Model 64 magazine bolt hold modification

[justpassntime]

I am new here and have recently bought 2 64f rifles. One to replace my stolen remington 22lr years ago and another for my 16 yr old son. I know there are complaints about the magazines for several reasons. All seem relatively easy to fix, most seem due to sloppy magazine fit in the magazine housing assembly. Tighter is always better. What I have also noted is that there is no bolt hold after the last shot is fired. This results in dry fires and eventually ruins the firing pin. As I have yet to fire my 64s, because I am now in the 14 day wait period for my semi auto assault weapons lol, I am not yet able to experiment with the mags. I do have in my possession extra 64 mags. Looking at them it seems by reworking the magazine follower to increase the height in the center by possibly either using epoxy to secure a snap cap cartridge to the top of the follower inside the magazine. Its also possible a entirely new follower would have to be hand made from aluminum. Either way after the last shot the bolt would come into contact with the magazine follower not allowing the bolt to close after the last shot was taken. I know there is only room for 10 rounds in the magazine, this I believe is due to the length of the spring. By shortening and stretching the spring would make room for any room needed for the bolt hold modification or maybe an extra round or two. Has anyone ever tried any bolt hold mods? I am definitely going to give it a try.

[Fasteddie01]

Hi there and welcome to the world of 64s. You're right about the magazines fitting poorly, especially those of older vintage. I got some about 3 years ago and the work much better than my older ones. They still were a bit loose so I put a dab of JB-weld on the backs to tighten them and it worked well. I have several threads about mods, both here and on RFC (where I saw your post too), detailing several 'fixes'. As for the last shot issue, I just load the mag with a snap cap as last shot - 9 is plenty till the zombie squirrels attack !! Your thought about putting a block on the follower prob would work well, but as for cutting and stretching the spring I did that on one of my older mags to ease loading. It left the follower feeling 'loose' tho it works OK, so if you try that go gently with the snips ;-) I haven't seen any threads anywhere (I've had my 64 for about 8 years) so no quick fixes I guess.
I just want to mention the trigger pull as it's pretty stiff - around 5-6 lbs - and there are easy fixes. MCarbo has a spring kit for about $15 or so which I bought. I only used the Sear Spring as it's a complex coil-y thing. I used 1/3 of a clik-pen spring and stretched it to fit in place of the OEM spring - much lighter than the MCarbo replacement. My trigger is down to around 2.5 lbs. Further, I polished the 'release face' of the Sear as well as the sides to reduce friction. I find that .22 ammo is pretty dirty so I run the internal action completely dry - makes less of a mess when you open it up and very much oil/lube will slow the action anyway. Keeping the bolt 'oil-free' is important as the firing pin is 'floating' and oil + dirt can cause it to hang up, leading to FTF.
Finally, I just want to say I'm NOT a gunsmith, 'just foolin' around' , so use caution and common sense if you try ANY of these suggestions.
Regards,
Ed

[justpassntime]

I was finally able to shoot both newly purchased 64s. The magazine follower made to hold the bolt open after the last shot worked as planned. The next ones will be more refined. I think that cutting the spring was probably not needed. The follower could have been half the height and would allow for more than 10 rounds in the magazine.

My son and I shot nearly 300 rounds through them with no jamming and only one miss fire due to the round not the gun. These rounds were 7 different brands and some hollow points, all approximately 40 years old.

They were sighted in at 40 yards with Pinty red dots. Groups of were 1/2" and 3/4" on both 64s. I believe with a scope the groups would have been tighter. The ground squirrels are now in danger on my mother's property.

The trigger pull is high. At my local hardware store I found a Hillman compression spring 1/4 x 1.5" with .022 wire diameter. I cut them 8 coils long pinching them tighter at the end coils. This made the pull about 1.5 - 2 lbs. Just enough to return the trigger to firing position. I didn't polish, shim or modify anything else. The trigger pull was smooth and effortless. The trigger assembly did not have to be disassembled, only the stock was removed to access the compression spring. The cost of the spring was less than $2.00.

Both 64s shoot as well as any other 22s I have shot including Ruger's. I would recommend them to anyone needing a 22 for critter eradication or plinking.

It doesn't seem I am able to post pics here without uploading them somewhere else first. Sorry no pics to show. I was in able to post pics on another forum for rimfires.