Remington Sportsman Model 58

M

mitchntx

New member
So I've had this 20G Model 58 in the back of the safe for a while now.

This is another gun I inherited. I've never shot it, nor ever seen it shoot. I loaded a couple shell and had difficulty in getting the shell stop to work properly after more than two or so shells were fed into the magazine.

And I could never get it to feed or cycle what rounds it would hold.

So I decided to take this rubik's cube apart to see if there was a broken spring and something causing these issues.

Holy Moly ... I don't think the receiver has EVER been cleaned ... well as difficult as it is geting the action out, I can see why.

Everything was gummed and gunked. I used a dozen Hoppes soaked patches, brushes, scraping tools and two cans of brake cleaner on this thing. The crud was coming off in 1/2" diameter clumps!

And I think I figured out why the loading of the magazine won't accept more than a couple rounds.

The shell stop and ejector are nothing more than springs. The shell stop fell out, but the ejector wouldn't come out. A closer look and these springs are staked into place.

I was VERY uncomfortable in restaking the stop. I think I will take it to a qualified gunsmith and get confirmation first.

But I got it back into place and everything cleaned, loosened and lubricated.

Action is very smooth and everything seems to work OK. I never loaded anything into the magazine to see if teh problem persists as it was getting late.

But I think I'll give it a chance today and see what it'll do.
 
"The shell stop fell out"

WHICH shell latch?

There are two, left and right.

I can't remember which one it is now (I posted a thread about it here some years ago) but one of them, I THINK the right one, WILL pop out when you disassemble the gun. The trigger plate and trigger plate pins hold the stop in place when it's assembled.

The latch apparently was never staked in place originally, it's just a pressure fit. This is apparently fairly common for older Remington autoloading shotguns.

The ejector is, I believe, riveted into place and will not come out without tools and the destruction of the rivets that hold it into place.

I have my Father's Model 58, which I bought for him back in the 1980s, and which I inherited on his death. It's a fun shotgun.
 
Thanks Mike.

I had referenced a field strip video on youtube where the author said not to remove either as they are pressed in place.

And sure enough, one fell out ... the one opposite the ejection port. So would that be the left or right. Kind of like a car ... left or right as I'm looking at the motor or sitting in the driver's seat ... although in a VW ...

I digress ...

I noticed a small mark on receiver which conveniently aligned with a similar mark on the spring. It looks like a stake mark.

At any rate, I got it all back together and it felt great shooting this old bird.
 
The one opposite the ejection port would be the left shell latch. Left and right on firearms are normally designated as if you are holding them and aiming down the sights, so on the 58 the ejection port is on the right side of the gun.

Mine certainly looks as if it has a staking mark on it, too, and that certainly threw me until I found that passage in the NRA firearms disassembly book.

My best guess? It's a very light staking that was meant only to hold the part in place during assembly; it was never meant to be a permanent staking. In that sense, I guess it would be more appropriate to call it a dimple.

My biggest gripe with my 58 is apparently one that happens to a lot of 58s -- the action often won't stay open after the last shell is ejected. Probably close to 50% of the time it will shut on an empty gun, which causes no end of consternation with the trappers where I shoot.

The only real problem I've ever had with it is a few years ago the extractor sheared off while I was shooting a round of wobble trap at a local club. Had to finish the round trading a shotgun back and forth with one of my shooting companions.

The extractor is very easy to replace, though, once you get the concept for what you're doing.

I'm thinking about looking for anothe 58, a 20 gauge, to go along with my 12.
 
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