Rusty Old Shotgun

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Blueglass

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My boss handed me a very old Shotgun in 2 pieces to-day which is covered in rust. Its been wrapped in newspaper about 40 years now and stored in his basement. He brought it back from Greece way back then. Its a single shot with a bolt action on it. What would you folks suggest in order to start cleaning this up as it does look like it can be salvaged. Very unusual bolt shape on it. I can send someone a pic of it but cannot seem to be able to post online. The stock is slightly cracked but is original to this gun and possibley can be saved as well. Any suggestions will be appreciated. It also has a very large trigger on it as well.
 
best to not shoot it until you have it checked by a competent gunsmith. If it's that rusty, I would say clean it up a bit, and it's a wallhanger. How bad is the crack in the stock?
 
This gun is rusty enough I won't even put it together until its cleaned up and done safely as well. The stock has a small crack length wise at the rear of the stock from sitting dried out. I will try the product suggested and also see a good woodworker as well to see if he could repair the stock. When finished I will have it examined by a competant gunsmith before I ever let it see any ammunition from across the room even. I have seen a lot of bolt actions over the years but never one like this before. Not really even sure if its a 12 gauge either. It will make a different conversation piece even if it cannot ever be fired again. :)
 
Get a photobucket (owned by google, so if you have a gmail or other google account you dont need to sign in) and upload some pics :)

You'd get a lot more ideas / advice if we can see what your working with

:needPics:
 
The evaporust is doing a very fast job of doing it. I am useing a wall paper pan with the end cutdown to make it fit better. I have discovered what may be a date of build on it. C1858 which is just in front of the breech area. As more of the barrel cleans up I will take the pics and learn how to post them. Even after only 2 hours it totally changed colour and may have almost NO outside pitting I suspect. This is definitely the most unusual shotgun I have ever seen if its even a shotgun. I own 8 rifles still and have had well over a 100 in the last 50 years or so but never like this.
 
if the stock crack isn't too wide, there is a great glue from lee valley that I have used in the past. It flows like water, so it gets all the way into the crack. I have stabilized many a crack with it, and they hold solid.
 
First off, I'd find out exactly what it is before i went about fixing/evaporusting/crack gluing :confused:

That said, you can probably fix the crack yourself. Personally I would probably steam it to try to get all the oil/grease out of the crack. It just might get a little moisture back into the wood. Too much though could cause the wood to swell/warp/make th ecrack worse.

Mix a teaspoon each of epoxy resin and hardener with a couple drops of 99%rubbing alcohol. Put into a syringe from Shoppers, and spooge it as far into the crack as you possibly can. Clamp or wrap with surgical tubing to hold the crack closed, wipe off as much excess at possible, and allow it to dry overnight. Depending on how it looks, you might want to refinish the whole stock.

Please find out what it is before you bung it up :) IT could be number 2 of 6 of a 1870's beretta prototype bolt shotgun design that the mauser brothers actually stole....
 
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I have enough rust off of it already to know that there is no name on it that I can find. I will search it over really well to-morrow and take some pictures of this old beast. Even if its a wall hanger we still want it to look nice. The tips on the stock are great as well Thank you very much.Spent around $40.00 so far which is not too bad.
 
I have taken 6 pics of this barrel and breech but cannot seem to able to post them at all. I do know how to send them to someone if they would like to see them. Its cleaning up very well with the Rustavapor product. :)
 
someone needs to help this man with the pics. do you have a photobucket acount? you need one. upload to photo bucket then click on the picture and there will be four colums of info beside the picture the one that says IMG code just click and copy that info then come here and paste and it should pop up
 
Bluegrass, find a friend who is on line and email them the photos and
they can post the photos here for you.
I'm chewing on my hat brim...... :D
 
DSCN46502.jpg


Here's the picture Bluegrass sent me.

Cory
 
99% sure this once was a French Gras rifle, that somewhere in the past was converted to a shotgun. During the American involvement in Vietnam this was a common conversion by VC jungle gunsmiths who took these old large bore French army rifles and changed them for use in jungle combat. Yours was most likely converted between/after one or both World Wars in Europe, purely to become a sporting arm for civilian use.
800px-Fusil_Gras_M80_1874_culasse.jpg

Pulled this photo of the 'net.

my opinion only......
 
Currently it is a 20 gauge single shot shotgun. Its definitely had the barrel welded for sure. I won't be firing it as it does not look strong enough for me to try it out altho it may well be. I am currently finishing the stock in Tonque oil and will have it back to-gether again in a day or 2. Many Thanks to Cory the cowboy for his kind help in posting this as well.
 
Very cool, that's a hell of a conversation piece for sure. Slap some cold bluing on the metal, oil the wood, and hang it on the wall for an Awesome! accent piece.
 
interesting that his bolt has been bent for a scope. on second look...
bosina had a lot of guys making deadly pistols out of shotguns and this could fit that bill. if you look at where the barrel was cut and then think about why the bolt would be bent. why would the bolt be bent for a scope with that short of barrel, it was probley bent so the bolt did not stick straight out and now is more concealable.
 
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