Worn Out Cowboy Guns

[Cemetery]

What do people typically do with worn out cowboy guns?  Figure in 2020, there must be some out there.

 

Scrap Heap?  Tossed in the river?  Sold cheap to somebody else?

 

Got a Norinco '87 back in '08, and has become unreliable.  Doesn't feed smoothly, fails to extract, weakly ejects if it even does that.

 

Not sure if it's worth trying to get it rebuilt, if there are even parts available.

[Yusta B.]

Send 'um to me -- I'm in about the same shape as your guns.   

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

36 minutes ago, Cemetery said:

What do people typically do with worn out cowboy guns?  Figure in 2020, there must be some out there.

 

Scrap Heap?  Tossed in the river?  Sold cheap to somebody else?

 

Got a Norinco '87 back in '08, and has become unreliable.  Doesn't feed smoothly, fails to extract, weakly ejects if it even does that.

 

Not sure if it's worth trying to get it rebuilt, if there are even parts available.

I know a "Top Shooter" that sells his guns when they're...not to his liking any longer...get's top dollar too!!!

 

Be very leery of a gun sold by a current cowboy shooter...cuz if it's a good cowboy gun, chances are it's not going to be for sale.

 

[Griff]

Get a double!    My Stoeger Coach gun I bought in 1986 still loads, fires & shucks empties as well as my newer guns!  But then, I've never had it "cowboy smithed" on...   you know, where they grind it down to where there's .005" left on the extractor!  Lightly smoothing & polishing the internals is all that's needed.  'Smithing will not replace practice for improving times!

[Warden Callaway]

I start out with broken and worn out guns and make them into shooters.

 

[DeaconKC]

Like Warden Calloway, I like bringing mud puppies back to service.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

PLUS ONE too Phantom!!!

 

PS:  A Norinco.  It's gonna be a real groan to find "NEW" parts.  Norinco is on the "Prohibited for Import" list.  Wall Hanger Fodder.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

34 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

PLUS ONE too Phantom!!!

 

PS:  A Norinco.  It's gonna be a real groan to find "NEW" parts.  Norinco is on the "Prohibited for Import" list.  Wall Hanger Fodder.

Norinco was just the importer is all.

Not the maker.

OLG

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

I like trying to bring em back to life , kinda sounds like me busted , abused and neglected 

 

 some time they are too far gone , but , it could have parts to put others back on the line 

 

  Chickasaw Bill 

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

If you want to spend time and money on fixing up a gun, don't make it a POS Chinese gun...spend the efforts on a real Winchester fer gawd's sake.

 

Phantom

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Dip 'em in chrome?

 

 

Actually, it might be as ugly as all get out, but it's mechanically sound and a nice shooter.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

Lump Lump, you'd best do a little more research.  Norinco is a Chinese weapons manufacturing conglomerate.

[Cemetery]

2 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 Wall Hanger Fodder.

 

Probably be cool as a lamp.  Make the trigger the switch.  Tad bit of work to make it happen.

[evil dogooder]

4 hours ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

I know a "Top Shooter" that sells his guns when they're...not to his liking any longer...get's top dollar too!!!

 

Be very leery of a gun sold by a current cowboy shooter...cuz if it's a good cowboy gun, chances are it's not going to be for sale.

 

I know one that does also... cost us a new shooter by doing it too.  Lost all respect for the shooter.    Have another friend that got a pair of vaqueros from a top shooter.   Never worked.  Over indexed,  wore out,  lassiter fixed them up right. 

[evil dogooder]

I started out with worn out hand me down guns.   It's the only way I could afford to do it.     Lots of nights working on guns.  Tons of time between stages tweaking.  

 I  Sent 2 new model vaqueros back to ruger before I switched to old models.   

     

 

As for your gun, ever thought of using it as a prop to help teach new shooters?  Take out the firing pin just in case.  you can use it to teach safe manipulation,  transitions

 

 Or use it yourself as a practice gun to save wear and tear on your match gun

[Rye Miles #13621]

2 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

Lump Lump, you'd best do a little more research.  Norinco is a Chinese weapons manufacturing conglomerate.

Correct and George W Bush was the one who stopped imports from Norinco.

 

[Cypress Sam, SASS #10915]

This is a pair of ASM 32-20’s that I shot for my first several years in SASS.  They were pretty much worn out and loose as a goose.  I sent them to Bob Coogan with Accurate Arms and Plating and had them hard-chromed for wall hangers.  The hard chrome tightened them up to the point that they seem almost new.  The finish is so hard you can’t cut it with a file.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

21 minutes ago, Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 said:

This is a pair of ASM 32-20’s that I shot for my first several years in SASS.  They were pretty much worn out and loose as a goose.  I sent them to Bob Coogan with Accurate Arms and Plating and had them hard-chromed for wall hangers.  The hard chrome tightened them up to the point that they seem almost new.  The finish is so hard you can’t cut it with a file.

 

 

Huh...   I guess chroming CAN look good.   Who knew?

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

2 hours ago, Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 said:

This is a pair of ASM 32-20’s that I shot for my first several years in SASS.  They were pretty much worn out and loose as a goose.  I sent them to Bob Coogan with Accurate Arms and Plating and had them hard-chromed for wall hangers.  The hard chrome tightened them up to the point that they seem almost new.  The finish is so hard you can’t cut it with a file.

+1 for Bob at AAP.  Did a great job on a old SKB I use, plating and some Cerakote for few parts and barrel.  

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

22 hours ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

If you want to spend time and money on fixing up a gun, don't make it a POS Chinese gun...spend the efforts on a real Winchester fer gawd's sake.

 

Phantom

 

None of the Winny 87s in 12ga are proofed for smokeless, and they have short chambers that will not feed 2 3/4" shells from the magazine.

The only Winchester 1887 lever SG proofed for smokeless was the last run they made in 1901,

they were made in 10ga only.

I for one have had no issues the couple of times I needed parts. Got'em from Coyote Cap.

His son now runs things as Cap has retired with health issues.

OLG

[Assassin]

Back when I was learning to use a double, the Stoegers were the go to SXS. Wore out 3-4 and they all went to a local cowboy gunsmith. He harvested parts from them.

Had a shooter show off his guns once, he told me these used to belong to some top shooter person. They were loose, worn out, and should have been retired. I was impressed that they were still functioning.

 

It'd be cool to have Richard Petty's old race car, just not to compete with at the track.

[Michigan Slim]

3 hours ago, Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 said:

 The finish is so hard you can’t cut it with a file.

 

Had a lot of bearing races and blower shafts hard chromed. Good stuff. 

 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

22 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

Lump Lump, you'd best do a little more research.  Norinco is a Chinese weapons manufacturing conglomerate.

 

The SG's were made under the corporate name and could still be imported.

Norinco, as a importer was banned from all imports into the USA for a time.

OLG

 

 

[Krazy Kajun]

Shiny guns shoot faster!

 

Kajun

[DeaconKC]

3 hours ago, Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 said:

This is a pair of ASM 32-20’s that I shot for my first several years in SASS.  They were pretty much worn out and loose as a goose.  I sent them to Bob Coogan with Accurate Arms and Plating and had them hard-chromed for wall hangers.  The hard chrome tightened them up to the point that they seem almost new.  The finish is so hard you can’t cut it with a file.

I keep looking at these, very nice!

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

11 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

I keep looking at these, very nice!

 

Yeah, but what about mine?  

[Kid Rich]

I have a pair of 44/40 OMV's that started having problems, one of them would lock up once in a while. Johnny Meadows replaced all the internal parts and the hammers, they are fine now. Better than new.

 I certainly would not make them into wall hangers.

kR

[DeaconKC]

22 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

Yeah, but what about mine?  

@H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 my sincere apologies Sir! Nice bringback!

[Warden Callaway]

 

This first year 87 was literally a wall hanger for many years in a western theme bar.  The barrel was bent up, down, sideways and then back up again. The extractor was missing.  I did a lot of work on it and got it back to running condition.  It's not a "race gun" but loads and feeds reliably with 2-1/2" brass or roll crimp shells.  I just push one down and start the next one in the chamber.  

[Castalia,SASS#18915]

Bought some guns back in 95'. Shot them every month, and a bunch of Bordertowns. until this year. Had to sell them because of some medical issues. The buyer got almost new guns that were very smoooooth.

 

I tried to wear them out. Even shot black powder duelist for 10 years.

 

Some of those old guns I see at the guns shows  had to have been tied to a rope and dragged behind a  wagon from St Louis to Tucson  or stored in a leaking barn.

 

Good luck on your journey. Castalia

[Palmetto Traveller]

This is no reflection on the op's situation but probably happens fairly often.  A few years ago I purchased a pair of OMV and upon receipt they just would not function correctly. The cylinders didn't lock up consistently and the base pins would bounce out when they fired. I was one unhappy hombre thinking I had just bought a pair of worn out pistols and considered asking for a refund. That is until I took them apart and saw how bad they were gummed up. I don't thing they had ever been really cleaned. After a complete disassembly and thorough cleaning they worked like a charm. I'm glad I didn't go with my gut reaction. Moral of the story is while they may have seemed worn out they were just neglected. 

[Warden Callaway]

39 minutes ago, Palmetto Traveler said:

This is no reflection on the op's situation but probably happens fairly often.  A few years ago I purchased a pair of OMV and upon receipt they just would not function correctly. The cylinders didn't lock up consistently and the base pins would bounce out when they fired. I was one unhappy hombre thinking I had just bought a pair of worn out pistols and considered asking for a refund. That is until I took them apart and saw how bad they were gummed up. I don't thing they had ever been really cleaned. After a complete disassembly and thorough cleaning they worked like a charm. I'm glad I didn't go with my gut reaction. Moral of the story is while they may have seemed worn out they were just neglected. 

 

Life is like a box of chocolates. 

 

I've seen that often.  Idea of cleaning was to spray some magical gunk down in it.

 

Years ago I helped out many friends with 22 rifles.  "I sprayed WD40 in it and it worked a few shots. Then I sprayed more and went work at all."  I'd take them apart to find it full of black goo that look like it came out of a spittoon.  I'd clean them up and lightly oil. Works now.  I'd only charge a lecture.