Help wanted from another gun nut!

Greetings folks.
Any other gun nuts here on the forum?
As a home project I have been overhauling this gun. It is made by Western field and it is a bolt action .410 bore with a 5 round, non-detachable magazine. It was handed down to my wife by her Grandfather and I put it at least 60 years old. It was in terrible shape when I received it and was covered in rust. After some elbow grease I managed to ALMOST get it finished. I have reworked the stock as best I could and have managed a half decent job on cold bluing. I need to find a replacement screw that holds the bolt retainer in place, a new but plate and the guts that came out of the bolt assembly if I cannot fix them. These parts were just too far gone to be salvaged. The gun most likely will not be used for any hunting, but I would like to return it to working condition all the same. Does anyone have any info regarding the history of this gun? Or maybe a source to find parts? I have looked extensively on line and couldn’t drag up much info at all. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks a pile.

I have never seen a gun called a .410 gauge as .410 is not a gauge at all but rather a bore Its odd to see it stamped on the gun like this….????


[img][IMG]http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/zazabu531/westernfieldgun004.jpg[/img][/img]
The bolt assembly. I need to replace the firing pin assy which slides inside.

[img][IMG]http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/zazabu531/westernfieldgun001.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][IMG]http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/zazabu531/westernfieldgun002.jpg[/img][/img]

Sorry for the odd shot but it was hard to get it all in the picture.

[img][IMG]http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/zazabu531/westernfieldgun003.jpg[/img][/img]

410 gauge is an exception to the 12-16-20 gauge scheme. The bore measures .410 inches in diameter, very roughly 28 gauge, I believe. Western Auto, like Sears, contracted for some of their guns from manufacturers, such as Savage or Marlin. Check into some of the gun forums - I am sure someone there will know for sure

Dixie Gun Works maybe?

Yeah, it's a shotgun. Use a lot in the over/under types of guns ("survival gun" with a .22/.410 combo, for example)

Not sure how common ammo is, but I've seen it written about often enough.

Interesting gun, in that it's A) bolt action shotgun, and B) the bolt looks an awful lot like a Mosin-Nagant bolt.

i would say every third person here is a gun nut..
i know Dixie GW and they will not have parts for it.
Cheaper than Dirt carrys lots of 410 ammo--some full brass
case stuff from Russia looks good but with an old gun like that you may have to hand load something not as powerful as these
new loads..i would Google this..there seems to be alot of gun
fourms out there and if you hit the right one they will welcome
you with open arms and lots of advice on an old weapon like
that..thats a very nice gun,,bolt action and a magazine--i would say this was sold as a "pot gun" or "game getter"

Wards Western Field are almost all Mossberg

Get a catalog from "Gun Parts Corp" up in West Hurley NY (They used to be Numrich Arms

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/

I'd ne SHOCKED if they don't have every single part of that shotgun available

I've seen more that one of those - heck, I've fired the 12 gage version

If you know the model, try here

http://www.e-gunparts.com/model.asp?idDept=452

I have one virtually identical. Well it used to be virtually identical: I chopped the barrel, painted it a funky red and green tiger stripe, Pachmyer butt pad, and leopard print sling. Hey....I was a teenager when I did it. Despite how it sounds, it actually "works". Anyway, the one difference is the magazine is removable.

Not a bad gun at all, very servicable and simple. .410 is quite common, you can find it in any sporting goods store. It used to be very popular for rabbit and squirrel. Birds are a little trickier, .410 tends to string the shot. Simply put, the shot column is long and skinny (12 guage is more a wall of shot). If you don't follow through when you shoot you're unlikely to hit the bird. Think of squirting a water hose and wiggling it around.

Hey folks. I hope I didn’t confuse anyone with this question. Maybe I should have worded it in a different way but I wasn’t looking for info on the .410 bore shotgun or ammo in general, but rather I was looking for info on this particular model(where it was made and when.....stuff like that) .410 bore shotguns are common in Alberta. I can walk into any sporting goods store and buy ammo. I also spend many an hour at my reloading bench making my own .410 ammo so that’s not a concern. I posted this on some reloading/shooting forums as well but I figured it couldn’t hurt to slap it on this one too. In fact the most useful info has come from the replies I have gotten here on this forum so thanks a lot to those who took the time to post. By the way, I meant to post this around the campfire as it really isn’t a survival topic. I am so used to clicking on that forum that I did not even notice I put it here till now. Oops......... my bad.

Thanks again.

Taurus,

I would try posting your pictures and questions on some of the gun forums like;

http://www.thehighroad.org/

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/index.php

or

http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/index.php?

I know the last one is a rimfire forum, but there is a Mossberg forum there and those guys know whats what. Good luck....

I looked for my Gun Parts Catalog last night (they have the breakdown drawing on many rifle/shotguns in there) - of course I could NOT find it

Like I said - Give Gun Parts Corp a call - I would not be surprised if the had every part of that shotgun in stock - in the days when they used to have a storefront, it was always fun to drop by - they had buildings and buildings of gun parts (at least 5-6 good sized buildings). At one time, Numrich arms owned AutoOrdinace Corp - yep, the Thompson MG folks

Maybe try brownells.com.

Hello Taurus:

This shotgun was sold through the mail order company Montgomery Wards (now defunct) under their brand "Western Field" back when serial numbers were not required as they are today. Mail ordering in the U.S. ended with the Gun Control Act of 1968. I cannot speak for gun laws in Canada. You might find some information about any markings on the shotgun by accessing this website, I also found this article on-line.

I hope this helps you out. As previously mentioned there may still be parts available.

Take care,

Stargazer

STARGAZER.
Thanks for the link to the article. This is exactly the type of info I was looking for and it was a big help. I cannot open the link to the website though.
I don’t post on many forums. In fact I HATE staring at a CPU screen any longer than I have to. I have posted in regards to this gun on other forums related to firearms with little luck. Even though I hate typing and sitting in front of a keyboard I like this forum because no matter what question is brought forward, someone, somehow, somewhere on this forum has knowledge of it.
Thanks again for the info.

Hmm there may be some info I can use on that website Stargazer. Thanks a lot

There was an extra period at the end of the linked URL. Try this: http://proofhouse.com/cm/codes_markings.htm

Taurus,

Sorry about the link, I tried it when I posted and it worked. Here is some information that I have found. Your shotgun appears to be a Mossberg model 83 mfg. from 1933 to 1946 by OF Mossberg & Sons for Montgomery Wards Western Field, their Model 15A, 410 gauge. I hope this helps. Sorry again about the link.

Take care,

Stargazer (AKA Gun Nut)

How about 67.5 gaauge?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_(bore_diameter)