Recent 91/30 from Duffy's Gun Room

[Machodoc]

I dun tolya an tolya, Iain'ta hav'in no red sheelac on mu gunz.

Then collect Garands ... they come already stripped, unless bubba got there first, and usually all you have to do is oil, or clean and oil them.

You did a pretty job on that rifle, but it started out as a special kind of beautiful.

We're gonna get through to you eventually. You're too damned smart not to understand this stuff on some level ... you're just a little hard-headed. That can be fixed. Stupid can't.

 

[RRHemi]

I used Machodoc's recommendation for re-shellacking my M44. I'm glad a lot of the red stayed. I like them natural and Ivan'd up

 

[frdfandc]

I want to pick up 2 more Mosin's. One for me, and want to give one to my Dad.

 

[iH8DemLibz]

Hemi,

The red tone on that is nice and the grain pops through the finish.

 

[iH8DemLibz]

Then collect Garands ... they come already stripped, unless bubba got there first, and usually all you have to do is oil, or clean and oil them.

You did a pretty job on that rifle, but it started out as a special kind of beautiful.

We're gonna get through to you eventually. You're too damned smart not to understand this stuff on some level ... you're just a little hard-headed. That can be fixed. Stupid can't.

I've been building furniture to long to be able to stand nice grain buried beneath coats of dark, red, shellac.

I need to see the grain. That's why nature put it there.

Nature did not hand Ivan a paint brush and a can of Rooskie Red and order him to defy Mother nature.

 

[j8064]

Even tho the refinish looks nice now, I must agree with Machodoc. If refinishing is a passion, do it to a table or chair instead of a gun. The notion of "Bubba-ing" isn't limited to chopping up stocks, barrels or actions.

Have I refinished guns? Sure. But only when there was no other option in the gun's restoration or de-bubba projects. In those cases re-applying as close to what would have been the original finish seems like the right thing to do.

Personally, I have some very nice rifles that once had original finishes. Someone who owned them before me refinished them. I sure wish they hadn't.

Consider this: A hundred years from now none of us will likely be around. But a gun you Bubba'd with a refinished might be. Do you really want whoever owns that gun then to ask, "Why did Bubba do this to my gun"?

???

 

[iH8DemLibz]

I'm not going down this road.

We're going to have to agree to disagree.

The Russians and the Importers Bubbafied these 91/30's with their re-furb programs way before any of us came on the scene.

And I don't refinish. I build from scratch. El Naturel like.

I'm going to coin a new term regarding the finish on my Mosin: Pre-Ivan.

 

[j8064]

No debate. We agree to disagree.

A big difference is what the Russians, Finns etc. did to old 91/30's many years ago is part of a particular rifle's heritage. A Formby's refinish in the year 2014 is not.

 

[iH8DemLibz]

And it's a Danish Oil finish.

Is that close enough in geographical location to Russia and Finland to be acceptable?

 

[toolness1]

"Bubba's History Be Gone!"

That's good stuff.

Rifle looks nice. I did a similar job to a T53 before these guys turned me.


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[RRHemi]

thanks Libz, I also like to see the grain in the wood. I see more Mosins in my future. I figure some I will leave alone and some not. My stock got screwed during Ivan's refurb. Deep sanding to get rid of scratches, cartouches almost erased from sanding.

 

[Machodoc]

I used Machodoc's recommendation for re-shellacking my M44. I'm glad a lot of the red stayed. I like them natural and Ivan'd up

And that one is beautiful! Excellent job!

 

[Machodoc]

I'm going to coin a new term regarding the finish on my Mosin: Pre-Ivan.

Too late. It's already, "Post-Bubba".

For those who think that I'm picking on iH8DemLibz as a poor, defenseless, well-meaning, abuser of military firearms ... I am! But he and I have an understanding about these things. He does really nice work, and I have a lot of respect for him, but he's simply a misguided waif who needs a little bit of patient and gentle guidance. If that doesn't work, we'll throw him down a well, or something.

 

[RRHemi]

And that one is beautiful! Excellent job!

Thanks, and thanks for your help. I took scotch brite to a small area of this stock, watched it erase detail and stopped its use. I gave it lots of rubbing with a rag and denatured alcohol.

 

[smoothebore]

My kind of thread. I'm not arguing any opinion. Just here to stir the pot.
http://surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=118&t=62855&sid=07c41408248abc36b854db04d6be8fb1

 

[iH8DemLibz]

This is my Pre-Ivan, completely unmolested, and all original matching numbers Model 91.

It was manufactured at the Sestroyetsk factory in 1915.



You will, immediately, notice that no Rooskie Red was ever applied to it. Why you ask. Because the ORIGINALS (M91, M91/30, M38, and M44) were never Ivanated. NEVER! The stocks were stained and then they were given a clear finish. They were never high gloss and bright red. Only the re-furbed and de-valued red headed step children in the Mosin family were given the scarlet color.

In fact, the Model 91 stock is the exact same color as the original walnut stock on my completely unmolested and all original matching numbers 1889 Dutch Beaumont rifle.



Some folks on here need to do some research before going down the thread derailment highway.

 

[reverendbeer]

GUN NERD FIGHT!!!!

(I got no dog in this hunt....I see both sides...so it's fun to watch.)

 

[frdfandc]

I referbed one last year. Got a little grief from doing it. But didn't sand deep. Just enough for the finish to stick properly. Still has all the character marks and the stamp in the wood.

 

[iH8DemLibz]

I referbed one last year. Got a little grief from doing it. But didn't sand deep. Just enough for the finish to stick properly. Still has all the character marks and the stamp in the wood.

What?

You used SANDPAPER and only caught a little bit of grief.....

I didn't use any sandpaper and every Curio and Relic N*Z* in Maryland has chimed in to voice his displeasure.

The purists on here need to get a grip on reality concerning the Ivanized 91/30's.

I know some of you want to think they were lovingly restored and re-arsenaled in a hermetically sealed room by talented Russian gunsmiths who methodically took the time to look over every gun to make sure every bolt was precisely head spaced and precisely matched to every chamber.

They weren't.

They took piles, and piles, and piles of random parts that were sitting in Ivan's filthy warehouse and unskilled laborers re-ground them and re-stamped them and re-blued them and re-assembled them as fast as they could so they could be exported as fast as they could to be sold to us as fast as they could.

They cost $69.00 15 years ago. They cost $99.00 today. Someone, PLEASE, show me the value and collectability of a Refurbished 91/30 rifle.

I bought this rifle 10 days ago and it's worth less today than what I paid for it 10 days ago. I paid a bit extra for it to support a local gun shop. I got to fondle and finger 15 rifles and I got to pick the best of the litter.

Ten years from now, I would not get what I paid for it if I were to sell it in it's glorious red condition. That's why I de-Ivanated it. And if I do try to sell it, I will tell some NOOB that the box with the X on the receiver and the box with the slash on the butt stock is the royal crown markings of King Ivan himself and I will be paid handsomely because it will be a one-of-a-kind 91/30 with a natural finish on the stock.

And none of the above takes into account one irrefutable fact. That it's mine and I like this way.

Peace out my gun loving brothers.

 

[frdfandc]

Ok, maybe more than a little bit. How does a couple of PM's sound?

Didn't pay it too much thought.

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