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Well new to me anyway. I bought this from a member of another forum. It is a little rougher than I expected but tight nonetheless. I disassembled it yesterday and cleaned it up. there was just a tiny bit of surface rust on the inside which came off very easily.
As you can see from the pictures, it has spots of suface rust in various places. These pictures were taken prior to cleaning it. Anyway, I am considering having it refinished. I thought I would do the stock myself and send it out for the metal work. Can anyone make a recommendation for a gunsmith to do the metal work? One you have experience with.
Gosh, and I thought mine was in rough shape. That's not as bad as some I've seen. I haven't used them, but I'm planning on having http://www.classicgunsinc.com do the metal work on the projects I'm working on. They were recommended to me by another gunsmith who sends them his long guns refinishing.
Thanks for the advice Griff. I don't think I would have paid what I did for it had I seen the pics I had taken. However, I have it now and the bore looks very good, so...........
I have emailed a number of smiths with pics of the gun for advice and quotes. So far Regan Nonneman souds pretty good. I will check out the link you posted. Thanks again.
I have always used Kirk Merrington in Kerrville, TX for all metal work and blackening. He is a perfectionist, excellent turn-around time and good prices. Because I have stuck with him for so long I don't have first hand experience with anyone else.
86er wrote:I have always used Kirk Merrington in Kerrville, TX for all metal work and blackening. He is a perfectionist, excellent turn-around time and good prices. Because I have stuck with him for so long I don't have first hand experience with anyone else.
You will probably have to take apart the gun and send only the metal you want done. Kirk, like me, is and English trained shotgun maker. However, he can polish and blacken just about anything. It can't hurt to ask him.
Azoil, I bought one of these at the gunshow last weekend, but I resold it the same morning that I bought it. I didn't even cut the zip loc tie on the lever to try the action. Mine had spots where the blue was worn off, but the blue that was there wasn't speckled with rust. The wood on yours in nicer. Mine showed fading, and spots where the varnish was rubbed off. I also didn't know how hard it would be to find reloading components or ammo for it. I noticed as I was carrying it that it felt very natural in my hand. I'll go by Sportsman's Warehouse later today, and if they have brass or ammo I think I'll have to cry. I did the same thing with a nice Marlin in 35 Remington about 5 years ago. I should have kept that one for sure, or at least brought it over to my Dad's house to show him.
Otherwise, mine was missing the 4 filler screws for the scope mounts just like yours, and I bought an elevator for the rear sight for the one I had too. They must have been good shooters if guys bothered to put scopes on them. How does your rifle shoot?
Send it to Marlin is just what I did. This is a post from last year when I bought this rifle. I sent it to Marlin "naked" with the intent of re doing the stocks myself. That wasn't necessary because when Marlin returned the rifle to me, it was complete and beautiful. If the serial number wasn't the same, you would think it was a different rifle. Take a look..........
All that and I was going to say that I would have cleaned it up, replaced the filler screws, mounted a Williams Foolproof 94/36, gotten some ammo and gone hunting. It does look nice.
Sincerely,
Hobie
"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson
Griff wrote:azoil,
Gosh, now it almost looks TOO nice to take out to the woods. Do you mind tellin' what it ran?
Griff,
I thought that too when I first got it back. However, after thinking about it, I figured it is no different then buying a new one off the shelf right now. The only difference is that I can't buy a NIB 375 for what I have in this one and this one doesn't have the CBS to boot.
I shipped it to Marlin and the work and the return shipping was an additional $140. I think that was a smokin' deal.
A NIB XLR costs as much or more than this rifle cost me when it was said and done.
Last year I bought an 1894 in 44 mag brand new, had to send it back to Marlin to get almost the same amount of work done to it just to get so you could hold it without the stock falling off. They not only fix up old guns, they have to overhaul some of their new ones too!!!. Nice 375
To hell with them fellas, buzzards gotta eat same as the worms.
Outlaw Josey Wales
Azoil,
Are you saying that Marlin did all that work for $140?
Who did the wood? It looks brand new! Or is that just a new stock set? Either way, it's gorgeous!
Great work! I just got a Remington 1100 in 20 gauge back from my smith after having it cut to my wife's LOP and a Limbsaver put on it. I now want to strip it and refinish the wood. Hence my question about the refinishing of your stock.
BB
You can get alot further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone!
Al Capone
Billy Boy wrote:Azoil,
Are you saying that Marlin did all that work for $140?
Who did the wood? It looks brand new! Or is that just a new stock set? Either way, it's gorgeous!
Great work! I just got a Remington 1100 in 20 gauge back from my smith after having it cut to my wife's LOP and a Limbsaver put on it. I now want to strip it and refinish the wood. Hence my question about the refinishing of your stock.
BB
BB,
Yes, they did. cost me about $20 to ship it to them insured, so figure $160 done deal. Yes, they fitted and installed the stocks on it for test firing and apparently just left them on it. I would imagine they just don't allow a rifle to leave there that isn't fully functional. I would think for liability issues.
Scoutmaster wrote:azoil,
It looks great. I have to thank you for posting it as I'll now be looking for Marlins in the used gun rack with your rifle in mind.
Don
Don,
I agree. The only thing you gotta be sure of is that you don't pay too much for a used one, that when it is complete you have more in it then one that was in better condition to start with.
I always looked for bargain rifles with buggered up wood and good bluing. I can't do the bluing, but the wood is easy enough. Now I'll consider them no matter how the bluing looks.
Don
You did great.....those old 375 Win(ners) are fantastic guns.
You know when you compare the ballistics of the modern 375 Winchester cartridge to the black powder loadings that made the 375 H&H magnum famous there is an eerie similarity!