Hi, I'm new here. Can you point me to the place here that gets the most rimfire discussion? I'd appreciate it!
Caution: The Following is Long Winded. Skim or Read at Risk of Boredom.
My only firearms are 2 Marlin rimfire guns. Until this Harrington and Richardson gun came home today, that is. I'd been looking around for an older single shot bolt action .22 that I could learn how to work on. I don't have much selection here in Massachusetts, but we have a few nice shops around.
I found a nice looking H&R single shot, model 765 "Pioneer". Blued steel and walnut (I'm assuming walnut) with a tapered barrel and silver colored bolt ("Newer style" safety lever accoring to Numrich's parts diagram). The gun is in nice shape. The bluing looks good but with some minor rust spots when you look close. The reciever is lightly pitted but with no rust. All the screws look nicely handled, expect the bolt guide screw (There are some tool marks and the threads are a bit worn).
It seems like you have to do something special to take the bolt out. I took the trigger apart to get the bolt out. There are so few parts it wasn't that big of a deal. I was going to clean the whole thing anyways. But it would be nice to be able to get the bolt out easily, any ideas?
I'm using this gun as practice, and trying my hardest not to screw it up. I'm going to bed the action, probably a pillar for the one screw that holds this gun to the stock and maybe bed the tang where it sits on the back of the stock (please correct my terminology as necessary). Do you think that this gun can take a full barrel float or should I bed just in front of the action or maybe a pad of glass bedding near the front of the forearm? I just got a new drill press so I'm thinking of drilling holes in the action and tapping them to take scope bases (I'm bad with open sights). However, I'm not quite sure if there is enough room around the bolt to situate a sight base. I guess I'll have to get some bases and see if I can configure them somehow to work.
I'll probably start refinishing the stock this week, that's the part that I'm pretty sure I won't screw up. The wood looks nice; it's some sort of walnut. The finish is worn around the grip and the front of the forearm and there are two dings that I'll try to steam out. I think a good sanding and a Tru-Oil finish might make this stock a keeper. It has a decent figure and some light patterning perpendicular to the grain that I hope will come out better when finished
Sorry to be so long, I don't usually post a whole lot, I figured I'd knock myself out. Where would be a good place to keep up with what's going on around here? I should have some pictures up soon.
Thanks for reading,
Ted
(Edited for clarity)
