A client contacted me and ask if I could build or convert an existing inline and make him a .32 caliber stainless steel squirrel rifle. So after a bit of back and forth he bought and shipped direct to my shop a .50 Caliber SS Knight Mountaineer. I ordered a .32 Caliber SS Barrel Blank in 1:36 Twist. I decided to spend the Memorial weekend getting this put together for him.

I started by indexing the Mountaineer in my lathe and drilling and reaming it out to 5/8". It's not very often I get to ruin a brand new in the box unfired rifle. Then I threaded the first inch of the muzzle to 3/4"-16tpi.


I turned the .32 caliber barrel blank down and threaded to match.


I turned the breech end down to match the original breechplug so that everything would seat and seal properly without any modification to the factory original breechplug this way if it ever gets damaged it can be easily replaced.


I put the two together with a 3m epoxy that is design for use with stainless steel, then after it had set up I put it back in my lathe and parted off the excess muzzle and then re-crowned and shaped it making the joint line disappear.



I even peened the ".50" stamping on the barrel down and re-stamped it "32".


Unless a person examines it pretty closely it looks pretty much like it was made by Knight as a .32 Caliber Stainless Steel Mountaineer.


It was a fun way to make a few extra bucks over the holiday weekend.

Colin

Looks very nice Colin!

Nice Job on the conversion.

At one time Knight offered a blued ML in 32 cal I would have bought one in Stainless Steel if it was offered.
I don't believe it was a Mountaineer.