Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Like old guns? Own a screwdriver?

Then a copy of Antique Firearms Assembly/Disassembly would be a worthwhile purchase. It originally interested me for having the instructions for taking apart top-break Smiths, but it also has pre-war Hand Ejectors, some single-action Rugers, old Colts, lots of lever-action rifles, and a few of the more common antique shotguns.

Just remember: If you break anything inside a top-break Smith, you're going to have a bear of a time finding a replacement and someone qualified to fit it. As a matter of fact, Smith top breaks are generally cheap enough that it might not be a bad idea to keep a parts gun or two to back up any one you actually use much. It's the same reason I encouraged my roommate to pick up an extra Savage .32 or two if she found them cheaply...

5 comments:

Matt G said...

Worthy of obtaining, as is a decent fitted gunsmith screwdriver set (like Chapman, B-Square, or Brownell's).

Anonymous said...

And in addition to the screw drivers, having a good gunsmith on the speed dial is recommended. Always fun to take a box full of parts to your local gun plumber to re-assemble. :D Makes the shameful "perp walk" pale in comparison.

Weer'd Beard said...

Hey Tam, I just recently picked up a New England Westinghouse M1891 with all sorts of weird features (like a Western Style bayonet lug) and cartuches I can't figure out.

Got any books you'd recomend that would help me wrench the story out of this one, as well as a few other old Mosin Nagants I have?

Tam said...

For simple Mosin decoding, The Mosin-Nagant Rifle (For collectors only) is hard to beat.

Firehand said...

Gunsmith friend of mine just finished dealing with a 1897 Winchester shotgun that a guy brought in in a box. He'd bought it that way.

And yes, there were parts mysteriously not there.