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go pull sumthin out of the safe to talk about. Gunna be a long day.

Buttplate is fitted, got about less than an eighth of an inch to go on the fitting to the receiver and then it's ready for stain.

Stevens 425 in 35 Rem.

Boiled linseed or Tru-oil??

Who has used either and how were the end results?

And whats the best way to take a sweat soldered sling eye off the front of that barrel?

What can you tell me about this 1899/.303?

99H Fruitwood stock, probably marked MP under the forearm on the barrel.

300R serial 835xxx code E 1953

That 99H looks like it has the early rifle weight barrel which it was equipped with when introduced in 1922. In 1924 the barrel was changed to the medium weight configuration which wasn't introduced in the other models until about 1926. We need the first 3 digits of the serial #. This is a really interesting model and is covered in detail in my book. Pages 65 to 71. David

258920 - 1924 date

Thanks, you have a V1-1 with the rifle weight barrel. David

Joe, interesting project. I recently saw a Stevens in a gunshop in Oregon but passed on it due to price.

As for the sweated on sling eye, I had a similar problem with a sweated on forearm stud on a 1899 .410 barrel that was in the wrong location. My thought was to submerge the barrel in ice water with only the stud protruding above the water line and pour some heat to it. The consensus was that it would ruin the bluing so I haven't gone any further. There's also some heat sink material available to gunsmiths as I understand it secondhand. Beyond that, smack it with a hammer, I bet it pops off. If it doesn't work, I'll deny I ever suggested it. I know when I tried to drive a front sight out of a dovetail on a 50's model 99F the whole damn sight popped off due to lack of proper support. I have since purchased a front sight pusher. Not sure how you'd clean off the barrel after popping the stud but you might try the Frontier 45 cleaning pad, those things just flat work on bluing with no damage to the bluing, unlike steel wool.

squeeler you always have nice rifles. Our old friend Drew sold me his mint 99R in 308 a few years ago, and I've found another mint one in 300, but the rest elude me in that kind of shape. Got a shooter R in 250. Never seen a 243 or 358.

The hammer was my first thought as well.

The thing is dovetailed into the bottom of the barrel with a fine coat of solder on it. I was thinking of grabbing my brass punch and hammer and give it a whack and hope the solder comes with it but thought there might be a trick to getting the solder off first so I didn't bugger anything up.

If it's dovetailed I'd leave it. You can't unwind that clock.

Neat project, Joe.

First question that comes to mind is: What finish did the factory use on 425's? Never having handled one, I know not what it should be.

Varnish was a popular finish back then. Witness the extensive use of it on pre-1920 Savage wood. If that's the case then good old spar varnish is your friend. Were it an oil finish I would grab a tiny bottle of artist's grade linseed oil at an art store (or online), pour out a thimble full and cut it with a couple drops of spar varnish and slather it on. Wipe dry, allow to cure a day or two and repeat as necessary (after rubbing the previous coat out with 600x paper) until satisfied. A utilitarian oil finish doesn't require pore filling but it is a nice touch. Sand to perfection first no matter the finish, naturally, start with as course paper as needed to remove imperfections then work down through finer grits (the idea for that is to merely remove sanding scratches imparted by previous gits and no more- material removal isn't the goal of finer grits) and stop at 320x if varnishing or 600x if oiling. Always back the paper with a hard block or semi-stiff block to prevent waviness. After oiling, plan on a coat of good paste wax- therein lies the best protection for an oil finished stock. Oil by itself is a pisspoor water vapor barrier.

PM me if more detail is required. I can walk you through it.

As for the soldered on sling eye, Plan A for me would be to leave it alone. Could it be factory? If Plan B (removal) were paramount, then I would first try Roy's suggestion of a sharp rap with a copper hammer or somesuch. A torch with a small sharp hot flame would surely work too (and may be necessary after all to remove residual solder), unless it was brazed (silver soldered) on in which case refer to Plan A. For localized pinpoint application of high heat I'm really liking those cheap novelty butane torches sold at gas stations for lighting cigarettes and meth pipes. Either way you'll have scarring to clean up (again with Plan A). No matter what you rub it out with- steel wool, bronze wool, or any other miracle pad- the odds are that by the time you have it cleaned to perfection your next question will be about what we recommend for bluing touch-up. (Plan A sounding any better, hmmm?!)

Sorry, while pecking out my reply you divulged that it's dovetailed in. I would definitely leave it alone as dovetail filling is a whole 'nother ball game.

I don't buy many 1899's but this is a recent acquisition - I'm out of my comfort zone buying 1899's, but this one got my interest , A5 checkering I believe. Serial 65,1xx.


It has a full buck-horn Winchester barrel sight with the 1901 marked Winchester elevator that has left wear marks on the barrel so it's been on it a long time. The other sights were available from the factory so they might be original, Sheard front.






I knew to look for cracks in these early receivers but I didn't look close enough and the gunshow lighting wasn't all that good, I found this small crack after wiping the gun down under better light -

Neat find, Gene, Bummer about the receiver crack.

For those who own cracked guns, do you shoot them?

Gene,

That one would have gotten my interest too. Nice rifle!

Sweet gun Gene!

Well, I went and did it. Just a light tap with a brass punch and it came right off with the solder.

New problem: The dovetail wasn't a regular dovetail (probably the reason for the solder) and none of my dovetail fillers fit, way to small. So I'm thinking about cutting the ugly old eye off the dovetail, doing some fine grinding and a few coats of cold blue and slide the old dovetail back on.

Thanks for the tips on the stain Gary, not sure what they used back then either but like the way you do yours. The nice thing is that I don't have to match a certain color. This 425 is gonna be my brush buster when we do a push in deer season so I'm looking for something to deter moisture and scratches more than I am for looks. I already have a collector grade 425 in 25 Rem in the safe so this one is gonna get hunted.

That sling eye might come in handy when dragging a deer out of said brush...

If deterring moisture is the goal, then definitely varnish is your friend.

Naw it's a home made jobby that sat sideways under the barrel and is huge. Besides, we don't drag deer anymore. You can drive an atv pretty much anywhere in the hardwoods on my lot, it's like a park back there.

Gonna go with the varnish for sure.

Nice 1899, and the 425 should be a Fine Brush rifle! Hope you will post pics when shes finished Joe!