gun coming out of storage

[--weezl--]

ok long story short, I am acquiring a gun that has been in the family since before I was born, my mom has it right now, i don't know where, and she's not exactly sure where either, it's in 1 of about 5-6 places (nice eh?) she has no idea what it is, i've only seen it once, when I was very young, i remember it is bolt action, wood stock... other than that, don't remember much of it. I DO know it was my grandfathers, and would have been used for hunting, as my mother comes from a hunting family. The plan is to take it out shooting this weekend, while camping (middle of nowhere, crown land) but like I said, I haven't seen it in probably 10-15 years... my uncle did have it for a period of time, he has a handful of guns, and would have kept it in good condition, but I don't know the last time it was fired or cleaned. What do I need to know/look for/do before i can fire it safely?

obviously I'll need to know the chamber and have ammunition for it, and I plan to buy a tip for my current cleaning kit that will fit it, and do a once over with an oily rag, make sure the action works properly, no excessive rust (I suspect little or none)

anything else I need to be mindful of? I of course want to be shooting as safe as possible

 

[dkeys]

i would give it a really good cleaning. if there is a lot rust/pitting on/in the barrel/bore i would maybe have a gunsmith look at it. but usually those older rifles are as rock solid as the day your grandfather bought it, if it was a quality rifle. DO...always remember the golden rule "NEVER POINT A GUN AT SOMETHING YOUR NOT WILLING TO KILL!" and have fun shooting.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If it is old make doubly sure what caliber it is.

My dad got a sporterised Arisaka awhile ago that was sold as a .257 Roberts conversion. It just had "Roberts" stamped on the barrel. It turns out in the "Roberts" conversions they usually use a 6.5mm bullet in a .257 Roberts case which is a custom thing you have to make yourself or have someone make for you.

It will hold a 8" group of keyholes at 100yds though.

 

[lone-wolf]

I'm going to make a bet that it's an enfield.
(I assume you're in Canada as it called it crown land)

If you're in the US, I take the bet back.

 

[88_Eddie]

pics post haste dude.

but yeah, double check caliber, hopefully it's stamped on the barrel. an old, bolt action, wood stock could be one of about 32,000 different guns. give it a good cleaning. after making sure it's unloaded, dry fire it a few times and test the safety.

and yeah, weez is in canada, the (nice eh?) should have been a dead giveaway lol

 

[lone-wolf]

and yeah, weez is in canada, the (nice eh?) should have been a dead giveaway lol

Missed that!

Yep, need some pictures for sure.

 

[4.0B2]

pics man pics... duh!

 

[kimcrwbr1]

My dad had a old 30-40 craig that disappeared after he passed away. It was converted to single shot bolt action old WWII infantry rifle I believe. I sure wish I had that rifle today. Clean the bore good and if it has any pitting yea take it to a gunsmith to get it accessed before popping any caps.

 

[wildbill23c]

So nobody knows where this gun is, nobody knows what make and model it is? That's pretty pathetic IMO if you own a gun you damn well better know where it is. So maybe the gun doesn't even exist anymore.

Anyhow, make sure you do all of your research find out 100% for sure what make and model and what caliber it is, or what gauge it is, for all we know it could even be a shotgun. Clean it very well, and have the barrel bore scoped to make sure it is in fireable condition. You don't want to go out and blow the thing up if something is wrong with the barrel, firing mechanism, or the chamber.

My best advice is don't get it thinking its going to be operational. Guns that are extremely old should most likely be used for a collection rather than put into any sort of service. Especially if you don't know the overall condition.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My dad had a old 30-40 craig that disappeared after he passed away. It was converted to single shot bolt action old WWII infantry rifle I believe. I sure wish I had that rifle today. Clean the bore good and if it has any pitting yea take it to a gunsmith to get it accessed before popping any caps.

I think they had pretty well been phased out by WWI.

Too bad it is gone, they have a very nice feeling action and the external mag is unique too. I wouldn't mind stumbling into one some day.

As an interesting note, they stand in for Mausers in the tv show Hogan's Heroes.

 

[UpStandingMember]

I would take it to a gunsmith. Especially to check the caliber. It could have been modified, you never know.

My Dad has his fathers Winchester model 94 that is very early 19 hundreds. Dad was born in 1933, and he remembers it from when he was little. The gun is mint condition too.

I still have my first rifle, a .22 thats 40 years old this year. Damn I'm old.

 

[lone-wolf]

So nobody knows where this gun is, nobody knows what make and model it is? That's pretty pathetic IMO if you own a gun you damn well better know where it is.

You never heard of this? A couple people I know pull guns from between walls asking me what it is. Relatives stashed them away and forgot about them or died or whoever got the gun wasn't a shooter and just stashed it away themselves.

Sure wasn't any of those stupid pixels for pistols campaigns back then.

 

[wildbill23c]

You never heard of this? A couple people I know pull guns from between walls asking me what it is. Relatives stashed them away and forgot about them or died or whoever got the gun wasn't a shooter and just stashed it away themselves.

Sure wasn't any of those stupid pixels for pistols campaigns back then.

I've heard of it, I just never had the idea to lose any of my guns anywhere.

 

[--weezl--]

ok, the story is:

the gun was my grandfather's in Edmonton alberta, (just east of the rockeys) he died, before I was born, my uncle got the gun, he lived in toronto ontario (east coast) then he gave it to my mom and dad, who live just north of washington state, they had it till they split up, my mom kept it as it was her dad's gun, new laws came in, regarding gun possession and registration, gun went to my uncle who lives nearby who registered it as he was licensed. along the way somewhere, my mom got it back again, but it was under the care of her new husband, the long gun registry in canada was abolished. My step dad was busy at work, possibly out of the office, i don't remember, but my mom was the only person I had talked to at the time, and she didn't know where her husband had put it

now, for the fun part! it is a remington 700 in 30-06, the best I can tell, it's roughly a 1977, and has VERY few rounds through it, I took it to the gun store I buy ammo from, and had the guy there take a look at it, he stated that it had been stored very well, and showed no signs of weathering, and after a decent cleaning, it should be perfectly fine to shoot. I spent an hour or so cleaning it, took the bolt apart and did a half ass clean of it, spent a few hours and put 60 rounds through it, (3 of us did) and it worked great!

as for pictures:

 

[88_Eddie]

damn, that's in real good shape. looks like a rem 700 BDL with a fixed power leupold scope. take good care of it. a good caliber too, you can kill pretty much any animal in north america with a 3006. you shouldnt have trouble finding ammo for it.