Help me with my 1894

[kbush]

I've got an 1894 in .357 that I call the ghetto special, it seems that the previous owner nickel plated it.  It suffers from the "marlin jam" and I'm thinking it was a CAS gun in a previous life.  I've ordered a new carrier from Midway but it's on backorder    .  Once I get the new carrier in place I'm going to refinish the gun (I also have a thread in gunsmithing on this).

After reading GB's painting thread in Ol Injun Tricks that's what I've decided to do.  Give me some ideas on painting, would you go black/wood, black/black, OD green/wood, etc....  I guess I'm going to have to rough up the surface on the nickel so the paint will stick so any suggestions would be appreciated.  I'm also thinking fiber optic sights and ditching the scope.

[Graybeard]

Hi Kendall, good to see you back among us again.

Colors are a real pesonal matter. I just used the rust red primer and covered it with flat black. I wasn't trying to camo just put a rust proof non glare finish on. I did metal only and left the stock as it was. I believe if you clean the metal with acetone and use Rustoleum primer and paint it will stick to the nickel plated finish OK. Still if you have access to a bead blast machine you might want to give that a try.

On the jamming I just take them apart and use 400 grit sandpaper or finer and krocus cloth to polish things up. Take off sharp edges and burrs and put it all back together with proper lube and that usually cures the jams for me.

Are you still over run with those bucks that have a rack on one side and a spike on the other or have ya'll taken them out of the herd by now?

[kbush]

Hi Bill, I guess I just drift around the 'net depending on what I'm doing at the time    Saw a SOOS buck yesterday and my daughter killed one the first day of the youth hunt.  We see them every so often and it varies from year to year.

Starting to see some really good bucks now, here's one example:

Still killing hogs, I killed a 150 lb boar yesterday and two sows about the same size last Friday.

[Graybeard]

Maybe come spring I can get down and help you with the hogs. The way my health is I never try to plan things too far in advance as I never know what things will be like. Did ya'll have a good dove season this time?

That's a nice buck in the photo. If there are points on the right to match his left he's a really nice one. I saw some pretty nice ones when I was down way back in there where we jumped that pig you hit that we never found back along the river.

[kbush]

I haven't had a decent dove shoot in a while.  I've almost quit trying, everytime I try to plant millet the hogs destroy it.

Another look at that deer:


and another deer:


my buck from just before Thanksgiving:

[Graybeard]

Nice! You're really growing some nice ones down there.

[Frank V]

Wow, those are some nice bucks. Thanks for sharing the pictures with us.
Frank

[Graybeard]

KB has a really nice place to hunt there on the family farm. I've been down hog hunting with him a couple times now I think and we had a pretty decent dove shoot once as well. I saw more bucks there in one afternoon sitting in a shooting house over a greenfield waiting on hogs to show up than I'd see in two seasons up here in NE Bama where I am.

I saw about as many on my walk down the old logging road along the river one morning as well to include a couple of really fine bucks. He is over run with hogs as well.

[Sweetwater]

Nice pics - thanks for sharing!!

Love those Ghetto Specials! Makes me feel I can alter at will without worrying about "ruining it". Please post a pic before and after of your project?

Regards,
Sweetwater

[bilmac]

I would think the nickel would look better than paint. My marlins feed fine unless I try semi wadcutters.

[Echo4Lima]

Graybeard, did you paint the entire rifle? Receiver n all?

[Graybeard]

I painted all the METAL work but NOT the stock. Yes to include the action which on a bolt gun I don't think is technically a receiver.

[Sweetwater]

My Marlin feeds fine even with swc's. Only thing that won't feed is something that gets seated out too long, then it won't clear the magazine. As long as it clears the magazine, they so far all feed properly. My Winchester is a whole different story.

Regards,
Sweetwater

[bilmac]

Kbush have you thought about rubbing your nickle with very fine sandpaper? Maybe it would take on a stainless steel type finish. You will probably need to scuff up the shiny nickel finish anyway if you want paint to really stick.