Octagun
Member
A few weeks back I was having a discussion with my girlfriend about guns and she mentioned that she was thinking about purchasing one to keep at home to protect herself and her daughter. She lives on a horse farm outside of town and although she has several large dogs she said she would feel a little safer having one. I asked her if she had ever shot a gun and she replied no but mentioned that her father used to have a few. He unfortunately passed away almost 10 years ago.
This conversation led to her remembering that her fathers firearms were boxed by the local police department and she might still have them in a storage shed. After a couple hours of sifting through the shed she produced two sealed cardboard boxes that were clearly marked that they contained firearms. The boxes were in pretty bad shape so I couldn't make out the writing on the labels. I offered to take the two mystery guns home with me so that I could inspect and clean them to determine if they were safe to shoot and she agreed. I honestly could not wait to get home and see what was inside!
Box 1: High Standard Sport King 4.5" Barrel 4089xx
This pistol appears to be a first model manufactured between 1950 - 1953. It was in excellent shape had original grips and 1 original magazine. After a quick take down, clean and lube it is definitely ready for the range.
Box 2: Smith & Wesson Model 30-1 3" Barrel 8170xx
When I opened this box I was elated to see a vintage S&W J-frame but saddened as it was covered in rust and completely locked up. Neither the hammer, trigger or cylinder would budge. I was heart broken because I knew this 32 would have served her needs well and it carried a lot of sentimental value as it was owned by her late father. I had to get this revolver back into service!
I own many S&W revolvers but until very recently I had never even seen behind a side plate. However just last month I installed a new hammer and springs in a 327 and it went quite well. Even though I only had an experience of 1 I felt confident that if I took my time I could service this revolver myself.
After removing the stocks (matching serial number) I drenched the gun down in Hoppe's Elite and let it sit for a few hours. I don't know if that was necessary but I was able to remove the side plate without too much of a fuss. Once I disassembled all of the internals I soaked everything in more Hoppe's and began scrubbing away at the rust being careful not to damage the bluing where the cancer hadn't spread. Once everything was as clean as possible I applied some Miltec-1 to all of the internals and wiped clean. Reassembly went fairly well for someone as novice as myself.
Once it was back together I was surprised at how well the action felt! The double action was very heavy and the single action extremely light. The timing looked good as every chamber locked up before the hammer dropped. The cylinder gap was very small but not touching. The hammer block was working correctly. The firing pin was protruding into the window. No excessive end shake detected. I believe this 30-1 is now range ready.
Tomorrow I plan to take my girlfriend on her first trip to the range and together we will shoot her fathers firearms once again. I have never met this man but I think he would be happy to know that his firearms are still in his daughters possession and they will be there to protect her and his granddaughter while he looks over them both.
This conversation led to her remembering that her fathers firearms were boxed by the local police department and she might still have them in a storage shed. After a couple hours of sifting through the shed she produced two sealed cardboard boxes that were clearly marked that they contained firearms. The boxes were in pretty bad shape so I couldn't make out the writing on the labels. I offered to take the two mystery guns home with me so that I could inspect and clean them to determine if they were safe to shoot and she agreed. I honestly could not wait to get home and see what was inside!
Box 1: High Standard Sport King 4.5" Barrel 4089xx
This pistol appears to be a first model manufactured between 1950 - 1953. It was in excellent shape had original grips and 1 original magazine. After a quick take down, clean and lube it is definitely ready for the range.
Box 2: Smith & Wesson Model 30-1 3" Barrel 8170xx
When I opened this box I was elated to see a vintage S&W J-frame but saddened as it was covered in rust and completely locked up. Neither the hammer, trigger or cylinder would budge. I was heart broken because I knew this 32 would have served her needs well and it carried a lot of sentimental value as it was owned by her late father. I had to get this revolver back into service!
I own many S&W revolvers but until very recently I had never even seen behind a side plate. However just last month I installed a new hammer and springs in a 327 and it went quite well. Even though I only had an experience of 1 I felt confident that if I took my time I could service this revolver myself.
After removing the stocks (matching serial number) I drenched the gun down in Hoppe's Elite and let it sit for a few hours. I don't know if that was necessary but I was able to remove the side plate without too much of a fuss. Once I disassembled all of the internals I soaked everything in more Hoppe's and began scrubbing away at the rust being careful not to damage the bluing where the cancer hadn't spread. Once everything was as clean as possible I applied some Miltec-1 to all of the internals and wiped clean. Reassembly went fairly well for someone as novice as myself.
Once it was back together I was surprised at how well the action felt! The double action was very heavy and the single action extremely light. The timing looked good as every chamber locked up before the hammer dropped. The cylinder gap was very small but not touching. The hammer block was working correctly. The firing pin was protruding into the window. No excessive end shake detected. I believe this 30-1 is now range ready.
Tomorrow I plan to take my girlfriend on her first trip to the range and together we will shoot her fathers firearms once again. I have never met this man but I think he would be happy to know that his firearms are still in his daughters possession and they will be there to protect her and his granddaughter while he looks over them both.
