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I have a friend who knows I like to tinker with old guns. He's given me a few guns to clean up the best I can for him. All of these came from an estate sale. My friend is not the one who neglected them. Tonight I started on a 1957 Belgian made Browning Light Twelve Auto 5. The end result will not be perfect, but at least I can stop the rust and make it look more presentable.
The last time I held an A5 was back in the late '80's when one of my Grandpa's friends let me shoot his at the local Ruitan club shooting match. It sure brings back a lot of memories of hanging out all day with all the Ruitan guys at the monthly shooting match fund raisers. There were lots of Model 12's, 1897's, and Browning Belgians to drool over back then.
It's a shame the previous owner didn't take care of a lot of his firearms. I worked on the Browning A5 Light Twelve, a Browning BPS Field 30, and a Yugoslavian Model 1924 Mauser. I've never seen such neglect on any firearms. The Light Twelve and the Field 30 were full of leaves, pine needles, grass, and other crud.
I thought I'd share some before and after pictures. It's pretty satisfying work. It's a shame they were neglected so badly as it just kills any real value they had. Moral of the story, take care of your guns, guitars, or what have you so they don't end up looking like these.
First off the Browning Light Twelve Auto 5. This would be an 800 to 1,000 dollar gun if it were in real good shape.
Browning BPS Field 30 before and after pictures. Real smooth action, and an awesome revision of the old Ithaca 37 bottom eject.
Last up is the Yugoslavian Model 1924 Mauser. Ironically, it was the firearm with the least amount of neglect. Go figure the least expensive one was the better kept one.
The last time I held an A5 was back in the late '80's when one of my Grandpa's friends let me shoot his at the local Ruitan club shooting match. It sure brings back a lot of memories of hanging out all day with all the Ruitan guys at the monthly shooting match fund raisers. There were lots of Model 12's, 1897's, and Browning Belgians to drool over back then.
It's a shame the previous owner didn't take care of a lot of his firearms. I worked on the Browning A5 Light Twelve, a Browning BPS Field 30, and a Yugoslavian Model 1924 Mauser. I've never seen such neglect on any firearms. The Light Twelve and the Field 30 were full of leaves, pine needles, grass, and other crud.
I thought I'd share some before and after pictures. It's pretty satisfying work. It's a shame they were neglected so badly as it just kills any real value they had. Moral of the story, take care of your guns, guitars, or what have you so they don't end up looking like these.
First off the Browning Light Twelve Auto 5. This would be an 800 to 1,000 dollar gun if it were in real good shape.
Browning BPS Field 30 before and after pictures. Real smooth action, and an awesome revision of the old Ithaca 37 bottom eject.
Last up is the Yugoslavian Model 1924 Mauser. Ironically, it was the firearm with the least amount of neglect. Go figure the least expensive one was the better kept one.
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