New Rusty Project - Visible Loader .22LR pump - Recovered in Virginia City NV

[AJAX22]

I've been wanting to try tinkering on a dug rifle restoration, (I'd LOVE to do a winchester) but want to get the techniques/tools figured out before I spend the money on one (they tend to be a bit pricey, everyone wants one to hang on the wall)

So.... I picked up this little gem as a transitional project.

She was Recovered buried in cement in a trash pit just outside of Virginia city Nevada, and spent a long time in the Virginia city museum on display, then there was sold at the Virginia City Museum auction about 20 years ago... to a collector who then sold her to me.






Anyway, It may be a little while before I get around to playing with her but I wanted to share

 

[303tom]

That aught to be a fun one, good luck with her, Numrich has quit a bit of stuff for em.............(have fun)

 

[oldpapps]

AJAX22, your photos grabbed my attention.

My grandfather's .22 was passed down to me. The markings on the barrel say 'Stevens', the serial number begins with a 'W'. Yet the receiver looks very, very close to the one in your post.

I was told as a kid to never shoot .22 short because they would ruin the chamber and that the barrel had been replaced because of this.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=171183&stc=1&d=1346946453

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=171182&stc=1&d=1346946453


I'm beginning to think that what I have always believed to be a 'Stevens' is actually a 'Winchester'.

 

[rcmodel]

No, if it looks like the one in the photos it's a Stevens Visable Loader.

Winchester only made the 1890, 06, 62, and 62A hammer pumps.
And they all look like this.



rc

 

[oldpapps]

RC, thanks. I trust your knowledge.

This is a 'Colt' (what I can decipher on the barrel) that was in a house fire in 1928, it could have been the fall of '27. My grandfather rented several houses and after the fire, he pulled this out during the clean up.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=171184&stc=1&d=1346947537

 

[BCRider]

AJAX, all the best on your restoration. I picked up a Visible loader that needs a couple of parts at a show recently for a good price. But at least mine isn't "crusty" and it has wood. If you need any information on sizing the wood if you can't find stocks and pump for yours I'd be happy to measure stuff and make a drawing to help you along.

There's precious little info about the VL out on the web. It seems to be a unique design that never really found favour so there isn't much of a "fan base" putting information on the web. I'm hoping to change that once I begin restoring my own gun.

One thing I have learned is that the operation is very much set by "tuning" how far on the carrier for the pump handle screws onto the ram. So keep that in mind for the future that it's not a case of screwing things together as far as they can go.

 

[silicosys4]

That looks like quite the project, It would make a really nice looking and very interesting wall hanger when done, but I wouldn't try shooting it ever again if its been in a house fire sufficient to sag the barrel like it appears.

 

[BCRider]

I saw that too and I was hoping it was just some distortion from a wide angle camera lens. But yeah, if there's evidence of heat from a fire before it was "extinguished" with being dumped into a blob of cement then it'll be at best a wall hanger.

 

[AJAX22]

I believe the barrel is straight and the sag is an optical illusion from the camera

All of the sellers guns had the same curve to them when photographed

Probably why I picked up the toys cheap

 

[Big20]

Hard to find parts

http://www.wisnersinc.com/
The bolt cam and lock break on almost all of these rifles and replacements are really hard to get. The attached site makes new ones. Haven't tried one myself but it's on the "to do" list.

 

[AJAX22]

 

[SouthernYankee]

That is SOOOOoooooo COOL! Man am I jealous. If I lived anywhere around you I would offer my time and help just to touch it. I've restored and then sold or restored for a price, but the oldest thing I have touched was 1898 Remington as I recall. Good Luck! I would love to see your project completion pictures.

 

[AethelstanAegen]

Ajax, what's your plan for the warped barrel? Replacement or trying to "unwarp" it somehow?

 

[AJAX22]

I'm going to unwarp it, probably by applying careful mechanical pressure using a long wood lever and a some shims.....

 

[Fast Frank]

You have gotten my curiosity up.

It was displayed in a museum? Why?

Bought by collectors? Why?

There must be some connection between that rifle and some significant person or event.

Surely they didn't just display it with a sign that said "Here's a ratty old rifle we found in the dump", did they?

I guess if it's a small enough town...

 

[BCRider]

I'm guessing that the site where it was buried is the key to the local connection and why it was on display. Not the gun itself.

There's no reason why with care that the barrel cannot be straightened out decently. Serious use stuff like motorcycle forks and hydraulic cylinder rams are routinely straightened and measured for runout and put back into service just to name two examples that I have seen.

Muriatic acid eats concrete away but it would also remove any blueing or other rust from the steel at the same time. So I don't think I'd want to use it if it can be avoided. I'd suggest chipping away the bulk and then perhaps soak it in a mix of kerosene with a bit of oil added. Left for a few days it should seep into the remaining flecks of concrete left by the bulk removal and break the bond between steel and concrete. Worth a try at least as it certainly won't harm the metal.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

My old gunsmithing books [Ackly. Dunlap,gunsmith kinks,etc] refer to that gun as the "miserable" loader.

 

[AJAX22]

 

[hammer502]

nice project! i have been tinkering with a ranger 22 bolt action for a while now. the barrel was rusted closed when i got it. i have been using evap-o-rust(picked up at lowes) and it works well!

 

[BCRider]

Ajax, in the next day or two I'll do a video of the action on my own VL in motion to give you an idea of what moves and what doesn't along with some info on how to correctly disassemble the action.

Again, these seem to be a forgotten side trip in the firearms world. I think folks like you and I are writing our own maintanence manual on the fly.