Cascade Man
Member
Hello all,
I recently aquired an old .54 Cal. New Englander for free. The guy bought it 10 years ago, fired it one day with some friends, and never cleaned it. He just set on the wall and never touched it. For 10 years. Yes, 10 years.... He gave it to me and said "if you can't get it to work, it'll look good above the mantle with a possibles bag and a powder horn". It was rust. The tang was completely rusted to the breech hook, and I amazingly got the whole gun apart, cleaned up, and put back together. I put lapping compound on about a hundred patches and ran them up and down the barrel and was shocked to see the lands 90-95% intact. I will be testing it to see how it fires and check it's accuracy (or lack there of) soon.
I know a guy that brings old guns back to life, and he gave me the tips to make this New Englander breathe fire once more. He told me that two of his old muzzleloaders he has had 60% or so of the lands and grooves left when he was done cleaning them up, and they were still pretty accurate at 50 to 75 yards. He said mine will probably do awesome at 100 yards or more.
My question is: Has anyone here reworked old guns and made them usable for hunting again? Or just reworked them for use at the range? Any input on how it might or might not do? Tips? Tricks? It will all be appreciated.
Thanks
Cascade Man
I recently aquired an old .54 Cal. New Englander for free. The guy bought it 10 years ago, fired it one day with some friends, and never cleaned it. He just set on the wall and never touched it. For 10 years. Yes, 10 years.... He gave it to me and said "if you can't get it to work, it'll look good above the mantle with a possibles bag and a powder horn". It was rust. The tang was completely rusted to the breech hook, and I amazingly got the whole gun apart, cleaned up, and put back together. I put lapping compound on about a hundred patches and ran them up and down the barrel and was shocked to see the lands 90-95% intact. I will be testing it to see how it fires and check it's accuracy (or lack there of) soon.
I know a guy that brings old guns back to life, and he gave me the tips to make this New Englander breathe fire once more. He told me that two of his old muzzleloaders he has had 60% or so of the lands and grooves left when he was done cleaning them up, and they were still pretty accurate at 50 to 75 yards. He said mine will probably do awesome at 100 yards or more.
My question is: Has anyone here reworked old guns and made them usable for hunting again? Or just reworked them for use at the range? Any input on how it might or might not do? Tips? Tricks? It will all be appreciated.
Thanks
Cascade Man