Cleaning old guns is GOOD!

[Hazcat]

I have some old rifles around.  One is an old Springfield 84 C- (yes that is the way it is marked).  It is a .22 that has been in my family since I can remember and came from my Granddad.

It it a heavy bolt action.22.  I imagine in it's day it was the cat's meow.

Here are some pixs







I have shot it many times since I was a youg'un.  Yes I always 'cleaned' it.  You know, run the bore, brush the bolt, wipe it all down.

Well it had a really crappy 6 stage creepy, gritty trigger.  The gun is VERY accurate and if ya learned to shoot on it you also learned how to overcome BAD triggers.

Well I have never been one to tear down guns as I don't know a lot about 'em.  That is until I bought a milsurp Ishapore that came in cosmoline and had to be ripped down and scrubbed.

Sooooooo...... I figured 'what the heck' give it a bit of a try on one of my favorite guns.  So I separated the stock from the gun (one thumb screw) and got out the mineral spirits and a tooth brush.  Took all of 10 minutes to scrub it up well, blow dry and reassemble.

The trigger now has some 'free slop' (even when cocked) and is MUCH smoother.  Yes, still  a little grit and creep but it is much better.

So bottom line to 'newbies' (like me).  Don't be afraid.  Don't 'over do' it by disassembling things ya don't know (getting out a punch scares the hell out of me!) but go ahead and get it to the lowest level and maybe even one lower than ya ever did before.  CLEAN IT with some mineral spirits or break free etc., dry, oil and you will be AMAZED how much better that old gun feels!

[MikeBjerum]

Nice job, good advice, and trim them claws before you tear up the furniture 

Oh yea ... Nice gun.  There is no better or more valuable gun than the ones passed down in the family.

[Rastus]

Nice job, good advice, and trim them claws before you tear up the furniture 

Oh yea ... Nice gun.  There is no better or more valuable gun than the ones passed down in the family.

Exactly....

Guess I'm gonna have to pull out the old 513-T and clean it down.  Still has 3/4" scope on it.  Seems like a good time for 1 inch rings and a new fixed 4x scope.

[Hazcat]

Ya know.  I put a Bushnell 3x9 on the 22 and I have a fixed Tasco 4x on my 30-06.  Think maybe I should swap them?

[Rastus]

Ya know.  I put a Bushnell 3x9 on the 22 and I have a fixed Tasco 4x on my 30-06.  Think maybe I should swap them?

Back when I was 17 and squirrels were scarce, I put 87 squirrels in the pot one season with one miss....well, not really...just it was a shoulder shot that took a bit to finish him off.  All that with a 3/4" tube fixed 4x scope on the 513-T Matchmaster I was given using cheap gold Remington ammo...it shot the best.

I'm up on the fixed for the 513T because it truly makes 1 hole groups...not keyholes...very slighly wallowed 1 hole groups.  I don't want to have a POI shift with a power change...foolish of me or not...I need all the confidence I can get these days.   I had it zeroed at 44 to 45 yards and, as I remember, always held dead on at normal distances.  So...I'm looking for a 32 MM tube and fixed 4x....fixed gives you a better picture too...fewer changes in the light path.

[Sponsor]

[Hazcat]

Well in general that is why I put the fixed on the 30-06.  It is a hunter and I wanted to know that I could take that quick, close shot without 'fooling around' with the power setting.

I had heard and read too many stories about having the scope set at 'mega power' and all of a sudden the game was close and they couldn't find it cause all they saw at 30 or 40 yards was fur up close.  So I figured a fixed would eliminate that and as the chance of me needing to shoot more that 100 - 125 yards was VERY slim a 3 or 4x should do just fine.

On the other hand my 22 I use more for target and my old eyes need all the help that can get for a bulls eye at 100 yards.

[PegLeg45]

I have some old rifles around.  One is an old Springfield 84 C- (yes that is the way it is marked).  It is a .22 that has been in my family since I can remember and came from my Granddad.

It it a heavy bolt action.22.  I imagine in it's day it was the cat's meow.

I have shot it many times since I was a youg'un.  Yes I always 'cleaned' it.  You know, run the bore, brush the bolt, wipe it all down.

Well it had a really crappy 6 stage creepy, gritty trigger.  The gun is VERY accurate and if ya learned to shoot on it you also learned how to overcome BAD triggers.

Well I have never been one to tear down guns as I don't know a lot about 'em.  That is until I bought a milsurp Ishapore that came in cosmoline and had to be ripped down and scrubbed.

Sooooooo...... I figured 'what the heck' give it a bit of a try on one of my favorite guns.  So I separated the stock from the gun (one thumb screw) and got out the mineral spirits and a tooth brush.  Took all of 10 minutes to scrub it up well, blow dry and reassemble.

The trigger now has some 'free slop' (even when cocked) and is MUCH smoother.  Yes, still  a little grit and creep but it is much better.

So bottom line to 'newbies' (like me).  Don't be afraid.  Don't 'over do' it by disassembling things ya don't know (getting out a punch scares the hell out of me!) but go ahead and get it to the lowest level and maybe even one lower than ya ever did before.  CLEAN IT with some mineral spirits or break free etc., dry, oil and you will be AMAZED how much better that old gun feels!

Good advice. And nice rifle.

Reminds me of the first time I ever took a gun apart. This was 20 years ago, and it was a Ruger Mini-14 and I really took it apart.
I got a little discombobulated and couldn't get it to go back together. So, I swallowed my young pride and took it to the local gun shop / gunsmith (I miss those days) and he took me back to his work room and instructed me on the proper way to disassemble and reassemble the Mini-14. I thanked him profusely, and became a regular customer up until his death.

The thing I learned was to be cautious.....but don't be scared.

Now I take guns apart just to have something to do....

[TSB]

I have my granddaddy's squirrel gun, a Savage Model 1903 .22 Pump,  ca 1908.  He passed it to my dad (youngest son) and he passed it too me (youngest son).  I haven't loaded it since about 1982 but I clean it yearly and admire it's simplicity.  The breech and chamber cone are worn badly and the firing pin is home-made by dad when he was a tool maker at GM.

I can only imagine how many squirrels and bunnies met their fate at the hand of my gramps and my father.  I've never actually fired it at a live animal in the thrity years I've had it.  I'll take a pic and post it later.  It's nothing special and I think it's a knock-off a Winchester of the era but it's cool anyway...I found an add once and I think new, it was about $8.00.

tim

[tombogan03884]

I have my granddaddy's squirrel gun, a Savage Model 1903 .22 Pump,  ca 1908.  He passed it to my dad (youngest son) and he passed it too me (youngest son).  I haven't loaded it since about 1982 but I clean it yearly and admire it's simplicity.  The breach and chamber cone are worn badly and the firing pin is home-made by dad when he was a tool maker at GM.

I can only imagine how many squirrels and bunnies met their fate at the hand of my gramps and my father.  I've never actually fired it at a live animal in the thrity years I've had it.  I'll take a pic and post it later.  It's nothing special and I think it's a knock-off a Winchester of the era but it's cool anyway...I found an add once and I think new, it was about $8.00.

tim

You need to ding a squirrel or 2 with it, keep the tradition alive, 100 years of use.

[TSB]

You need to ding a squirrel or 2 with it, keep the tradition alive, 100 years of use.

Some day, maybe!

The funny thing about that gun.  Where I live, because it's magazine fed and holds more than 5 rounds in the mag, you need a "High Capacity" LTC to even own it.  Doesn't matter that the manufucture date preceeds the law...