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Mix n Match 188x

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2024 5:56 pm
by LordTimothyDexter
The overall plan for this rifle is for it to become a usable rifle in fire able condition. There is some relevant discussion in another thread that I will link below for those interested in that information. What this post will be comprised of is mostly the condition of the rifle and the plans and questions I have so the relevant post will be useful if you want further (but potentially incorrect) information i.e. I had completely misread the serial number and things have cleared up some bit from cleaning).

SN: 3999x
Trap Year: 1884
Cartouche: 1887

I have disassembled the rifle into several parts. Some are in better condition than I expected. Below is a break down the condition of parts:

Stock: Divided in a clean break at the trigger plate. There was no epoxy holding the two pieces of wood together, all that held it together were a few screws through the the back of the fore end right above the lock, where the webbing between your thumb and trigger finger would be. Also holding the stock together was the the trigger guard attached to the the barrel. Recommendation was that it may be fire able with epoxy and pins. Otherwise, at the end of this, I will consider it a sportized rifle, without particular regard to authenticity to any historical representation, so an authentic stock is not necessary but any replacement is expensive or time consuming.

The Trigger/Guard/Plate: Appears in relatively good condition. Pictures in gallery. Any notable observations will be appreciated.

The Lock/Hammer/Action: Appears in relatively good condition. Rust on outside of lock plate and hammer. The action inside is free of rust or tarnish and appears in workable condition.

Barrel: I have not removed the block from the barrel. It was given a good cleaning and I found the inside reflective and the rifling, to my eye, looked nice. There was some pitting I noticed that should show up in the video below. Please advise.

Barrel Band: nothing of regard.

Assortment of thoughts:
So in order to get this into shooting condition what would be recomended so as not to ruin it? Measures to safely remove rust without damage to the metal or blueing?

I still am not sure what the makeup of this gun is but in the linked thread someone said the block overlaps which indicates the barrel is not an 1884. The 1884 was known to have the buffington rear sight. I am missing any rear sight and wonder if clues from where it should go may indicate anything? Is the spacing and for the screws the same or would i be able to see some particular outline from a buffington I wouldnt find on the alternative?

Again any comments, questions, observations, musings, or, alternatives would be gladly welcomed.

Pictures: https://share.samsungcloud.com/sharedalbum/XKcknrwNeo

The images were far to numerous and large to include in the post. If you cannot view the images from the link i can find another way to help you view them.

Videos:
Barrel post clean: https://youtu.be/wb812wTeE4I
Disassembly: https://youtu.be/ZSPCOt7QtqA

please note I am not a professional, in the linked thread there is discussion on several naïve mistakes I made in its disassembly, but I do not believe I caused irreparable harm to the rifle. The video is also age restricted, which I cannot undo so you will need an account to see the disassembly video.

Relevant post: viewtopic.php?t=384