On to the next project gun, Meriden Model 10 boys rifle

[texassako]

Now that the Winchester '95 just needs test firing, I hauled another neglected gun out of the pile. The winner was a Meriden Model 10 which is a little rolling block action take down boys rifle in .22 Short and Long. I drilled out the non existent bore yesterday to put in a liner, and lets just say the barrel steel was not exactly homogenous with very hard spots and grabby spots. I am chambering it in .22 Short to keep anyone from putting a .22 LR in it. The toughest part on this one is going to be cutting and fitting a new extractor from a few pictures of an original to replace the sheet metal one that bends every time it extracts. It needs a butt plate and a bit of woodwork for a crack and some missing wood on the toe as well. A few pictures:

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[nekshot]

Now thats a project that has some real character! I kinda envy the completeness of your rifle, I have a reciever for a favorite rifle and am still accumulating the parts to complete it. Could that reciever be color hardened or would it turn brittle?

[texassako]

Now thats a project that has some real character! I kinda envy the completeness of your rifle, I have a reciever for a favorite rifle and am still accumulating the parts to complete it. Could that reciever be color hardened or would it turn brittle?

I think it could be case hardened. There was someone selling a Meriden receiver that had been case hardened with nice colors on GB for $175. It sat for a long time at that price. I am not sure I want to put that kind of money into this project, but it would look better than the indestructible brown paint on it now.

[Just Duke]

Oh! I thought this was an anti tank rifle build. oops!

[DeanWinchester]

I have one similar and its in about the same shape. I've thought long and hard about converting it to centerfire and making it a .25acp. I have a boolit mold for the .25 so why not? Rimfire being nigh unobtainable, at least you can reload the pathetically anemic 25. Might be fun and would probably do well for bunnies and squirrels inside 25-30 yards.

[texassako]

Oh! I thought this was an anti tank rifle build. oops!

I got a good laugh from that. I think a boys .22 is just about the complete opposite of the Boys anti tank rifle.

[texassako]

The liner is in and curing, the replacement unplated woodscrews and an extractor blank I ordered came in today, and a wood crack repair is setting. I cut the butt stock to a shotgun style butt to remove most of the pocket knife carved wood, cut out a steel plate on the band saw for a butt plate, and replaced the missing toe wood with a scrap of African blackwood. A bit of flame showed up in the wood after sanding, but it still needs a lot of finish and rubbing out. Architecturals.net is a pretty cheap source for raw steel slotted wood screws if anyone ever needs them, and cheaper than Brownells.

78808

[texassako]

I have one similar and its in about the same shape. I've thought long and hard about converting it to centerfire and making it a .25acp. I have a boolit mold for the .25 so why not? Rimfire being nigh unobtainable, at least you can reload the pathetically anemic 25. Might be fun and would probably do well for bunnies and squirrels inside 25-30 yards.

I don't know about a little rifle like this handling anything centerfire. .25 ACP can have slightly higher pressure and has 50% more bolt thrust than .22 LR. Also take into consideration this rifle was only for shorts and longs before the days of high velocity and decades before SAAMI standards came along.