Following the completion (or at least getting electrical power connected) of our new shop building, we moved the deep freeze that had been kept in an outbuilding to the new building.
When the freezer came out, there was a gun case I didn't remember laying along the wall behind where the freezer had been. SURPRISE, there was an older Savage bolt action that I'd forgotten about. I remember hauling it around on the tractor during winter livestock feeding but that's been a long time back.
It hadn't faired too poorly. No exterior rust and the bore wasn't plugged but when I began bore cleaning, I found a gnarly mess. A couple days of swabbing, brushing, and soaking made a big difference and I decided it was as good as it was going to get. I dug out the ammo I'd remembered using way back when and went out to the bench. First 2 shots were 1/2" apart AND in the right place no less. WOW, how could that be? I confirmed this wasn't a fluke and decided the old girl was still OK. It now hangs next to the walk-in door of the new building ready to wage war on dumb coyotes that pop up within range of the barnyard.
100 rounds of Hornady V-Max factory ammo is on the way. Hoping new production shoots as well as the older stuff.
This rifle is one of the older production with the 'dog knot' rear sight base on the barrel. I took it in on trade sometime prior to 2009 with a broken wood stock and transplanted a factory take-off synthetic onto the barreled action. Apparently it can take a licking and keep on ticking.
When the freezer came out, there was a gun case I didn't remember laying along the wall behind where the freezer had been. SURPRISE, there was an older Savage bolt action that I'd forgotten about. I remember hauling it around on the tractor during winter livestock feeding but that's been a long time back.
It hadn't faired too poorly. No exterior rust and the bore wasn't plugged but when I began bore cleaning, I found a gnarly mess. A couple days of swabbing, brushing, and soaking made a big difference and I decided it was as good as it was going to get. I dug out the ammo I'd remembered using way back when and went out to the bench. First 2 shots were 1/2" apart AND in the right place no less. WOW, how could that be? I confirmed this wasn't a fluke and decided the old girl was still OK. It now hangs next to the walk-in door of the new building ready to wage war on dumb coyotes that pop up within range of the barnyard.
100 rounds of Hornady V-Max factory ammo is on the way. Hoping new production shoots as well as the older stuff.
This rifle is one of the older production with the 'dog knot' rear sight base on the barrel. I took it in on trade sometime prior to 2009 with a broken wood stock and transplanted a factory take-off synthetic onto the barreled action. Apparently it can take a licking and keep on ticking.
