mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-After being called back to work after a long month's layoff, that I spent mostly ill (not SARS-COV2 related), it was nice to have life start to return to normal. That included going back to watching online auctions. Was shocked at the money being thrown around, even with these high rates of unemployment. So stuck to my strategy of trolling the hinterlands. Struck gold with a NJ auction listing for a Stevens 101-16 aka the Springfield 87M.
-This is a Garand look-a-like that Savage Stevens built in small numbers starting on the eve of WW2. It was a conversion of the Springfield 87A thought to be designed as a M1 Garand .22 trainer for government use. But that never materialized and it was sold to the public. Sears sold them post war in '47-'48 under the Ranger name, wartime production having halted. Production numbers don't exist and as they were never serialized it's a pure guessing game as to how many were built and survive. But they're uncommon. Word is they were expensive compared to the rest of the 87 series and in the post war recession they languished on shelves. I hadn't seen one for sale for quite some time (this week there are two up for sale on GB if anyone's curious). So compared to the very common Savage 6 / Springfield 87 / Stevens 101 series (production ran from '37 to '60 with 1.8 million built) they're actually collectible.
-If you've ever seen a sporter Springfield 87 you can see where the 87M came from. It's a 87 blow back, tube magazine type action mounted in a Garand style stock (mine has the dovetail cut in the barrel for the sporter rear sight). While built with no SN I did find what I believe to be an assembly number, not unlike what the Japanese did with Arisaka rifles. In my case it's numbered 100, marked on the stock under the similarly marked buttplate. The Ranger has a fine blued finish and accuracy claims are very good. It has a strange feature that allows it to be used as a bolt action by pushing in on the bolt handle, locking it forward or rearward. When I received it the bolt handle was pushed inwards, locking it. Drove me crazy until I figured out what the heck was going on.
-It also has a feature that's unique. In semi-auto mode the bolt locks back as long as you keep the trigger depressed. Release the trigger and the bolt is now free to move forward. Gives it a "click - clack" sound. Very wonky and makes me wonder if this odd feature alone kept it from being used as a US military trainer. I know if I was instructing newbies on the M1 Garand I would want a trainer that duplicated the trigger motion for sure. Here's a Youtube video that explains what I'm talking about. Much easier to understand this way.
-Got mine cheap, as there was a missing front barrel band (arrived with a worm-drive clamp substitute) and some minor surface rust on the action. Figure on paying around $600-1000 for an 87M on average. I once saw one fitted with a Garand trigger guard and safety lever that sold for $1600 in an RIA auction. Lord knows what the back story to that one was.
-Parts for the unique 87M stock are pure unobtanium and the bands are rather fragile, have seen one or two with the front band missing over the years. So I went about looking for a workable substitute. Ended up modifying an Enfield No4 front band by cutting it down to the correct width. Slightly larger in dia I added two small dowels to the inside of the band to take up slack and give it a solid grip on the stock.
-Cleaned the action and she's ready for a range session. Started the search for a sling but the sling loops are a narrow 3/4" so finding one will be a challenge. It's also factory drilled and tapped for a Weaver 2N side mount scope so I'm on the hunt for a nice vintage 3/4" scope too.
-This is a Garand look-a-like that Savage Stevens built in small numbers starting on the eve of WW2. It was a conversion of the Springfield 87A thought to be designed as a M1 Garand .22 trainer for government use. But that never materialized and it was sold to the public. Sears sold them post war in '47-'48 under the Ranger name, wartime production having halted. Production numbers don't exist and as they were never serialized it's a pure guessing game as to how many were built and survive. But they're uncommon. Word is they were expensive compared to the rest of the 87 series and in the post war recession they languished on shelves. I hadn't seen one for sale for quite some time (this week there are two up for sale on GB if anyone's curious). So compared to the very common Savage 6 / Springfield 87 / Stevens 101 series (production ran from '37 to '60 with 1.8 million built) they're actually collectible.
-If you've ever seen a sporter Springfield 87 you can see where the 87M came from. It's a 87 blow back, tube magazine type action mounted in a Garand style stock (mine has the dovetail cut in the barrel for the sporter rear sight). While built with no SN I did find what I believe to be an assembly number, not unlike what the Japanese did with Arisaka rifles. In my case it's numbered 100, marked on the stock under the similarly marked buttplate. The Ranger has a fine blued finish and accuracy claims are very good. It has a strange feature that allows it to be used as a bolt action by pushing in on the bolt handle, locking it forward or rearward. When I received it the bolt handle was pushed inwards, locking it. Drove me crazy until I figured out what the heck was going on.
-It also has a feature that's unique. In semi-auto mode the bolt locks back as long as you keep the trigger depressed. Release the trigger and the bolt is now free to move forward. Gives it a "click - clack" sound. Very wonky and makes me wonder if this odd feature alone kept it from being used as a US military trainer. I know if I was instructing newbies on the M1 Garand I would want a trainer that duplicated the trigger motion for sure. Here's a Youtube video that explains what I'm talking about. Much easier to understand this way.
-Got mine cheap, as there was a missing front barrel band (arrived with a worm-drive clamp substitute) and some minor surface rust on the action. Figure on paying around $600-1000 for an 87M on average. I once saw one fitted with a Garand trigger guard and safety lever that sold for $1600 in an RIA auction. Lord knows what the back story to that one was.
-Parts for the unique 87M stock are pure unobtanium and the bands are rather fragile, have seen one or two with the front band missing over the years. So I went about looking for a workable substitute. Ended up modifying an Enfield No4 front band by cutting it down to the correct width. Slightly larger in dia I added two small dowels to the inside of the band to take up slack and give it a solid grip on the stock.
-Cleaned the action and she's ready for a range session. Started the search for a sling but the sling loops are a narrow 3/4" so finding one will be a challenge. It's also factory drilled and tapped for a Weaver 2N side mount scope so I'm on the hunt for a nice vintage 3/4" scope too.