Dumbest thing you ever did on gun repair

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  • JamesDong

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 13, 2020
    3,260
    Duffield, Va
    Come on, we have all done it. Today was my day.

    I have a 1950 vintage Russian SKS that when I got it she had an aftermarket Chinese fixed magazine that wouldn't feed. Since it's cold and snowy outside I figured I'd tinker with it and reinstall the original 10 round magazine back on it.
    Had one HELL of a time getting it out, had to drive the hinge pin and take it out in 2 parts.

    Eventually reinstalled original part.... gun went bang just fine but wouldn't cycle. :rolleyes:

    I brought it back inside and pondered what was wrong watching TV. Sitting on the coffee table was............ you guessed it, the gas valve! Put that back on and Crazy Ivan shoots as advertised. I'm glad I didn't pay 400 dollars for a straight pull SKS!

    Lets hear some of your DUH moments.
     

    Virgil Co.C

    Active Member
    Aug 10, 2018
    615
    Well , my finest gunsmithing the trigger guard on my 870 broke maybe ran over , long story , soooooo I took duct strap cut it down and what was left of the trigger guard I used mini screws and screwed on the strap , little bit of file smooth off the sharp edges , gtg. Wish I knew how to put pictures up on here never works for me always says it’s to big , technology challenged. It’s still on there till this day and been every bit of 20 years . Soaked the end of barrel in transmission fluid then heated to get the choke out. I used and abused that 870 when I was on the farm. Thing is a tank.swear by the 870. Harvested a lot of food with it . Take better care of her these days she has since been retired but I do pull her out for a hunt now and then for ole time sake.
     

    Alan3413

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 4, 2013
    16,921
    Mine's when some detent spring or other goes "ping!" and is never seen again.

    Not particularly outstanding, except it's happened too many times to count.

    Also, first time reassembly of a Ruger Mk II. Once you figure out the trick you're okay. But until then...
     

    Oswaldo87

    Active Member
    Feb 1, 2020
    151
    Frederick County
    Had a S&W .455 hand ejector parkerized. It was nice shape but no original finish left or maybe some sort of nickel plated (couldn’t really tell). It was real ugly but good shape. Should have hung on to it and blued it when I started slow rust bluing a few years later. Kind of kick myself for it. I was able to trade it at a gun show for a pre model 10. Another one I should have kept.
    Also tried to cold blue my grandpaw’s old single shot 16ga. It looked better than when I got it. I eventually slow rust blued it later. Looks great now.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,278
    HoCo
    My first 22 was only 7 years ago.
    I took it to a gunsmith to be cut down to 16.5" and threaded to shoot squirrels suppressed.
    Not only was it $30 more than they quoted and took 3 months, Its accuracy went to crap. It would hold 1" groups @ 50 yards and now I"m lucky to get 3" now. Should have left it alone.
     

    Nickberg500

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 20, 2019
    1,064
    North of Baltimore County
    Don't know if this counts but..

    My 3d printed pistol "hand" grip had a problem where the spring pushed itself too far into the plastic (didn't use a high enough infill). Didn't want to disassemble the hand because it was very difficult to get on, had to perform surgery on it to retrieve the spring/detent
    5ab30b4650718f336343df06528a59a4.jpg
     

    slsc98

    Ultimate Member
    May 24, 2012
    6,746
    Escaped MD-stan to WNC Smokies
    ... Should have left it alone.

    It wouldn’t hurt for me to use some wood and a wood burner pen to craft some signs with those very words on it and hang it over my gun work bench ...


    And my garage wall ...



    And my shed .....



    And my workshop ....


    Heck, I might even get “Leave it Alone” tattooed on the back of my hand!
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    One time I attempted repair to a mis assembled sks trigger group that someone monkeyd with.
    I thought I had it and went to function test.
    Somehow or another I managed a slam fire with my right index finger on the bolt knob and included web of thumb.
     

    Tungsten

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 1, 2012
    7,230
    Elkridge, Leftistan
    Tried to take off the rear sight on a mosin nagant. I beat the absolute hell out of it, soaked it in chemicals, used a blowtorch, etc. I'll be amazed if that thing isn't vdestroyed and unshootable now.
     

    135sohc

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 27, 2013
    1,157
    Just tonight I removed the pinned muzzle brake from a newly acquired second hand Stag Lefty... I knew the pinning was going to make a mess no matter what but I got a little too deep on the end mill :o Barrel integrity is fine but about 1/4 of the threading ended up getting planed off to clean up everything.


    The sin will be hidden under a new brownells repro three prong flash hider.
     

    JamesDong

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 13, 2020
    3,260
    Duffield, Va
    It wouldn’t hurt for me to use some wood and a wood burner pen to craft some signs with those very words on it and hang it over my gun work bench ...


    And my garage wall ...



    And my shed .....



    And my workshop ....


    Heck, I might even get “Leave it Alone” tattooed on the back of my hand!

    If it ain't broke..... DON'T fix it!
     

    Combloc

    Stop Negassing me!!!!!
    Nov 10, 2010
    7,212
    In a House
    Come on, we have all done it. Today was my day.

    I have a 1950 vintage Russian SKS that when I got it she had an aftermarket Chinese fixed magazine that wouldn't feed. Since it's cold and snowy outside I figured I'd tinker with it and reinstall the original 10 round magazine back on it.
    Had one HELL of a time getting it out, had to drive the hinge pin and take it out in 2 parts.

    Eventually reinstalled original part.... gun went bang just fine but wouldn't cycle. :rolleyes:

    I brought it back inside and pondered what was wrong watching TV. Sitting on the coffee table was............ you guessed it, the gas valve! Put that back on and Crazy Ivan shoots as advertised. I'm glad I didn't pay 400 dollars for a straight pull SKS!

    Lets hear some of your DUH moments.

    I don't understand.......what is the "gas valve" on a Soviet SKS?
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,151
    Sun City West, AZ
    About twenty-five years ago I was replacing the factory sights on my HK USP .45 with tritium sights. When installing the front blade in the dovetail I tapped it wrong and broke the blade off its base. I had to buy a new tritium front sight and was very careful installing it. Lesson learned.
     

    JohnnyE

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 18, 2013
    9,461
    MoCo
    If it ain't broke..... DON'T fix it!

    Add something from the Howard Stern show circa 1987. When Stuttering John messed up, again, Howard intoned that he must repeat after him:

    Once I am sure,

    I have done something right,

    I will go back and fix it.​
     

    temccoy

    Active Member
    Nov 13, 2020
    102
    I had a scope with a 50 mm objective I was installing on a rifle, and it would not drop all the way into the front ring. The ring was a Leupold dovetail mount, and I assumed I did not have the ring centered in the base correctly, and that was why the scope tube would not fit into the base. I spent over an hour moving the ring in the base trying to get the scope to fit. After way too long, I finally noticed that the objective bell of the scope was sitting on the rifle barrel. Doh! A higher set of rings solved the problem.
     

    JamesDong

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 13, 2020
    3,260
    Duffield, Va
    I had a scope with a 50 mm objective I was installing on a rifle, and it would not drop all the way into the front ring. The ring was a Leupold dovetail mount, and I assumed I did not have the ring centered in the base correctly, and that was why the scope tube would not fit into the base. I spent over an hour moving the ring in the base trying to get the scope to fit. After way too long, I finally noticed that the objective bell of the scope was sitting on the rifle barrel. Doh! A higher set of rings solved the problem.

    LOL hey, it happens.:)
     

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