- Messages
- 116
- Reactions
- 396
Last week I went into my local enabler to pick up a S&W 617-5 that was now out of OGAM jail (that's One Gun a Month - I'm in NJ). While I was picking it up, I spied a rifle on display with a red butt pad. Ummm, Ruger – I walk over to look at it and I realize that it has some really spectacular wood on it. I look at the tag and see that it's a #3 in .22 Hornet....neat.
Went home and couldn't stop thinking about it. Did some research – #3's came with steel butt plates. I also thought I remembered it having a pistol grip, not a straight wrist like a #3. Bears some looking into. I went back the next day to examine it further. Turns out somebody restocked this #3 using almost exhibition grade wood. Probably take-offs from a #1. It had nice detachable sling swivels and a nice sling, as well as a Colorado Redfield Widefield 4X scope on it. The owner of the shop, with whom I'm good friends, told me that it was on consignment. It was tagged at $899. The owner asked me if I wanted to know the lowest price the seller would accept – of course. $775 – sold. Didn't even have to do a separate NICS check as we were able to use the previous day's one for the 617-5.
This is just a guess, but I'll bet the previous owner sold this rifle because he couldn't get it to shoot. When I looked at it in the shop, I noticed that the front scope ring was angled downward. The base on which that ring was mounted is right where the barrel tapers. I figured either it was the wrong base, or it had been mounted backwards. I disassembled it when I got it home. The bases were correct, and when I took the front off, there really was no visible difference – it looked perfectly symmetrical. However, when I turned it around and remounted it, it leveled out perfectly. As long as I had it apart, I mounted a Leupold 2-7X scope that was gathering dust in my safe, rather than the 4X Redfield – which is a good scope, and fortunately not damaged from the misadventure with the base - just though the 2x-7 was a better match.
Adios,
Pizza Bob
Went home and couldn't stop thinking about it. Did some research – #3's came with steel butt plates. I also thought I remembered it having a pistol grip, not a straight wrist like a #3. Bears some looking into. I went back the next day to examine it further. Turns out somebody restocked this #3 using almost exhibition grade wood. Probably take-offs from a #1. It had nice detachable sling swivels and a nice sling, as well as a Colorado Redfield Widefield 4X scope on it. The owner of the shop, with whom I'm good friends, told me that it was on consignment. It was tagged at $899. The owner asked me if I wanted to know the lowest price the seller would accept – of course. $775 – sold. Didn't even have to do a separate NICS check as we were able to use the previous day's one for the 617-5.
This is just a guess, but I'll bet the previous owner sold this rifle because he couldn't get it to shoot. When I looked at it in the shop, I noticed that the front scope ring was angled downward. The base on which that ring was mounted is right where the barrel tapers. I figured either it was the wrong base, or it had been mounted backwards. I disassembled it when I got it home. The bases were correct, and when I took the front off, there really was no visible difference – it looked perfectly symmetrical. However, when I turned it around and remounted it, it leveled out perfectly. As long as I had it apart, I mounted a Leupold 2-7X scope that was gathering dust in my safe, rather than the 4X Redfield – which is a good scope, and fortunately not damaged from the misadventure with the base - just though the 2x-7 was a better match.
Adios,
Pizza Bob
