My problem with beat up old firearms

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Cosmoline

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I love them. I've bought, sold and traded probably 80 firearms in the past five years, and my current batch of five includes my favorite shooters. Last night I had them all out and was spraying on some protective coating until they could be better housed at the compound. What a motly assortment!

--Beat-up Mossy 500 police surplus. raw metal showing. Rust specs. Duct tape acting as a recoil pad. Duct tape to hold on the tactical light

--Vintage Colt Police Positive Special. Get this, I actually took this one out of consignment and put in my excellent S&W 36 instead! Logically, the S&W was better in every respect save accuracy. But I love the Colt, and never liked the Smith.

--Beat-up Mosin Nagant 91-30. I've had some great Mosins in the past, but for some reason the one I've kept is a ratty looking thing with a Tasco scout scope and a loose top handguard held on my, yes, duct tape.

--K-31 Swiss with scout scope. This is actually in pretty good shape, but I've put duct tape on it anyway. However, it is very weird, so I count it as more evidence of my problem.

and my next purchase? I'm buying a beat-up old BRNO ZKK in .375 H&H on layaway. And yes, it has duct tape on it.
 
I rebuilt a shotgun for a hunting buddy, I have never worked on such a beat up firearm. Since he has gotten it back he doesnt enjoy shootin it as much. I was going to work on his old remington model 788 in 223 but he says its just fine the way it is.
 
What is it about these beaters? I think maybe it's the sense of history I get by handleing one. I like my C&Rs with a little soldierly where. I also have 3 1911s 2 are near perfect one looks like it's been thru every war since the Big One. But I would take my my ragged battle rattle over both my pretty boys.
 
Hey Cosmo,

Even down in PA we use duct tape on our guns. I have an H&R Topper 12 gague that I got new in the early 1980s. This was when H&R's quality control was going down the tubes. One day I was shooting it and the lug brazed to the bottom of the barrel to which the forearm screw is attached came off. I reattached the forearm with duct tape. Ugly, but it works.
 
My dad has a old Remington "targetmaster", not sure of exact model. My cousin loves that thing, missing half of it's finish, not much blueing left and a bit of rust for a real mix of color.
I guess some of you guys cant be helped;)
Tony
 
dionysusigma-- We were talking about severely used, badly beaten,and put back together with spit and bailing wire guns with major cosmetic defiencies. Not crap
 
I know, I know... :rolleyes:

Just funnin' around--no insult/ harm intended.

Hell, I drive a '93 Taurus. Gets 15 miles to the gallon, half the electrical is zapped out, and there are dings, dents, and scratches all over the body. The interior is... how shall we say... severly worn with various tears in the upholstery and soda stains in the carpet. The wheels had the locking bolts cut off long ago (due to somebody :eek: losing the special key doodad). The thing doesn't need a oil change, since it seems to drink oil like gasoline (although at a much slower rate, thank God) and I have to add a quart about every month. The engine smells strongly of coolant, the transmission's been completely replaced, and the sunroof is glued; not welded, but superglued, shut.

It's my car. And I wouldn't trade it for a brand-spankin'-new one. :)



(Well, maybe for an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, but only then.) :D
 
That thing had to be a joke or some kinda prototype. Either way it's just about the ugliest thing I've seen since my first wife's mother.
 
I have a friend who calls those "Red Neck Specials" and grabs evey one he can find. Used guns usually sell on the basis of cosmetics. Good or bad if they look good they go and if not the dealer will probably have to give them away. My buddy is smart enough to know that "looks" seldom effects the shooting qualities, and like an old car you don't have too worry if you put a scratch in one. Under all of that tape is some real quality sometimes.
 
Years ago I'm in a pawn shop, just looking and hoping for a deal. Young lady comes in with a well worn cigar box. "No I'm sorry ma'am I have no use for a gun in that bad of condition". Ding! she has hung her head, I walk up and asks whats in the cigar box. Eww, model 10, scratched, rusty, no finish to speak of, and the gips were busted and held together by that old cloth electrical tape. I pick up this pitiful wreck reeking of 3 in one and finally get the cyl open, 5 fired casings , and not gonna budge. "Grandaddy kept it in the field, bounced around in the truck, tractor and such, just figured maybe it could be used for parts". $20 later I have this pitiful hunk of metal, and a half a box of s&w shells.

Called my gunsmith buddy, "Ain't gonna like me but..." sure enough he didn't. After a soak, clean up, smooth scratches...internals were in great shape. Sandblasted, did a blue job, set of used grips, had me a fine 4" pencil bbl shooter. Gunsmith was getting his bluing started up , figured it'd be a good one to test on.

Smooth as glass trigger, tight as a drum, accurate as all get out...just ugly as sin and needed some attention.

Ugly as was, one of my favorites, but stolen , miss that ugly thing.
 
I recently got my C&R, so I imagine I need to go buy a couple rolls of duct tape.


Someone once said:

"Duct tape is like the force ... it has a dark side and a light side and it binds the universe together."
 
Roger the duct tape!

I was given a single shot 12 gage that belonged to my late uncle Bud.
It was made by Cherokee firearms right here in Knoxville years ago.
It had black electrical tape holding the stock in place.
Kind of beat up but a good shooter!
 
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