1849 colt ruined! Almost made me cry.

[CLT65]

I once helped a guy "sporterize" an original Russian contract 1895 Winchester, in 7.62x54R.

Before anyone gets upset, he brought it to me as a relic; a receiver with no barrel, wood, or finish remaining, and multiple stripped screws. It looked like it had been dug up out of the dirt. He never would tell me where he got it.

It turned out pretty nice when we were done.

 

[tac]

On another forum a guy inherited an 1886 Winchester and it is pretty rough - part of it is the stock has been taped up with black electrical tape. He is 'on the fence' as to what to do with it and is getting advice from many as to his options. Sounds like he has no 'real' attachment to the gun and may just try to sell it as is and put the money toward something he wants and can use.

My pal John C over in yUK has a few older Winchester underlever rifles and carbines in obsolete calbires. In yUK you can own them without any kind of permit/licence/certificate, but you can't shoot them. To do that, they have to be entered on your Firearms Certificate as Section 1 firearms............

Anyhow, this VERY nice Winchester, made just before the factory went to steel instead of iron, had a damaged crown, so he took the gun to a well-known 'smith to get it correctly rectificated with the appropriate radiused contour.

About three months late, he went to collect it, and left the store almost in tears, The 'smith had recontoured the muzzle correctly, but as part of the job, had also reblued the entire barrel and magazine tube, taking away ANY collector value it may have had. John had paid just over $4000 for the gun, now valued at less than $1000.

tac

 

[RVTECH]

In yUK you can own them without any kind of permit/licence/certificate, but you can't shoot them

Sorry to hear that - kind of like owning a car you can't drive....

 

[Hang-Man]

TAC- sounds like the instructions from the Owner of the rifle were vague, too bad the gunscrubber was an Idiot.

 

[tac]

Apparently, the instructions were pretty clear - recrown the muzzle. The 'smith, however, took it upon himself to refinish the barrel/mag in order that it 'matched the crown'. The hoo-hah is still ongoing, I hear.

Lovely little rifle, too, formerly owned by a big-shot 'mercan actor, according to the accompanying paperwork.

tac

 

[tac]

Sorry to hear that - kind of like owning a car you can't drive....

Totally agree - I have three Sniders in similar limbo.

tac

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I have found that when working on rifles that belong to others ... I will repeat their instructions back to them and make written notes if necessary.
Also I have called and asked what the owner would like if a question or issue appears.

That said I am not casting aspersions on the 'Smith in question....
Andy

 

[Tony617]

I love me a vintage Airstream with the aluminum skin polished to a mirror finish.
View attachment 369602

But not an antique gun of any kind.

Holy smoke that Airstream it really shiny.

 

[CHLChris]

Holy smoke that Airstream it really shiny.

Just something I grabbed off the internet, but I've always wanted a shiny Airstream. Someday...

 

[etrain16]

I have found that when working on rifles that belong to others ... I will repeat their instructions back to them and make written notes if necessary.
Also I have called and asked what the owner would like if a question or issue appears.

That said I am not casting aspersions on the 'Smith in question....
Andy

Some folks follow the customer's instructions a little too literally :

 

[41mag]

Antiques shouldn't be cleaned... I bet a good amount of you never shower, huh?

...well, not with buffing wheels & sandpaper again

 

[Stomper]

...well, not with buffing wheels & sandpaper again

So you're a quick learner, are ya?

 

[anubismp]

I personally have no problem with a proper restoration that stays with the spirit of the original ie performing a light polish and rust bluing or adding wood or parts to a badly damaged historically insignificant piece. A rebuild to original specs as it were. I think people tread a bad path when they just go off and do some random thing to it just to do it. Of course if you do a good enough job then it becomes a Holland and Holland.

Something I find interesting is when the original owner decides to make a change to a historical piece ie nickel plating or drilling and tapping for a scope mount on a bring back by a war vet. Its still part of the original history of the item even though its not as issued. At the end of the day, as with all things its worth what it sells for I guess.

 

[CLT65]

My grandfather brought home an Arisaka from Japan. He gave it to his brother who then "sporterized" it. He got it back a few decades later when his brother passed away, and my aunt inherited it when he passed away.

I first saw it when my grandfather got it back, and was disappointed to see that it had been "ruined". Now I realize that it's not necessarily ruined, just has more family history.

 

[CLT65]

This thread got me thinking, and I went and found a photo of the aforementioned Russian 1895; thought I'd post it for you all:



It was a relic when I first saw it, just an action with no barrel or wood, pretty rough. Trying to restore it to original musket configuration would have been cost prohibitive for the guy who owned it, so we settled on this instead. It turned out pretty good. I think we breathed some new life into a historic old rifle.

 

[Mygrainman]

Old knives too. When I was going through some of grandpas stuff I stumbled upon this circa 1923 KaBar...
Grandpa had it forever, and used it to skin hundreds of critters over the years, from the Dakota plains, to the Oregon coast. It is a priceless family heirloom. It had a nice patina on it when I first found it wrapped up in the rope, and pullies that he used to hang game from the rafters in his workshop. I handed it to my 16 yo son and told him to go ask Grandma about it. He came back with a big grin, the proud new owner of a piece of family history...
We had it ad a gun show and decided to have it sharpened by a guy whom I assumed was a professional. He was an old timer, and I inspected a knife he had just sharpened (albeit a newer one) and it was great... I told him just to touch up the edge... he had a couple to do before mine so I left it with him and came back a little later.
Not only did he put a crappy uneven edge on it, I got there just in time to stop him from doing me me a "favor" and polishing it on his buffing wheel...
Since then I am the only one that touches my knives with anything abrasive.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

The knife is sensitive to your personality is it?

 

[Jba]

I have a feeling that last week I was in the same JUNK store.
yep. the price was 550, but the gun was Not polished, sanded yes, full of rust pits, dark rust staining was coming back, cly pivot was worn very bad. put it this way, at best a $50 wall hanger if that.

I went on gun broker and found a good looking one at 350, course you no Roseburg is farther down the map, so the bubblegum is worth more down here

 

[Tinker Pearce]

Last year I bought a S&W .32 hand ejector. It was out of time, rusty and pitted, lots of cylinder end-shake. I knew nothing about it's past, but it was obviously consigned to the junk-pile of history. I paid $125 for it. I could have left it with it's 'history' intact, in which case it would still be a useless piece of junk. Instead today it is tight and right, good-looking (to my eye at least) and a heck of a shooter.

Something in rough shape with no particular collector value? I'll do as I like with it, and I'll shoot it when I'm done. Once it's in my hands I'm part of it's history, and I'll start a new chapter if I care to. But if it's something with real history and/or collectable I'll pass; I'm a shooter, not a curator. Nothing wrong with being a curator, mind you; just not my thing.

 

[Joe13]

I have a few inherited guns and love to shoot them but they don't see the round count I put on guns I've bought, just to make sure they will be in great condition when I pass it on too my grandkids (assuming my daughter has kids).