Whats the Nastiest or Bubba'ed gun you have ever bought or cleaned?I know you guys have some funny stories...mine doesnt compare iam sure but would love to hear yours,,,i bought a old early 25-06 ADL remington that had never been cleaned in 30 years..it was black caked on the inside,i filled it full of the CLP blue foam and waited awhile,scubbed her out real good and she cleaned up like a new dime,shot very accurate,i couldn't beleive it cleaned up so well with a little elbow grease..another 1953 era 375H&H FN rifle i traded for had a "beer can cut up shim squares" under the see thru scope bases .. old tasco scope was scratched up like it had been a hocky puck in a street game with all the glass broke out & the hair gone & the recoil pad was toasted from 50 years of neglect & dry rot from sitting out in the Arizona desert in mid-july,rifle cleaned up real nice and a new pad had it going again good as new!Allways likeing a good trade..I asked the guy how much for the rifle without the scope ...he say same price "the scope is free" Those old 375H&H rifles must be hell on tasco's
Posts: 3608 | Location: USA | Registered: 08 September 2004
Originally posted by merlinron: about an hour ago i looked at an above thread posted by ABjointoutfitters..................
Bubba'ed ain't the word for it!!! Those things are just short of trash.
How about a 1917 enfield with a POS weaver base and rings. Some chinese swapmeet junk scope and a stock that is so fouled up and cracked it was glass bedded to fix the crack then pained black to cover it up. But for $175 what do you expect???
An English "bubba" story...if you like. That is true. I saw the gun.
Guy decides to rob a post office so breaks in to a house and steals himself a shot gun. Saws off barrels, saws of stock. Robs post office. Gets away with about £100 (US $160) but also gets caught and goes to jail. Gun recovered returned to owner.
Which is how I saw in a famous gunmaker about twenty five years ago one Purdey self-opening sidelock ejector with new barrels (by Purdey) and new stock (by Purdey)!
And yes...the police did tell him how much it was worth if he had just kept it as it was and sold it.
Posts: 6824 | Location: United Kingdom | Registered: 18 November 2007
The list is long and sad. The first one I can remember was a 1903 Springfield with a Springfield sporter stock that was reshaped and checkered by Tom Shelhamer, the barrel was by Niedner in caliber 250-Savage. At some later date a (insert appropriate name here) made some inlays in the side of the stock , most likely after seeing a weatherby, using his pocketknife. Every fix I could think of would not look right so I had my friend set it up in his big mill and mill the sides down, never did look right so I traded it off. I still buy rifles that need some or a lot of restoration but would pass on that one today.
Those mausers I almost had were bad... but one time while hog hunting I met a guy that had the action of his rifle duct taped into a stock that was not made for that action! It had iron sites and he said "shoots well enough to kill them damn hogs. When it gets a little loose I just put another wrap or 2 of tape around it." He told me the caliber, but I don't remember anything except that it was in the low 20's somewhere...I think eiher a .223 or .243 I was too busy trying to come up with a way to get out of the converstion and away from bubba before he decide to give me a shooting demonstration possibley killing all of us. Just goes to show that there are some things that duct tape is just not a good solution for. AB
Healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die
"Men don't change. The only thing that should surprise a man in his life is the history he doesn't know." Harry Truman
Posts: 451 | Location: West Coast of Florida | Registered: 23 June 2006
I looked at a ruined M71 at Boise gun shows for two years, getting the moron that mutilated it down to reality on the value. His wife wanted to go Elk hunting with him and a brother. I don't think he wanted her around. He bought a very nice M71 and cut the barrel at 16.001". She was like five-foot nothing and 100lbs. He then proceeds to cut more than three inches off the butt stock so he can glue one of those cheesy orange ventilated pads on. She fired one shot, and gave up the idea. He figured out he had customized it for a short person. Started at $800. Every six months it came down seventy-five bucks or so. His wife was with him at every show. I finally pointed out to her that he had ruined it, other than for a custom basis. He was not happy, but she sold it to me for four-hundred. It is now an 1886 clone in 50-110 with a 30" octagon barrel and full magazine. I have less than a grand altogether.
Every once in a while this old man, Jonesy, would show up at an ATA regestered shoot somewhere between Rangely and Monterose. He was beat up, his truck was on it's last leg and his dog couldn't walk much. The bubba gun treatment is when he'd go out and tweek the barrel on his Mod. 12 between the bumper and bumper support on his pick up. He never won much ,but he could break birds farther out than most anybody. roger
Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone..
Posts: 10226 | Location: Temple City CA | Registered: 29 April 2003
I have a 99 jap sporter that it looks like the barrel was srewed on with a big pipe wrench huge gouge marks it it. Its in 300 sav save only feeds one shell out of the mag. But will put 3 rounds under a inch at 50yards open sights.
Hay for 30 buck what does one want.
Posts: 19839 | Location: wis | Registered: 21 April 2001
At a yard sale I picked up a pre-World War I M12 Winchester. It had been made by Winchester in 1914. The interior of the barrel is perfect, there is no pitting or rust anywhere, bluing is faded somewhat but still good. The only problem is that sometime during the ensuing 95 years the barrel loosened up in the receiver and the enterprising owner solved the problem by either brazing or silver-soldering the receiver extension to the receiver. Sure cured the looseness, sort of like welding a rifle barrel to the action.
(1) A "gunsmith" acquaintance took a mint Oberndorf Type A sporter with 30-06 ribbed barrel, stripped it down to get the action, drilled the action, then bent it by heat treating it himself, sold off the stock & barrel. I couldn't convince him not to do it, he would hear no offers to trade, etc.
(2) At a police confiscated firearms auction, I saw a Model 21 Winchester with 18" sawed off barrels. It still brought $700 and this was quite some time ago.
NRA Life Member, Band of Bubbas Charter Member, PGCA, DRSS. Shoot & hunt with vintage classics.
Posts: 9487 | Location: Texas Hill Country | Registered: 11 January 2002
1- Sako L61R purchased new, then bought back a year later with barrel arc welded to reciever and "god forgives all" carved into the side of the stock with a pocket knife! True!
2- Not long ago, little break barrel air rifle in a "gunsmiths" vise, hinge pin being metred out heavy blows with a punch and hammer whilst heated red hot with the torch..........the "gunsmith" dripping in sweat and cursing blue murder...........naturally I couldn't help but pick a turnscrew up off the bench and remove the pin for him...........
Posts: 113 | Location: Tasmania | Registered: 27 March 2009
A friend gave me this one a couple of years ago cause he knew I liked a good restoration challenge!
He had bought it for $7 in 1963 from a guy going into the Navy - Guy told him it was his deer rifle (yea right!). He sat it in his safe ever since - Never shot. Wish I had a pic to show what it looked like before - A real POS! Some "Bubba" had hack-sawed the stock, the barrel and drilled/tapped on another front sight crooked!
It shot 6 to 8" high and about that much right AT 25 YARDS!
I stripped the stock, steam pulled the dents, then reformed the stock best I could and refinished it. Had the barrel recrowned. Drilled and tapped the front sight straight with the rear peep and replaced the front blade with a taller one. Turned out to be my favorite truck rifle. The peep sight is now on at 50 yards now with 174 FMJs. The Lob sight is on at 100 yards using a setting of 375m. This rifle will now really SHOOT - Using the Lob I'm shooting 3 shot groups less than an inch! That smaller aperture will help it to reach out farther.
old tasco scope was scratched up like it had been a hocky puck in a street game with all the glass broke out & the hair gone & the recoil pad was toasted from 50 years of neglect & dry rot from sitting out in the Arizona desert in mid-july,rifle cleaned up real nice and a new pad had it going again good as new!Allways likeing a good trade..I asked the guy how much for the rifle without the scope 
...he say same price "the scope is free" 
Those old 375H&H rifles must be hell on tasco's 
He never won much ,but he could break birds farther out than most anybody. 
roger
