Uncategorized – Antique Rifle Restorations by the Gun Doctor

Remington #2

I picked up a Remington #2 in 32 rimfire at auction a few years ago and I bought a scrap piece of stock walnut from a gunsmith friend of mine. The wood is beautiful but has the grain going the wrong direction since two other stocks have already been cut out of it. I figuredContinue reading “Remington #2”

Casehardened a few project

The last two weekends I have casehardened a few actions. I have been playing with temperature and amount of shielding. The ruger #1 had the most shielding and highest temperature.

Ballard #3 22 Project

Seems like every year I restore a Ballard for Christmas. Last month I bought a #3 Ballard in 25 cal that was needing a new lease on life. It had a roached bore, was missing the extractor and the barrel had been wrenched on with a pipe wrench. I welded up the deep marks inContinue reading “Ballard #3 22 Project”

Kibler Colonial

I finally got around to finishing a Kibler Colonial in 54 cal with extra fancy maple. I applied aquafortis to the wood, heated with a heat gun to turn brown then applied Lee Valley Polymerized Tung oil. I have applied about 20 coats to the stock, and two coats of Osmo Oil to further protectContinue reading “Kibler Colonial”

Ballard Pacific 38-55

Recently I purchased a Ballard Pacific 38-55 on a online auction. It is a lovely original rifle but unfortunately the bore was no good. It was way oversize and rough. I took it to the range and tried it but the bullets were coming out sideways! I purchased a TJ liner from Nine35.ca a littleContinue reading “Ballard Pacific 38-55”

Stevens 44 in 357 mag

I picked up a Stevens 44 in 25-20 SS but someone ran a 25-20 WCF reamer in and buggered up the chamber. I decided to reline it to 357 so I can shoot 357 and 38 Special in it. I purchased a 357 Chaszel liner from Nine35.ca and installed it. I also casehardended the actionContinue reading “Stevens 44 in 357 mag”

Casehardening at -40 C

This weekend Saskatchewan was the coldest place on earth so of course I casehardened 2 actions. My old PID on the 1970’s temperature controller died so I used my PID from my nitre tank for the furnace. I cranked the temperatures up a fair bit. The. Colors are more muted but still very nice inContinue reading “Casehardening at -40 C”

Stevens 044 1/2

This week I decided to reline a Stevens 044 1/2. If your not familiar with these little guns, they are a true falling block. Harry Pope designed it for Stevens to create an action that can handle smokeless powder. It was first sold in 1903. The used many of the same machin set ups asContinue reading “Stevens 044 1/2”

Lighter Hepburn

I reduced the weight of a Hepburn that had a #4 32” barrel in 40-82. Now it has a 30” 1/2 octagon barrel in 40-65 and is 10 lbs 13 oz and very nice to hold for offhand chickens.

casehardening of 73 Win

Today I casehardened a Uberti 73 Winchester with a friend of mine. It was a blued rifle but I just had to see what it would look like casehardened. I am glad my buddy let me change it. I think it looks much better now.