anyone shoot these old 22's ???

[WE0H]

Got any pictures yet? Bet you are going nuts not being able to go in there and pick it up LOL...

Was this something you bought online and had shipped to that dealer or?

Mike

[Magnum Wheel Man]

just the pic I posted earlier from the auction site... I haven't seen it yet

how about some of yours ???

[WE0H]

You want to see pictures of the Mod 55?

Mike

[WE0H]

Wow I forgot you had purchased that Sidewinder. That looks like a newer version of my Mod 55? Damn nice looking. I'd be going nuts waiting. How much did the shop charge for the FFL transfer? I am going to re-apply for my C&R in a few weeks when I have the $$$. I let my 03 license expire a couple years ago or so. Never should have done that

Mike

[Magnum Wheel Man]

The local shop charges me $37.00 for anything new enough & on antique guns, I walk without paying anything... I try to buy more antiques

[WE0H]

Question, are the Sidewinder grips the same as my Mod 55 grips?

Mike

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I'm not sure... ( & I don't have any of the Iver books yet ) maybe someone more knowledgable about the Ivers can answer that ???

[WE0H]

I don't have any books yet either. Any suggestions of the good books? I don't want to buy any BS books. I have about exhausted the online research of the Mod 55. Basically not much out there and what is out there is a duplicate picked from some else's website. It appears the not so popular guns are not so well documented. A shame

Mike

[PetahW]

FYI:

NUMRICH ARMS CO
Item ID: 436960B
IVER JOHNSON - 50 SIDEWINDER, 55A TARGET, 55SA CADET 56A STARTER, 57A TARGET
Grip, Two Piece, Small, Walnut

[Magnum Wheel Man]

no Sidewinder here today... nowI'll have to wait till Thursday to get back to the toy store

[WE0H]

That stinks. The suspense will drive you nutty

Mike

[Rifleman1776]

Those really old revolvers had so much really soft steel in them, IMHO, they are only good for wall hangers these days. Most don't even have much collectors value either.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

then... IMO... you're missing out on alot of fun... yes they can wear out easier, since the steels are soft, but if they are kept well lubed, & since "Most don't even have much collectors value either" you're not out a lot of monetary value if it does quit working, & can still then be regulated to "wall hanger status" at that point... the Super Colibri's certainly don't accelerate the wear on them

[Magnum Wheel Man]

Is this what your Iver Target looks like??? say's this one was made around 1960, so I don't know the manufacture range of the 55 target ???

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/di...3043&oh=216543

BTW... not sure if this grip will fit... but thought I'd throw a link up...

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/di...4087&oh=216543

[WE0H]

Cool, yes that is what mine looks like if it was blued Those grips wouldn't fit unfortunately. Thanks for looking though. Mine has a 6" barrel and a non-fluted cylinder, but otherwise looks like that one in that picture.

Mike

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I've got high bid on a couple holsters & a unique parts gun right now, so I don't think I can afford this one right now... so thought I'd link it up for anyone following along, in case anyone was looking for something similar... I can't make a guarentee that it's a good gun, but if it had no bidders & looked like it was going to roll over, I'd probably be buying it next paycheck it's old enough that it should be shot with shorts, or the Super Colibri's... I probably would have gone just over $100.00 ... maybe up to $150.00 since it has a box ??? but it's lower than that right now...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=169603560

[Braintrain]

I love the old ones. May latest but not my oldest is a Colt Official Police heavy barrel 22 made in 1936. it is one of the most accurate 22s I own.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

BRAIN... got any pics... that one sounds pretty interesting

[Magnum Wheel Man]

well... my Sidewinder showed up yesterday ( I bought it on Gun Broker ) it was supposed to be in good mechanical shape, but rougher cosmetic shape, & was a "work in progress" ... I didn't pay too much for it, & it came out of Florida... I assume ( I don't have any Iver books yet ), that these were made between 1950 & the introduction of the model 55 target model... mine has a loading gate... any eye deer if that had a small spring to keep it closed, or relyed on friction of the screw to keep it closed, mine works if the screw is tight, but loosens the screw from opening & closing, & once it gets to a point, the gate can fall open??? I could use Lock Tite on the screw if there wasn't ever a spring there... it has a very nice wide hammer & serrated wide trigger, & looks to be very nice to shoot, the trigger pull is very good as well... if a screw were added to contact the sear mechanism behind the trigger, to lessen the travel, it could almost be of modern target grade... if anyone could point in the direction of more info, that would be great... even better if you've handled or shot one... it does have the distinction of being only one of two that I know of, double action revolvers, with single action loading gates & ejector rods & housings... the other being a Colt Lightning

... it must have been a beach / light house gun, because as someone who doesn't live anywhere near the ocean, I've never seen a gun in this condition... someone had manually removed all the surface rust on the gun, that they could easily do with sandpaper all the nooks & crannys still had a good coating of it... inside the tip of the barrel / bore that I could see looked red with rust... however, all the springs ( the ejector rod spring, & main spring ) don't look to have a pit on them...

I immeadiately started stripping it down... the grip is in very good shape, & mechanically is seems to function very good... the screws to the ejector rod & loading gate removed pretty easily, but ( & I can see where the previous owner quit cleaning... at removing any parts ) ... the cylinder pin is rust welded to the cylinder, & is not removing... I got the spring loaded pin catch freed up but the pin rotates with the cylinder, even after a couple hours of being saturated with penitrating oil...

if after work today, it's not freed up, I think I'm going to dunk the whole thing ( less the grips ) into a bucket of diesel fuel & let it soak over the weekend...

I am able to see a little of the bore ( through the hammer slot, with the hammer back & to a light ), & the bore looks suprisingly good, after a soaking with Kroil... my local smith had never seen one, so I dropped it by there last night on my way home... & he offered to swap out the barrel if I wanted, since it is round, & has no markings on the barrel... 1st thing I have to do, is get that cylinder pin freed up... then try shooting it with the existing barrel...

then i'm in the same boat as WEOH... in trying to figure out how to finish it...

[WE0H]

Duracoat is looking like an option for me. Now to pick the color

Sounds like you got into a fun restoration project. Clean that bore and see if she is shiny inside. I thought mine was gonna be pitted as I was picking out lead with a straw while sitting in the hotel the past couple weeks. I had no cleaning supplies along the trip so I couldn't wait to get home. After some scrubbing with Simple Green and a brass bore brush, my bore is perfect shiny from cylinder to muzzle You should have seen all the crap come out which looked like a pitted mess with the flash light the week before. I was so damn happy to see zero damage in there.

Onto the restoration...Do you have any JB-80 spray lube? I have had that stuff break free rusted fasteners that otherwise would have broken off. Hopefully your cylinder pin bore is not pitted beyond use. The pin can be made on a lathe. The cylinder pin bore can likely be bored out and have a hardened sleeve pressed in, worst case. Does it look like there should be a spring in the loading gate piece? If so make one fit in there that looks right. I can't imagine there not being a spring to hold that closed as you said.

You & I are in similar positions now with the revolver restoration projects Post some ugly before pictures if you can. I wished I would have taken pictures of mine before I started but now she is sitting there with no rust and ready for test firing Off to Cabela's today to buy me a 500 round brick of that Super Colibri. Heading out to my dad's on Sunday to fire off a few dozen of those rounds in my new toy

One last question...how much $$$ did you shell out for this revolver?

Mike