Refinish?

[jerman1964]

I have an old savage .22/.410, left to me by my grandfather. It was left at a cousins for a few years and rusted badly. The .22 shoots about a 1/2 to 3/4 miles to the left, but funcitions fine. It has no serial number on it, and I cannot imagine that there would be any collector value that would be hurt by refinnishing it, but I am curious as to if someone else may have a different idea?

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[MountainBear]

You can probably figure that it's going to be fairly expensive to get it repaired and refinished. First, the barrels need to be regulated, and that's a long process. Next, given its age, the barrels are more than likely soft soldered together (also why the point of impact has shifted left). This means the gun needs to be rust blued, which is again, a long involved process.

So you probably wouldn't be ruining the value, but you'd be spending an awful lot of money to get it fixed, I would assume probably a few to several hundred dollars.

 

[longcolt]

Sometimes it just pays to buy some brass hangers and hang it up over the fireplace rather than spend a small fortune on repairs. Its a family heirloom now and must be handed down to your children, etc.

 

[simpleguy]

You have 2 ways you can approach it....I personally would would probably have a gunsmith check it over, if the barrel is shot out, I'd make it a wall hanger, if not, I'd refinish it, regardless of the cost, as the best way to honor the tradition of family is to take that thing out and shoot it!

 

[coop44]

Think restore, not refinish. keep it regardless of the cost, shoot it occasionally and the memories of your grandfather will stay with you sharp and clear. It's not just a thing, it's the knowing that he handled it. When your children recieve it, it will be with stories and memories of you both.

 

[bmw2]

Have you patterned the .410? Think simple first, it could just be that the sights are off. Check that before you write it off. After that, if you can get it sighted in, just clean the rust off as best you can and keep it well oiled. If you really want to refinish it, just do it yourself. I like guns with a lot of character over "nice" ones. MountainBear's right though, if the barrels need to be regulated, it will be expensive.

 

[MountainBear]

Just to be clear, I definitely don't advocate getting rid of the gun. Even if the repair is cost prohibitive, the gun is a family heirloom. I would love to have some of the guns my grandparents had in Texas and Montana, but they are all gone. At least you have something to pass on, and that's priceless...

 

[Celtic Armory]