Tell me about the BM59 - Page 1

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Tell me about the BM59

Posted: 9/27/2018 8:12:17 PM EDT

Recently came into a free receiver. Its marked James River Armory BM59 7.62. What do I need to know about building one of these? I own a M14 and a Garand, but never built either aside from field stripping. Any go to guides or instructions? I see parts kits are available, what should I be looking for?

Posted: 9/27/2018 8:37:56 PM EDT

[#1]

There may have been a recall on JRA BM59 receivers recently. I will look for a link.
Eta: my Google fu is weak right now. No luck finding the link.

Posted: 9/28/2018 9:50:47 AM EDT

[#2]

I have one of these JRA BM59 rifles. I have heard about the recall of the receivers and the SN ranges from 1497 to 1857. I have also shot mine which is kind of finicky about the type of ammo you feed it. But hear that problem can be overcome by a Schuster adjustable gas plug or can be sent to Shuffs and he can fix it. I feed mine reloads with lake city brass with no problem.

Posted: 9/28/2018 10:45:17 PM EDT

[#3]

As far as finished rifles go, the Alpine and the Para models are usually the most desirable, followed by the E or S/L.

The kits for the Alpine and Paras are available, but barrels are hard to come by. Sarco has the E kit which is complete, including barrels.

Tim Shuffling of Shuff’s Parkerizing can modify an aftermarket barrel, but he’s not working on the JRAs right now.

Posted: 9/28/2018 10:52:58 PM EDT

[#4]

I just finished this build of a BM59E

This was built on a Springfield Armory USGI receiver that Tim Shufflin did the modifications. I used a kit from Sarco that included a Beretta barrel. The Ital version kits are available from Gun Parts Corp. They do not have a barrel and this variants barrels are difficult to come by. Bula has made some barrels but they have problems with a fired brass sticking in the chamber. Sarco has some barrels for sale for the Ital version but they require some work as well. YMMV

There is a recall on James River Armory receivers. I would get your receiver checked before using it. It is unfortunate they do not specify the serial number range. Not sure if this only affects rifles from Sarco or others sold by Classic Arms and Atlantic Firearms

Posted: 10/2/2018 5:52:54 PM EDT

[#5]

What are some of the problems with the Sarco barrels, I thought they were good to go...

Posted: 10/2/2018 10:40:11 PM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:
What are some of the problems with the Sarco barrels, I thought they were good to go...

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A friend of mine bought one and he had problems with it clocking properly so he had to turn the barrel shoulder to correct it then he had to ream the chamber. This is not the Italian barrels but the barrels they were selling for the Ital version. If you read the reviews, others have had the same problem.

Posted: 10/3/2018 10:25:02 AM EDT

[#7]

I had Tim do his conversion of a Garand Criterion barrel and was very happy with the results

Posted: 10/6/2018 7:47:32 PM EDT

[#8]

GREAT rifles.....

https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/BM59-project-finished-and-ready-to-fire-/6-483174/

Posted: 10/7/2018 10:07:51 AM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:
I had Tim do his conversion of a Garand Criterion barrel and was very happy with the results

View Quote

Shuff's BM-59 'conversion' is said to be his most requested work currently.

Posted: 10/14/2018 9:35:04 PM EDT

[#10]

My uncle had a Beretta BM59/62 back in the 1980's. It wasn't reliable with surplus ammo. Mags were impossible to find so he sold it and bought a M1 Rifle.

Posted: 10/16/2018 3:22:46 PM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
What are some of the problems with the Sarco barrels, I thought they were good to go...

View Quote

If a barrel or other gun part is from SARCO, the presumption is it's out-of-spec junk until proven otherwise by a competent gunsmith with the proper tools.

Anything less is a risk when the trigger is pulled ....

Posted: 11/7/2018 9:10:13 PM EDT

[#12]

Don't know what mags for these typically run but I was just on www.dansammo.com and he has surplus Italian mags for 40 a pop, shipped. Just a heads up, I enjoy reading about these rifles.

Posted: 11/8/2018 11:00:00 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:
Shuff's BM-59 'conversion' is said to be his most requested work currently.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
I had Tim do his conversion of a Garand Criterion barrel and was very happy with the results

Shuff's BM-59 'conversion' is said to be his most requested work currently.

I shelved the thought and I'm coming back to the idea since I'm still looking at the kit...

Posted: 11/9/2018 12:52:32 AM EDT

[#14]

Sarco has some nice, not perfect mags for $30 each... some are close to new, and some have a pretty worn finish, but still work fine. That is from what is in stock at their store in Easton, PA

Posted: 11/23/2018 12:58:31 AM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:
Sarco has some nice, not perfect mags for $30 each... some are close to new, and some have a pretty worn finish, but still work fine. That is from what is in stock at their store in Easton, PA

View Quote

I bought 3 several months ago. Great condition for surplus.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Tell me about the BM59

Armory » M1 / M14 / M1 Carbine

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