Winchester 77 Tube Fed Assembly/Disassembly/Maintenance (long post)
Overview
Hit by nostalgia, I purchased an 80%+ condition tube fed Winchester Model 77 .22 rifle a few months ago. (See "New to the Forum and New Owner of a Win 77" from 4/17/2015)
As a child, I learned to shoot on my father's model 77 that my mother had given him as a Christmas present back around 1960 or so.
From what I remember in later years, dad's was a jam-o-matic. He never cleaned it as he seemed to be aware it was a major undertaking. It would reliably stove-pipe any round you tried to feed. I bought one anyway. Interesting note with this one, the serial number shows to be a 1955 model, but the barrel is stamped for 1956. Regardless of which year, this is a very early model in great shape.
Google is your friend. I spent quite a bit of time lurking around on forums and searching for information on the 77. Rimfire Central, and most critically, member 22AGS have proven to be invaluable.
Based upon a large array of posts around the 77 and some advice from 22AGS, I armed myself with a proper manual from Cornell Publications, a copy of the American Rifleman with an article on the rifle, some appropriate sized drift punches, a set of dental picks, and for after the fact, a bottle of bourbon (my recommendation, not that of anyone else…)
Disassembly
This proved to be the easiest part of the process. Disassembly is a snap. Buy the manual, follow the manual. A bit of mechanical common sense will go a long way here.
Get a good clean workbench and have either a wood jaw vise or a bench vise with plastic inserts. It helps.
Set the gun barrel in the vise with the rifle upside down and remove the two screws noted in the manual: the one on the forearm of the stock and the rear most screw in the trigger guard. The stock will slip off easily.
From that point, follow the manual in drifting out the pin (mine came out easily). Note that the pins drift out from left to right and return in the opposite manner.
Working the slide dogs off the bolt and the feed ramp are not too difficult, take your time working with them and be mindful of the big spring for the slide.
PULL THE BARREL OFF STRAIGHT! There are warnings on top of warnings about this. You will break or damage the extractor if you do not pull straight. Once apart, take a close look at how it is designed and you will understand.
Breaking down the rest is a matter of following the instructions, removing and disassembling the bolt, etc. The tube magazine rotates off the barrel. With the barrel upside down, rotate the whole tube counter clockwise 30 or 40 degrees and it will lift off. DO NOT HAMMER THE DOVETAIL TO REMOVE.
I had an experience with the bolt. As I carefully pulled it out, I observed both springs (Striker and Timing Rod) were loose. Per the book, the timing rod should have had a collar and c-clip at the back end holding the rod in place under spring tension in the bolt.
I found the collar was jammed in the receiver. It actually looked like a sleeve embedded in the receiver for a first time observer. After figuring this out (and carefully digging out the collar with a dental pick), I then pulled the trigger assembly out to look for the missing clip. There wasn't a clip to be found. I carefully put the trigger assembly back exactly as I found it after using spray solvent to blast out the cavity and clean up the area. Be very careful to line up everything as shown in the manual. The flat on the disconnector goes to the back and the sear should have the cutout to the front as shown in the illustration.
I was able to find a replacement c-clip from Numrich. They stock quite a bit of inventory for the rifle.
If you take your time and read through the posts on Rimfire Central, you will see multiple warnings about the little snap ring on the safety shaft. Heed them well, it is a booger! I was NOT going to disassemble it, but simply clean with spray solvent and a nylon brush. The brush dislodged it, thankfully the bristles kept it from going airborne. It is a pain to get back on again.
I did not disassemble the bolt completely. I left the firing pin and extractor in place. They both operated freely and were blasted with solvent. It was my intention to NOT disassemble the trigger, but to clean it with solvent. I ended up disassembling twice. More on that later.
Assembly
All the parts were cleaned well, the bolt and moving parts lightly oiled.
Following the instructions in the manual will get you up to a certain point, without too much grief other than getting the feed ramp/slide/bolt connections in place. They take a bit of patience and finesse.
The point is where all is connected and good, except there is about a 1/8" of gap between the bolt and receiver. It took me the better part of 2 hours to get that gap closed. Wiggle, contort, put it in vise, hold it on the workbench, …. Just be patient, if it gets to be too much, walk away for a bit. One thing that helped me was to assemble without the mainspring to check fit and tolerances. I also stuck a bit of ¼" dowel in to hold the bolt back once I got the Timing Rod and Striker lined up in the receiver. It may or may not work for you, but did help me.
Where I got burned was the Timing Rod check. After two hours of frustration, then finally assembling and pinning the barrel, it failed the test. The Timing Rod check is to hold the trigger down in the fired position, pull the bolt back fully, and release the trigger. The Timing Rod should move back about 1/8" of the breech position. Step two is to cock the gun, hold the bolt to within about ¼ - 1/8" of the breech and try to fire it. Pull the trigger and it should not fire.
Mine would fire from any position. I did try to manually move the Timing Rod back after releasing the trigger and it did move back, but with no spring tension. No good. I would either fire out of battery, or potentially empty the tube if I held the trigger down.
It got disassembled again. I disassembled the trigger to ensure that all was lined up properly, it was, so the problem was not there. I then put the bolt in and worked it through its range, and found resistance on the Timing Rod when compressing the spring.
Upon close examination, the spring was wound closely at one end, but not so much on the final twists on the other end which was currently on the collar side.
I reversed the spring on the rod, put on the collar and re-clipped it. Upon checking, the resistance was gone.
Now, back to reassembly again. This time it took about 15 minutes to get that last 1/8" and pin the barrel on. REMINDER - DO NOT TWIST THE BARREL! The extractor is still available online, but probably won't be forever!
The stock goes on easily enough and two screws to hold it in place. At some future date (probably 350-400 rounds from now when it comes down for cleaning again), the stock is going to get sanded and re-finished with tung oil.
Relevant Links
Cornell Publications (manual): http://www.cornellpubs.com/old-guns/item_desc.php?item_id=1966
Numrich (parts): https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/Winchester-33573/Rifles-42602/77TubeFed-40349.htm
Epilogue
Got to sneak away to a local range during lunch today. 10 Aguila Super Extra high velocity plated 22 long rifle went in the tube. 10 bullets punched a hole in the paper 25 yards away as fast as I could pull the trigger. Loving it!!
Tonight, the bourbon comes into play. A bit of Col E. H. Taylor over a couple of ice cubes to celebrate.
...maybe the stock refinish may not wait until the next cleaning.
Some images of the final product:
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Overview
Hit by nostalgia, I purchased an 80%+ condition tube fed Winchester Model 77 .22 rifle a few months ago. (See "New to the Forum and New Owner of a Win 77" from 4/17/2015)
As a child, I learned to shoot on my father's model 77 that my mother had given him as a Christmas present back around 1960 or so.
From what I remember in later years, dad's was a jam-o-matic. He never cleaned it as he seemed to be aware it was a major undertaking. It would reliably stove-pipe any round you tried to feed. I bought one anyway. Interesting note with this one, the serial number shows to be a 1955 model, but the barrel is stamped for 1956. Regardless of which year, this is a very early model in great shape.
Google is your friend. I spent quite a bit of time lurking around on forums and searching for information on the 77. Rimfire Central, and most critically, member 22AGS have proven to be invaluable.
Based upon a large array of posts around the 77 and some advice from 22AGS, I armed myself with a proper manual from Cornell Publications, a copy of the American Rifleman with an article on the rifle, some appropriate sized drift punches, a set of dental picks, and for after the fact, a bottle of bourbon (my recommendation, not that of anyone else…)
Disassembly
This proved to be the easiest part of the process. Disassembly is a snap. Buy the manual, follow the manual. A bit of mechanical common sense will go a long way here.
Get a good clean workbench and have either a wood jaw vise or a bench vise with plastic inserts. It helps.
Set the gun barrel in the vise with the rifle upside down and remove the two screws noted in the manual: the one on the forearm of the stock and the rear most screw in the trigger guard. The stock will slip off easily.
From that point, follow the manual in drifting out the pin (mine came out easily). Note that the pins drift out from left to right and return in the opposite manner.
Working the slide dogs off the bolt and the feed ramp are not too difficult, take your time working with them and be mindful of the big spring for the slide.
PULL THE BARREL OFF STRAIGHT! There are warnings on top of warnings about this. You will break or damage the extractor if you do not pull straight. Once apart, take a close look at how it is designed and you will understand.
Breaking down the rest is a matter of following the instructions, removing and disassembling the bolt, etc. The tube magazine rotates off the barrel. With the barrel upside down, rotate the whole tube counter clockwise 30 or 40 degrees and it will lift off. DO NOT HAMMER THE DOVETAIL TO REMOVE.
I had an experience with the bolt. As I carefully pulled it out, I observed both springs (Striker and Timing Rod) were loose. Per the book, the timing rod should have had a collar and c-clip at the back end holding the rod in place under spring tension in the bolt.
I found the collar was jammed in the receiver. It actually looked like a sleeve embedded in the receiver for a first time observer. After figuring this out (and carefully digging out the collar with a dental pick), I then pulled the trigger assembly out to look for the missing clip. There wasn't a clip to be found. I carefully put the trigger assembly back exactly as I found it after using spray solvent to blast out the cavity and clean up the area. Be very careful to line up everything as shown in the manual. The flat on the disconnector goes to the back and the sear should have the cutout to the front as shown in the illustration.
I was able to find a replacement c-clip from Numrich. They stock quite a bit of inventory for the rifle.
If you take your time and read through the posts on Rimfire Central, you will see multiple warnings about the little snap ring on the safety shaft. Heed them well, it is a booger! I was NOT going to disassemble it, but simply clean with spray solvent and a nylon brush. The brush dislodged it, thankfully the bristles kept it from going airborne. It is a pain to get back on again.
I did not disassemble the bolt completely. I left the firing pin and extractor in place. They both operated freely and were blasted with solvent. It was my intention to NOT disassemble the trigger, but to clean it with solvent. I ended up disassembling twice. More on that later.
Assembly
All the parts were cleaned well, the bolt and moving parts lightly oiled.
Following the instructions in the manual will get you up to a certain point, without too much grief other than getting the feed ramp/slide/bolt connections in place. They take a bit of patience and finesse.
The point is where all is connected and good, except there is about a 1/8" of gap between the bolt and receiver. It took me the better part of 2 hours to get that gap closed. Wiggle, contort, put it in vise, hold it on the workbench, …. Just be patient, if it gets to be too much, walk away for a bit. One thing that helped me was to assemble without the mainspring to check fit and tolerances. I also stuck a bit of ¼" dowel in to hold the bolt back once I got the Timing Rod and Striker lined up in the receiver. It may or may not work for you, but did help me.
Where I got burned was the Timing Rod check. After two hours of frustration, then finally assembling and pinning the barrel, it failed the test. The Timing Rod check is to hold the trigger down in the fired position, pull the bolt back fully, and release the trigger. The Timing Rod should move back about 1/8" of the breech position. Step two is to cock the gun, hold the bolt to within about ¼ - 1/8" of the breech and try to fire it. Pull the trigger and it should not fire.
Mine would fire from any position. I did try to manually move the Timing Rod back after releasing the trigger and it did move back, but with no spring tension. No good. I would either fire out of battery, or potentially empty the tube if I held the trigger down.
It got disassembled again. I disassembled the trigger to ensure that all was lined up properly, it was, so the problem was not there. I then put the bolt in and worked it through its range, and found resistance on the Timing Rod when compressing the spring.
Upon close examination, the spring was wound closely at one end, but not so much on the final twists on the other end which was currently on the collar side.
I reversed the spring on the rod, put on the collar and re-clipped it. Upon checking, the resistance was gone.
Now, back to reassembly again. This time it took about 15 minutes to get that last 1/8" and pin the barrel on. REMINDER - DO NOT TWIST THE BARREL! The extractor is still available online, but probably won't be forever!
The stock goes on easily enough and two screws to hold it in place. At some future date (probably 350-400 rounds from now when it comes down for cleaning again), the stock is going to get sanded and re-finished with tung oil.
Relevant Links
Cornell Publications (manual): http://www.cornellpubs.com/old-guns/item_desc.php?item_id=1966
Numrich (parts): https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/Winchester-33573/Rifles-42602/77TubeFed-40349.htm
Epilogue
Got to sneak away to a local range during lunch today. 10 Aguila Super Extra high velocity plated 22 long rifle went in the tube. 10 bullets punched a hole in the paper 25 yards away as fast as I could pull the trigger. Loving it!!
Tonight, the bourbon comes into play. A bit of Col E. H. Taylor over a couple of ice cubes to celebrate.
...maybe the stock refinish may not wait until the next cleaning.
Some images of the final product:
