$40 bubba special

[fg-machine]

or an alternative title the things we get ourselves into being cheap .....

i have been looking for an action to build a plinking / small game rifle on , my ideal candidate would have been a nice old antique single shot action .
but for the whopping price of $40 this bubba beauty followed me home .



what you see there is a braztech / rossie receiver with a .223 barrel on it ,... the pins for the trigger assembly have been pushed out and not re-inserted fully ,.. and i imagine that is related to neither the hammer or trigger working .
the .223 barrel also does not seem lock up properly .. it remains to be seen if it is a fit issue or a result of the aforementioned trigger group pins .

it did come with a in decent shape 20 gauge barrel that seems to lock up properly and a forearm , but the forearm is in such bad shape i'd be embarrassed to show it . otherwise what you see is what i got .

once i work up the courage to pull the pins and see if every thing is there inside the guts and can be made to work again i'll decide what to do with it .

i am thinking .25-20

[nagantguy]

Bring life back to it, it may take awhile for her to get over her mistreatment by "bubba" but with kind words, encouragement and hard work she will be a home built rifle to be proud of.

[wcp4570]

i am thinking .25-20

I have a Rossi 20/223, the 20 does duty around the farm to control skunks, possums and snakes and the 223 is fun to play with shooting the 225415 for just cheap plinking.

Im with you on the 25-20 and think that would be another cheap fun round. I've always wanted to own a 25-20 but could never find one I could afford. Good luck on your venture and keep us posted.

wcp

[fg-machine]

i think i have a plan of attack formulated .

first things first .. making sure i have a complete action that can be made to work .

this thing looks just like a handi rifle to me . so i am going to assume it comes apart just like one . and please anyone who knows differently please do feel free to chime in and enlighten me at any time . i welcome advice .

i think , now i know thinking is dangerous but i think i might know why things aren't working . taking a clue from the forearm condition and the two loose pins i feel pretty safe in assuming someone tried to replace a broken trigger guard and i have the remains of the failed attempt .

i have a nice open long weekend coming up with the holiday i'll make a couple slave pins and see what the carnage looks like inside .


wcp4570 i have a couple questions for you . on your rifle where the butt stock meets the receiver is the wood against the receiver , or is there a plastic or metal end cap on the butt stock ? and maybe at a later date would you mind tracing an outline of your stock for me so have a basic shape to make one

[bedbugbilly]

First thing I thought when I saw your photo was "Handi Rifle". Looks like a fun project to work on and while it may take some fiddling, you'll get it!

Look at it this way . . . a lot of fun for $40! The worst case scenario would be if you can't get it worked you, you could always weld it shut, fill the firing pin hole then drill a vent hole on top of the barrel and WALLA! You've got a unique "match lock rifle".

Good luck and I look forward to updates on how it's going!

[wcp4570]

fg-machine
My rifle stock has no spacers at the receiver/wood union, only wood to metal. The wood to metal fit is OK but the wood is not flush with the metal I guess that is what you get for the price you pay for a Rossi. The butt stock is 13" long. I am including some pictures to show some detail. I will be glad to trace the outline of the stock for you, just PM me your address and I will send you the tracing.

[rbuck351]

I'd go with 256Win as 25/20 brass is getting hard to find and 256W is easy to make. Or I could give you $50 for it so you could get a good return on your investment.

[fg-machine]

rbuck351

i did give the 256win a very careful consideration cases would be easier to make i think . but that long neck of .25-20 won me over .

[wcp4570]

Noting like an old classic like the 25-20. It may not be good for anything other than killing cans, rocks, steel and paper targets but I'd love one. If I had the equipment to build one I would already have a single shot in 25-20. I guess old guys and old calibers just go together.

wcp

[Mytmousemalibu]

I'd love to find a parts gun like that, just a single shot to become a .327 Fed Mag!

[Wolfer]

People often speak ill of Bubba but some of us are always tickled to buy stuff he's worked on!

I also really want a 25-20 and I have no purpose for it I just want it.

[fg-machine]

i took things apart this weekend . it seems to me that everything is there . and no obviously broken parts apart from one kind of bent up spring .
this evening i am going to compare things to a parts diagram to double check that i have everything and see if i can get things put back together in a working order .
i'll post some pics later , but so far it screams handi rifle to me .

i am happy to see that im not the only one who just wants a 25-20 just because . in the effort of complete honesty though i didnt start off wanting a 25-20
i was just thinking in general terms of an easy economical 100 yard plinking small game round . something like a .32-20 .32 h-r .357 and like mtymousemalibu the 327 crossed my mind to .
but i was digging threw my cartridge collection looking for a visual aid in the possibilities of what would be an easy fit to the extractor on the .223 barrel i plan on using for the stub i came upon a lonely 25-20 cartridge and knew it was perfect .

perfect for me at least , with a 14 twist barrel it will comfortably launch an 80 ish grain bullet right at the 1600 fps or most of us find to be a happy spot when shooting cast boolits .
plus there is a good selection of molds and and factory bullets available .

[fg-machine]

ive been trying to get this pic to work for a couple days now ... hope i got it right .

parts and pieces , everything seems to be there and in good shape . i do believe it was just incorrectly assembled .

[shaune1022]

How about the 25 copperhead? Long neck of the 222 necked up to 25cal.

[fg-machine]

shaune

i had to look that that one up in my cartridges of the world book . a very good suggestion on your part . if i had seen it before the 25-20 it very well could have been a contender .
but alas the .25-20 bug has bitten me ... ive made the decision and a shiny new green mountain barrel is on its way . and if my memory holds together i am going to order a reamer in the morning .

this evening i went out and cut off the barrel stub . i would love to know what rossi makes their barrels from . quite frankly it is the softest barrel steel i have ever cut . not that i have done many barrels but i have cut tons and tons of 4140 and related alloys in almost all of its forms and none of it was as soft and buttery feeling as this is .

i cut a short piece off and sectioned it . sometime this week if i remember i am going to do a rockwell test on it and maybe make it to the salvage yard to have it zapped and find out what it is ... just for curiosities sake .

[wcp4570]

Just courious if there has been any progress on the 25-20 project. If you are like me, Christmas time slowed every thing down for me.

wcp

[fg-machine]

well the only progress so far has been a the new barrel . it still sits on my tool box in the wrapper .
holidays hit as well . and that dang swapping and selling . lol

right now the only hold up is the reamer . i have all my other bits and pieces . and tools needed .
soon as my pocketbook allows ill have a brand new reamer on the way

[rbuck351]

I bought a beat up 20ga barrel for my H&R Handi that I'm going to stub for a 256W. I already have 2 25/20s, A 92 Win and a 23 Savage and a reamer for the 256W. Still got to get a barrel and some time. I do like the 25/20 but I have wanted a 256W for a while.

[ipopum]

I have a 25-20 and it is a fun gun but I have a yearning for a 25-35 Win. Good for plinking, Good with cast, also good for hunting.

[TCLouis]

Can one not form 25-20 out of 32-20 as easily as making 256 out of 357?

Just asking.