Bubba done it again

[ssgross]

I thought I was done, had enough, then saw this un. My heart throbbed, eyes tears up, and had it shipped home. Just picked up today. Since my previous bubba-un-done threads don't have pictures anymore, and I failed to keep the originals organized, I suppose I'll do another.

Here is what we are starting with.



There is no U on the upper band, but you can clearly see the "R", which is a rare find indeed! Hopefully the nut on the screw isn't there because the band is stripped out.

At first look it seems to have all it's parts but the upper band - and everything has beautiful, proud showing R's.


The barrel has worn parkerizing, with clear stamp 7-42, and hasn't been cut back. We'll check the bore when we get it all taken apart for detail cleaning. Hopefully it's not a sewer pipe. The action was clean with light oil, let's hope that means it was well maintained and the bore is in good shape.

Information

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[CINDERS]

Why does bubba have a propensity for varnished or shelac'ed stocks perhaps they felt it enhanced performance!

[mnmkeller]

My guess is that oiled stocks require a periodic oiling whereas shiny varnish requires no real upkeep.

Let us never underestimate bubba's propensity for being lazy and liking things what is nice and shiny!!

[ssgross]

In a few places where the shellac is worn off, you can tell that bubba never removed the original oiled finish, just slathered it on. It looks and feels like a mosin. My eyeball sees a nice bore though. Trigger group was encased in cosmoline. There is evidence of former pitting around the outside of the receiver. It was clearly removed and re-parked.
I have read reliably accounts that this was common with marines in the pacific. They would religiously clean and oil, but no amount of frequency oiling the exposed exterior metal could keep the rust off in the salty island air.

The lower band is a paperweight. The threads were drilled out or stripped out, larger course thread screw inserted with that nut on the end. I can maybe tap what is left and blue up a nice fine thread screw to make it look closer to right, or just put an old springfield band on it and enjoy my paperweight.

[baltimoreed]

There’s a lot of 1903 potential there. All that glistening stock in the small photos made me think mosin. Then I realized what was hiding underneath. Looking forward to your unbubba the bubba build. And no extra holes in the recvr! Done a couple myself since I retired. I did a much better job and enjoy my ‘03s more than my No1Mk3 and 1917 attempts. Sorry I bought them.

[ssgross]

1917 attempts.

I've done maybe a dozen '03's and 2 krags (finishing up the second in another thread). By far the '03 is easiest for the DIY'er that doesn't mind doing their homework to get right. A lot of great, period sources have plenty of info. '03 stock fitting is pretty simple - three small surfaces to balance out, compared to the krag or a trapdoor where the whole darn length of metal has to be just so. I have a trapdoor stock and action ready to go, but the barrel is a sewer pipe. It's on my list to contract someone good to profile me a new barrel. I haven't done 1917 yet, other than cleaning up and preserving what I already have. The couple bubbas I almost bought screamed money pit, and they are hard to find with ears still attached.

I have a large assortment of Garand parts and a couple receivers. I keep telling myself I need to get to them. I really want to make an m1c out of one, but the mounts, even repro, are impossible to source - and the ones Griffin &Howe are making now are 1) different 2) made of aluminum now and 3) very expensive to have them fit and turnaround times getting it back are unacceptable. I could easily do an m1d - Sarco mounts are sloppy, but easily fixed with some delicate sweat-equity, shimming and filing, which is fine for me on a parts rifle reproduction.

Now I'm way off topic rambling. Let's scrub the bore and take a before&after today.

[baltimoreed]

My M1 started out as a gifted bag-o-garand and a barrel from a hunting bud. Picked up the missing parts from gunshows [in the 1970s-1980s] and a commercial new SA recvr. Had a Marine armourer put it together for me in Jacksonville NC. After my retirement I put it into a Boyds laminate. Another friend had a M1D [repro] built that he didn’t care fore and eventually sold. Never shot his but did shoot an uncle’s NM Garand. Nice rifles.

[ssgross]

Bore looks like it was at least maintained. Here we are before scrubbing...chamber had plenty of dried oil/grease, and some surface rust by mouth.
pics are of chamber, freeborn area, mid bore and crown, as it was out of the box.


I lightly scrubbed the chamber with my 800 grit bore-hone. Some reamer chatter on the shoulder showed itself, but everything cleaned up nicely. Not much to do with the bore. Little bronze brushing, little jb paste to polish it up. No rust, no copper, no carbon fouling. just old tacky oil.
pics are chamber, shoulder, mid bore, crown.


My muzzle gauge reads 0.3010

[ssgross]

Bore looks promising. Just an even light frosting throughout.
I checked headspace after cleaning, but before I polished the chamber.
Here we are on a go gauge before polishing

Bolt stops in the same spot on one of MY live rounds (no fire control and trigger completely removed)

Falls almost all the way on the gauge after polishing, and squeezes closed on a round.

The chatter on the shoulder may be some raised burrs. I'll give it a very light chase with a finish reamer.

There was some rust under the front sight base after cleaning all the dried grease way from the spline (no key on early <1943 barrels).

I have a stock all ready for it. Just need to soak and scrub all the parts, reassemble, and see how it shoots before I decide what, if anything else, I'm going to do. I thankfully have some spare bands to get it range worthy.

[jamie5070]

Funny thing is that I rescued a similar looking 1903 back in the early "80s. Even down to filling in the top of the stack where the butt plate tang went. I wish I had kept the old stock.