What would you do? Prewar 38/44 Outdoorsman

SVT28

SVT28

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Happy Saturday night everyone!

Need some advice. This gun has been tucked away for the last couple of years in the back of my safe and I pulled it out yesterday to figure out what I want to do with it. Here’s the deal.

I bought this online for $350 plus transfer ($10) knowing full well that it may just be a forever parts gun. It’s a prewar 38/44 Outdoorsman that had presumably been dropped out of a moving vehicle. I figure maybe it was a ranchers gun or something, or someone was shooting it outdoors, put it on the roof or tailgate and it took a spill.

As you can see the grip frame is a little tweaked, the barrel is tweaked too and off center, and the left Magna stock suffered a chip at the top. You can see the impact above the grip tang. It locks up fine, has mint bore and chambers, but has a hitch from a crooked ejector rod. All matching serials and original blued.

I’ve thought about buying a shadow box for it, and hanging it in my home office. I’ve thought about parting it out and maybe making my money back plus a little extra. And…. I’ve thought about sending it off to Frank Glenn or someone to try and straighten it out and make it serviceable. Or maybe I put it in a vice, use a wooden rod dowel, and give it a go myself.

I figure someone on the forums may have attempted to repair something like this at one time and I was hoping for your feedback. I also welcome other ideas on what you would do with this revolver. Here are some pics for reference! Thanks in advance

SVT28

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I had a 4 screw K 22 that had been run over .The grip frame was the worst of it bent and twisted it was easy to take the twist out using a vise and patience ,led ingot tttttttttttook care of the band in the grip frame .a little at a time . It will take time and patience.YTHEY don't make them any more try to save it ,if that wont work you can then decide to part it out.It may take a sum of money to fix it but look at what they are selling for now against the cost to repair .
 
My two cents worth:

That appears to be too nice of a gun for amateurs to fiddle with.

My Outdoorsman sold for $2200 during the liquidation of my collection during the three years ending a year ago. Given no damage to the finish we can see here, and the fact the grips on yours will likely fetch $800-$1000 by themselves (Mine carried Service grips.), you have a lot of room to move before the purchase price and the repair cost charged by an EXPERT add up to anything but a bargain in total.

I'd be hunting for an EXPERT!

Ralph Tremaine

Here's my definition of an EXPERT: I managed to break the latch tangs on a $6500 NM #3 Target. I went hunting for an EXPERT---even though I absolutely, positively KNEW they couldn't be fixed! Almost all the EXPERTS said, "I don't know if I can fix it or not, but I sure would like to try."

Then along came another who said, "I know I can fix it." Off went the gun to him. Back it came inside of three weeks---fixed-----for the staggering sum of $75. And when I say "fixed", I could show you exactly where to look, and you'll never spot the repairs---no matter how long you sit and stare!!

The bad news is this WIZARD works only on Antiques. The highly likely good news is he knows somebody as good as he is that works on the other stuff. Google Chris Hirsch Gunsmith. It's a place to start.

Good Hunting!!

As an aside (consisting of pure speculation on my part), it figures my expert charges $150/hour. His repair was what I call "Micro TIG welding". It figures it took him 15-20 minutes to set up his TIG outfit---unless he cheats, and it's already sitting there ready to go. That leaves him virtually a matter of minutes to do the welding, make the beads disappear, and refinish the affected area. And like I said before, you'll never spot the repair area!
 
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I'm going to pass along some great advice my Dad gave me when I was much younger ... "Son , never sell a gun you like ... chances are , you will come to regret it ."

That was great advice ... and I follow it to this day ... No Regrets !

So the question you want to ask yourself is ... Do I like that gun ?
Gary
 
It is a steel frame and one of the great attributes of steel is its ability to be formed. With the right tools and patience that gun could be reformed back to its original configuration.

I recently bought a cheap model 36 no dash for a J frame 327 project. There was a fair wedge shaped gap over the top of the yoke and an alignment tool showed me that the barrel was not aligned properly. I have a 6" vise with brass jaws and by carefully lining the 36 frame up in them I was able to get it back to exactly where it belonged. While I do believe the babbit bar method of forming works, I prefer being able to use slow controllable pressure.

I also have a 24" crescent wrench that I have used to form pieces of metal clamped in a vise.
 
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You know who that "steelslaver" up there is?

That's someone who could fix your gun----if he was so inclined---I'd bet money on it! And that's just from reading about his various projects here---all of which seem to turn out to his liking.

I'm left with the impression he likes doing what he does---and he's good at it---a tough combination to beat!

Ralph Tremaine
 
Repair

Many years ago I received a shipment of an 1894 38-55 frame that had been sent to the shop for reblue , no wood parts accompanied it. The tang arrived bent, it was damaged in shipment. How do you bend a piece of steel, I figured it was ruined. One of my "gun show" buddies gave me the name and phone number of an old gunsmith that did not live very far away. I took the bent frame to his place, he looked at it, studied it for a few minutes and reached for a rubber hammer, gave it a couple of wacks. It was fixed! I was a happy camper and I asked what I owed. Nothing! I didn't do anything. He believed that steel had a memory, for sure he was right by me. I think the old 38/44 can be fixed!
 
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So we're at this point now where If it were me I would either do a real intensive search for that talented individual who can bring this gun back to life or sell it off as is. As there are No shortage of members here who will do the "right" thing with this gun.
Either way the gun will have a good home. I just want to relate a story of my own if I may without drifiting off course Not to rob your thread or anything. Years ago at a gun show I was offerred a Pre-War Outdoorsman in similar blueing condition to yours But with a Bulged barrel for the princely sum of $250. I declined but I think he would have accepted $200. Looking in hindsight, You know hindsight is Always 20/20. I wished I had bought it because the bulge was far back enough that I'm sure the gun should have shot well, and now looking at the value of these guns it was a missed opportunity.
In any event, not too long after that I found a post war pre model 23, a retired cops gun for $250 so it all worked out in my mind. I think a little bit of diligent searching on your part you will eventually find the right gunsmith, mechanic to fix your gun. You've had it this long so what's the difference in waiting a little more? Good Luck in whatever you decide.
 
From the side it looks fine and would make a great display piece, and considering the price you paid, that would be a totally fine use for such a firearm. It could be worse, in many countries these fine vintage firearms have been deactivated and turned into nothing more than display pieces due to stupid laws passed since their purchase. Some are melted down. It does look fixable, but I don't think it will ever make a great shooter again or be any better to shoot than say a Model 27 thus will see little range time. Maybe in the distant future, when these guns become very very scarce, it may be worth restoring to some kind of more functional condition, but as it is I think it's fine as a display piece.
 
There is absolutely no reason that it can't be brought back into alignment so that it shoots to point of aim and once it it there it will stay there and hit that same point, time after time. It won't decide to warp back on its own. Heat would not cause it to go out of wack again either, If heat effected it the heated metal's grain would be more apt to return to where it was after forging and heat treating it, not to where it was formed to afterwards

Neither the grip frame nor the barrel to frame are that far off.

I have several brass rods turned to barrel land diameters with a point on one end. By sliding them down the barrel you can see where and how much a barrel to frame is off by where the tip lines up with firing pin. Same thing with the yoke a rod that is set up to slip inside the barrel will show how the yoke tube lines up with the bolt tip.

I would make some hardwood blocks that fit the barrel to about an inch from the frame and clamp the barrel in them. Then make a piece of channel that fit over the back strap with brass strips inside and a long bar going length ways on top. Then use the bar to FORM it back to where the rod in barrel hit the firing pin. If I released the pressure and it moved back a little I would do it again and go a bit past the firing pin.

The grip frame would be easy, remove grip pin and clamp the base in brass jawed vise and go to tweaking with brass lined jaws of big cresent wrench. Or put frame with side plate in brass vise and then tweak grip frame straight. Come on in reality it is a couple pieces of 5/16" square stock that are tied together on both ends so one will pretty much follow the other with equal presssure
 
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