So last summer, a neighbor of a friend ran afoul of the law and had to relinquish his firearms. I was asked if I wanted a rifle that was in the back of a closet for years. Who am I to turn down a freebie? It was a Marlin 25N, .22 LR. It was dusty and a bit rusty but nothing too bad. Bluing was pretty much gone from the barrel, but the bore looked great after I scrubbed it. The stock was sound except for one small nick on the forend though it had been varnished. The action was rust free and working good after cleaning and lubrication. There was white paint on the bolt handle.
Sanded clean and smooth. Refinished in Red Mahogany and sealed with clear satin spar urethane. Rust on barrel removed with 000 steel wool.
000 steel wool took care of the rust and other ugly parts, then I gave it a few coats of Outers Gun Blue and mounted an old 4X scope on it.
That red stain sure brought out the grain .in the stock. Beautiful!!! You for sure have a shooter. MARLINITUS; An untreatable disease, usually resulting in an empty bank account!
Great job on the rifle. Seems to shoot pretty dang well. Would make a good Sporter Class gun for bench rest. Try some Standard Velocity Lead round nose and I bet the groups improve a lot. How is the trigger on it ?
You done a great job. I really like the way it turned out. Very impressive and it's a shooter as well. Thanks for sharing. We like pictures.
Next time out I will shoot target loads. I have never paid much attention to trigger pull. I just know it goes bang when I squeeze it.
I just got three Marlins from a police auction, the worst was 50.00. Very dirty, little rust, stock in bad condition, medallion was dark, the trigger was dirty. Redid the stock, steel wooled the barrel, cleaned the medallion.
Very good job. I absolutely love watching misused weapons brought back to life! Its a crying shame that they are let go to that condition. People who would misuse a gun like that probably treat their family like that too.
You are quite right I bet, if that is how you treat a gun then that is how you live your life probably. I have bought quite a few from the local police auctions and they are all just about the same. Very dirty, to the point the actions almost won't work, the plastic pusher in the rod is broken, the stocks are torn up. That and sitting in a police impound does not help either.
On the job: I put the old 25n to work this year on the trapline. Really nice to carry and shoots great.
Great restorations! You guys do excellent work! It gives you great satisfaction to bring one back to life. I guess that's why I like old military surplus weapons so much. I always take a lot of pride in the finished product.
