Chopping a classic: can it ever be justified

Obviously someone can do their own property whatever they want, but should they?

In reality that depends on just how collectible/classic and the condition of the gun.

I believe you can do with your gun, what YOU want to do with it. Your money. I have permanently modified a couple of guns and am completely happy with them. 10/22's are a dime a dozen so no loss there. Same with my former Mosin Nagant.

I had the barrel changed on my Colt Diamondback and then had it hard chromed. I've owned it since the mid 1980's and the customization fits me, the same owner for the last 35 years.

My Grandpop gave me his S&W model 28 6" in 1984 which was made in 1966. I will never get rid of it because it was his. But the 6" made that N frame too large to do much with in my opinion. I had wanted a 4" when he gave me his gun, so earlier this year I had a 4" barrel installed. I still have the 6" too, but I prefer it as a 4" due to the balance. I would consider converting it to a .44spl because, once again, I don't plan on getting rid of it.

One of my favorites is my Flattop .44spl which I had a Bisley trigger fitted and I pulled off the steel XR-3 grip frame and put an alloy XR-3 RED frame on it. I reshaped the grip frame and grips, slimming them down and reducing the flair.

Have fun. If you go to sell it, chances are you will not get the purists to bite. But you might get a like minded enthusiast who shares your same vision!

When the point is reached that it takes major work to make it either work right, look decent, or both then it’s far enough gone to do as you please with. Chop, bob, whatever. In some cases the parts that you plan to modify may put you money ahead by selling or swapping for a used part in modified or worse condition if you will modify what’s worse anyway. Example... 32-20 K frames are notorious for bulged barrels. If you had a rough gun with a good barrel you could probably buy a bulged barrel for little to nothing and sell the good barrel thus giving you one to chop and them one to restore. At any rate that’s kinda the break point.

Here is an early Fitz special style I picked up a few years back made from a S&W 1899 . The picture is as I got it. I tweaked the trigger a bit and put a front sight on it. It remains otherwise as pictured. It still shoots fine.

When you paint the interior of your house, or the outside, for that matter, do you walk around the neighborhood asking folks what colors you should use?

Sure, the colors might not be colors a realtor would say will help sell the house but who cares about the next buyer’s tastes or the realtor’s opinion when it’s your house, you live there and if you have no plans to sell it, who freakin’ cares? Your House!

Here is a S&W Model 28-2 I worked on in the early 80s. I installed a new cylinder and frame lug, rounded the grip frame and had the barrel bored and rifled. When the barrel came back I needed to set it back one thread to fit to cylinder and shorten the shank to adjust the cylinder gap. Why did I do this to a pristine Model 28? At that time the Model 28 was a common as dirt piece, easily found and easily afforded. I wanted a 4”, tapered barreled, 45 ACP, N frame revolver. S&W made very few like that and if found, POR (Priced Out of Reach). So it was easier and less money to build what I wanted.

Since then, I have also reworked a couple of S&W Model 1917s to 4” barrels.

It wasn’t until a couple of decades after my Model 28 was reworked that S&W offered anything similar.



Kevin

Pat Riot said:

When you paint the interior of your house, or the outside, for that matter, do you walk around the neighborhood asking folks what colors you should use?

Sure, the colors might not be colors a realtor would say will help sell the house but who cares about the next buyer’s tastes or the realtor’s opinion when it’s your house, you live there and if you have no plans to sell it, who freakin’ cares? Your House!

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My brother painted his house and a bunch of the neighbors got together to sue him because they did not like the color.

Bill Raby said:

My brother painted his house and a bunch of the neighbors got together to sue him because they did not like the color.

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That’s a sad statement on the condition of our society.

Pat Riot, I get your meaning but there’s a disconnect in scale here. If a month later you decide “Summer Spruce” just isn’t your color, you can repaint and all you’ve lost is some time and money. The old color is gone, no harm to the house. If a month later you decide a 16”, .35Whelen, bull-pup, hi-cap-mag, M1 Garand conversion was a bad idea, you’re out a whole stack of cash and a rifle that you may or may not be able to replace.

Historically significant, perfect original finish, rare model in excellent condition? Those are reasons besides economic ones not to modify a gun.

But in the end it is just a tool so do what makes you happy!

StrawHat said:

Why did I do this to a pristine Model 28? At that time the Model 28 was a common as dirt piece, easily found and easily afforded.

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I long for the days of $200 28's, $400 29's and $300 OMBH's. I paid a lot more for my HWP and 20yrs ago I could've bought two guns for what the Keith Browns cost. Of course, 20yrs ago I had a lot less to spend.

GeoDudeFlorida said:

Pat Riot, I get your meaning but there’s a disconnect in scale here. If a month later you decide “Summer Spruce” just isn’t your color, you can repaint and all you’ve lost is some time and money. The old color is gone, no harm to the house. If a month later you decide a 16”, .35Whelen, bull-pup, hi-cap-mag, M1 Garand conversion was a bad idea, you’re out a whole stack of cash and a rifle that you may or may not be able to replace.

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I understand, but my point is, it's your gun to do with as you please, regardless of other's opinions. It was a metaphor.

I bought a set of Micro adjustable sights for my original 1917 Smith, I'm glad I never installed them so that I could replace the Magna grips and bullseye springs with the factory ones and return it to original.
On the other hand I bought a Krag rifle that had already been cut to 24", I went ahead and cut 2 more off and made myself a DCM style carbine.

Master Blaster said:

Historically significant, perfect original finish, rare model in excellent condition? Those are reasons besides economic ones not to modify a gun.

But in the end it is just a tool so do what makes you happy!

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I remember when the Mauser-action custom craze hit. The people with more cash than brains bought up pristine German 98k’s to make mock Weatherby’s and such. They wouldn’t dream of starting with rusty actions or shot-out barrels. I picked a nice custom in .35Whelan for the price a used Savage long-action because one of those fellers found out the Whelan kicked a little. It’s a good rifle but there isn’t much use for it in Florida. I will eventually sell it.

pairof44sp said:

There's a fellow on this forum, or maybe it's elsewhere but I coulda sworn it was here, who posted his project 1917s. They were beaters he'd picked up for around 400 each and turned into custom lo pro snubs.

I thought they were the eel's hips.

Now I just found out that there are old 44 specials out there too. and now I can dream that one day a decrepit Triple Lock will come along that I can have my way with.... with no guilty feelings.

Poll: can chopping up a beat up classic ever be justified? How beat up would it need to be for you?

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If I really wanted it, and couldn't find a good donor gun or another way to get the same thing, Id cut up pretty much anything to make what I want, zero guilt.....
Only way id feel guilty is if I, or whom ever I hired to do the work, did a poor job of it. Same with anything else

In the specific case of a Triple Lock, it would have to be pretty far gone before I'd be willing to take a hacksaw to it. Honestly, if I really had to have a chopped Triple Lock, I'd keep an eye out for a basket case and then send it to a reputable revolversmith.

Now, I have attacked old revolvers with hacksaws and Dremel tools, but they were rusty examples of police trade-in Model 10s and the like, so I don't feel like I painted over the Mona Lisa. The end result, though, never did match the picture I'd had in my head. For that reason alone, if I had it to do over I wouldn't.

pairof44sp said:

I don’t know that caliber, but it sounds like too much for Wailin’ on the little “sand deer” we have in North Central FL.

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It’s a.30-06 necked up to .358. Big bullet moving fast. Good for elk, moose, and a bunch of other things that don’t live in Florida. It has a Miopta scope on it worth more than I paid for the package including four boxes of ammo. I will probably sell it when the ammos gone.

.38 Special said:

In the specific case of a Triple Lock, it would have to be pretty far gone before I'd be willing to take a hacksaw to it. Honestly, if I really had to have a chopped Triple Lock, I'd keep an eye out for a basket case and then send it to a reputable revolversmith.

Now, I have attacked old revolvers with hacksaws and Dremel tools, but they were rusty examples of police trade-in Model 10s and the like, so I don't feel like I painted over the Mona Lisa. The end result, though, never did match the picture I'd had in my head. For that reason alone, if I had it to do over I wouldn't.

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I was a machinist for years before I decided a more sedate job suited my lifestyle so hacksaws and Dremel tools are no strangers to me but I have a preference for lathes and mills for moving steel. Less work and fewer headaches.

GeoDudeFlorida said:

I was a machinist for years before I decided a more sedate job suited my lifestyle so hacksaws and Dremel tools are no strangers to me but I have a preference for lathes and mills for moving steel. Less work and fewer headaches.

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I am no machinist, but I work with metal as a hobby, building "classic" bicycle frames and such. I'm also capable of handling basic firearm chores like trigger jobs and such. Properly refinishing old revolvers is well over my head though, and I confess to giving a little shudder when the words "Triple Lock" and "hacksaw" are mentioned anywhere near each other!

There is a special room in Hell for people who chop up a S&W Triple Lock.

.38 Special said:

I am no machinist, but I work with metal as a hobby, building "classic" bicycle frames and such. I'm also capable of handling basic firearm chores like trigger jobs and such. Properly refinishing old revolvers is well over my head though, and I confess to giving a little shudder when the words "Triple Lock" and "hacksaw" are mentioned anywhere near each other!

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I always have known: not many a machinist is also a gunsmith but lots of gunsmiths are also machinists. I do cosmetics and simple repairs but I leave the real work to my two favorite gunsmiths.

One of them did these:

Some guns are too valuable in their present condition to modify. Lopping off the barrel on this one would be stupid.
(As rough as it is, it’s still a Registered Magnum as it left the factory)

I can sell it for enough to buy a 3 1/2” model .357 Magnum if I wanted one. And, have a little money left over.

To me, it’s often pure economics. I’d spend $300 bucks getting the barrel cut and reduce the value of the gun by that much, or more.

My theory works unless you want to make a gun that never existed.

In that case. Go for it. Have fun.