Refurbishing an old Savage .22lr

BoatMad

I'm in the process of recovering my dads old .22 from the army. I saw it recently and it's in suprising good nick after being stored for 39 years.

I'd like to get the stock refurbished ( lots of deep scratches and may get the barrel 're-blued etc.

Anyone reccomend a good restoring gunsmith

Ta

Cass

Moving to the main forum as it will get more answers/exposure there.

Grizzly 45

First off,find out what type of Savage .22 rifle it is.Some of them are quite valuable and going off to do what you suggest will ruin the value of the gun.Especially by re bluing it,and again this depends on the guns value..A good bluing job can cost more than the gun is worth too betimes,and if it is valuable,rebluing will wreck its value.So it can bew a catch22 situation.
Deep scratches,unless it is a laquered stock[which is an abomination anyway]most of those can be taken out by a good bit of stock oil, linseed oil and elbow grease.Unless they are actually gouges and mashed wood fibre in the stock[Which can be sorted with a steam iron and a wet cloth;)]a few scratches are not serious and are cosmetic only.

Be more important that the gun is 100% in working order,than the cosmetics.:)

bazza888

hey how did you end up having to recover it from the army?

sfakiaman

It seems strange that a .22LR would have been taken in during the gun grab. It's just possible that it's a .22 Savage High Power which is an obsolete (I think) CF cartridge designed by necking down a .25/35 to .22.

BoatMad

hey how did you end up having to recover it from the army?

Well I was 12 at the time and had just taking up shooting it. I think he voluntarily gave it in. I think its a fairly standard Savage .22lr with a clynder magazine. He bought it in 59 for a fiver. I mostly shoot clays, but intend to license it for sentimental value and do a bit of target shooting with it.

It seems strange that a .22LR would have been taken in during the gun grab. It's just possible that it's a .22 Savage High Power which is an obsolete (I think) CF cartridge designed by necking down a .25/35 to .22.

Interesting you say that , I remember him mentioing that the gun was capable of a "high power round". but it seems on casual inspection to be a standard 22lr, and I remember that he had standard 22 rounds.


Boatmad

Tackleberrywho

Most of the .22's of that era were S.L.LR

.22 Short
.22long
.22long rifle



Perhaps that is what he meant.

My Da's 1964 Anschutz is S.L.LR

gunhappy_ie

While its off topic here, Id love if you started another thread detailing how you went about getting the gun back off the army.


Theres ALOT of guns in stores that havent nor will never be claimed to this date.

Tackleberrywho

A friend of mine's father was a gun dealer.

He handed up loads in '73. He died in 2004. My mate said he handed up a .22 pistol and a few other things.

He has no idea how to even go about getting them back, since they are part of his fathers estate.

BoatMad

A friend of mine's father was a gun dealer.

He handed up loads in '73. He died in 2004. My mate said he handed up a .22 pistol and a few other things.

He has no idea how to even go about getting them back, since they are part of his fathers estate.

Its not at all difficult, albeit it takes time.

Contact the Firearms section at Garda HQ, Phoneix Park,you can just ring them, They have all the records of all the private firearms in army custody. ( its a card index). If you have any of the receipt numbers, much the better. The card index, should tell them where it is stored by the army. You need to know what name the record is under and generally what type of firearm it is.

You then can write requesting that it be retrived. Now comes the waiting part, The guards request it from teh army and then they have to trawl through their records and find out what barracks it is in, In many cases the firearms where collected from barracks in the country and removed to Dublin, this is what happened to me. Eventually , they find it and will deliver it to the Firearms section, where you can inspect it. Then you can get it released to a RFD or just license it yourself. There is no particular ownership burden of proof, you have to provide some ID etc. I was not asked to show wills or anything.

It can take over a year , but in my case the firearm was in remarkable good condition, no rust, all the barrel and action was greased up. etc. Kudos really for the servants of the state.

Boatmad

FISMA

BoatMad,
Good for you - I applaud your efforts to get this back, I would absolutely do the same. I would consider it an heirloom.

That the state took it in during the gun grab will add to its history/provenance. I would keep all of the paperwork with it.

Normally, I would suggest to watch the sanding when it comes to war guns because of the markings they may have.

However, in this case, the stock should not be marked - is it? Did the powers that be mark it in any way? If so, it may add to the history later on.

Have you sussed out a new stock?

Seeing how you have come this far, why not do it yourself? Whatever about the bluing, why not at least sand it?

If you do, here's some advice:
(1) hand sand - do not use stripper. Stripper kills the grain.
(2) Rub in oil and do not spray on stuff or go with those clear coats. A hand rubbed stock is just beautiful when done correctly

I have found that in most cases, I do just as good a job, if not better, than those I pay.

Consider restoring it yourself. Just watch the bluing bit.

Post some images if you have any.

Slan

ssl

We'd love to see some photos BoatMad. now and during the restoration:)

BoatMad

Will do on the photos will be posted soon

Boatmad