Is it possible?!?! (Part I)
Before anyone starts thinking we are entering the religious/political realm, let me assuage your fears! It is not. That being said we had a rifle come in that was about as close to dead as I have seen in a while, and it was a shame, because it was a Ruger 44 Mag Carbine... and here is its store of resurrection. You can weigh in if you think it was worth it!
So there she lay! I had just put 15 rounds through the barrel and the action was a bit sticky. The rear sight is missing the adjustment panel, so its about the size of a small horseshoe and made it hard to see how she was grouping.
A little research on the old interwebs showed that the serial number was made pre-1970, so this was one of the early ones. The original model was called the "Deer-Stalker" but then Ithica shotguns made it known that they were already selling a "Deer Stalker" and it was quickly dropped the next year. That being said this model was made sometime between 1962-1969.
A few more pics of the state of things before i even got it open...
The stock was "well loved" had obvious signs of its age with oxidization and its fair share of dents and bumps.
The front barrel band had come loose and the barrel had a decent layer of rust "bubbles" covering it in its entirety.
The muzzle obviously had seen better days and bore the brunt of the corrosion. It was still sporting the early version "bone" front sight.
So it was time to get dirty! As you can see the old green weenie T-Shirt proved perfect for what I needed, and I just happened to have a plethora of them on hand. Once I got it apart, it was not pretty. Luckily the corrosion was minimal, but the sludge was THICK! Here she is in pieces...
Took about 5 minutes to strip, and for the most part was very basic. Sadly, I am quite certain that in the last 50 years I was the first person to have taken her apart. The internals were definitely hurting.
So I sat down with my Otis cleaning kit, and a brass cleaning brush that we have here at the store (worth its weight in gold for stuff like this), and a half gallon of elbow grease.
The barrel internally was the cleanest thing on the gun. The 15 rounds of jacketed HPs did almost all the work for me. A light lube and patch was all it needed.
The barrel itself I was very afraid of stripping the bluing, so i used some 000 steel wool and it did a good job of grabbing the rust and not scratching the bluing. Mixed with some CLP it did a 80% job. Slow and steady won that race with little to no pressure applied to the steel. The muzzle took some elbow grease and time, but yielded satisfactory results (pics further below).
The trigger group... It is a statement in and of itself that I started with a flat head screwdriver (not a tool i normally use for cleaning) to scrape the layers and layers of carbon, dirt, grease, and whatever else this little carbine had been dragged through. After some serious solid waste removal, it was ready for the more standard toothbrush/que tip treatment. After about 15 minutes the trigger, which was originally gritty from the sands of time that were on the faces, was now smooth and breaking at about 5-6.5 pounds. The hammer also so a remarkable increase in speed and smoother travel.
The bolt - if ever there was a text book bolt to take a picture of and use as an illustration for "why light strikes exist" this was it. Funny thing was, I had not had a single one. Kudos to Ruger for making a hammer that really knew how to drive that pin home. I got the pin out, cleaned the spring, pin housing/chamber, and the pin itself.
The magazine tube was clean - surprisingly so. The rest was a quick wipe and lube job. All said and done for a 45 min job of stage one I was pretty happy with the results.
Heck, even my hands were cleaner when I finished the trigger group. I might put it in an ultra-sonic cleaner to really get in the cracks. They are pricey, but can really save some time and get stuff that you might not be willing or able to reach. Maybe another post will be about their utility worth price (comment if that would be worth your time to read?)
The muzzle was probably the least successful part of this endeavor as it was so heavily corroded. That being said, it was much better than when we started. I am toying with the idea of stripping it and re-bluing it, or going totally modern and cerakoting the whole barrel/receiver. I would be interested in getting your comments on that.
Overall, this was stage one of the process as I still have some wood working ahead of me, and I am waiting for the replacement rear sight. I also ordered the "newer" (relatively) front sight with a brass bead. I like it more, and honestly think its easier to get better groups if reaching to the max range of this gun (~125 yards). I was luck enough to find both at www.cfnparts.com, and they are even in NH! He is driving the parts to the shop this Friday, so i am thrilled to get to buy locally!
After everything the action ran FAR BETTER than it had before. The wood will be an interesting project, and I hope to post more on that in the next week or two. I am hoping to take this carbine out this season in a few weeks.
As always, I wish you all the best! Shoot straight, stay safe, and we'll see you round the shop!
-Devon
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