Inherited Lever Action Needs Work

[guntownuncle]

Out of nowhere my Dad gave me a lever action Winchester. (Its not a S&W, but I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.) Its the Canadian centenial one with the octagon barrel. It leaned against a corner of his closet for a couple of decades. Its got two problems I'm not sure what to do with. One is a spot of rust on the barrel. Its maybe 1mm across and does not appear to have made much of a pit in the metal. How do I get rid of it? Can I get rid of it? The other problem is that the front sight is bent. Not a sharp bend at the base. Just a gradual curve off to the right. Would I dare tackle it with something as crude as a pair of pliers? I don't intend to let it sit on a shelf. It will be a working rifle that doesn't necessarily need to be pretty.

 

[dfariswheel]

When steel rusts, it pits under the rust. The pits may not be deep, but they're there, and the only way to "fix" them is to have the metal refinished.

To remove the rust and prevent it from getting worse, apply a thick coat of a good lube like CLP Breakfree or Kroil and let soak a few days to loosen the rust.
Then apply more lube and use a brass "toothbrush" to brush the rusty area. After the rust is off, wipe dry and apply a rust preventing lube like CLP.

Some things I DON'T recommend: Don't use even fine steel wool. People do use it on rust, but its risky to the remaining blue.
DO NOT use a penny or other coin to scrape it. Pennies are NOT copper these days and will damage the finish.
The brass brush will remove the rust and won't harm the finish around the spot.
When the rust is off, what's there in the way of missing blue and pitting is what you have. There's really not much beyond a refinish or a dab of cold blue that can be done.

As for the front sight, pliers will scratch and scar the sight and may simply snap it off.
I'd recommend pushing the sight out of the dovetail and try using a brass punch and small hammer to bend it back into shape.
If this fails, buy a new sight from Gun Parts Corp.

 

[KAC]

Keep in mind that the front sight may have been bent in order to adjust the sights.

KAC