Project SA22

[V-Tach]

I bought this little Browning SA22 a couple of years ago and finally have the time to start working on it. I remember the owner well......

"This is a Belgium Browning 22 and I'll take $600.00 for it"..........

Well Sir, it is a Belgium Browning let me look it over.......

After a few minutes of inspecting the rifle and test firing it (always test fire old 22's......(ALWAYS BEFORE you buy it), I return to to let him know what I had found...

1. There is zero original finish on the rifle and it is covered in rust.....

2. The buttstock is cracked on both sides and someone had already done an irreparable stock repair.

3. The barrel lock ring spring and detent were missing.

4. It fired but otherwise wouldn't eject and cycle.

5. Bore extremely dirty, but found serviceable after I ran a brush and patches through it.

" Well I would take $500.00 then"

Uhmm.....no........

"$400.00 and I won't take any less"

Uhmm....no.....

"What would you offer me?"

$150.00 and not a penny more......

I explained to him that replacing the stock and forearm would be a minimum of $400.00 and that is for grade 1 wood......

Refinishing the gun would cost $200-$300.00 and have still have pitting.......

And it would still only be worth about $500.00 because the refinish, metal condition and non original wood......

The collector value of the gun was nil....because of the condition....

I bought it, scrubbed it down with 4/0 steel wool, wiped it down with oil it and it sat in the back of the safe till now..

Depending on how the metal turns out I will decide on restocking it......either way it will be my shooter......my other two SA22s are in mint condition...

Normally I say leave old guns as they are...........but when they are in this condition my opinion changes.......

Note the barrel condition in front of the forend

The bolt says it all.......

Inside the receiver.....

even the trigger is rusty....

 

[Vaquero]

Good grief.

 

[jrbfishn]

Yeah,,,,that's just a little rough.....

Sent by an idjit coffeeholic from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[EZ-E]

Nice little project for ya. With a little TLC she'll clean up to be a decent shooter.

Definitely a coastal owned gun. That salt air gets into everything.

 

[Ausländer]

@V-Tach

Following this project!

I recently picked up a '68 SA-22 (short) that needs some work also. It hasn't been cleaned in many years, has surface rust, missing rear sight, etc -- the saving grace is that it still retains most of the bluing. I've ordered all new springs and a few other parts so I have backups on-hand.

 

[oldag]

A proper buffing as part of the re-bluing could make it look great.

 

[Sam7sf]

You don’t have it refinished yet? Slacker.

Cool project.

 

[deemus]

Never seen one that rough. I bought a big box of crap (most of it turned to be crap) from an estate sale. Big box with old holsters and magazines, some I still have no idea what they go to.

There were also some barrels sticking up. I mainly got it fir the holsters.

One day I pulled the barrels out. There was an old 410 bolt action. A part of something I couldn’t identify.

And….. what appeared to be a semi auto rifle. I couldn’t tell what it was due to 1/4” of rust. Not exaggerating. It took me several days of using varying grades of steel wool to get to the bottom of it.

Turned out to be a Remington Model 24. (I think that’s the one) Rough! I spent a ton of time cleaning, and then adjusting the break down connection.

It was missing some parts which I was able to get from Numruch. But it shoots. I use the CCI quiet to be gentle with the springs.

Those guns though not worth much are fun projects.

 

[V-Tach]

A proper buffing as part of the re-bluing could make it look great.

Being judicious to not buff out the stamps/engraving and accept there will be some imperfections.......the engraving is rather shallow to begin with...

Easy to be over aggressive.....don't know that I have the experience to know when good enough actually is.......

 

[Axxe55]

SA22 has always been one of my favorite 22's to shoot. Have no idea how many squirrels got took with my father's little Browning when I was younger.

 

[Sam7sf]

Being judicious to not buff out the stamps/engraving and accept there will be some imperfections.......the engraving is rather shallow to begin with...

Easy to be over aggressive.....don't know that I have the experience to know when good enough actually is.......

Sometimes it’s best to let those areas soak in oil or evaporust. Other times a media blaster with star blast or finer and the gun is further away than normal (8-10 inches but this is more for aluminum)

 

[joe45c]

Wow defiantly in poor shape. Where that crack is i've seen a few of them cracked in the same area. Usually from not holding the gun properly when breaking it down. I have a Belgium made one and they are really fun guns to shoot.

 

[V-Tach]

3+ hours of hand polishing.....all but the deepest pits are gone..........

Still have another couple of hours of polishing..........

 

[Axxe55]

3+ hours of hand polishing.....all but the deepest pits are gone..........

Still have another couple of hours of polishing..........

Great to see you restoring that rifle. Good job so far!

 

[V-Tach]

lol...I have to.....I was embarrassed to show it to anyone.....

Since the collector value is shot anyway.....thinking of doing something crazy with the receiver.............mill the sides and remove all engraving/pitting and do a full laser engrave on the receiver...then have it color case hardened..........

Been looking for stock/forend set........going to be hard to source......and expensive.....new or used....

If anyone finds one not already cracked................btw...Japanese versions don't use the same stock as the Belgium models....

 

[Ausländer]

@V-Tach
Not sure what you consider expensive, but here's the source I used:
Browning .22 Auto Takedown Rifle, Butt Stock, Grade I, .22 L & S: MGW (midwestgunworks.com)

 

[V-Tach]

@V-Tach
Not sure what you consider expensive, but here's the source I used:
Browning .22 Auto Takedown Rifle, Butt Stock, Grade I, .22 L & S: MGW (midwestgunworks.com)

I appreciate the link...I did come across it but their stocks are for the Japanese models and won't fit the Belgium's.

 

[Ausländer]

Japanese versions don't use the same stock as the Belgium models....

D'oh! My brain got stuck on the the Japanese part and I thought that's what you were looking for. Sorry 'bout that.

 

[V-Tach]

Used an indexable fly cutter to mill the sides of the receiver. Only took .002 off each side to remove the pitting and engraving.

Will laser engrave something on the receiver before bluing......since the gun was made in 1961 the Serial number is stamped on the barrel. I will engrave the serial number on the receiver also....

Missing Parts Have Arrived

Getting the set up correct

You can see the pitting

Let's make a pass........

Cutting the other side........

Removing machining marks

Hand polishing beginning using an aluminum block as a sanding block

 

[PinnedandRecessed]

FYI if you didn't already know, the barrel spring and plunger are a pain in the ass to install unless you use a shim with a short straight notch cut into it to make sure the blade of the plunger lines up with the ribs of the lock ring while you are putting it together.