Griffin& & Howe-modified NRA Sporter

[Rick the Librarian]

After viewing (and drooling over) Michael Petrov's works of art (which are sometimes disguised under the name of "sporterized M1903s") over the past several years, I made up my mind I had to have one example. One made its appearance, and, after accumulating the funds, I gathered it in.

According to Michael, it is a Griffin & Howe-modified NRA Sporter. The serial number is 1295379, indicating it is one of the nickel steel receivers "imported" from Rock Island. It has a Star Gauge barrel, although the commercial front sight hides all the barrel information. The best I can make out is a Springfield 1928 barrel. The Star Gauge registration number is underneath, on the bottom of the barrel, like it is on all NRA Sporters.

The rifle is in excellent shape. There was a little bit of surface rust on the Lyman rear sight and a couple of other places. Nearly all of it cleaned up nicely. The "brightwork" on the J5 bolt body is a little tarnished (no etched serial number is present). There also appears to be some "peeling" or wear on the bolt collar. The condition of the finish on the barreled receiver is immaculate and the bore gauges out to a shade over 1.

The stock was installed by Griffin & Howe, I assume. It appears somewhat dark, although it appears more from the finish, rather than from any wear (there is virtually none).

The pictures below are virtually "out of the [mailing] box", so you'll see some light rust and tarnish in a few places that is no longer there. I'll try to take some "updated" pictures which will show it after it has been cleaned.

Sincere thanks to Michael Petrov for his help in identifying this rifle and suggesting ways to clean her up. Also, thanks go to the former owner for making this rifle available!

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[DeputyBill]

Wow! That's a very nice find!
Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your good fortune, Rick.

[Rick the Librarian]

I used raw linseed oil with an (old) toothbrush to work it into the checking. I used a copper brush about the size of a toothbrush and some CLP to remove the surface rust on the rear sight and bolt. I've had good luck using it on other "rusty" projects. It was Michael's idea to use the raw linseed oil and I thought, since he is the "guru" of these rifles, I'd take his advice! I had a friend have problems with mineral spirits and the stock of a Red Star rifle, so I didn't want to go that route.

The barrel information is mostly covered up by the front sight, but I believe it is an SA 6-28.

Here are some "after cleaning" pictures of the rifle. It really cleaned up well!

[Promo]

Looks much better now, I love it.

[2aimtrue]

Beautiful rifle! There is a real nice Sedgley on Gunbroker right now:
Springfield 1903 30-06 R.F. Sedgley Custom NICE : Bolt Action at GunBroker.com

[Allen Humphrey]

Great find Rick. Your patience paid off with a very nice rifle. Michael is probably wondering if he has unintentionally created a competitor for those fine rifles!

[Sons of Alvin Linden]

Rick: You have done me many kindnesses in the past, I hope this begins to repay them. I have collected 1903 Custom Sporters for years. Try this on your rifle even after the wire brush, which is TOO HARSH ON THE METAL'S SURFACE IN MY HUMBLE OPINION. Buy a tube of Flitz Polish. You do not need much...repeat... you DO NOT NEED MUCH! Take a clean soft cloth and barely touch the tube's opening to the cloth and begin to Softly polish the areas where you still see the remaining dark brown rust spots. The great thing about Flitz is... it will remove rust DOWN TO THE METAL'S BLUED SURFACE without REMOVING THE BLUING UNDERNEATH...IF DONE PROPERLY. GO SLOW! I have on a regular basis taken rifles with Rust Bluing from the 20's covered in speckles of bright RED rust and in a couple of hours in front of the T.V., watching a ballgame gotten the bluing back to like it was the day it left the shop. The only thing you have to watch out for is that Flitz will bring up a shine on a Matte Blued Finish, if polished too much and with too broad a polishing stroke. I know this will help the surface as it is now...give it a try...you will BE AMAZED! WARMEST REGARDS Jerry

[Johnny Peppers]

The original rust blue finish on firearms was obtained using either wads of steel wool or a powered soft wire wheel to remove the rust from the bluing process.
Whatever you do, you don't want to cut the rust spots down to the bare metal. Bear in mind that even though Flitz polish is advertised as non-abrasive, it is abrasive. The abrasive particles are finer than what must be called abrasive by government regulations.

[Sons of Alvin Linden]

The wire brush used in the rust bluing process is a SPECIAL carding brush and is used to remove the surface rust scaling only. I have used Flitz for years and have never had a problem with it removing the bluing to bare metal, even with bad rust even though it has thinned the color when the rust is deep and removed. So far as Flitz being abrasive of course it is, but so is your hand! It is the degree of that abrasiveness that is the question. I wouldn't recommend getting it in your eye, I do however recommend it for rust removal from any blued surface. BTW I do not have any experience using it with with a power tool setup. As I said earlier in the prior post, go slow,polish with a clean cloth and USE SPARINGLY and you will be o.k.! Jerry

[Johnny Peppers]

The wire brush used in the rust bluing process is a SPECIAL carding brush and is used to remove the surface rust scaling only. I have used Flitz for years and have never had a problem with it removing the bluing to bare metal, even with bad rust even though it has thinned the color when the rust is deep and removed. So far as Flitz being abrasive of course it is, but so is your hand! It is the degree of that abrasiveness that is the question. I wouldn't recommend getting it in your eye, I do however recommend it for rust removal from any blued surface. BTW I do not have any experience using it with with a power tool setup. As I said earlier in the prior post, go slow,polish with a clean cloth and USE SPARINGLY and you will be o.k.! Jerry

My hand is not advertised as being non-abrasive, but Flitz polish is. I don't think anything was mentioned about using a power tool setup with Flitz.
As far as a special carding wheel which only removes the rust, it is more the skill of the operator than a brush that distinguishes rust from blue. I didn't recommend that Rick go to a powered soft wire brush or even steel wool, but just mentioning how the rust blue was originally finished.

"Flitz offers a range of non-abrasive polishes to meet every need - from stainless steel to silver, chrome to copper, you'll get the classic Flitz shine with each top-notch Flitz polishing product."



He doesn't want that "Classic Flitz Shine."