I took my 1944 DOU to the range last night to see if it would fire since the sell on GB does not test fire. Good news is that it fired. The bad news is that the upper handguard was loose and apparently so was the rear barrel band. Fired one shot and the band was moved out of position and the handguard fell off. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this? Was thinking just a little gorilla glue but wanted to turn to you guys, the experts, for more sound advice. I don't plan on shooting this rifle as much since it is more collectible than my RC BCD. Thanks for the help.
Repair Help
- Thread starter chris88
- Start date
mowzerluvr
Hey Buddy, is that an E/4 in your pocket?
No way that is supposed to happen. Is there a duffle cut? Band spring missing? Rear lip removed from the rear sight base? Maybe photo the whole area and show us.
GunKraut
Senior Member
He mentioned he also has an RC bcd, so a side by side comparison should have revealed missing parts already.
Duffle cut problems sounds plausible and would fit the scenario.
Should have, could have, but are you sure? Let's wait for the OP to provide more info/photos.
mowzerluvr
Hey Buddy, is that an E/4 in your pocket?
Flipping the band around will help when mounting a sling but not fix the problem. Either the band spring is too short and not engaging or there is a duffle cut hidden under the rear band that is loosening up when shooting. Just remove the front band, band spring then the rear band and see if there is any signs of a cut stock under it.
mowzerluvr
Hey Buddy, is that an E/4 in your pocket?
That is exactly what it is. You will need to have that repaired if you plan on shooting it. Or leave it as is, keep it stored and pick up an inexpensive stock to use for shooting. If it were me I'd leave it "as is" and not shoot it. Shoot the RC rifle.
mowzerluvr
Hey Buddy, is that an E/4 in your pocket?
By the way, a duffle cut such as yours is a VERY common thing. Troops had to do that to get the stock to fit in shipping containers, boxes or maybe even duffle bags to get them home from the war. Some have them repaired, I always left them alone. I've had more than a few in my time collecting.
That was what I was probably going to do. I bought this one, accidentally, for the collector value. I say accidentally because I put a bid in on GB for it with a little over an hour left thinking I would get outbid, never happened. Still happy though because it is a nice rifle.
mowzerluvr
Hey Buddy, is that an E/4 in your pocket?
Absolutely, That one has the collector value as many/most will not detract value from a duffle cut unless an amateur attempt to fix it ruins the fore end. Those two thin nails won't harm it. Pull them carefully or leave them as is. If that is the only issue with that rifle you have a keeper/investment in hand.
