A week or so ago, a good friend of my wife's gave her an old Winchester .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle and asked if I could "fix it up" a bit for her. The gun had belonged to her father who had passed away many years ago. It was the only thing of his that she has. But it is in rough shape. She told my wife that she only wanted it as a wall hanger and had no intentions to shoot it. This was a relief for me because I did not have to put it back in firing order. Just make it look nice for the wall.

I decided to restore it as it would have been when her dad had the gun. The stock is in good condition and is only dirty from handling. I am hoping to bring the shine back. But the metal, mainly the barrel and under barrel loading rod is rusty and pitted and the bluing is old and dull. The gun had been stored in a basement for decades. Not a good place to keep any gun.

So I figured I would try to do something with it. I do have a little experience of gunsmithing. And I do know how to re-blue. I have re-blued several guns for myself, friends and co-workers over the years. So far, nock on wood, they have all lasted the test of time. Back in the 1970s and '80s, I built black powder mussle loading rifles and pistols. I never built one that didn't work properly or didn't look good.

This rifle is a Winchester semi-automatic .22 caliber. It has the scope mount on top. Otherwise, is a plain model. So, let's get going on this project...😊