poor old neglected Win 74

[abunaitoo]

I have a Win 74 that has led a hard life.
Forearm cracked., finish gone, some pitting.
All original.
Shoots great. Accurate. Function with no problems.
I wants to give it a face lift. Make it a little prettier.
Going to fix the crack forearm. Refinish the stock.
Opinion......
Paint the metal or just clean it up???

[am44mag]

If it's an ORIGINAL as in late 1800s/early 1900s original, I would just leave the finish or lack thereof alone. It's an old gun that has a story to tell with every scratch and pit.

If you are dead set on refinishing the metal though, blue it, don't paint it.

[sigep1764]

Im of the mindset that these guns need to be preserved for our kids and others. Id say refinish it. It'll last longer and look prettier. But I do agree with the above, blue it no paint it.

[roysha]

I think the OP is refering to the M-74 22 rimfire auto loader. If that is indeed the case than, by all means refinish it. It has no valve as a collector gun and having a nice looking old M-74 gives one a bit of pride of ownership, especially when one can say they did the work themselves.

If you have the facilities, skill set and so forth, ideally bluing, either hot caustic or acid blue would be the way to go, however a carefully applied DuraCoat or something similar would be certainly acceptable in this instance.

[Texas by God]

I'm not alone in wanting to see pictures of your gun.

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[Drm50]

The 74 was a quality 22, and cost a good bit less than the 63 that was their top of the line semi.
It was also a better rifle than 77. A farmer I knew was a great squirrel hunter. His 74 was the 1st
22 I shot that was mounted with a 1" scope. After that I was never satisfied with the pee tube 22
scopes. I've had a few of them myself and they were all good shooters. It's a rifle that is worth
the effort to clean up and do a good cold blue job on.

[lefty o]

if your going to fix and refinish the stock, id go ahead and have it hot dipped blued.

[am44mag]

I think the OP is refering to the M-74 22 rimfire auto loader. If that is indeed the case than, by all means refinish it. It has no valve as a collector gun and having a nice looking old M-74 gives one a bit of pride of ownership, especially when one can say they did the work themselves.

If you have the facilities, skill set and so forth, ideally bluing, either hot caustic or acid blue would be the way to go, however a carefully applied DuraCoat or something similar would be certainly acceptable in this instance.

I believe you are correct. I read it as 73 for some reason and missed what forum it was in. I guess I should stop posting so late and start going to bed.

[GoodOlBoy]

Me, I would still not paint it. I would plum brown blue it, iron dents and dings out of the stock, fix the cracks, and refinish it.

my 2 cents.

God Bless, and One Love.

GoodOlBoy

[abunaitoo]

M74
I'll clean it up, and fix the stock.
Wish it had better sights on it.
I can't stand the ball front sight.

[Texas by God]

Is that the model with the sliding safety on top of the action at the rear? I love those old guns. If the sights are dovetailed you can change them to something else.

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[abunaitoo]

That's the one.
Sliding safety on the top rear.
Even with the sights, it shoots so good.
I'm like to install a peep sight set on it.