Short version- I brought home my brother's Mossberg 42 MB (with some other now unreadable marking after the MB) from my parents' house. It was in the rafters downstairs next to the back door and now has so much surface rust that I had to (lightly) use my wife's emery board to make out the markings that I'm posting!
serial # 452xx UNITED STATES PROPERTY marked on both barrel and receiver (matching serials) with barrel marked .22 s, l ,lr.
5 round magazine, and the rear sight he found for it years ago is an adjustable peep marked "Mossberg 5331" with a hooded front sight that has the option to change inserts.
Full length stock (sort of) with a steel insert between rear stock and forearm with a "slot" for a sling as well as the same "slotted" metal insert attached to rear stock.
As well as the surface rust, the stock(s) is / are so dry I'm surprised they're not cracked (My parents heat with a woodstove in the basement where the rifle was stored in the rafters)
So, my questions are
1) How rare is this rifle? (With replacement sights )?
2) How best to remove rust and restore stock without damaging markings? All markings are currently so sharply stamped that they are raised over the metal and I don't want to disturb them.
3) With the rear sight installed, the bolt cannot be removed, which makes me think it must be the wrong sight (the bolt root hits the horizontal portion of the "sight arm" The bolt is rusty as well, so the sight needs to be removed for cleaning purposes anyway but this can't be standard for a seeming "Target" rifle like this?
serial # 452xx UNITED STATES PROPERTY marked on both barrel and receiver (matching serials) with barrel marked .22 s, l ,lr.
5 round magazine, and the rear sight he found for it years ago is an adjustable peep marked "Mossberg 5331" with a hooded front sight that has the option to change inserts.
Full length stock (sort of) with a steel insert between rear stock and forearm with a "slot" for a sling as well as the same "slotted" metal insert attached to rear stock.
As well as the surface rust, the stock(s) is / are so dry I'm surprised they're not cracked (My parents heat with a woodstove in the basement where the rifle was stored in the rafters)
So, my questions are
1) How rare is this rifle? (With replacement sights )?
2) How best to remove rust and restore stock without damaging markings? All markings are currently so sharply stamped that they are raised over the metal and I don't want to disturb them.
3) With the rear sight installed, the bolt cannot be removed, which makes me think it must be the wrong sight (the bolt root hits the horizontal portion of the "sight arm" The bolt is rusty as well, so the sight needs to be removed for cleaning purposes anyway but this can't be standard for a seeming "Target" rifle like this?