Flood damaged Beretta 950 BS- how risky?

[Ad Astra]

A neighbor whose house was wiped off its foundation (hurricane Ivan) salvaged 2 pistols from his scattered belongings. He's not a gun guy, they were given to him. One was a Colt 1903 .32 hammerless- was in a zipped gun case, soaked in salt water for days. Though heavily pitted, when I took it apart the innards seemed OK. He's trying to figure its value before deciding to restore or sell.

He wrote off the other, as it was in a holster. Said I could have it. I wasn't hopeful- looked pretty bad- rust, sand, crud. He'd wrapped these two in a rag with WD-40; may've done some good.

I thought I would try to save this little Berette 950 BS .25. Quick search on the net said people liked them. Took me 4 hours, a lot of Ballistol, and rags. Now slide seems ok, hammer/firing pin go click, barrel tips up with a "sproing".

It LOOKS like heck, with no finish, but seems mechanically OK. Think it is? I need advice. Surface rust? Yes. Springs, internal parts? Cleaned of sand & rust now.

Did I just get given a new shooter? Any risk in test firing it? .25 is so anemic anyways. HP''s don't expand in .25 do they?

I have 30 years in of safe gun ownership, and shoot .40 & .45 mostly. Never even shot a .25. Saw one of these used for $200. Did I waste my time cleaning it up? Or not?

Thanks for any input,

Ad Astra

 

[Onmilo]

As long as the pitting has not eaten more than 40% depth into the surfaces of the metal the gun should be sound enough for occasional shooting.
I would replace each and every spring in the gun as this is where the problems with corrosion will most appear.

 

[Kismet]

bery bery dangerous.

send to me. I save you.

 

[Ad Astra]

Thanks, Onmilo. The gun seems ok, with only surface rust now removed. Springs had crud, light rust. Clean now but will be first thing to fail I'm sure. It wasn't actually submerged, I think. Glad I saved it. Interesting little piece. Wish it had been the .22 short version, but the price was right.


Ad Astra

and no, Kis, you can't have it.

I had a Nylon 66 I would part with, but it's lost.

 

[lyricsdad]

Hey! i have a nylon 66 green, its a good little plinker, accurate as heck. I love shooting that rifle.

 

[MICHAEL T]

thats one of best 25 auto made . If its cleaned up and you think sound. shoot and enjoy. Reblue your self. nice project gun.

 

[happy old sailor]

if the barrel and chamber are in good condition, i would shoot it as i do not consider it dangerous, just ugly. a gun in a fire is entirely different. and i would not shoot it on a bet.

the .25 may be a pipsqueak in the caliber department, but is not a pipsqueak in the chamber pressure area. that is why i said that the barrel and chamber must be in good shape. if not, dont shoot it until you get a new one. it will still make a nice little gun, just ugly. several uses for an ugly gun unless you wish to exhibit it with pride. even then, with the telling of its history, it would be very interesting.

i think you have saved an excellent little gun from the gun graveyard, and i would do the same.

 

[Ad Astra]

update- Lil' Fuggly goes BANG

y'all forgot to remind me to wear earplugs!

With such a pipsqueak round, I forgot... it's loud.

Yes, it works- all hail Ballistol!

Firing pin return spring had light rust & was frozen- tapped out pin holding pin & spring, sanded pin & slide cavity. Spring works, but will need replacement- Finer springs like that were more affected than the thick coil springs.

Thanks everybody for input. I put 10 hrs. labor into it but have a new toy. Frame had a few dings from bouncing off concrete, but I filled these with JB spotweld, sanded, and since it won't take bluing, got black grill paint. Looks passable.

This won't be a carry- looked for a holster and found my AMT .380's holster fit. Which raises the question, why carry the Beretta .25 when you have a similar size more powerful .380?

It was worth saving from the gun graveyard...

Be safe & thanks all,

Ad Astra

 

[Golddog]

You're lucky you didn't find the .22 BS. It was the least reliable handgun of the hundreds that I've shot. It was called the "BS" for a reason.

 

[kennedy]

I had a .22 short, great little gun and accurate, could hit a paper plate at 25 ft, never jammed unless I left a round in the chamber for a long time, then it swelled and would not eject.

 

[greg531mi]

I would replace the springs, they are inexpensive anyway. Seem like a nice little backup gun...
Hope the next hurricane doesn't go near you!!!!

 

[jondar]

"Suicide" special

Once at a gun show I took in trade a Model 1908 Colt .25 auto that a doctor in a city near me had commited suicide with. It was in a Ziploc bag that the police had put it when investigating the suicide. The whole gun was covered with dried blood and when I disassembled it the barrell still was packed with brain tissue. I cleaned it thoroughly with solvent and there was a lot of pitting. Colts have a lot of metal in them. I buffed most of the pitting out and cleaned the bore with valve grinding compound. Cold blue and a good oiling and it shot fine. Carried it in the truck for a while, but traded it off. Wish I had it back. Don't worry about one under water for a few days.