Buckshot
04-02-2005, 05:47 AM
.............You might recall from the old board of my thread on the "Springfield Garage Sporter", that one of the guys at work had come across some barreled action odds and ends? So he broght'em in to work so I could identify them. He gave me a Springfield barreled action, serial 977***. This became the Garage Sporter.
So he had left: Complete 1917 less triggerguard and wood (Remington), Stripped 1917 bbl'd action (Remington), Springfield MkI barreled stripped action (#1119568), and a loose stripped Springfield action (low number) with milled triggerguard. In additon a 1903A3 triggerguard, Arisaka triggerguard and wrist iron, plus a couple Enfield magazine boxes (not SMLE or P-14 but 1917's).
I had come into a whole bunch of BPML stuff including a 54 cal rifle and 12ga double ML shotgun for not much money. He likes guns but doesn't have the burn, illness, malaise ........... whatever :lol:. I figured I could swap him this BP stuff for the mostly complete 1917. It's REAL nice and clean. Like new bore and fully complete Parkerizing.
He agreed to the deal and in the course of the conversation finally said, "Ah heck, you can have all that stuff as I'll prolly never do anything with it." Well great, that works for me :D Bring it on!
So the next weekend he hands me the 1917. Feeling a bit awkward I said if he'd changed his mind about the rest of the stuff that was okay. He said no he hadn't but he was kind of ashamed about it. You know what he did? As in the other post I related how he'd found them in a long metal box amongst a bunch of junk out on his desert property.
After cleaning them up externally with rags he put them back in the box and filled it with Diesel fuel. That's okay but the gomer put them BACK OUTSIDE :twisted: !! The box had gone through the monsoons we had and filled up with water, which floated all the Diesel out so all this unprotected iron just remained submerged for months. I told him he oughta have his ass whupped! Well, with a strained smile on my face I said it.
The next weekend he brings in these bright ORANGE pieces of wet metal in this wet metal box. I was sick, sick, sick. I got what I wanted in the first place in that nice 1917, but to treat such things like that is so alien to me as to be unbelieveable. I have to assume he just totally forgot about them.
As soon as I got them home, before going to bed I sprayed them all down with penetrating oil. I couldn't go to bed not knowing so I pushed a patch down the 2 rifle barrels and some gloppy greasy brownish goo came out. I then went to 4/0 steel wool on a 30 cal brush with carb cleaner and scrubbed away. A patch through both came out brown, but looking through them showed them to be shiny. The only exception was right at the muzzle the barrel surfaces looked stained, but no corrosive pitting or lost metal.
The chambers still have the oil deadened orange color, and I hope they come as clean as the barrels did. If so I think I'm safe as the external rust was just that soft dusty type and not scaly or thick. I still think he needs his butt kicked, but I believe they'll turn out okay.
On the 1917 Remington (not Eddystone) GPC was out of their stock and metal assemblies so I had to order all I needed seperately, which came to $130 inc shipping. All the stuff was pretty nice. The stock has never been assembled to a rifle and was a nice piece of black walnut. Dry and light after 85 years, but solid. It sucked up the BLO. The upper front handguard was Birch or Beech but the rear hanguard was walnut.
The buttplate is brand new! I don't think it's a repro as it's stamped 'R' and I can't really see them making repros? Guard screws looked new. The follower, floorplate, triggerguard, and mag box is a mixture of Remington and Eddystone parts. If it wasn't for some wear on the bolt's Parkerizing the thing would look almost unissued 8)!
Please don't take this as knocking the P14 and 17 Enfields, as they are proven battle rifles and I'm VERY glad to have this one. I have handled and shot them before, but having my 1903A1 Springfield and this P17 Enfield together and handling them both immediately together, the Springfield is definately a much more 'sportier' feeling and handleing rifle to be sure. I have no problem with cock on closing, so that isn't an issue. The P17 just seems a bit more awkward, or clubby?
I'll try to get some photo's up next week when I'm off.
...................Buckshot
So he had left: Complete 1917 less triggerguard and wood (Remington), Stripped 1917 bbl'd action (Remington), Springfield MkI barreled stripped action (#1119568), and a loose stripped Springfield action (low number) with milled triggerguard. In additon a 1903A3 triggerguard, Arisaka triggerguard and wrist iron, plus a couple Enfield magazine boxes (not SMLE or P-14 but 1917's).
I had come into a whole bunch of BPML stuff including a 54 cal rifle and 12ga double ML shotgun for not much money. He likes guns but doesn't have the burn, illness, malaise ........... whatever :lol:. I figured I could swap him this BP stuff for the mostly complete 1917. It's REAL nice and clean. Like new bore and fully complete Parkerizing.
He agreed to the deal and in the course of the conversation finally said, "Ah heck, you can have all that stuff as I'll prolly never do anything with it." Well great, that works for me :D Bring it on!
So the next weekend he hands me the 1917. Feeling a bit awkward I said if he'd changed his mind about the rest of the stuff that was okay. He said no he hadn't but he was kind of ashamed about it. You know what he did? As in the other post I related how he'd found them in a long metal box amongst a bunch of junk out on his desert property.
After cleaning them up externally with rags he put them back in the box and filled it with Diesel fuel. That's okay but the gomer put them BACK OUTSIDE :twisted: !! The box had gone through the monsoons we had and filled up with water, which floated all the Diesel out so all this unprotected iron just remained submerged for months. I told him he oughta have his ass whupped! Well, with a strained smile on my face I said it.
The next weekend he brings in these bright ORANGE pieces of wet metal in this wet metal box. I was sick, sick, sick. I got what I wanted in the first place in that nice 1917, but to treat such things like that is so alien to me as to be unbelieveable. I have to assume he just totally forgot about them.
As soon as I got them home, before going to bed I sprayed them all down with penetrating oil. I couldn't go to bed not knowing so I pushed a patch down the 2 rifle barrels and some gloppy greasy brownish goo came out. I then went to 4/0 steel wool on a 30 cal brush with carb cleaner and scrubbed away. A patch through both came out brown, but looking through them showed them to be shiny. The only exception was right at the muzzle the barrel surfaces looked stained, but no corrosive pitting or lost metal.
The chambers still have the oil deadened orange color, and I hope they come as clean as the barrels did. If so I think I'm safe as the external rust was just that soft dusty type and not scaly or thick. I still think he needs his butt kicked, but I believe they'll turn out okay.
On the 1917 Remington (not Eddystone) GPC was out of their stock and metal assemblies so I had to order all I needed seperately, which came to $130 inc shipping. All the stuff was pretty nice. The stock has never been assembled to a rifle and was a nice piece of black walnut. Dry and light after 85 years, but solid. It sucked up the BLO. The upper front handguard was Birch or Beech but the rear hanguard was walnut.
The buttplate is brand new! I don't think it's a repro as it's stamped 'R' and I can't really see them making repros? Guard screws looked new. The follower, floorplate, triggerguard, and mag box is a mixture of Remington and Eddystone parts. If it wasn't for some wear on the bolt's Parkerizing the thing would look almost unissued 8)!
Please don't take this as knocking the P14 and 17 Enfields, as they are proven battle rifles and I'm VERY glad to have this one. I have handled and shot them before, but having my 1903A1 Springfield and this P17 Enfield together and handling them both immediately together, the Springfield is definately a much more 'sportier' feeling and handleing rifle to be sure. I have no problem with cock on closing, so that isn't an issue. The P17 just seems a bit more awkward, or clubby?
I'll try to get some photo's up next week when I'm off.
...................Buckshot