Beautiful gun you have there, Tinpig! I really like the feel of this gun, and I almost feel sorry that it has to be sporterized in order to become a working weapon again. I may have to get myself a proper non-hacked up M1917 at some point.
I cleaned up the rifle today, and she cleaned up nicely! Unfortunately, my girlfriend is on vacation with our camera, so I have nothing but my old iPhone to take photos with, so it will have to do for now.
Picture 1:
Here she is in all her glory. You can already see that the ears has been chopped off, what a pity! The texture of the wood is nice, and given a little work Im sure that it could get to look good. Unfortunately, that wont happen. More on that later.
Picture 2:
Lets start out with something that actually looks good, the front sight. Back in the shop it was a little dirty, but it cleaned up nicely. At first I was sure that I wanted it off, but mow Im not so sure.
Picture 3:
Cue the horror show. As you can see the ears have been cut off, and the former owner did a lousy job at it. I cant find the correct word in english, but the "plate" above the bolt is bent, and it is scratching the bolt when you cycle the action, and he has drilled a hole that I suspect has been used for a scope mount.
Picture 4:
Another pic of the bent "plate" above the bolt, that shows the damage more clearly.
Picture 5:
As the above pics clearly shows, the original peep sight is long gone, but it seems that the former owner decided that he wanted iron sights after all, so he installed these. Pity, the wood would have looked nice without that hole.
Picture 6:
For some reason, the former owner decided to drill a hole here too. Im sure that the damage is insignificant from a functional point of view, but it is a pity.
I cant get a good photo of the barrel, but it looks a bit smooth. Its not pitted or anything, just a bit too smooth looking for my taste, but I will definitely shoot the gun before I decide if I will replace it or not. However, there is two obstacles that I need to overcome before I take it to the range; First of all, there is the issue with the sights. Even if the gun shoots straight, there is no way to tell if I haven't got a pair of serviceable sights so i can aim straight. There is a chance that the sights that the former owner installed works fine, but if they don't, how can I tell if it is the sights or something else that is my limiting factor? Second, the action is a little quirky. The bolt is hard to close, almost as if it gets stuck on something. Oil helped a little, but not enough. I plan to disassemble it again tomorrow and clean it all over again and se if it gets better.
I cleaned up the rifle today, and she cleaned up nicely! Unfortunately, my girlfriend is on vacation with our camera, so I have nothing but my old iPhone to take photos with, so it will have to do for now.
Picture 1:
Here she is in all her glory. You can already see that the ears has been chopped off, what a pity! The texture of the wood is nice, and given a little work Im sure that it could get to look good. Unfortunately, that wont happen. More on that later.
Picture 2:
Lets start out with something that actually looks good, the front sight. Back in the shop it was a little dirty, but it cleaned up nicely. At first I was sure that I wanted it off, but mow Im not so sure.
Picture 3:
Cue the horror show. As you can see the ears have been cut off, and the former owner did a lousy job at it. I cant find the correct word in english, but the "plate" above the bolt is bent, and it is scratching the bolt when you cycle the action, and he has drilled a hole that I suspect has been used for a scope mount.
Picture 4:
Another pic of the bent "plate" above the bolt, that shows the damage more clearly.
Picture 5:
As the above pics clearly shows, the original peep sight is long gone, but it seems that the former owner decided that he wanted iron sights after all, so he installed these. Pity, the wood would have looked nice without that hole.
Picture 6:
For some reason, the former owner decided to drill a hole here too. Im sure that the damage is insignificant from a functional point of view, but it is a pity.
I cant get a good photo of the barrel, but it looks a bit smooth. Its not pitted or anything, just a bit too smooth looking for my taste, but I will definitely shoot the gun before I decide if I will replace it or not. However, there is two obstacles that I need to overcome before I take it to the range; First of all, there is the issue with the sights. Even if the gun shoots straight, there is no way to tell if I haven't got a pair of serviceable sights so i can aim straight. There is a chance that the sights that the former owner installed works fine, but if they don't, how can I tell if it is the sights or something else that is my limiting factor? Second, the action is a little quirky. The bolt is hard to close, almost as if it gets stuck on something. Oil helped a little, but not enough. I plan to disassemble it again tomorrow and clean it all over again and se if it gets better.