Christopher Mace

Recently, I had a rather interesting project come my way from GunsAmerica’s own True Pearce. Mr. Pearce had an original Winchester 1895 rifle, chambered in 30-40 Krag that needed a new stock fitted to it. Fitting a wood stock would seem to be something of an “old school” gunsmithing task in today’s world of synthetic stocks, drop-in parts, and buffer tube-mounted collapsible stocks. But it is surprisingly relevant to the hobby gunsmith of today.

Some time ago, I wrote an article about completing a black powder revolver kit from Dixie Gun Works. Upon completion, the frame still needed to be refinished as it was just bare steel. I mentioned that I hadn’t yet decided on what finish to use on the frame, but wanted something that at least looked like color case hardening, as this is the finish the original Colts had

In a previous article, I discussed dealing with one common malady of these old shotguns, excess headspace. In this article, I’m going to cover another common issue: chamber length.

There are a whole lot of break-action shotguns out there. If you don’t have one, you probably know someone who does. A lot of these shotguns are old and in need of some kind of repair. And given the state of things at present, you may even be looking at using one as a home defense weapon. But with some work, you can put these shotguns into condition to fill even that critical role.

Not an uncommon sight: stripped out scope mount screw holes. They’re also our starting point for today’s project.

US military handguns have not been sold to citizens as surplus weapons in quite a long time. Given the current political climate, it’s really hard to tell how long the CMP will keep getting 1911s to sell. I am really happy with the pistol I received, and I believe you will be as well if you get one. If you’re a diehard 1911 fan, these are a must and they’re definitely worth the wait. It’s not every day that you can buy a real piece of history.

Everyday carry pistols get worn on the finish, dirt in the internals, sweat, pocket lint, you name it. Sometimes all it takes is a little tune-up, and it’s like you have a whole new firearm.

“Retro” ARs are neat rifles, and very interesting to research and build. Brownells did a really good job creating their likeness of the original AR-10. You can buy a complete BRN-10 rifle from them, should you prefer. But then you don’t have the fun of putting one together.

If you restore or repair older firearms, you will eventually run into a broken spring for which a replacement is unavailable. Being able to make a replacement is a very useful skill to have.