You want a shooter? Then check the internals (barrel)!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
troda
Im looking for a shooter.
Then dings in the stock and a cracked handguard (easily repaired) are irrelevant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
troda
Is there a problem with it being such an early serial number?
I do not know of any problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
troda
Ejector is not functioning and does not appear to be spring loaded.
Fixable. The spring tag often breaks. Stratton shows a simple fix on P.42.
Get Stratton "The Pattern 1914 and U.S. Model 1917 Rifles", North Cape Publications, ISBN 1-882391-29-2.
Read it to get an overall view. Then take it to the shop, sit quietly in a corner, and check out the rifle while referring to the book.
You want a shooter?
Then you MUST
1) check the bolt action for a possible safety-off fire (a "sure-fire" indication that the rifle has been Bubba-ed). That is a killer criterion.
2) look at the throat for obvious wear & tear (difficult to judge, except in extreme cases)
3) look down the barrel for ringing or score marks (Bubba likes to clean out muck and corrosion with a wire brush in an electric drill)
4) inspect the muzzle for worn or damaged crown. Can be fixed, but a "blunderbuss" muzzle is another killer criterion.
5) run a patch through the bore and see how it comes out. Black or gray - it's just muck, and will clean up. Brown - it's rust, caution! Brown with torn patch - serious pitting - forget it!
I have described elsewhere in detail how to conduct these checks, and don't feel like repeating it all just now (it's past 1 am).
I am not a collector, but a serious competition shooter with old rifles from flintlocks onwards. And I can assure you that just looking down a barrel and judging bore bright or dark may be OK for a collector, but is not very useful if you are looking for a shooter. I have rejected too many mirror-bright barrels that were bad and have too many (previously) dark barrels that are excellent to be impressed by the know-it-all spiel of someone who just looks down from one end and pronounces a pat verdict. That sort of thing is bluff. Get the book and read up in these forums on the methods.
And good luck!
:wave:
---------- Post added at 01:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:14 AM ----------
P.S. While I was composing this post, jamie 5070 replied. The spring fix he mentions is the same as that illustrated by Stratton on P.42.