My OM SBH Is Alive Again

[hylander]

So I finished my OM SBH .44 Mag. :mrgreen:
I preped the metel myself, I should have done a better job, new blueing shows every tiny flaw, but it is good enough for a shooter.
My local Smith hot tanked it for me for basicly free.
I got new factory grips, base pin latch and new Wolf trigger/hammer springs from Brownells. Trigger pull is now #2.5 with just a bit of creep. Also installed a base pin from my old Bisley that fits much tighter. Used a Sharpie on the aluminum parts :lol: Which has already started rubbing off :roll:
Should have ordered a new Pawl as well, it functions but has had the snot filed out of it.
Looked like this:

So I went to the range today to check for function: 100%
Only ammo I had was a few .44 Special 240JHP and some .44 Special 240SWC
These were factory reloads purchased in the early 80's at the Cal expo gunshow and never used any. They functioned great and were accurate. Now I wish I knew what powder they where loaded with.
This was only at 10yds. and rested but it shows that it has accuracy potential.
6 rounds, I pulled the 5th shot, knew it before the trigger broke, "I was shaking".
Off hand my goups were about 3" which is good for me, seeing how this one has not been shot since the Mid 80's
Can almost cover all 6 shots with a Quarter

[RobS]

Not bad at all............she's starting to look nice.

[Gee_Wizz01]

Looking GOOD. That's a great job on the old SBH. Looks like you got a good shooter too!

G

[starmac]

Showing my ignorance here, but is there such a thing as an om sbh.
Was the missing pin the only thing that kept it from functioning before the remodel.

Nice looking gun.

[IridiumRed]

The bluing looks pretty good to me. Not PERFECT, but... pretty good

And that in of itself is a compliment, because the metal prep work to do good bluing really is tough

What i've always heard is that the big factories, including the ones who did GOOD blue work in the past (like S&W pre about 1970, Colt on their Pythons), would "put only the best, most experienced, most senior guys" on the job for polishing the guns for bluing. So easy to get big wavey surfaces, round off hard edges, get an uneven finish, etc etc

So if you can make the bluing look pretty good, I think thats real good :)

Congrats on your project, sounds like you have a fun gun on your hands! Keep shooting it and let us know how it works!!

I mainly work on roadrace motorcycles (building engines, suspensions, brakes, etc) but I do some gunsmithing work too (all at a hobby / fun level).

I love it when people take the initiative & do their own work :)

[rintinglen]

Get them danged weeds out of there and that'd be a real nice picture! Very well done.

[**oneshot**]

Pachyasandra is not weeds, it's grass for places you don't like to mow. haha

Great looking gun, even better---it's a shooter.

[gunfan]

I LIKE IT! It's a SHOOTER! An' dat's da best kind! :smile:

Scott

[smoked turkey]

Good Job. It is nice to have a local smith that will drop one in the blueing tank for you without charging. I did that on a TC Renegade flintlock. The local guy did me a very nice job and wouldn't take any money. I got him a gift certificate to his favorite eating place for he and the wife. Still a wonderful deal for me.

[hylander]

Thanks guys, I'm gettin' ready to load up some cast for it this week.
And them Ain't weeds or Pachyasandra
Them is Ajuga Reptans, commenly known as Blue bugle :wink:
Like **oneshot** said, it is a ground cover.
I know all this, because my Wife told me [smilie=1:

[smkummer]

That gun deserves a steel ejector rod housing. If you can remove the bluing from the sides of the hammer, it may not looked reblued.