Sidewinder

Like many of you, probably, I enjoyed years of the original GOC (Gun Owners Club). I enjoyed buying, selling, and trading on a simple platform. It was easy to post items. It was easy to find items. And many of us have enjoyed transactions on there and met some nice people to boot. I noticed some time back it had switched over to Gun Broker lite. I got on there today, with the intention of posting some items for trade or sell. It looks like now days you have to pay to play! If I understood it properly, it was $2.99 to post an ad for one month. Also, there seems to have been restrictions prohibiting marking an item as being over priced. I don't think I have encountered anyone that likes the new Gun Owners Club. What do you guys think about it?

Thank you very much. That's very kind of you to offer. I will tell my friend that you said hi. I'll send you a PM, so we can exchange addresses. I remember that we had a good visit back then. We both enjoyed the chat. Numerich listed the mag follower, but they were out of stock. I'm not sure if it would include the button or not. Probably not.

Yes we did and the wrenching has worked great ever since. Thank you again.

Thanks for the links and heads up on Numerich. I saw those and some at other places. Being frugal (cheap) I was hoping to be able to find the parts to repair mine. I made one out of a screw, just using basic hand tools. It fits pretty sloppy and I am concerned that it will wallow out the hole in the follower. Initially, I had it fitting snug in the follower, but couldn't get it through the round hole at the end of the slot. By the time I had trimmed it down enough to go through the hole, it fit loose in the follower. Pretty frustrating. I guess the initial ones may have been a threaded block, with a threaded pin that screwed into the block. It seems to work when I hand cycle, but don't know how it will do when firing.

Thanks for the information. I took a screw and made one using basic hand tools. In order to get it to go through that round hole in the end of the slot, I had to make it smaller that the whole in the follower. Consequently, it has a lot of slop in the way it fits into the follower. It hand cycles ok, but not sure how it will perform under live fire. My other concern is that it may wallow out the whole in the follower. I do not have the shop equipment, nor the skill level to build a plug for the hole in the follower and drill and tap threads into it. Depending on the threads installed in the plug, I suppose an appropriate bolt could be found to screw into it.

Does anyone have a Stoeger Luger 22 magazine follower button for sale? I might be able to make one out of a bolt. But I'm no machinist. If anyone has a magazine, a pic of the mag follower button would be greatly appreciated. Finally, if anyone knows where these parts can be purchased, other than ebay, please let me know. Thanks. I'm in the Murfreesboro area...615-519-3680

I have a Ruger Mk lll Hunter, but haven't tried to squirrel hunt with it yet. I'm an old dude, so I would probably need to put a scope on it.

JT59 I don't think I have ever heard of anyone hunting squirrels with a pistol. I'm guessing it was probably a .22LR. Maybe a Ruger Single Six, or a Thompson Center. I have a TC with a scope on it in 22 Hornet, but consider that round a little bit too much for squirrel.

Will, I see there are some late season dates: Oct. 9 - Oct. 31 ans another Dec 8 - Jan 15. Maybe I'll get an invite to shoot at a couple during one of those dates. It could happen...one can only hope.

Johnny Rotten, I'm an old codger, but in my early years, a truck gun was actually two guns, in a gun rack in the back window. One was usually a deer rifle, in our area, probably a Marlin .30-30 lever action and the other was a shotgun. The shotgun gauges ran the gambit, depending on what the owner was into. If he was a quail hunter, it could be a 12, 16, or 20 gauge. If he was a duck hunter, more than likely it would be a 12 gauge. Back in those days ('50s) not too many guns had 3" chambers. By the way, those trucks were hardly, if ever, locked... and many had the keys in the ignition. I don't recall any guns, or trucks for that matter, being stolen. Justice was swift and harsh in those days! Our state prison was "Angola", probably second only to Alkatrez (sp?) , the rock! Angola has it's on cemetery, right there on the prison grounds...and the prisoners work. They farm hundreds of acres of crops. Hardly worth it to steal a gun, or even a beat up farm truck! Watch the movie "Cool Hand Luke" with Paul Newman and you'll get an idea of what Angola is like.

Thanks for the info. I'll see if I can locate some in a small quantity. I appreciate your help.

Was talking to a friend of mine that dove hunts almost every day of the season. He owns a farm and he has a lot of friends that own farms and they kinda swap around at each others farm for dove shoots. I don't have a farm, so I kinda get the latest information through drinking coffee and talking hunting with him. He told me that the doves he has been taking are mostly young and small doves. Is this the case with the rest of you dove hunters?

Beltfed, thanks for your reply. You may have a point there. I don't have any Lubriplate grease, but if you know where I can buy some, please let me know. Thanks again for your suggestion. I will try it.

MacGyver, thanks for your information. I did find that the top front of the bolt head was shaving some metal off of the top of the receiver. The receiver is aluminum, so it's pretty evident... the bolt is steel...the receiver is aluminum. We know which one is going to give in that situation. I took a stone and polished that sharp edge on the bolt. This seems to help some, but didn't completely solve the problem. To answer your question... I have disassembled the gun and cleaned and "lightly" lubed all contact surfaces. I will try over oiling and more rounds through it. There are two versions of this model Hatfield. This one is the first (earlier) version. I know there was a change in the bolt release and possibly a change in the piston that actuates the action. Thanks again for your help.

Please don't tell me to ditch it and get a Remington 1100. I have a few of those and enjoy them as fine guns. I bought the Hatfield SAS Semi-Automatic .410 (Remington 1100 knockoff) realizing it was a budget gun. According to the person I bought it from, it had exactly 6 shells ran through it. The person admitted that it would cycle 3" game loads, but had problems cycling the 2 1/2" target loads. I have fired this gun several times and have found that it will cycle my reloaded 2 1/2" shells, but is unreliable in cycling factory loaded Winchester AA 2 1/2" MAX Dr. Eq. 1/2 ounce #9 shot Target Loads. Often times, it will cycle the first two shells and will fail to put the third shell in the chamber and the bolt into battery. Just for information... the gun is still quite tight and the recoil spring is quite heavy. Possibly, this gun will cycle like a Remington 1100 after two or three boxes of shells have been ran through it. What I'm hoping to find out here, is information from other Hatfield SA .410 owners as to their experiences with this make and model gun, specifically in the .410 version. I have watched some U-tube videos on this gun and the other larger gauges don't seem to have this problem. I'm trying to find out from real Hatfield SA .410 owners if this gun will eventually loosen up and cycle reliably, or if it's a "no go" gun. Thanks in advance for any information that is willingly shared.

Frog4aday, thanks for your response. I think I have the problem solved...maybe. I'm loading #6 squirrel shot and I did try loosening the bottles and then tightening gently. I do have that rubber insert and it seemed to be the problem. I took it out and flat sanded the top a little and it seems to be much better. Not loosey goosey, but 100% better than what it was. Thanks again.

I bought my first MEC 600 Jr back in 1965, so they are not a "new toy" to me. In fact, I have two set up for .410, one for 20 gauge, one for 16 gauge, and one for 12 gauge. So I'm not exactly a novice at loading shotgun shells with a MEC 600 Jr. However, it has been a while since I loaded any .410 and they can be tricky little devils. I have the standard MEC charge bar in there for the 2 1/2" shells. This charge bar is supposed to throw 1/2 ounce of lead shot and whatever powder bushing your load calls for. This bar feels like it is dragging! Instead of sliding back and forth like my other machines, I practically have to bruise the heel of my hand, going in both directions to get it to throw shot or powder. I think I may have it figured out, but wanted to run it past you guys. The rubber grommets for both the shot and powder bottles are old and hard. As you know there is a thin brass washer under the powder bushing. I'm kinda thinking the hardness prevents the knobs on top of this washer from sinking into the rubber grommet. Therefore, when I tighten the powder bottle down, it forces the brass washer to be pressed too hard on top of the charge bar. Another thought, is that the rubber insert in the shot orifice/hole is dragging on the bar frame also. What do you guys think? Have any of you had that problem? Second question is, what method do you use to enlarge the "shot orifice/hole" in your bar so that it will throw the published load? I understand that shot weight that will fit into that hole depends on the size of shot you're throwing. And yes, I could just get a universal bar with adjustments, but I'm not totally sold on them yet. Currently, I weigh every powder charge and every shot charge and adjust them to the exact published load! That sure makes the MEC 600 Jr a "slow" loader! Thanks for your words of wisdom, comments, opinions or plain old WAGs.

I hear you Handsome Rob. I know what you're saying. I thought those doves were only doing it to me, but I guess they do it to others also! Have fun.

Good advice Chances R. You are very fortunate to have farmer friends that will invite you over for a dove shoot. Have fun.

I haven't been able to go dove hunting yet. But, when I do, like Handsome Rob, I'm sure I'll need some brushing up. How far do you guys "lead" the birds? I know this will vary somewhat, depending on the height of the bird and direction of flight. What is the best technique that works on the diving, darting, speeding dove?

Well, how did the "Season opener" or first day of dove season go for everybody?

10-Ring, I have never heard of anyone dove hunting over a watermelon field. Were the birds attracted to the watermelon seeds of the split open melons? Was this a field where the melons had been harvested? That's interesting. I have some relatives that grew up in Warren Arkansas.

Luckyforward, I sure hope someone invites you to do a little dove hunting with them. I'm, as you say, "landlocked" in Murfreesboro myself. I believe the Wildlife people have contracted with some private farmers to use their fields as "public" dove fields, but I don't know where they are. You might find some information on the TWRA website. I'm thinking most of the rain will have moved out by 12 noon, when the season opens. But, the fields could be a bit muddy, from all of this rain. If you find a place, good hunting to you.

The 2021 dove season is just around the corner. Anyone got any predictions on the quantity of birds yet, or is it still too early to tell? Maybe a little cooler weather to push them down south? I saw a video of a guy shooting, I believe it was a Mossberg 500 .410, and I think he got 14 birds out of 15 shots! I wish I could do that, even with a 12 gauge. What are your favorite dove guns; gauges, chokes, ammo brand and shot sizes? Do you hunt with a semi-auto, pump gun, lever action, bolt action, side by side, over under, or single barrel? What is your hardest shot: coming straight at you, going straight away from you, or a side shot from either side? I'm told sunflower fields are about as good as it gets for hunting fields. Personally, I have never been lucky enough to get to hunt over one. What will you be hunting over on opening day: cut corn, cut beans, standing corn, or a pasture with a farm pond? If you haven't figured it out by now... what I'm trying to do is gin up a little dove hunting conversation for the upcoming season. As for me, I'll probably be shooting a Remington 1100, 12 gauge, with a modified choke tube, factory or some of my re-loaded shells using 7 1/2 size shot. It doesn't matter what kind of dove field, as long as I'm in it, and get to shoot some doves. I usually give my birds to whomever has invited me to hunt, as I don't do much cooking. Also, just as a reminder, if there are others that hunt by invitation only, like me, be respectful of the host's property: don't leave anything on the ground (sandwich wrappers, water bottles, or even empty shell hulls), don't climb fences or leave any gates open as you leave. Always show your host your appreciation for their generosity and leave a good impression on them of you as a hunter. Happy hunting and good shooting.

That looks like the exit hole. DRT! What round are you using? That is a good looking pelt...no mange.