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Adapting My New Versa Max for 3-Gun


StealthyBlagga

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Just wondering what parts you ordered for backup? Good idea to have them in the range bag rather than in the catalog.

Based only on my own experience with other guns, and my gut feel, I ordered one of each of the following:

6 Action Spring

15 Ejector Spring

16 Ejector

24 Trigger Plate Pin

26 Feed Latch Pivot Pin

27 Feed Latch Spring A

28 Feed Latch Spring B

44 Extractor

45 Extractor Pivot Pin

46 Extractor Spring

47 Firing Pin

48 Firing Pin Retaining Pin

49 F. P. Retaining Pin O-Ring

54 Firing Pin Spring

67 Carrier

84 Feed Latch Assembly

The bill was just over $100, and all these parts fit unobtrusively in my shooting kit. I already had spare Remington magazine followers (which look the same as for the 870/1100/11-87) and a Nordic magazine spring.

At this time, I have no basis to expect any of these parts will fail any more quickly on the VM than any other gun, with the possible exception of the firing pin retainer which has a reputation for working loose (mine has been OK so far). The spare carrier is going to C-Rums to be welded up because the original carrier I modified myself looks pretty crappy (though it works OK).

Edited by StealthyBlagga
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Thanks for the list. I think I will get my order together. I only have about 500 rounds through mine and really like it. It runs reloads that wouldn't cycle my 1100 reliably and wouldn't even move the bolt on my M2. I had C-rums do the carrier and a trigger job. Sweet.

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UPDATE: I finally got around to installing a ghost ring sight setup on my Versa Max. I could not find anything commercially available that would fit, so I fabricated everything from scratch.

The rear aperture sight is made from aluminum U-section extrusion and bar stock, plus a Williams "Big Game" aperture. The parts were shaped using basic hand tools, bonded together with epoxy resin, then the whole thing was finished with KG GunKote. The sight fits the rear-most scope mount holes on the receiver. Here is how it turned out:

VMGhostRingRear.jpg

I had to raise the height of the front sight to match the rear aperture. I mounted a HiViz TriComp fiber optic on top of a platforn made from 1/4" steel bar stock. It is secured to the rib via a 6-32 bolt:

VMGhostRingFront.jpg

By design this sight system has almost no adjustability - it was pretty much trial and error with slugs at 50 yards and a file until I got the elevation right. Mercifully, the Versa Max shoots dead straight, so the sights are perfectly centered. Winchester Ranger reduced recoil slugs shoot point of aim with groups I can cover with my hand - good enough for what we do.

This is what the sight picture looks like:

VMGhostRingSightPicture.jpg

And this is the whole gun as it is today:

3-GunVersaMaxFeb2012.jpg

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I ordered my 26" today. Might be here tomorrow since the distributor is very close to my local shop. If the monthly match people at Durham want to put me in Open for that, fine. :sight:

I'll big mag tube it or XRail it and go ape on the course. :-) Reload? Who needs those?

The rifle would get lots of Open toys as well then. Might was well make some tasty lemonade from those lemons!!

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My new 26" should be in tomorrow.

I've ordered all the aftermarket stuff I want for it and will build soon.

Remember the interchangeable comb. If you need a higher comb, call Rem. and they will sell you one. They cost about $15.

I shot a VM waterfowl this year and it is a great gun. It will still run after being totally submerged (and drained). It was 27 degrees that day-not good.

Dave

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My new 26" should be in tomorrow.

I've ordered all the aftermarket stuff I want for it and will build soon.

Remember the interchangeable comb. If you need a higher comb, call Rem. and they will sell you one. They cost about $15.

I shot a VM waterfowl this year and it is a great gun. It will still run after being totally submerged (and drained). It was 27 degrees that day-not good.

Dave

Would you either post a parts list of what you got aftermarket, or please PM me with those details? Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy the Versa Max and get great use from it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got the Versa Max a couple of weeks ago but just now found time to get to the range. I had lots of rifle gas system adjustments and optics zeroing to do so it was just 5 rounds of slug POA to POI comparison. This shotgun is *sweet*! Dead on with the full power Remington slugs I used. Just dead on...... It's ready to be cleaned and shipped to a gunsmith for work. I shot my Benelli SuperNova a few minutes before and enjoyed them both. But honestly I think I like the Versa Max more (would hope so given the price difference). Now to get it smithed for a better lifter, etc. The stock lifter is EVIL. Otherwise, this shotgun rocks. Can't wait to get it rigged for racing and out to a match. First, a trip to a pro for a tune up. :)

Edited by michael1778
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Got the Versa Max a couple of weeks ago but just now found time to get to the range. I had lots of rifle gas system adjustments and optics zeroing to do so it was just 5 rounds of slug POA to POI comparison. This shotgun is *sweet*! Dead on with the full power Remington slugs I used. Just dead on...... It's ready to be cleaned and shipped to a gunsmith for work. I shot my Benelli SuperNova a few minutes before and enjoyed them both. But honestly I think I like the Versa Max more (would hope so given the price difference). Now to get it smithed for a better lifter, etc. The stock lifter is EVIL. Otherwise, this shotgun rocks. Can't wait to get it rigged for racing and out to a match. First, a trip to a pro for a tune up. :)

Search Triangle Shooting Sports on Face Book and check out the Versa Max there.------------Larry

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  • 2 months later...

UPDATE: Despite installing a C-RUMS welded carrier (way prettier than my home-welded version) I still got the occasional (once every 100 rounds or so) shell catching on the right side of the chamber. I went back in there and took a bit more off that sharp edge. This is a problem common to all the guns with such extractors and rotating bolt of course (Benelli M1/M2/M4, FN SLP etc.) so its just a matter of getting the right amount of material removed. For the moment the problem looks to be resolved. This weekend I put every kind of shell through the gun, including the crappy WalMart Winchester shells which have the most atrocious crimp ever, and everything ran flawlessly - fingers crossed this issue is behind me.

I also decided against replacing the firing pin retainer with a roll pin. Instead I went in with a Dremel cutoff wheel and JUST kissed the bolt where the o-ring touches. I never really had a problem with the retainer walking, but the consequences of this happening during a match can be severe, and the new notch definitely makes the whole arrangement much more secure. I didn't take pictures of my bolt, but here is a photo someone else posted to give a sense of what is needed (I actually took even less metal off than this):

d8299a96-9475-0ceb.jpg

For the moment, I think my VM is pretty much done. Now I have to play with different loading techniques and see if I can shave some time with the various new caddies out there.

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If you guys talk with the Remington reps, tell them the Tactical model NEEDS a closed-end carrier.

Being not so familiar with Benelli's, if I may ask, why is the forked lift gate undesirable? Seems thinking back to my Beretta experience, we were changing the 391 lifter for the 390 to make it more reliable, but I don't remember what the issue was there either.

Thanks in advance,

SWD

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If you guys talk with the Remington reps, tell them the Tactical model NEEDS a closed-end carrier.

Being not so familiar with Benelli's, if I may ask, why is the forked lift gate undesirable? Seems thinking back to my Beretta experience, we were changing the 391 lifter for the 390 to make it more reliable, but I don't remember what the issue was there either.

Thanks in advance,

SWD

The fork can bite your thumb pretty badly when loading quickly.

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If you guys talk with the Remington reps, tell them the Tactical model NEEDS a closed-end carrier.

Being not so familiar with Benelli's, if I may ask, why is the forked lift gate undesirable? Seems thinking back to my Beretta experience, we were changing the 391 lifter for the 390 to make it more reliable, but I don't remember what the issue was there either.

Thanks in advance,

SWD

The fork can bite your thumb pretty badly when loading quickly.

Then it shouldn't be a problem for me as I can't load quickly! :eatdrink: Best way to describe my loading technique is, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" :surprise:

Thanks for the reply,

SWD

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UPDATE: I got a call from Remington on Friday. All the parts I wanted to buy are now released from factory restriction. I should have a package of spares waiting for me when I get home from cold and rainy Belgium this week. I'm having a Stella to celebrate :cheers:

Really nice work! Likely won't be all that long before mods like you have done are available from some factory somewhere, for people like me, who lack your talent but you will always have the first one and the satisfaction of making your own.

Way to go,

SWD

Edited by Sleepswithdogs
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If you guys talk with the Remington reps, tell them the Tactical model NEEDS a closed-end carrier.

Being not so familiar with Benelli's, if I may ask, why is the forked lift gate undesirable? Seems thinking back to my Beretta experience, we were changing the 391 lifter for the 390 to make it more reliable, but I don't remember what the issue was there either.

Thanks in advance,

SWD

The fork can bite your thumb pretty badly when loading quickly.

Then it shouldn't be a problem for me as I can't load quickly! :eatdrink: Best way to describe my loading technique is, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" :surprise:

Thanks for the reply,

SWD

You can get trapped or injured even at a glacial pace. I did one round in my then-new Versa Max. It was slow. I don't mean "slow for competition". I mean slow like watching a sleepy snail. I was doing it as a biomechanical test of what the lifter would do in a normal looking, but slow, loading motion. SNAP!!!!! The Evil forked lifter from hell trapped my thumb against the front of the receiver internals. I had to set down the gun on a table (while it still had my thumb pinned!) and use my other hand to manage the lifter and gun while I extricated my thumb. I was fortunate that it only pinned me along my thumbnail and not bare skin. I sent that naughty Remington to Jeff Cockrums soon thereafter.

Don't kid yourself. Please replace or weld the forked lifter/carrier. Slow or fast loading may not matter. Just get it fixed before it "fixes" you.

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Could you take a picture of where they welded your carrier?

Thanks!

Visit the C-RUMS website: http://www.c-rums.com/Carriers.html . The photo at the top shows a Benelli carrier; the Versa Max is identical. The photo is not very good - mine literally looks like it came out of the factory that way.

If you want to see how a gun butcher welds up a carrier, look at my earlier posts :roflol:

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Could you take a picture of where they welded your carrier?

Thanks!

Visit the C-RUMS website: http://www.c-rums.com/Carriers.html . The photo at the top shows a Benelli carrier; the Versa Max is identical. The photo is not very good - mine literally looks like it came out of the factory that way.

If you want to see how a gun butcher welds up a carrier, look at my earlier posts :roflol:

Mine looks like that web site picture, also.

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  • 3 weeks later...

UPDATE: I finally got around to installing a ghost ring sight setup on my Versa Max. I could not find anything commercially available that would fit, so I fabricated everything from scratch.

The rear aperture sight is made from aluminum U-section extrusion and bar stock, plus a Williams "Big Game" aperture. The parts were shaped using basic hand tools, bonded together with epoxy resin, then the whole thing was finished with KG GunKote. The sight fits the rear-most scope mount holes on the receiver. Here is how it turned out:

VMGhostRingRear.jpg

I had to raise the height of the front sight to match the rear aperture. I mounted a HiViz TriComp fiber optic on top of a platforn made from 1/4" steel bar stock. It is secured to the rib via a 6-32 bolt:

VMGhostRingFront.jpg

By design this sight system has almost no adjustability - it was pretty much trial and error with slugs at 50 yards and a file until I got the elevation right. Mercifully, the Versa Max shoots dead straight, so the sights are perfectly centered. Winchester Ranger reduced recoil slugs shoot point of aim with groups I can cover with my hand - good enough for what we do.

This is what the sight picture looks like:

VMGhostRingSightPicture.jpg

And this is the whole gun as it is today:

3-GunVersaMaxFeb2012.jpg

first i want i have been following this for awhile now, and it looks great! congrads, NOW Let me say how much i Hate you!!!! :rolleyes: most my work looks like SHXT but it works and you make it look so easy!

keep up the great work! i use the mesa M2 stock because i like a shorter length of pull and caught hell making it work. most likely because of highly unskilled hands. :)

i think it was here where someone asked about if would run as a 24" gun, just got the barrel back today and it ran all that i fed it includeing a couple extra light 7/8 oz left overs. please note that the bolt has been lighten also, if it matters.

the briley +5 comes up about 1 1/8" short. my nordic +6 looks like it will about a 1/2" longer than the barrel. just need to get nut.

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  • 2 months later...

UPDATE: My VM has been running 100% with Remington bulk pack birdshot shells, but I have encountered occasional feed problems with other brands of shell. The problem is the usual "shell-nose-jams-on-right-side-of-chamber" issue common to VMs, Benellis and SLPs with welded carriers. As WalMart do not seem to stock the Remington bulk packs anymore, I needed to fix this problem once and for all.

The root cause of this problem is well understood; there is inadequate guidance of the shell nose as it slides along the welded-up carrier. I tried switching to a C-RUMS carrier, but the problem has persisted (Jeff is reworking the carrier he sent me). In the meantime, today I bit the bullet and modified my original, home-welded carrier. I cleaned up the welds, extended the slot by about 3/4" and profiled the inside tip of the carrier slightly, all in an effort to guide the shells properly into the chamber. The photos below show the modifications.

I took the gun to the range this afternoon and managed to run a couple of boxes of Federal bulk pack through it without a bobble - previously a load that would cause a feed problem about 10% of the time - so I am cautiously optimistic that this issue is behind me. I'll keep updating this thread as I get more rounds downrange.

2012-08-04VMCarrierinside.jpg

2012-08-04VMCarrierinstalled.jpg

Edited by StealthyBlagga
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I still do not like you!!! :rolleyes: how do you guys do it, damn thing still looks new, so i guess there must be more to gunsmithing than get a bigger hammer. keep up the good work! mine is running great also but my lack of know how/skills shows. my bigger hammer work! :)

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  • 1 month later...

Mesa Tactical will be coming out with a VersaMax specific PG stock very shortly. I would personally wait for that if you want a PG stock...

Mick

Do I have to disassemble the M4 stock via the buttplate to install it on Versa Max?

It twists off Benelli but does it also twist on the Remington?

A little more detail would be appreciated.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am almost done with the Re-nelli M4 PG conversion. Some notes:

M4 stock needs to be modified a little. It is pretty close but no cigar, not a simple plug and play. There is no way to remove the bolt from stock, I tried everything, red loctite, easy-out, even took to a machine shop. They could not do it. The bolt does not appear to be removable.

The correct solution is the Dremel tool - with the flex extension and the cutting kit. Just cut out all the insides minus the sling plate and the plastic tube that the bolt goes through. That should take an hour. Then the bolt and all the unneeded junk just falls out. I wish I had realized this before wasting much time with dead-ends.

Then just have to file in the PG area for the perfect fit. I got both 1.25" and 1.5" bolts, either one fits. 1/4x28.

A PG stock is what Remington should have included in the "tactical" 22" model, the M4 stock is the best mod one can make to the Versa Max. Ghost-loaded it holds 10 total, and the recoil is surprisingly light.

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Can we get a play-by-play from those of you guys who own both this and a Benelli, or the guys who have tried out various accessories?

I'm curious if aftermarket forearms meant for the M4 will work on this, along with bolt handles and bolt release buttons.

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