Anyone into antique firearms?

[jade1955]

I've just got around to re-assembling my .577 snider that I finished restoring earlier in the year.

I imported it from IMA in the USA. The rifle had been in storage for over 100 years so it was a bit mucky with some superficial rust and the buttstock was full of woodworm holes.

Its my first restoration and I'm quite pleased with the gun as it still has that old antique look even though its been cleaned up.

BEFORE

AFTER

[Jaycel Adkins]

That's awesome!

Do you have any idea about it's history? Family heirloom? Military? etc.

What process or techniques do you use? Particularly with the wood. Looks great!

[Wedge]

That looks beautiful. I'm more into modern handguns but I love history and all firearms in general so I appreciate the restoration. Last year I went on a tour of the Smith & Wesson factory and museum in Mass. and it was amazing! Thanks for posting that, Jade.

[jade1955]

Thanks Jaycel glad you like it. This gun would have been in service with the Nepalese Army circa 1870. It was almost certainly made in Nepal under licence from Snider so it is a solid well made gun. This was part of a massive cache of arms and other military equipment found in a Nepalese palace in 2003.

The discovery of these arms is a fascinating tale.

The wood was restored by stripping off most of the old dirt and oil. A layer of preservative was put on and then some beeswax. I filled the wormholes and damage to the stock with a special coloured wax used for wood restoration. I didn't go right back to the bear wood as I didn't want it to look like a new rifle. I used a rust remover to get rid of some surface rust on the barrel bands and barrel band retaining pins. (the bands that hold the wooden fore stock together). A special metal liquid cleaner used for antique restoration was used on the barrel/lock.

I really enjoyed taking it apart and cleaning it. Its amazing how much you can learn about how something works and gain an appreciation for the craft and skill that went into making something by stripping it down to its component parts.

[jade1955]

That looks beautiful. I'm more into modern handguns but I love history and all firearms in general so I appreciate the restoration. Last year I went on a tour of the Smith & Wesson factory and museum in Mass. and it was amazing! Thanks for posting that, Jade.

Thanks Wedge. That must have been an amazing tour. We are very restricted in the UK and with handguns in particular. Although we can own long barrel revolvers and long barrel semi auto .22LR. The requirement is that the overall length must be no less that 24". Although we can own muzzle loading pistols revolvers on a firearms certificate.

The beauty of these rifles is that anyone can own one of these on under section 58 of our Firearms Act.

[jade1955]

The wood was restored by stripping off most of the old dirt and oil. A layer of preservative was put on and then some beeswax. I filled the wormholes and damage to the stock with a special coloured wax used for wood restoration. I didn't go right back to the bear wood as I didn't want it to look like a new rifle.

.

Special wood, made from bears.

[wimarcs]

I can see having these put on a wall, but for active use, nah, ill pass, although it could be fun. Seems to be one of those things that when you start collecting you can't stop anymore :P Still way more interesting than post stamps and stuff like that!