Over the weekend I bought a JC Higgins model 51 chambered in 30-06. The markings on the action indicate it is an argentine 1909 action. Did jc higgins use 1909 actions? I don't know much about mausers but I thought they used FN actions on this model. Should this action be heat treated? A guy at my range said the actions are soft and need to be heat treated. Taking this gun apart to have it heat treated would be a shame because This gun looks new and it shoots good, but then I don't want it to blow up in my face.

Lets see pictures. Maybe someone screwed a jc higgins barrel on it.

Wouldn't doubt it. Last auction I went to they screwed a santa barbara barrel onto a Mauser banner action & dropped em into some kinda stock. Both parts still had the red rouge on them that the now deceased owner used to remove the blue with. I wanted the action but the uninformed bid it way too high. I may still have bought it had it not been polished. It didn't look like the surface could be straightened without removing the banner. What a shame!

One of the Guns and Ammo editors just gave me a reprint of the July 2004 issue which has an article on his Dad's JC higgins model 50 in .270 Win.

I've owned 2 M51s, both had FN Supreme actions rather than the Deluxe like the M50s. Sounds to me like someone robbed the FN action and replaced it with an Argentine or screwed a Higgins barrel on an Argentine sporter.

quote:

Originally posted by fla3006:
I've owned 2 M51s, both had FN Supreme actions rather than the Deluxe like the M50s. Sounds to me like someone robbed the FN action and replaced it with an Argentine or screwed a Higgins barrel on an Argentine sporter.

Ditto... never seen a "JC Higgins" 51 with anything but an FN action...

Is there any way to tell if an action has been heat treated and if it hasn't is there a safety concern with this gun? The person that built this gun put some money into it and it looks good. The bolt has a buehler type shroud on it, the saftey has been modified and a timney trigger installed. The metal work and finish on this gun is very good but I'm concerned about the action.

If you've shot, and it hasn't blown up in your face, it should be fine. Unless you plan on handloading your reloads way above normal. Use factory ammo, not the High Energy loads, or handload prudently and it should be fine.

If your that concerned about it, have a Gunsmith look it over. Or, send it to me to have it desposed of properly

All of the JC Higgins I've owned shot well, so if that gun was put together right, it should to. They had good barrels...

I doubt very seriously if it will "blow up in your face". That being said, what you should do is shoot it, and enjoy it, but at the same time be on the lookout for signs of lug setback, which if extreme, can be dangerous.
Lug setback causes excessive headspace, which can cause extraction problems, etc. etc.