Much better...

[sm]

Youth H&R single shot .410 was bought from an individual.
Poor thing, needed some attention and cleaning up.
A long time ago this gun had the metal and wood separated and stored this way.
Seems like a heavy duty coat of Johnson's Paste wax on the wood, wrapped in Waxed paper.

Metal on the other hand, most likely doused with 3-in-1 oil and I do mean dripping wet, wheel bearing grease (?) and wrapped in wax paper, old towel and put in a home made cardboard box. Just cardboard, cut , and taped together.

Wood was fine, cleaned up easy and just needed the metal cleaned up.

Metal, it was awful smelling, sticky, and the paper had stuck to it.

Barrel had the wax paper pulled off best could, and wiped off.
Battery drill with a brush and some 0000 steel wool, revealed bore was fine, maybe that gunk was wheel bearing grease...with this oil mixed in.
Who knows, still a mess.

Receiver and action...yucky, sticky and all.

So a stew pot of hot water off the stove, some old Tide detergent and this receiver tossed in to soak.
Barrel was stuck in a pail with hot water, Tide, and action end soaked, while shop rags wiped and cleaned one end.
Flip ends and repeat.

Receiver was cleaning up, getting better, being poked and cleaned with pipe cleaners, and wooden sticks with cloth.

Self serve car wash, and hit that barrel really good, it did not need much more.
Receiver got "blasted" and real good.
Squirt some Palmolive Dish Soap into this thing, and hit it again with sprayer.

Run back to the house, and spray with G96.
Barrel cleaned up great! It was ready to go in short order.
Receiver and action Spray, work action and Repeat. Internals looked fine, real smooth, and then took a can of air and blasted all this out.
Light lube for action with G96.

RIG on Stock bolt, and RIG+P on hinge, and a light coat of Johnson's Paste Wax on the thing.

Much Better! said the new owner about so tall...

$10 of this new owner's money went in on the $30 total purchase price.
We even got to use some of the kid's G96, which the big can is pretty special and neat.
Mom donated the Tide, Palmolive , pails...she found out later.
Grandpa donated time, passing forward , reloaded and "brand new shells! Thanks Grandpa!"
Grandma does the baked cookies and brownies, this gun cleaning bit takes energy you know? *wink*

Neat gun, just perfect!
What else can you buy for $30 and have this much quality time, fun , make memories with and last for a long long time?

"You went to a car wash to clean a shotgun?" - Mom asked looking at me...everyone else too...
"Yeah these make too much racket when you use a washing machine, and you should really hear how they sound in a dryer". I replied.

Welll.....they do!

*wink*

 

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks for this. I love happy beginnings....

 

[foghornl]

Great story, Steve....

Yeah these make too much racket when you use a washing machine, and you should really hear how they sound in a dryer". I replied.

Just a Wild Guess, but I suspect that the line above is one of those "Never mind HOW I know. I just know" kind of things... [insert eeeevil wink-n-grin here]

 

[sm]

One of the neat things my Mentors & Elders did, was not take themselves and everything in life too serious.

There is a place for serious, just one cannot stay in a constant state of serious 24/7/365.
Lighten up, enjoy this journey called life, and "live" instead of just "existing".

I can go and go and give and give, still I have to re-charge my batteries. I am one protective in keeping my "reserves" charged up.

This was a neat deal for a kid, his grandparents and I got to be part of all this.
His mom, had a hard day, brain tired and her mental had been taxed.

All this stress just rolled off of her, when she heard about her kid, and what all had happened, she got out of "self".
Wise cracks and poking fun, and one could see more stress roll off and her batteries getting re-charged.

She gives as good as she takes. With a "here mom, have a brownie and spoil your supper" from her kid, as she ran to check washer and dryer...cutting up.

Load of laundry done with Adopted Uncle Steve's help, all folded. There is leftovers to eat.
Mom can change into comfy clothes, and hear all about this gun, mess with it, not have to worry about that laundry, fixing supper, and the stress is gone.

There is more to this firearm stuff than just firearms.
Living, and sharing and passing forward so much more.

Ruark's Grandpa passed down to Ruark these things too...
*wink*

 

[Robert Hairless]

I wonder how many of your readers screamed in horror when they reached the part about the car wash? My only question is whether you spent the extra money for the optional wax treatment.

 

[sm]

*smirk*

My take is -
Self service car washes were invented to clean muddied up guns after trudging in from hunting.

Added bonus was the fact they cleaned up the hunting vehicles too.

Skip the wax, use that time to yell at the dawgs inside the vehicle chomping into the game taken or found the rest of the do-nut holes from the wee hours driving in to the hunting spot.

Use Enough Do-Nut Holes

 

[Robert Hairless]

If you're that generous with donut holes you might find me in the back of your car too.

Ages and ages ago I used to strip the M1 Garand loaned to me by a generous government, strip myself, and take the washable parts of us both to the showers along with a bottle of shampoo. After a delightful interval under the hot water we were squeaky clean and smelled wonderful too. I sometimes wondered if an enemy would shoot at me or ask if he could date my rifle.

 

[sm]

Blackpowder Guns still get cleaned with hot soap and water...

Duck and Goose hunting for instance and it being that mud and mire that differs from just "mud".
Everything is going to get muddy...

Farms and such, had garden hoses, and some had power washers. It was common to stand out and get waders hosed off, and the tarp used in the truck/vehicles to protect seats...easier to clean up.

Guns, well they too get muddy and sometimes a gun barrel hits the ground , gets dropped, trudging in...mud, mire , and waders is downright tiring.

Blast that gun out and get any mud, mire, dirty water and whatever else out.

Heck, in recent years with some new SUVs, there is very little clearance b/t fender wells and tires and it takes very little mud to impede one of these...

So we pass forward all this stuff, and if a kid grows up, and is out hunting and needs to get a bore clear of mud, which is a safety matter, then one more tool in the tool box is a car wash.

Memories, passing forward, tools in the tool box...

How raised - what you do.