Recently I decided to do something I should have done several years ago when I quit hunting with my first deer rifle - a 1977 Marlin 336. With the generous and highly skilled help of PopsBwell, I embarked on having my beloved old gun restored to its previous glory. In truth, as the pictures will show below, Pops took this thing well beyond what Marlin did back in 1977.
For a number of years, this rifle sported a 3-9x Simmons Wide Angle scope riding in high-rise see-thru mounts. No trash talking about Simmons scopes...that cheap old glass served me well for the better part of 28 years with absolutely ZERO problems. And being that I put it on there when I was a freshman in college, that was the best I could afford. But...while it served me well through years of hunting, the scope really didn't do anything for the looks of the gun. So off it came. Now it has plugs back in the receiver holes, and the hood back on the front site - just like John Marlin intended it to be from the beginning.
Without further ado...here are the pictures, with a little interjected narrative of what was done to the old girl.
All wood was stripped and refinished. The stocks had a few nicks and dings, and a fair amount of finish damage from a life of service in the woods. Pops masterfully got rid of almost all the damage, stained and topcoated the wood in a nice glossy urethane.
The receiver and barrel were cleaned up and reblued. The receiver had some freckling just from being handled and carried through the woods, and the barrel had a blood damaged spot on it. Worst parts of the blood damage is that it wasn't even from a deer I took with the gun. A 'friend' slung blood on it while we were dressing his deer. But it's all gone now...
The picture above attests to Pops attention to detail. He even reblued the feed door to make it look brand spanking new. He also polished the bolt and lever...she's smooth as silk now - way more so than it ever was in the past.
Man, Pops is a masterful artist in wood and metal. He even 'bleached' the rings and bullseye back to white.
I am so happy that I did this for the old girl. This gun might have been replaced in its hunting duties (let's face it - it weighed about 9 lbs. with the scope, the new rig is about 7 lbs with its scope) but it will always be the first gun I ever purchased with my own money. And thanks to Pops, it will be handed down to my grandchildren when the time is right. But in the meantime I can enjoy looking at my first gun with a completely new set of eyes. I used to view it as a tool...a means to an end. And truthfully it is every bit the working gun it always was...but now I can enjoy it for its beauty as well.
Thanks PopsBwell...there's no conceivable way I could have done what you did at the level you did it. I'm sure I probably forgot to mention some of the things that were done...but the end result it absolutely magnificent.
For a number of years, this rifle sported a 3-9x Simmons Wide Angle scope riding in high-rise see-thru mounts. No trash talking about Simmons scopes...that cheap old glass served me well for the better part of 28 years with absolutely ZERO problems. And being that I put it on there when I was a freshman in college, that was the best I could afford. But...while it served me well through years of hunting, the scope really didn't do anything for the looks of the gun. So off it came. Now it has plugs back in the receiver holes, and the hood back on the front site - just like John Marlin intended it to be from the beginning.
Without further ado...here are the pictures, with a little interjected narrative of what was done to the old girl.
All wood was stripped and refinished. The stocks had a few nicks and dings, and a fair amount of finish damage from a life of service in the woods. Pops masterfully got rid of almost all the damage, stained and topcoated the wood in a nice glossy urethane.
The receiver and barrel were cleaned up and reblued. The receiver had some freckling just from being handled and carried through the woods, and the barrel had a blood damaged spot on it. Worst parts of the blood damage is that it wasn't even from a deer I took with the gun. A 'friend' slung blood on it while we were dressing his deer. But it's all gone now...
The picture above attests to Pops attention to detail. He even reblued the feed door to make it look brand spanking new. He also polished the bolt and lever...she's smooth as silk now - way more so than it ever was in the past.
Man, Pops is a masterful artist in wood and metal. He even 'bleached' the rings and bullseye back to white.
I am so happy that I did this for the old girl. This gun might have been replaced in its hunting duties (let's face it - it weighed about 9 lbs. with the scope, the new rig is about 7 lbs with its scope) but it will always be the first gun I ever purchased with my own money. And thanks to Pops, it will be handed down to my grandchildren when the time is right. But in the meantime I can enjoy looking at my first gun with a completely new set of eyes. I used to view it as a tool...a means to an end. And truthfully it is every bit the working gun it always was...but now I can enjoy it for its beauty as well.
Thanks PopsBwell...there's no conceivable way I could have done what you did at the level you did it. I'm sure I probably forgot to mention some of the things that were done...but the end result it absolutely magnificent.
