The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - anyone make a good over and under shotgun for $500

BarkeyVA · April 1, 2013, 07:30 PM

slugo,

Thanks. As for the .410's, the gun on the far right is actually a .22/.410 combo.

BigDinFL,

Other than the two examples below, I have not needed any spare parts for my other Model 90's.

I bought the 16 ga. Skeetking (custom engraved model 3rd from the left) knowing it had a broken top lever spring. A gunsmith found a replacement at Numrich.

I bought a 16 ga. Model 90 with 26" barrels made in 1952 for $150 that I thought I might use as a parts gun. The firing pin springs were so weak they would hardly make an indentation in the primers. It had a lot of rust/corrosion on the outside of the barrels and frame. However the bores were bright with no rust or pitting. It was choked .003" and .009" (approx. Skeet and Lt. Mod.)

Out of curiosity, I checked to see if the parts gun barrels would fit any of my other 16 ga. or 20 ga. Model 90's. I was surprised to find that the barrels fit perfectly on my 20 ga. Model Model 90 with 28" barrels made in 1954. The factory forearm on the 20 ga. would not fit the 16 ga. barrels but the forearm that came with the "parts gun" did fit on the 20 ga. frame.

Because the gun looked so bad, I decided to try cold bluing the barrels with Brownell's Ox-Pho Blue. I didn't want to disassemble the entire frame (I would not know how to do it anyway!) so I used Brownell's 44-40 Cold Blue on the frame. The "new" finish is not perfect but it looks better than it did.

Now I have to decide what to do with the gun. I can:
1. Keep the barrels and forearm for use on the 20 ga. frame and keep or sell the rest of the gun for parts. I think it would be cool to have a Model 90 with interchangeable 16 ga. and 20 ga. barrels. (I already have a 16 ga. with interchangeable 26" and 28" barrels)

2. Keep the the parts gun as a shooter and try replacing the firing pin springs.

Before.

After.

April 1, 2013, 07:30 PM	#21
BarkeyVA Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2008 Location: Southeastern Virginia Posts: 123	slugo, Thanks. As for the .410's, the gun on the far right is actually a .22/.410 combo. BigDinFL, Other than the two examples below, I have not needed any spare parts for my other Model 90's. I bought the 16 ga. Skeetking (custom engraved model 3rd from the left) knowing it had a broken top lever spring. A gunsmith found a replacement at Numrich. I bought a 16 ga. Model 90 with 26" barrels made in 1952 for $150 that I thought I might use as a parts gun. The firing pin springs were so weak they would hardly make an indentation in the primers. It had a lot of rust/corrosion on the outside of the barrels and frame. However the bores were bright with no rust or pitting. It was choked .003" and .009" (approx. Skeet and Lt. Mod.) Out of curiosity, I checked to see if the parts gun barrels would fit any of my other 16 ga. or 20 ga. Model 90's. I was surprised to find that the barrels fit perfectly on my 20 ga. Model Model 90 with 28" barrels made in 1954. The factory forearm on the 20 ga. would not fit the 16 ga. barrels but the forearm that came with the "parts gun" did fit on the 20 ga. frame. Because the gun looked so bad, I decided to try cold bluing the barrels with Brownell's Ox-Pho Blue. I didn't want to disassemble the entire frame (I would not know how to do it anyway!) so I used Brownell's 44-40 Cold Blue on the frame. The "new" finish is not perfect but it looks better than it did. Now I have to decide what to do with the gun. I can: 1. Keep the barrels and forearm for use on the 20 ga. frame and keep or sell the rest of the gun for parts. I think it would be cool to have a Model 90 with interchangeable 16 ga. and 20 ga. barrels. (I already have a 16 ga. with interchangeable 26" and 28" barrels) 2. Keep the the parts gun as a shooter and try replacing the firing pin springs. Before. After.