Post by Big Joe on Jan 31, 2018 20:04:26 GMT -5
It pays off at times when people know you are a gun nut.... I got a call this afternoon to go over and help a lady get an old truck running for her. We got there and it was on old 1996 Ford Ranger just like the one that came with the place. Took me every bit of 15 minutes to get it running -- basically put some fresh gas in it --- so it had some -- and have tater turn it over while I hand choked it. I remember why I like carbs now... I can work on them. Got it running and let it set there idling while I checked the antifreeze and brake fluid. She had already put a new battery in it, but we did finish the job, she just pushed the ends down and that was good, it would turn over.... To make this story shorter, one of her grandsons was going to come get it and she knew he didn't know a thing about anything mechanical. While we stood there she started cleaning it out and after a couple baskets full of old farmer trash she came out with a rag wrapped around something. Right off I knew what it was but not all the details.. She unrolled the rag and just handed it to me and told me to find it a home or just keep it she didn't want it around. It was one her hubby kept in his truck and it had seen some bad days. So now I own a Beretta Model 1934, no its not one of the truly old ones but it aint new.... I checked with Beretta and they say it was manufactured around the late 1950s. I took a few pictures but I had already started rubbing some of the rust off when the take a picture, duffus hit me. So this is a work in progress, by the word work I mean a complete overhaul... It was so gummed up it took some serious pulling to get he slide pulled and the chamber empty. Its another 380 LOL.... It is or was nickel plated but will be DuraCoated to save money and hassle of trying to blue it. I think it is headed for a squirt of parker color and maybe some stainless painted trim pieces. May just polish the barrel and slap more than a bit of frog lube on it.
But here is the new headache - err I mean toy..
The barrel has nice and sharp grooves and lands, not sure just how much he shot it. Shoot I just looked and the ammo that was in it... marked as REM-UMC.... They aren't green but they are tarnished -- they are headed to the collection box... I may polish one just for show but they others will stay the way they are. If the rag had any oil on it it dried out long ago. I know the boys are all lets get to work on it, we want to shoot it. At least this one fits my hand and not worry about the slide biting me.