[LongBaller71]

A good friend from church was asking me about a little rifle he had recently been given in a donated estate. He knew three things about it: it was pretty old, it was extremely dirty, and it was a Winchester 22. When he asked if I wanted it cheap I of course said I'd be right over.

Here's what I found:

This is an early Model 60A 22 short, long, or long rifle with a 23" barrel. The 60A was available in a Sporter or Target version. It appears Winchester made this model from about 1932 to 1939 and sold about 165,000 of them. This 23" barrel version was only made in 1932-1933. After 1933, all 60A's were made with a 27" barrel.

This rifle is in fairly good shape considering it had sat untouched for probably the last 30+ years in a basement closet. Other than wiping it down some and soaking the crap out of it in gun oil, this is how it sat. There is surface rust on the trigger guard and bits of the barrel, but looks as if pitting is at a minimum. Everything seems to be there, all original, and functional to a point. I'll need to make sure the trigger group is really set up right. The pull has to be less than 2lbs as it sits. Too light!

I'll be cleaning the snot out of the barrel, bolt, etc. I'll take it all down to bare metal before refinishing. Still haven't decided whether I'll re-blue or duracoat it. The stock is in decent shape and should refinish nicely.

Here's some before pics to get us started:

[hiwall]

They are a nice little well made 22's. Good find!

[Gh0zt36]

Excellent. Make sure you take pics as you go . I love watching the different stages when restoring old firearms. And if ya want my vote? I'd re blue it to its former glory. Good luck!

[clr8ter]

Yeah, re blue, paint wouldn't look right.

[LongBaller71]

Spent a little time on it after the kids went to bed last night. Removed what old bluing was left and cleaned off all the rust from the barrel and bolt assy. There's quite a bit more pitting on the outside of the barrel than I originally saw. It's not horrible by any means, but its there. I think most of it is going to be covered by the stock. Bluing might be ok. I'll post some pics when I get back from the soccer tourney today.

I don't know if I have the skill or equipment needed to do a real blue job on my own. Sending it out for a pro bluing would just be cost prohibitive for this old thing. I've seen anywhere from $100-175 just for the barrel. I can use formula 44 or other cold bluing, but I'm just not thinking that would turn out too hot. I've never used it on a project like this, so input would be appreciated if others have done it! The option of using a duracoat finish gives me much better control over the resulting color and finish type.

[HOSSFLY]

Originally Posted by LongBaller71

Spent a little time on it after the kids went to bed last night. Removed what old bluing was left and cleaned off all the rust from the barrel and bolt assy. There's quite a bit more pitting on the outside of the barrel than I originally saw. It's not horrible by any means, but its there. I think most of it is going to be covered by the stock. Bluing might be ok. I'll post some pics when I get back from the soccer tourney today.

Sending it out for a pro bluing would just be cost prohibitive for this old thing. I've seen anywhere from $100-175 just for the barrel. I can use formula 44 or other cold bluing, but I'm just not thinking that would turn out too hot. I've never used it on a project like this, so input would be appreciated if others have done it! The option of using a duracoat finish gives me much better control over the resulting color and finish type.

Dave, i've cold blued everything from small parts to complete double barrelled shotguns--Secret is patience --It sure won't look close to gud the first few times-Just keep adding coats to each part & don't shortcut or skip steps- After mabe 8-10 times on larger parts it'll start looking pretty gud Get a bag of 0000 steelwool & use it- Its one of those projects you have to really enjoy doing

[LongBaller71]

Hoss,

What product have you had the most success with? I'm looking at using either 44 or Blue Wonder. I'm sure torch heating would make either one work better and faster? Guess I can try it and see how well it works.

[hiwall]

The 44-40 blue is quite popular. I often use one of Brownell's (either Oxpho blue or DICROPAN T-4).

[LongBaller71]

A few updates from today.

Stock almost completely sanded. Walnut underneath is gonna look good I think.

Bolt completely stripped and partially polished up. Cleaned up really nice considering its prior state.

Trigger guard was rusted worse than anything else. Took a ton of wd40 and elbow grease just to get it off the stock. It's getting closer to being ready.

Barrel is stripped and polished twice. Closer as well, but still needs a bit more.

I can get 44-40 here local. Guess I may try it first. Still think this would be cool with a semi-gloss duracoat if the bluing doesn't work out.

Anyway, more to come tmrw. Thx for the advice so far!

[LongBaller71]

First coats of oil/dye mixture this am.