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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

So My Brother Picked Up This Old 22 At An Estate Sale..........


911rat

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The other day my brother called to tell me he was thinking about buying an old single shot 22 he found at an estate sale. He told me it was a Stevens favorite. From his description it sounded as if it had been sitting around for a really long time and was absolutlely filthy and needed some repair to make it functional. The asking price was firm and not unreasonable we both thought.

 

After bringing it home he called to tell me it was actually a Stevens model 44 in 22 LR.

 

I got a chance to see it last night and it appears that to make it functional he only needs to replace the hammer and trigger springs. Bluing has turned brown, the color case hardening is about 30%, the buttplate is pitted but could be polished out if restored, there is no pitting on the exterior and the front sight is german silver and a little dinged up. The stock has normal handling marks and appears to have a worn varnish finish. The bore is either heavily pitted or extremely dirty. Can anyone tell me if 22 LR ammo was ever corrosive?

 

I figure he has a few options.

 

If the bore is decent he can repair it, clean it up leaving all the original wear and patina. Or, he can do a full restoration, probably putting more into it than it's worth by having the barrel relined, the receiver and lever color case hardened and the other metal parts reblued. The marks in the stock should come out with some steaming.

 

Can anyone recomend a smith that does barrel relining and color case hardening at reasonable cost? I had guessed about 300 for the color case hardening and about 200 for barrel relining.

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