sig Mosquito this past summer that if it had been shot you couldn't tell. Paid 250 for that and it has become one of my/our favorite plinkers.
I was at a gunshow here in our lovely state a couple of weekends ago and saw a plethora of .22s in the two to three hundred dollar range. All of them were new or close to being so. Just saying if you do some looking around I am sure you could find something you'd be happy with and still stay within your budget.
 
Chibiker, I'm wondering where you got those trackers for less than 3 bills, cause if I could get one for that: I'm gettin' it.

Also, Lee N Field: we got a LONG way to go for CC in Illinois. First Chicago's ban needs to be overturned and Mayor Daly's gotta get his dirty little fingers out of state government.
 
Funny enough they actually both came from the same place.... The first one I bought NIB from the Gander Mountain in Geneva, IL as a Christmas present to myself... wanna say in '05 and got it on sale for $269.
The second one came from the Kane County gun show and was also NIB and the label on it said it had originally been shipped to that same Gander Mountain... got that one for $275 but it's stainless steel, the other one is blued.
I can't comment on any other Taurus revolvers other than my Trackers but I sure see a lot of threads on supposedly what crap Taurus is. Both of mine have been flawless and perform beautifully. I think the negative comments about them have led to there being some deals to be had. In fact when I was looking at and then bought the last one a guy standing there at the table next to me was shaking his head and felt compelled to tell me that I was just throwing my money away as they are completely junk and I would be far better off to spend a few more dollars on a good "Smiff & Weston". Funny, you'd think if they were so much better I would have heard of them....lol
 
Isn't there a Gander down in Peoria and Joliet, as well? Or are those Bass Pros or Cabellas? I always get the big sporting stores mixed up for some reason. I'll check them out for good deals. I've done a lot of looking into Taurus guns and can't justify the bad rap they get. I've met more than a few people who personally own Taurus guns and all LOVE them to death. I attribute the S&W Lock hate and Taurus hate to the internet's tendency to turn a few localized issues into a world wide pandemic. I know that spending more on a higher quality gun will yield a nicer gun, that's just the logic of retail, but I also don't think that Tauruses are really nearly as bad as what most people say.

The only thing that disappointed me about the tracker was it's diminutive size. I was expecting it to look like it's .44 cousin, and it does... only much smaller.
 
A used blued Smith or Ruger 22 revolver.

Just be patient and look around.

Make darn sure you look at the loading side of the cylinder and see if Slammy Dry Fire has just punched thirty thousand notches in the back of the cylinder dryfiring a rimfire revolver.

Pass on it if you see hammer marks on the back of the cylinder.

At least with a gun that is made by a current manufacturer,you should be able to get it worked on.

But any gun you paid less than $200 for is usually a losing deal to get worked on especially if a gunsmith has to go searching for expensive used parts because that's all that is left for repairing it.

Don't feel bad,I have a High Standard snub revolver that is a piece of fertilizer too.

( In semiautos the Browning Buckmarks and the Ruger semi autos are really great guns too.)
 
Thomme, Numrich (www.e-gunparts.com) has plenty of parts for your gun. It sounds like your keyholing problem is the result of improper lockup due to the looseness of the cylinder bolt, causing "shaving" of the bullet as it leaves the cylinder and enters the forcing cone at the rear of the barrel.

Given your statement that the gun is in more or less excellent condition, I feel that it would be well worth fixing, and the cost shouldn't be that much.
 
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oh yeah, it's in great condition. Bright barrel, spot on rifling, great crown. Just a bit of mechanical mishappening with it. Numrich in fact does not have anything but a trigger spring for the Iver Johnson Sealed 8, but I've heard that that parts I need are interchangeable with the M1900 .22 by them, which in that case, they have two out of three parts that I need to get it back to immaculate mechanical condition.

As for the firestorm: I'd rather not get it in the 6" barrel, as it looks butt ugly that way. In the standard 4" (I believe that's the length) barrel, I'd consider it if I had another .22 before that one.... but... a PPK style gun with 2 inches of barrel sticking out: no thanks.

I've heard good things about the heritages, but if I'm going to get another .22 (instead of fixing the IJ) I'd rather get something more convenient to shoot than the IJ and the heritage is less convenient to shoot than the IJ. (they both load like an SAA, but the IJ has double action)

I'm not going to say that the brownings and barettas (spelling error?) are bad guns, but I think they're pretty ugly. I'm fairly traditional when it comes to firearms and prefer something with a more timeless look from yesteryear, rather than a "space age look" like the NEOs. The buckmarks just don't do it for me in the looks department. I like the Ruger over the two of them because the Ruger is style off the Japanese Nambu and has that "dirty old school" look to it, though much more refined.

If I do go with a revolver, I probably will go with the Taurus tracker, though. I like the looks and feel of it better than I do the Rugers or the Smiths. I don't buy into all of that "taurus" hate and with the lifetime warranty on a "fun gun," I'll feel safe with it. This isn't going to be a CCW or SD handgun, this is going to be the gun that I take to the range every week to plink with and just keep myself used to the sound and feel of a gun.

ALSO: I found a Llama (I just learned what this word actually means in spanish, it's not pronounced lama, it's pronounced "yama" and it's a cool name) .22 Especial in a shop around here for around 2.5 bills. It's essentially a diminutive 1911 chambered in .22 and shaped a big differently. I never asked what it came with or haggled price on it, but I'm willing to guess I can talk it down to 2 bills. Anyone have any opinions on this? How well would it hold up? Good accuracy? etc. etc.
 
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