winchester model 72a fun

[drewp]

comments, criticisms and suggestions strongly encouraged...

I picked this model 72 up for cheap. I wanted a bolt action that was either magazine or tube fed so I could shoot colibre(queit) and 22short ammunition reliably.

so I added a cheapo scope and a picture of it unchanged


first order of business was to get some length off this thing
I don't mind loosing the factory sights since my eyes suck and I can only shoot with a scope or somekind of fiberoptics
so 6" came off
this was my first crown job and I think it turned out well




since the front sight was gone I needed to ditch the rear sight...with that a void was missing in the barrel so I welded it in


I may touch it up a little more down the road

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[drewp]

now I decided I want to change the stock up a bit...at first I was just going to slim/sand it up and make it pretty. then I decided a pistol grip would be cool...well fast forward a week or so and I acquired some saiga47 take offs along with an ak grip.
the plan is to fashion a one piece stock out of all this...worst case I go back to the wood stock plan

 

[Joe13]

Cool little project

 

[drewp]

and here is some pictures of the stock work so far...its extremely rough but just getting going on it
buttstock is kind of mounted, forward grip needs hardware and I havnt figured out the pistol grip yet

 

[Qjay]

Pretty sweet! It's still rough, but it looks like it is coming along nicely!

 

[MountainBear]

You welded on the barrel? Tig, Mig, gas? heat sink? heat stop paste? Why not just put a dovetail filler in? Seems like an unnecessary step and damaging to the heat treat of the steel, even if it is just a .22LR...

 

[netcarrier]

You welded on the barrel? Tig, Mig, gas? heat sink? heat stop paste? Why not just put a dovetail filler in? Seems like an unnecessary step and damaging to the heat treat of the steel, even if it is just a .22LR...

I have to agree with MountainBear. You should not weld on Barrels or Receivers, Because of the Temper and the Heat Treatment of the metal.
Tony Portland , Oregon Area

 

[Mark W.]

I feel a little ill. Why couldn't you have butchered a modern bolt action instead of a collectable Winchester? Oh well I guess the value of those left just went up a little.

 

[drewp]

You welded on the barrel? Tig, Mig, gas? heat sink? heat stop paste? Why not just put a dovetail filler in? Seems like an unnecessary step and damaging to the heat treat of the steel, even if it is just a .22LR...

I probably wouldnt have done that to a valuable gun.
I didn't just burn the space in either I took my time letting the weld cool completely as I built it up which was very little.... the barrel wasn't glowing or becoming overly discolored at all

I have to agree with MountainBear. You should not weld on Barrels or Receivers, Because of the Temper and the Heat Treatment of the metal.
Tony Portland , Oregon Area

ya but why? you can say its bad to do so, and it is in many applications but when it comes to a low heat slow weld process what long term adverse affects will I have....there is no way any distortion happened and I don't feel the integrity has changed. id like to know why other than that wasn't a good idea....ya know

 

[drewp]

I feel a little ill. Why couldn't you have butchered a modern bolt action instead of a collectable Winchester? Oh well I guess the value of those left just went up a little.

there are so many 22lr rifles that people will say are collectable, literally millions of rifles with many makes and models believe me im not to worried about that...and hey im not a collector and I don't plan on getting rid of it so it hasn't affected the collectors anyway...ha

 

[drewp]

i did start refinishing the original stock though...it has a long way to go also...cracks need fixing and I need the right sanding supplies but I cleared it for the time being...I will wire wheel then shape the stock more to my liking later

 

[MountainBear]

There is surely a way this could be done. I'm sure its been done before. With the bore flooded with heatstop paste and wrap the rest of the barrel in wet rags and heatstop paste. And even then, by someone who TIG welds for a living and can control the temperatures. Even with all that done, it is possible to cause distortions in the barrel. It can shrink that section, leading to a tight bore, which could lead to a bulged barrel. Dangerous on a .22lr? Probably not, but it could kill the accuracy on a gun.

It sounds like a fun project, but since you strongly asked for criticisms, that is mine. You could have done something with less risk to the gun and achieved the same goals.

That's my $.02 worth. I am not an expert. I have been a gunsmith for almost ten years. I went to school for it in Colorado and have worked for several shops and own my own currently. First thing you learn is that you don't know everything, and I freely admit that I don't. I'll be learning until the day I stop doing it. But in my experience, that is not the way I would have dealt with filling that cut.

Good luck with your project. Enjoy!

 

[drewp]

Great

There is surely a way this could be done. I'm sure its been done before. With the bore flooded with heatstop paste and wrap the rest of the barrel in wet rags and heatstop paste. And even then, by someone who TIG welds for a living and can control the temperatures. Even with all that done, it is possible to cause distortions in the barrel. It can shrink that section, leading to a tight bore, which could lead to a bulged barrel. Dangerous on a .22lr? Probably not, but it could kill the accuracy on a gun.

It sounds like a fun project, but since you strongly asked for criticisms, that is mine. You could have done something with less risk to the gun and achieved the same goals.

That's my $.02 worth. I am not an expert. I have been a gunsmith for almost ten years. I went to school for it in Colorado and have worked for several shops and own my own currently. First thing you learn is that you don't know everything, and I freely admit that I don't. I'll be learning until the day I stop doing it. But in my experience, that is not the way I would have dealt with filling that cut.

Good luck with your project. Enjoy!

great info thank you. I had considered using some heat stop paste but i wasn't to worried on this project. Thank you and im trying to expand my gunsmithing abilities so all advise and criticism is highly appreciated.

 

[jbett98]

Another route would have been to grind/file off the top and sides of the rear sight dovetail and blue it to match the barrel.

 

[drewp]

Another route would have been to grind/file off the top and sides of the rear sight dovetail and blue it to match the barrel.

I can see that...I really wanted to make this gun simple and clean looking. deleting the sights gave it that bull barrel look...Im happy so far. The only point of me buying this gun was to shoot 22shorts...or calibre ammo. So the fun of this isnt detrimental if I make some mistakes along the way

 

[Qjay]

Do you know which stock you're going to go with, yet?
Wood or Plastic?

 

[drewp]

currently the wood stock...I need to complete the other stock still. I blew up the front diff in my wheeling rig so the stock is on the back burner for a bit