A pre safety Marlin 1894 in 44 mag has been on my want list for years and finally stumbled over 1977 model on GOC a little over a month ago.
Since I�m not one to leave well enough alone, it got a makeover.
It was in pretty good shape with usual wear. Here�s the unmolested beginning.
Disassembled and cleaned everything up.
Degreased all the metal parts and went over them 5 times with Birch Wood Casey�s Super Blue. By not stripping the original blue it will end up with a neat splotchy marble look and I just can�t bring myself to strip the old blue off since it�s in pretty good shape, just worn a bit.
Rub with bluing solution, rinse with warm water, dry, and rub with bluing solution again�.. repeat
Once that was done sprayed everything down with oil and let it sit for 3 days.
While the metal parts were curing started on the wood
Someone had done the unmentionable and mounted a swivel stud where the signature marlin bull�s eye goes in the stock so got a replacement from Brownells; also got a forend cap with sling stud.
Chemically stripped the old finish
Got the bull�s eye epoxied in and ready to sand flush
Stained the walnut one coat of ebony Minwax
Have to let the stain dry for a day before putting on a clear so back to the metal.
Degreased all the parts and rinsed them with baking soda to neutralize the bluing solution.
Wiped down all the parts with oil, cleaned the bore (don�t think had had that done in while), and reassembled all the metal parts.
Thou shalt always slide the barrel band on before installing the front sight. ;) otherwise front sight must come back off.
Those are Skinner Tactical aperture sights.
Back to the wood; sprayed 4 coats of spar gloss urethane. The last one I did with Truoil and it turned out absolutely awesome after 16 coats and could have used a few more. May do the Truoil again sometime but no time soon; the urethane is soooo much easier and probably more durable.
The forend turned out a little lighter but that�s just nature of the beast. Each cut of wood will absorb stain differently.
After letting the urethane dry a couple days everything got reassembled and I know its blasphemy to put a electronic apparatus on a lever gun but I tried out a red dot on a buddies AR and just seemed like it would work great for this project.
Put on a XS scout rail and a 1x Vortex Sparc red dot to top it off. The red dot really makes it easy to get on target fast.
Here�s the final product. You can really see the splotchy look I mentioned earlier.
I don�t know how Mr. Big works magic with open sights but got a 5.5� 5 shot group with open sights and a 4.5� with the no magnification red dot at 100yds. Ammo used was winchester 240gr jsp. Havn't got the stuff to reload for it yet.
Some day it�ll get a DRC big loop lever but it�s hard to justify the cost of those things.
http://www.drcfirearms.com/parts-and-ge ... arlin-1894
It feels good when something you've been wanting for long time comes together.
Since I�m not one to leave well enough alone, it got a makeover.
It was in pretty good shape with usual wear. Here�s the unmolested beginning.
Disassembled and cleaned everything up.
Degreased all the metal parts and went over them 5 times with Birch Wood Casey�s Super Blue. By not stripping the original blue it will end up with a neat splotchy marble look and I just can�t bring myself to strip the old blue off since it�s in pretty good shape, just worn a bit.
Rub with bluing solution, rinse with warm water, dry, and rub with bluing solution again�.. repeat
Once that was done sprayed everything down with oil and let it sit for 3 days.
While the metal parts were curing started on the wood
Someone had done the unmentionable and mounted a swivel stud where the signature marlin bull�s eye goes in the stock so got a replacement from Brownells; also got a forend cap with sling stud.
Chemically stripped the old finish
Got the bull�s eye epoxied in and ready to sand flush
Stained the walnut one coat of ebony Minwax
Have to let the stain dry for a day before putting on a clear so back to the metal.
Degreased all the parts and rinsed them with baking soda to neutralize the bluing solution.
Wiped down all the parts with oil, cleaned the bore (don�t think had had that done in while), and reassembled all the metal parts.
Thou shalt always slide the barrel band on before installing the front sight. ;) otherwise front sight must come back off.
Those are Skinner Tactical aperture sights.
Back to the wood; sprayed 4 coats of spar gloss urethane. The last one I did with Truoil and it turned out absolutely awesome after 16 coats and could have used a few more. May do the Truoil again sometime but no time soon; the urethane is soooo much easier and probably more durable.
The forend turned out a little lighter but that�s just nature of the beast. Each cut of wood will absorb stain differently.
After letting the urethane dry a couple days everything got reassembled and I know its blasphemy to put a electronic apparatus on a lever gun but I tried out a red dot on a buddies AR and just seemed like it would work great for this project.
Put on a XS scout rail and a 1x Vortex Sparc red dot to top it off. The red dot really makes it easy to get on target fast.
Here�s the final product. You can really see the splotchy look I mentioned earlier.
I don�t know how Mr. Big works magic with open sights but got a 5.5� 5 shot group with open sights and a 4.5� with the no magnification red dot at 100yds. Ammo used was winchester 240gr jsp. Havn't got the stuff to reload for it yet.
Some day it�ll get a DRC big loop lever but it�s hard to justify the cost of those things.
http://www.drcfirearms.com/parts-and-ge ... arlin-1894
It feels good when something you've been wanting for long time comes together.
