ATCDoktor
06-04-2019, 12:17 AM
I had been looking for one of these for the last couple of years and although there are plenty of them on the internet for sale (Guns International and Gunbroker) I could never find one at a price I could wanted to pay.
Well, while staggering through a local Gunshow this weekend, I came across this one:
https://i.postimg.cc/Cx9xn23j/D7FB642A-8740-4E56-A32F-1DD959E908CA.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
The guy who had it for sale was surprised I knew what it was (especially when I asked him what firing pin was in it or whether it came with both) and after a good bit of talking (general conversation about how long he had it and whether or not he had fired it) we got to haggling and I walked out with it for $475.00.
During our rather lengthy back and forth talking about the rifle it appears he had bought it/traded for it up in Denver a few months ago and he had never looked at it that close.
The seller stated that the guy who sold it to him said it had the rimfire firing pin installed and based on that bit of information we started working down from $650 and settled in the aforementioned price of $475.
Condition wise (for its age) it’s in pretty good shape.
The bore is shiney throughout it’s length, the muzzle face is square and free of dings, (sadly) the sights are not original (a not insignificant haggling point) and the metal finish is a smooth full brown patina with very little pitting/corrosion and the stock and forearm (while lightly dinged/scratched) are free of cracks/splits.
The action is tight, lever and bolt function smooth as glass.
The magazine tube is straight and moves freely in and out of its outer tube and locks into the barrel as it should.
Even though the seller said it had the rimfire firing pin I knew I could find one with little difficulty so we closed the deal.
Here are few more pics:
https://i.postimg.cc/7hPHyrzy/69AFFCF9-001F-4AA1-ADBD-AF1200B74366.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/sgM2XzNj/5FCB798D-D997-46F2-91DB-720F41653A1D.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/Zq3K8cmX/9B1F6C7C-CC58-4D91-96B9-55E33318B587.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/BQ6SYssT/68DC7BC1-11F6-426C-8AF3-1C00F4DF04C9.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/dQnQjDMQ/7502E63B-2067-4441-93DA-7EC77330ECDA.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
Once I got the rifle home I removed the side plate and inspected the insides to ensure there were no hidden mechanical issues and while disassembling the bolt I noticed it had the centerfire pin in it (not the rimfire as the seller had told me) so that saved me about 40 dollars right there.
Then I looked at the bore again with a stronger bore-light and I was amazed at its condition.
It having the centerfire pin and the condition of the bore being so good it got me to thinking “could it have been rechambered to 32 S&W Long”?
Could I be that lucky?
32 Long/Short Colt ammo and reloading does are scarce as hens teeth and you’ll go bow legged and blind looking for both/either.
Well, I rooted around in one of my junk Ammo bins and came across a single round of 32 S&W Long and tried it in the chamber and sadly it didn’t fit.
So, now I have a Marlin Model 92 in 32 Long with a centerfire pin in it and I gotta find ammo because I’m itching to shoot it.
I spent all Saturday night at work scouring the internet for anything 32 Long/Short Colt related and came across a significant amount of info in the Marlin Owners Forum but dies and components were gonna be a bit of a chore to compile.
Well, I had to go back to the Gunshow on Sunday to pick up some custom target frames I was having built by a local vendor and figured I’d look at every table and see what I could find reference loaded ammo/components for the 32 Colt.
Now, if you don’t know, anything in the way of 32 Colt ammo is going to be expensive (Buffalo Arms has their converted 32 short Colt in stock for a hundred bucks a box of 50) so I wasn’t expecting to find anything and if I did I figured it would be expensive.
After hitting every table and digging through every cigar box and junk ammo bin at the show I came across these:
https://i.postimg.cc/W13fHGN3/E966-FCCC-1-B25-4-A76-B385-ED9666-B5-C2-DB.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
Guy had the marked at $25.00 a box but when I opened the boxes the Bullets were corroded rather badly.
https://i.postimg.cc/YSLDptmB/A825-BB38-4-B52-448-F-B68-B-8-CEF924-F3-F1-A.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
I started to point out the corrosion and the seller knew I was gonna start beating him down on the price and he said “if you want them you can have them for $10.00 a box”.
I said “Sold!” And reached fo my money so fast I almost wrenched my back.
Now, some may be thinking, “that’s not corrosion, it’s just the lube on the Bullet that has hardened and crusted up over time” (and that was my hope as well) but when I got them home that junk had to be removed with a wire wheel (the detritus was hard and coarse as beach sand) and dumping them in my vibratory tumbler for 6 hours didn’t even phase that crust.
As previously stated I eventually had to use a wire wheel to clean them up and once
got all the crust off the Bullets and coated the with Alox and let them sit overnight in anticipation of firing them this morning.
To be continued....
Well, while staggering through a local Gunshow this weekend, I came across this one:
https://i.postimg.cc/Cx9xn23j/D7FB642A-8740-4E56-A32F-1DD959E908CA.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
The guy who had it for sale was surprised I knew what it was (especially when I asked him what firing pin was in it or whether it came with both) and after a good bit of talking (general conversation about how long he had it and whether or not he had fired it) we got to haggling and I walked out with it for $475.00.
During our rather lengthy back and forth talking about the rifle it appears he had bought it/traded for it up in Denver a few months ago and he had never looked at it that close.
The seller stated that the guy who sold it to him said it had the rimfire firing pin installed and based on that bit of information we started working down from $650 and settled in the aforementioned price of $475.
Condition wise (for its age) it’s in pretty good shape.
The bore is shiney throughout it’s length, the muzzle face is square and free of dings, (sadly) the sights are not original (a not insignificant haggling point) and the metal finish is a smooth full brown patina with very little pitting/corrosion and the stock and forearm (while lightly dinged/scratched) are free of cracks/splits.
The action is tight, lever and bolt function smooth as glass.
The magazine tube is straight and moves freely in and out of its outer tube and locks into the barrel as it should.
Even though the seller said it had the rimfire firing pin I knew I could find one with little difficulty so we closed the deal.
Here are few more pics:
https://i.postimg.cc/7hPHyrzy/69AFFCF9-001F-4AA1-ADBD-AF1200B74366.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/sgM2XzNj/5FCB798D-D997-46F2-91DB-720F41653A1D.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/Zq3K8cmX/9B1F6C7C-CC58-4D91-96B9-55E33318B587.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/BQ6SYssT/68DC7BC1-11F6-426C-8AF3-1C00F4DF04C9.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/dQnQjDMQ/7502E63B-2067-4441-93DA-7EC77330ECDA.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
Once I got the rifle home I removed the side plate and inspected the insides to ensure there were no hidden mechanical issues and while disassembling the bolt I noticed it had the centerfire pin in it (not the rimfire as the seller had told me) so that saved me about 40 dollars right there.
Then I looked at the bore again with a stronger bore-light and I was amazed at its condition.
It having the centerfire pin and the condition of the bore being so good it got me to thinking “could it have been rechambered to 32 S&W Long”?
Could I be that lucky?
32 Long/Short Colt ammo and reloading does are scarce as hens teeth and you’ll go bow legged and blind looking for both/either.
Well, I rooted around in one of my junk Ammo bins and came across a single round of 32 S&W Long and tried it in the chamber and sadly it didn’t fit.
So, now I have a Marlin Model 92 in 32 Long with a centerfire pin in it and I gotta find ammo because I’m itching to shoot it.
I spent all Saturday night at work scouring the internet for anything 32 Long/Short Colt related and came across a significant amount of info in the Marlin Owners Forum but dies and components were gonna be a bit of a chore to compile.
Well, I had to go back to the Gunshow on Sunday to pick up some custom target frames I was having built by a local vendor and figured I’d look at every table and see what I could find reference loaded ammo/components for the 32 Colt.
Now, if you don’t know, anything in the way of 32 Colt ammo is going to be expensive (Buffalo Arms has their converted 32 short Colt in stock for a hundred bucks a box of 50) so I wasn’t expecting to find anything and if I did I figured it would be expensive.
After hitting every table and digging through every cigar box and junk ammo bin at the show I came across these:
https://i.postimg.cc/W13fHGN3/E966-FCCC-1-B25-4-A76-B385-ED9666-B5-C2-DB.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
Guy had the marked at $25.00 a box but when I opened the boxes the Bullets were corroded rather badly.
https://i.postimg.cc/YSLDptmB/A825-BB38-4-B52-448-F-B68-B-8-CEF924-F3-F1-A.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
I started to point out the corrosion and the seller knew I was gonna start beating him down on the price and he said “if you want them you can have them for $10.00 a box”.
I said “Sold!” And reached fo my money so fast I almost wrenched my back.
Now, some may be thinking, “that’s not corrosion, it’s just the lube on the Bullet that has hardened and crusted up over time” (and that was my hope as well) but when I got them home that junk had to be removed with a wire wheel (the detritus was hard and coarse as beach sand) and dumping them in my vibratory tumbler for 6 hours didn’t even phase that crust.
As previously stated I eventually had to use a wire wheel to clean them up and once
got all the crust off the Bullets and coated the with Alox and let them sit overnight in anticipation of firing them this morning.
To be continued....