Win 42 Junkyard Rescue

So a friend of mine was cleaning out one of his rental properties that the renters left a bunch of junk behind and called me and said there was some tools of I wanted to look at them...I discovered a cardboard box with a totally disassembled Win model 42. He said it was headed for the junk yard but to take it if I wanted it..My best assumption is that some attempted, and VERY poorly I might ad, a kitchen table restoration on it and lost interest in the project and left it to rust and pit.All the parts are there except for the stock screw and a side-plate screw..I did a quickie assemble and it functions, chambers the rounds and I dry fired it on a snap cap, although it's pretty rough and gritty to work it, but that's expected and should polish up ok.. I looked up the serial number (12***) and Winchester says it was manufactured in 1934..Now, I'm under no illusions here. I realize it has almost zero cash value, and no matter what I have done, it will never be of any value because of the hatchet job attempted resto, and I'll never recoup what I put into it, But I felt strongly compelled to rescue it from being junked and recycled into a toaster..So now I'm pondering what to do with it..I'm leaning toward having it blued and redo the wood myself. I have a grandson that will old enough to go after squirrels in a few years and this little .410 will make a dandy scatter gun for that..From a strictly financial standpoint, its an abysmal investment..But I couldn't stand to see it go to the scrap yard and It's almost 100 years old, so it deserves a shot at being back in the woods again, even if it won't be in its original state. I have no idea what variation 42 it is..It just says Model 42 .410 3" chamber...(the pic does not show all the parts)

Very neat! If you choose to proceed, please do post pictures showing the progress of your restoration.

Excellent project!

When your grandson gets a shotgun his grandpa put all that love and attention into... he'll use the heck out of it and treasure it forever!

Ya, a firearms project only has to make sense to the owner. I think you're going to have a real nice little shotgun when you're done. I'd do the same as you're proposing - I'd have the metalwork done professionally, either re-blued or treated to Cerakote. Then I'd refinish all the wood myself. Might be tempting to do something cool, like an inlay in the stock with the youngster's initials in it or something...

Guy

Guy Miner":tb4b8ird said:

Excellent project!

When your grandson gets a shotgun his grandpa put all that love and attention into... he'll use the heck out of it and treasure it forever!

Ya, a firearms project only has to make sense to the owner. I think you're going to have a real nice little shotgun when you're done. I'd do the same as you're proposing - I'd have the metalwork done professionally, either re-blued or treated to Cerakote. Then I'd refinish all the wood myself. Might be tempting to do something cool, like an inlay in the stock with the youngster's initials in it or something...

Guy

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Guy, i was just considering cerkote. I think a nice polished blue job would look out of place considering the way they over-sanded the wood and rounding off trhe edges. And took way too much out of the wrist..so a fine blue job would be kind of like putting lipstick on a pig.

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You could see if Boyds makes a stock for a 42. Some of there Walnut stuff is really nice. You could bring it into the youngsters "era" and see if there is a laminate...but that seems like sacrilege :lol: 'specially since you've already decided its going to cost more than its "worth". Priceless to a grandson if you ask me. Cool! CL

I'll be the contrarian here....

Send that baby off and bring it back from the grave...money be damned, 42s are classy little guns and they're only getting harder to find in any condition. Polished blue and re-stock it if you gotta.

Get that baby looking snazzy and shucking smooth and use it till you go to the ground, pass it to the grand kids and they can do the same.

I've got several old shotguns from my grandfather and great uncle...no idea how much they cost back then in the teens and twenties...but every time I fold something up with one of those old guns I smile like they're worth millions.

hodgeman":3drl5n7s said:

I'll be the contrarian here....

Send that baby off and bring it back from the grave...money be damned, 42s are classy little guns and they're only getting harder to find in any condition. Polished blue and re-stock it if you gotta.

Get that baby looking snazzy and shucking smooth and use it till you go to the ground, pass it to the grand kids and they can do the same.

I've got several old shotguns from my grandfather and great uncle...no idea how much they cost back then in the teens and twenties...but every time I fold something up with one of those old guns I smile like they're worth millions.

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Thats almost exactly what my brother in law just said...i guess it wouldn't hurt to send it off to get a quote on blueing..ive found some aftermatket stocks that are OE design and have really.good reviews..the corn cob fore-stock is in good shape, the rings arent worn down or anything. Im not sure which way im going yet, but i think i should at least get a price on blue, i mean it wont cost anything but shipping two ways.

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You might also check with Wenig Gunstocks in Lincoln, Missouri. They are an offshoot from the Fajen gunstock business that was in Warsaw, Missouri, and made well known stocks for many years.

Ron

Get a bottle of Brownell's Oxpho Blue and blue it yourself. That would be the cheap way to go. I did a partial re-blue on a Mauser sporter I picked up last year. Follow the directions and watch a few YouTube vids. It takes several applications. I used a heat gun to heat the metal up, as that's supposed to help. Make sure you wipe it down with a damp cloth after each coat to neutralize the chemicals or the gun will rust. I was happy with how mine turned out. It's not perfect if you know where to look, but it was a fun project.

https://shop.brownells.com/gunsmith-too ... d6d26cf514

Keep in mind I'm no gunsmith, but my understanding of the bluing process is that the deeper better bluing almost always comes from a very good metal polishing job by either the gunsmith or original manufacturer prior to the bluing process. Your gun will require some of that I believe, and may make the price higher? I don't know for sure. Check with Earle aka Whelen35. Send him a PM. He does gun restoration work.