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Thread: Stevens-Pope barreled Low wall

  1. #1
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    Stevens-Pope barreled Low wall

    Had a great time all weekend at the OAC annual collector gun show! Great folks, and a lot of eye candy, as usual! Looked at a Win. 1885 Low Wall during setup Friday, but decided to pass on it. It had a extra heavy #5 weight Stevens-Pope .22RF barrel on it, and had been converted to a pistol grip action in the past. Great gun, but more than I wanted to spend, plus I'm not a Win. collector.
    But over the weekend I found myself returning to look at it. Even showed it to a buddy, so he'd maybe buy it and save me from doing so. He didn't as funds were short, and I just kept going back numerous times to look. With a couple hours left in the show I decided to offer a bit over half of the asking price, and ended up taking it home! Shocked the seller took my offer, but maybe he just didn't want to pack it out. It weighs about 13 lbs.! Price was cheaper than most brown beater Low Walls I've seen!
    The bore on the Pope barrel is like new, which was a big point for me! A few blotches of rust here and there that may clean up with 4/0 steel wool. If not I'll refinish the barrel. The wood needs to be stripped on the buttstock and stained darker to match the original forearm, and the forearm needs some TLC too. No sights, as it has scope bases. I put my Belding & Mull target scope on, just to check spacing, and I think I'll leave it on now. Should be a great shooter with a Pope barrel!






  2. #2
    In Remembrance Reverend Al's Avatar
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    Good score! (And I'm envious if you can't tell already ...)
    I may have passed my "Best Before" date, but I haven't reached my "Expiry" date!

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    Boolit Bub
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    Grrrr, some people have all the luck!

  4. #4
    Boolit Master

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    I dunno MM. . .little pencil tube like that's probably gonna shift around a lot as it heats up. . .
    WWJMBD?

    In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigslug View Post
    I dunno MM. . .little pencil tube like that's probably gonna shift around a lot as it heats up. . .
    Yeah, probably have to shoot once an hour to keep it cooled off!

  6. #6
    Boolit Master OlDeuce's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by marlinman93 View Post
    Yeah, probably have to shoot once an hour to keep it cooled off!
    Or have a blow tube LoL.............Ol Deuce
    Do the Best with What you have !

  7. #7
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    Very nice. I love the low walls. Let us know how she shoots.
    I was a dog on a short chain.
    Now there's no chain.
    Jim Harrison

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master
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    If you weren't already one of my favorite e-friends, I would flat out hate you Vall! It's a good thing you're all the way across the country or I would probably be camping out on your doorstep begging you to sell it to me.

    Congrats on a super acquisition, and when I find a Pope barreled Ballard 22 over on this side of the country I'll be in touch about a trade, OK?

    Regards,
    Your 'phibian phriend

    PS as long as you are refinishing that stock, you might thing about reworking the butt to use a small Swiss butt plate to help manage the weight of that barrel. Just a thought, and I know I would!
    Last edited by Green Frog; 08-23-2017 at 02:20 PM. Reason: Correct autocorrect!
    "It aint easy being green!"

  9. #9
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Green Frog View Post
    If you weren't already one of my favorite e-friends, I would flat out hate you Val! It's a good thing you're all the way across the country or I would probably be camping out on your doorstep begging you to sell it to me.

    Congrats on a super acquisition, and when I find a Pope barreled Ballard 22 over on this side of the country I'll be in touch about a trade, OK? :coffee com

    Regards,
    Your 'phibian phriend

    PS as long as you are refinishing that stock, you might thing about reworking the butt to use a small Swiss butt plate to help manage the weight of that barrel. Just a thought, and I know I would!
    Thanks Charlie! And if you find a Pope barreled Ballard, let me know and we'll swap!!
    This barrel is so big and heavy, I'm not sure I want a Swiss buttplate, or want to try to shoot it offhand! Going to leave it as a bench rest gun for now, and see how far out I can shoot accurately with it! I love pushing old .22 rifles to distances they say they can't hit, and this looks like it might be a candidate!
    Started some work today to improve it. Blocked the flat spot on the forearm out with sanding block, and then cut a thin filler of walnut to fill in the missing wood. Glued and clamped it. Letting it dry overnight, and then shape it down. It's only about 1/8" thick now, and thinner once it's shaped down.



    Stock was a quick and easy fix to take the slightly high areas down. Then finish it with some N-35 to Win. color, and Wipe On Poly over that.



    Also ran a tap into the extra pair of scope base holes, and put some plug screws in them. Got some of the surface rust off, but a few spots are there to stay unless I polish it out, and rust blue it.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy
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    Marlinman, quit playing with that thing and start shooting it. We all wanna know is she is a one holer.
    LOL

  11. #11
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 50target View Post
    Marlinman, quit playing with that thing and start shooting it. We all wanna know is she is a one holer.
    LOL
    It wont take long to take the small defects off this gal, and make her more presentable!

  12. #12
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    The new donor wood glued in place and ready to rough in:



    Rough shaped with a wood rasp:



    Closely sanded, and ready for a little filler in the gaps and then final finish sanding:


  13. #13
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    Very nice sir.Please keep us updated on range results as you are able.
    Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
    Leo
    People never lie so much as after a hunt,during a war,or before an election.
    Otto von Bismarck

  14. #14
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    Anyone ever heard of a gunsmith with the name "H. Cartwright"? Removed the scope bases to do some cleaning on the barrel, and under the rear scope base in very tiny writing is, "Long Rifle" and "H. Cartwright".
    Maybe he fitted the Pope barrel to this 1885? Maybe an owner?

  15. #15
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    Been doing some sprucing up on the 1885, and I think it's done, other than allowing a few weeks to totally dry before waxing the stocks. The forearm came out better than I thought, and I found a replacement for my beloved Tapaderas N35 Win. red (ran out, and it seems they're out of business). Went to my local Woodcrafters and the guy there directed me towards "Transtint Bight Red" dye. It did a great job of duplicating the old Win. color from the 1800's! I used N35 on the buttstock, and the Transtint on the forearm, and got a good match.





    And even more surprising was the deep cleaning I did on the barrel! I scraped the rust spots with a penny, and then went over them with 4/0 steel wool and 50-50 mix of acetone-ATF. Took all the loose stuff off the barrel, but left the patches of lightly pitted metal. I then took a very small 1/2"x1" long wood block, and wrapped it with 240 grit emery paper. I worked the pits out, and then used Oxpho Blue to touch up the bare spots. The barrel looks very nice, and no sign of the bad spots or repairs showing!
    Done for now, and probably hit the range next week to see how it shoots!

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy blackbahart's Avatar
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    looked good before you gave her the once over ,now it looks great .Nice work

  17. #17
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by blackbahart View Post
    looked good before you gave her the once over ,now it looks great .Nice work
    Thanks! Just didn't care for the mismatched wood, or the ugly flat, with holes on the forearm.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master

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    Looking really good MM, but to quote Daffy Duck, "SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM NOW!!"

    Not immediately clear from the previous posts; is this thing a short, long rifle, or other?
    WWJMBD?

    In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.

  19. #19
    Boolit Grand Master WILCO's Avatar
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    Enjoying the progress.
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  20. #20
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigslug View Post
    Looking really good MM, but to quote Daffy Duck, "SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM NOW!!"

    Not immediately clear from the previous posts; is this thing a short, long rifle, or other?
    It is a .22LR, as indicated by the marking I found under the rear sight base. And of course by dropping one in the chamber. I guess "dropping" is not quite correct, as it has a pretty snug match chamber, so pushing is closer to correct.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check