Why I love $50, 22RF rifles, a story of one such Beater

[Rob62]

After many years of searching I finally found a local pawn shop that's actually interested in selling guns at a price I want to pay.

Since I recently sold a gun, it was time to get another one On my way to work today I stopped in my favorite pawn shop to browse the racks. Lo and behold, there were a couple of "beater grade" .22's - pretty common around here, Marlin model 25's.

These are bolt action, magazine fed, .22RF rifles. Sticker price was $79 and change. Looking for another un needed project gun to give to a nephew, I asked what was the least they would take for the better of the 2 rifles. To my surprise the response was less than $50 out the door.

I hesitated for a split second then filled out the 4473.

At less than the cost of a dinner with an adult beverage or two, I had another rimfire rifle.

My plan is to really do a good job and re-finish this rifle (something that I have frequently done).

So stay tuned. I will be posting pics to this thread as the project develops. Should have some before pics up within a few days.

Overall the rifles condition was fair. Lots of bluing wear, minor surface rust - however no pitting. The bore, which would have had me pass on the rifle if it was rusty, looked in excellent condition. Love those lubricated 22 bullets. They really help preserve a bore IMHO.

The wooden stock as expected showed lots of nicks and small dents. However it should clean up nicely.

Right now the overall plan is to make a youth size gun for a 6 yr old. Not sure if I will get the stock proportions right but at the cost of a decent meal, what's to loose.

Regards,

Rob

 

[GrandmasterB]

Those Marlins are great guns, and pawn shop finds are some of my favorites. Have a Glenfield 25 that I picked up in a pawn shop several years ago for $50 and change and it is a great shooter. I won't part with it.

 

[Rob62]

Here are some before pics. I got anxious and took the rifle apart before I took an overall assembled picture. As can be seen by looking into the open action - the rifle was FILTHY. Someone in the past had put some type of what I can only describe as grease on the metal. It was almost like hardened cosmoline. Not something real easy to clean up.









So far I cut down the stock and barrel. I am currently working on stripping down the finish on the stock and re-finishing it. For optics I ordered a 2.5X Simmons 8-Point scope.

Rob

 

[imprezagm4]

I see a little bit of surface rust/corrosion (or something) on the barrel. How do you plan on getting that off? I ask because I have something similar on my sks that I'm not sure how to remove without scratching the barrel.

 

[21-26]

Rob,
I did one just like that last year, only it was for me.

I used Blue/Rust remover to get down to bare metal and then did the barrel assembly with BBQ paint. Way easier than cold blue and better looking to boot

Good luck on your project.
Chris

 

[Red Tornado]

21-26,
Could you give a few details on BBQ paint? Like what is it, exactly, designed for grills? And how you applied it? The finish that I can see looks great.
RT

 

[Rob62]

imprezagm4 There was some surface rust which cleaned off ok. NO pitting underneath. What I did was use very fine steel wool and good 'ol Hoppe's #9. As expected there are now spots where the bluing has been removed and bare metal shows.

I would normally use one of the many Brownell's spray on and bake finishes. These have worked very well for me in the past. However for right now I will probably leave the metal as is and just keep it oiled.

The key for using any type of spray on finish is metal preparation - and the biggest part of that is the absolute removal of all oil on the metal prior to spraying it with the new finish.

21-26 – I have used BBQ paint in the past and really like the least expensive Brownells Brand spray bake on finish better. It is much more durable and about $8 per spray can. I can get about 2 long guns out of 1 can of this stuff.

Red Tornado - BBQ paint is a spray on paint designed to be used on BBQ grills that can be purchased at any home improvement super mart like Lowe’s or Home Depot. Its main selling point is that it can tolerate high temperatures and is more durable (IMHO) than conventional spray paint.

Rob

 

[TFin04]

This thread has motivated me. I now must find a $50 .22 to fix up.

I had one as a young boy (I say that like an old man, yet I'm still not able to purchase a pistol from an FFL Dealer ), but quickly outgrew it and my interest turned to pistols. Sad to say, but I don't even own a .22 rifle anymore. I will change that soon.

 

[aaronrkelly]

I dont have any before pictures.......but heres an after picture of a Winchester Model 121 I recently bought for $64.

 

[Il Duca]

Not to go off topic but here's a tip for removing light surface rust I tried and liked. If you do it right it won't remove too much of the finish. In the Wally World automotive section they sell little pens that are made up of fiberglass bristles, they're made by 3M. Dab a little deep penetrating oil/rust remover on the area you want to clean and rub lightly with the fiber pen in a circular motion. This will eat the rust off and won't mess up the finish too badly if you don't press real hard. But be sure to wear gloves and safety glasses. These pens will shed fibers, I learned that the hard (itchy) way. They stick in you and don't come out. It took alot of duct tape followed with flushing under hot water to get most of them out.

 

[21-26]

Red:
Thanks, I didn't do anything too fancy. Since I'd only paid $25 for the gun I figured I didn't have anything to lose. I disassembled the gun as far as convenient, wiped it down really well with rubbing alcohol while wearing rubber gloves, and hung it up in the side yard via some twine down the muzzle, tied to the feed ramp on the chamber-end of the barrel. Once I had it stable I, following the directions on the can, hit it with as many coats as I could of ACE brand "Heat Resistant Paint" (although I'm sure that any brand would be just as good). I started early in the morning so I could let it hang for the rest of the day to cure and by sunset it seemed pretty set.

Honestly, I don't think it's as good as any sort of professional job. It's more delicate than a hot blue and certainly not as tough as Parkerizing, but for three bucks a can I figure I can do it over every few years until I die and still come out ahead.

It sounds to me like Rob has a lot more expertise than me (that Brownell's spray is better), but since it was the same gun, I just had to chime in.
Chris

 

[Spiggy]

wow! awesome find!

I paid $100 for mine, same type of rifle too!


weird though, yours has what looks like serial number and a groove for a scope, I got none of that

 

[Rob62]

Here’s the latest picture of the overall condition of my project. The stock is cut down about as far as I will go. While greatly shortened the original plastic factory recoil pad will still fit with only a little sanding down of the sides and bottom/top, something I hoped would work out.

The barrel was easy to cut. I used a pipe cutter to make a thin scribe line around the barrel and then cut with the hacksaw that can be seen in the pic. Cutting oil helps greatly making this work. The tool that can be seen in the pic is a new 11 degree target crown cutter that I got a deal on from someone a while back. It comes with multiple bore pilots so can be sued for a wide variety of barrels/calibers.

The length of pull is slightly over 10”. My daughter though only has about an 8-9” pull length. So it will be another few months to a year until she will fully grow into this rifle. At least one of my nephews should fit this rifle, or more appropriately the rifle will fit one of my nephews

Barrel length is about 17”. Since I will be mounting an inexpensive scope on it I have no plans on fitting iron sights and used a slot blank to fill in the rear slight dovetail on the barrel.

Spiggy – If your gun is a pre ’68 manufactured rifle, which it appears to be it might not have a serial number (Not required by law till after 1968). I am pretty sure that some model 20’s and 25’s were made pre ’68. My rifle does have a receiver grooved for standard 3/8” rimfire type scope rings. I will have to call Marlin sometime soon and give them my rifles serial number to see if they can give me the date of manufacture. BTW - I lik ethe peep rear sight on yoru rifle. It looks original. My rifle is drilled and tapped at the left rear of the receiver for a peep sight but will not be mounting one. However, I have a Marlin model 20 that I put a Williams model 5D peep sight on, and it works very well.

Overall there is nothing wrong IMO with using an inexpensive spray paint to re-finish a rifle. I used some 99 cent spray paint to camouflage another old .22RF rifle and was very happy with the results.

Rob



Various stages of progress:

 

[CajunBass]

Looks like a fun project. Good job you've done.

Here's my "beater" 22. It's a Stevens 46. I don't know how old it is, but I can't find a serial number anywhere. Tube magazine, bolt action.

I got mine for nothing really. I gave a friend a fishing rod that I didn't use. He wanted to pay me, but I knew he was short of money so I told him not to worry about it. He came back a week or so later with the 22 and insisted I take it. I stuck it in the gun cabinet and didn't think about it for years.

A few months ago, I dug it out, and cleaned it. Got about a half pound of lead out of the barrel, but it cleaned up nice. So I stuck a cheap scope on it and took it to the range. To my surprise it shot pretty well.

The buddy who gave it to me has since passed on. It's not for sale for any price.

 

[TFin04]

Keep the pics coming guys!

I'm getting some good ideas here.

 

[.45Guy]

Spiggy, yours is a Marlin model 80. Pretty much the same action as the 25, but with a longer non micro groove barrel. If you want to scope it, you can find side mounts from time to time. I'd give you mine, but it was my grandfathers plinker. Also, are there anymore cheap Glenfields there Rob62 ?

 

[Spiggy]

says Sears on the side...

But bear in mind, I purchased this rifle like 2 years ago (because law said I could now buy tobacco and guns ) Research has lead me to believe my rifle was possibly made in the 50's, noting the type D trigger guard and lack of any numbers.

I tried the side mounts, the screws are set too far apart for any marlin side mount. - modification would be required, something I'm not willing to go through.

here's the first paper to meet my gun; I've gotten better at the shooting thing since.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/Spiggys_pics/IMG_0042.jpg

Back on subject though, where do you keep yours? I got mine sitting in the trunk

 

[CZguy]

CajunBass,

The buddy who gave it to me has since passed on. It's not for sale for any price.

That was a darn good story. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[deputy tom]

Rob62,I can remember buying those Marlin 25's for $25.00 on sale at the local K-mart.My Buddy has a couple of youngsters and he has been talking about a similar conversion.Good luck with your Nephew's rifle.tom.

 

[deputy tom]

Spiggy,is yours a Ranger? If so that explains the lack of scope groove,SN and the fact it has a peep sight.tom.

 

[Spiggy]

ranger 103-2 s-l-lr

dont poke fun, I've won lots of long-shot bets with it

 

[Gord]

Not to rain on your parade, but isn't 18" the minimum for the barrel without a $200 SBR stamp?

 

[Rob62]

Tactical Ninja 18" is the legal minimum length for a shotgun barrel. For rifle barrels it is 16".

And for anyone that cares. This is the rifle that I used the cheapest spray paint on I could find.





Regards,
Rob

 

[Seancass]

this thread is WAY too inspiring. and i dont even have an excuse not to find one of these things!

 

[.45Guy]

says Sears on the side...

Mine was made for Sears as well, only mine has the J.C. Higgins name on it. Model 103 16. And this one holds a place of honor in my "man room."