My dad trashed Grandpa's .22

[DLCTEX]

I reworked an old Remington Target Single shot 22 for an old friend of mine at his son's request. I spent days refinishing and rebluing. When his son presented it to him and asked if he recognized it, he didn't think he had ever seen it, it looked that nice. Two years later his son found it back in the shop where he originally found it, looking the same as when he found it the first time. The man was notoriously rough on guns as he considered them as mere tools. His brother loaned him a Sako 243 while his Mauser actioned rifle was being rebarreled. He was shocked and dismayed when he got it back.

[snowtigger]

A few years ago,while working in a village in western Alaska, I found a Browning BLR lying on a woodshed. The buttstock was missing and it was beginning to rust. It seems the mainspring broke and the fellow just bought a new one.
I bought it for $40.00 abd brought it home After cleaning and de-rusting, the bore looked good. I found a place in Canada that had new, old stock wood and Numrich had the rest of the parts. After a cold blue job it made a presentable shooter. Since it is in 308 win, my wife fell in love with it and I gave it to her, I still get to look at it and if i am real nice to her she will occasionally let me shoot it.
A nice, light easy to carry rifle.
I once hung a 3X9 leupy on it but it looked too clunky (it was), so I took it off. I'll try a 1 1/2 to 5 one of these days, but it shoots good with the factory irons, I may leave it alone.

[Archer]

I think the Mossberg will clean up nice, if the bore is ok. I have one that looks about like it, that was my Dad's, except it is a 410 shotgun. As a kid, I was was with him when he bought it, and that was some time ago, as I am 68 years young now. When he passed away, I got the Mossberg. It could stand a reblueing, and some stock finish, but shoots great yet. I'm thinking of redoing it, and putting it back like new again. Anyway, good luck with yours, a keepsake for sure.

[jsizemore]

When my dad died in the early 90's in Florida, I was going through his fishing wagon and found a SxS rusted to the bottom of a packing pad. With a little 0000 steel wool, tung oil, and some firing pin bushings, I have a Fox model B 20ga. built on the small boxlock. It's not collectable anymore but it's one of my most prized guns. Guess who I think about every time I raise that gun to my shoulder?

[Charley]

Here's an old Noble in .22 LR that met a similar fate. Polished, reblued, and refinished the stock. Covered with rust spots to start with, but had a good bore.

[3006guns]

I used to hang out a a gun shop in the S.F. bay area years ago. I was standing there when a woman brought in two rifles and a shotgun that belonged to her deceased husband. The shop owner bought them and after she left asked me if I wanted a .22 for my young son. Forty bucks and a quick wire wheel/blue job and my boy got a 1902 Winchester single shot for his seventh birthday. He still has it, although it's a little small for him these days.

.22's are always worth saving if it can be done. Somewhere out there is a kid yearning to learn................

[fatelk]

From the thread title, I was expecting a lot worse. I've seen a lot worse that were still plenty salvageable.

Last year I bought a 100 year old Remington .22 pump rifle from an estate. It was in far worse condition. The stock was literally broken in two, and the metal was covered in surface rust.

Some epoxy, cold blue, time and elbow grease have made it presentable. It will never be a pristine show piece, but it's a good shooter and that's all that really matters.

[snake river marksman]

I call it polishing the turds. It's the best way there is to gain "experience in gunsmithing without ruining something with a lot of value. When you read those words in a magazine that say something like : "this is best left to an experienced gunsmith" How do you think the gunsmith got the experience?

This is my current project. It's an H&R 929 revolver in 22lr that belonged to my uncle. He wasn't much for babying guns or any other tool. My plan is to strip it down and then, since the surface is so rough already, bead blast it and then get a Parkerizing kit and refinish it that way. I like the looks of parkerizing and it doesn't require a polished surface so it should do quite nicely. At the rate that I'm going, it should only take about 2 years or so to get it done.

[PatMarlin]

Is that the mossberg with the long cartridge tube magazine? My buddy has one and the tube got lost. Has never been able to find one. I was thinking about making him one.

That treatment almost happend to my 870, but I came home and saved it before any damage took place.

[Patrick L]

No Pat, mine's a single shot, but I do believe they made both tube and clip repeater versions as well.

How goes the packing/shipping of the copper?

[PatMarlin]

My copper shipper is down south in Sacramento seeing a chiropractor and staying at her mothers. No I didn't cause the situation ...

She should be back later this week, and will start shipping out the copper. I've had my hands full, but just finished up my CNC programming so I'm over the hump now.

[Patrick L]

Well, after a few weeks of working at it off and on, I think the old girl cleaned up pretty well. I really don't want to reblue or refinish, as I find the older I get I enjoy a "seasoned" original finish more than a new one, as long as its not totally destroyed. Here are a few pics.







I used various solvents (CLP, WD40, and plain old kerosene) in a combination of soaking and polishing with #### grade steel wool and a stainless steel toothbrush to remove all of the surface rust. Fortunately there was no pitting. I used lemon oil to clean the heavy dirt off of the stock, and then some well worn #### steel wool with Johnson's Paste wax to get the more imbedded dirt off, as well as to restore just a bit of lustre. While searching the Internet for some original rear peep sights, I also discovered that the front sight was supposed to have a bead on top of it (it has always been broken off as long as we have owned the gun) so while I was at it I replaced it. I had the military sling in my collection.

Here's how she shoots. I just grabbed a box of plain Remington High Velocity (the green & yellow box "Golden Bullet") that I've probably had for 20 years. After sighting it in, here is what she can do at 50 yds off the bench:



Not too bad for plain open sights. I still plan on outfitting her with some target sights and rediscover the joys of .22 shooting this summer. And my dad can't have it back either!!

[George_J]

Or you could redo that revolver in nickle..

http://www.caswellplating.com/

[George_J]

http://forum.caswellplating.com/phot...volver&cat=502

[johnlaw484]

Those old Mossbergs are grand old guns, they just don't build guns like that anymore.
I have restored several for myself and friends that showed up with Mossbergs in much worse shape than yours.

Parts are still available from Numrich. That is where I got mine.

http://www.gunpartscorp.com

[PatMarlin]

THat rifle's lookin' great Patrick!

Just the way I like old rifles to look, I think it is a total save.

[alamogunr]

My story is a little different. When I was in high school, I bought an old no name single shot bolt action for $4. It had had a rough life but cleaned up fairly well. When I was away at college, my dad used it with .22 shot cartridges to keep birds out of his pecan trees. I got it back later when my sons were old enough to shoot it. Later when they went away to college, I forgot about it and somehow it ended up in the garage. I dug it out after a couple of years and started another clean up. Right off the bat I couldn't see down the bore. Apparently a "dirt dauber"(at least that is what we call them here in TN) had inserted its nest about 8-9 inches down the barrel. I finally got all the mud out but it had damaged the bore for about 1.5 inches. No amount of scrubbing, brushing, etc could smooth out that section. I keep it just in case I need to shoot shot cartridges again.

John
W.TN

[.357]

Looks great! Good job, don't be too hard on the old man. Buy yeah i would not let him borrow it.

[PepperBuddha]

Looks good!

[yarro]

When my dad raised animals, he kept a rifle in both out buildings. He did at least clean and oil them on a regular basis. They still got a little surface rust on them in spots. He considered them tools, but he takes care of his tools.

All the relatives that farm keep a barn gun, truck gun, and tractor gun. One has a Win Model 12 shotgun with pitting in various places on it. A large amount of hay fell on it, and it was harvest time so it was under the pile for a couple of weeks. He did get it refinished eventually, but it still lives in the barn.

-yarro