Learning From An Old Rifle; Barrel Cleaning And Scope Rings
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- Learning to maintain and setup old rifles teaches us how to care for all rifles, and today we finish setting up the Parker Hale Lee Enfield conversion. We do a level 3 cleaning on the barrel and mount the proper scope rings. We also get to see part of the journey of an old rifle.
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Watching your videos takes me back to a time when gun shops had gunsmiths available to work on your guns. A time when gun shops catered to hunters and gun enthusiast. Now around me gun shops cater to preppers and call of duty experts . You will be lucky if there was a gunsmith at the shop one day a week.I wish we could go back 25 years and start over. Thanks for the great video I am looking forward to the next one!
I'm glad you enjoyed it Jeff. And I have to agree with you, gun shops certainly aren't anything like they used to be.
Tom, you totally nailed it on the China made scope issue. I will no longer buy scopes from manufactures who sell out to fund their economy. Fortunately I have some Leupolds that were 100% American. I go out of my way now to find scopes that have nothing made in that country. And I'm not even American!. Another great video on cleaning. Many thanks for the information.
Tom, Redfield has been purchased by Academy and is now an Academy Sports & Outdoors brand. I have a friend who works at the Spartanburg SC store as a manager and says they’ve come out with safes, cleaning kits, and several other things branded with Redfield.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless you all.
Love the sound of rain
I love to work on old rifles and shotgun. A little common sense goes a long way. I always use brand ammo , and clean the bore with Hoppes
It is a good feeling to get an old rifle or shotgun ready for the field once again! And you're absolutely right about the common sense.
As a cadet with the British armed forces, we never left the range at the end of the day before we'd used a led weighted cleaning wire with two inch by four inch cloth tear off rags fed through the gap in the wire at the other end, soaked in cleaning oil until the cloth strips emerged from the muzzle oil damp but clean. Then the wire, roll of cloth and little bottle of oil went back into the trap in the back off the butt. Always! Lol
A good thing to remember is the bore can look great but it’s the crown that can make the most important factor since it’s the last thing to guide the bullet on its way! Great video as always
Absolutely!
I've learned so much from your videos. I sometimes go back and watch some of the same ones multiple times . God bless you and your family and merry Christmas .
And God Bless you and yours as well Billy! And I really am happy you've found the videos helpful.
If you cover the brush with a pad all the times you pass it, the grooves will not be reached properly by the wires. I enjoy your videos! Merry Christmas!
Enjoyed it Tom!
very good video - I do have one recommendation - that is to lap the rings before you put the scope tube into the bottom of the rings halves.. Lapping the ring rings will ensure that the two rings are in perfect alignment, which will prevent any binding (or scratches) on the scope tube. If anyone reading this does not know what ring lapping it you take a 1" steel rod (for 1" rings) covered in lapping compound, and run it across the two bottom rings when they are screwed to the receiver. This rubbing will knock down any high spots across the two rings. You can probably find videos on UA-cam that show as lapping is done.. It is very simple and worth the extra steps.
That will be a fine hunting rifle. Can't wait to see how it shoots!
I can't either Roger, but if the Lord is willing we'll find out Friday morning.
Beautiful rifle.
Thank you , Merry Christmas to you. I love that Another old Rifle has been given new life .
Tom, I always make my way to the used gun racks before I worry about looking at the new stuff. Some old rifles are just cool and often have some great character, aka dents, dings, and a nice patina. Finding one like this Parker-Hale, very lucky to find the one you're looking for. Anyways, a great video!
Just wanted to say Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2022! Take care and be well!
Thank you very much that Paul and Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you also!
I absolutely enjoy every one of your videos. Your the most down to earth knowledgeable people I've ever seen on UA-cam. You should have at least a million followers in my opinion. Keep sharing your videos. Thank you.
And thank you Bobby. I really do appreciate that.
Merry Christmas Mr & Mrs River
Thank you very much Rambling Bunny, and Merry Christmas to you as well!
Back at ya merry Christmas to you !!
Great video
Your project rifle is a great accomplishment to be proud of finishing. The rifle looks better than it was when new. With your long back round with the 303 you likely have any accuracy issues covered. It will be great to see how it shoots after being brought back to such great looking condition. 🎄🎁🎅👍
Thanks Gizmo, and I can't wait to see how this one shoots. My only concern now is the barrel isn't free floated and it's pretty thin so it might be a bit sensitive to harmonics? But if the Lord is willing we're going to find out Friday morning.
@@TomRiverSimpleLiving I can't wait to see your success !
I only learn from you..brother! You're my hero. Keep them comming👍
This is why we all subscribe
Awesome
Thanks!
Merry Christmas Tom. Thank you for all the informative content.
And Merry Christmas to you to Stephen!
Merry Christmas to everyone. TY for another fun video. I like old guns. There are some real gems out there. I stopped buying guns. I have more than I need already and at my age I just don't need any more. I still enjoy them and talking about them. MH
Merry Christmas to you as well Mark! Sadly I haven't stopped buying them yet, but I can say that I've reached the point that there are only a couple more that I'm interested in. And I suspect that it will some time before I run across any of them?
Thank you for the greeting, Tom. I do so enjoy your videos and your down to earth attitude about shooting and hunting. Merry Christmas to you as well.
That rifle should shoot fine with the bore you showed. .Actually, looks pretty good for a .303 Brisish once you cleaned it. I used to use the JB Bore Bright a lot, it's more of a polish, but similar. I look forward to seeing how she shoots. Great video.
Thanks for another great video from up here in Canada. Once the land of many Lee Enfield's. But they have now even become more scarce and expensive up here.
I'm glad you enjoyed it Paul and it's sad but these old rifles are quietly fading away into the night.
Thank you for another good video. Looking forward to the range day video with this rifle. ( I let all the adds run for ya ) [ weird as they were ]
Thanks Reed! And I'm looking forward to hitting the range with this one as well. I've waited long enough and now it's time to see what this old rifle is going to do.
years ago, i got an old Mauser surplus rifle in 7x57 that had a bore like a sewer pipe! After soaking and scrubbing repeatedly like you did, it looked better but still only shot 3-5" groups. I was about to replace the barrel, whne a (gunsmith) buddy suggested that perhaps the crown was worn (from improper cleaning). I used a hacksaw and filke to take about an inch off (I had nothing to lose, so..) My first group with handloads went just over an inch :) Further fine tuning on the load and it shot consistant 1" groups..... on a barrel that probably saw service in 2 World Wars!!
And that is exactly why I'm so particular about pulling the brush back through the barrel from the muzzle with JB on it. It can make a big difference.
Hi Tom,
I'm not an expert on the Lee Enfield variants or the .303 cartridge (an American would call it the .303 British - the rest of the world has known for well over a century what a .303 is 😉😉😉), but here's my two bob's worth, anyway. Commenters, please correct me if I'm wrong.
I'm not sure sure whether you're aware, but most .303 Mark VII wartime and post-war ammunition from (British) Commonwealth countries, except some ammunition manufacturedin Canada, "enjoyed" the fatal combination (for barrels) of mercuric fulminate primers and Cordite propellant. If the various salts were not properly removed during the cleaning process by pouring boiling water through the barrel, if the Cordite didn't erode the barrel through shooting, the mercuric primer residue would definitely corrode the bore! In fact, small brass funnels with bent spouts were manufactured (and even sometimes issued to troops) to facilitate that "boiling out" process. IIRC, even with the military Cordite loadings and mercuric primers, service life of a barrel was expected to be in excess of 5000 rounds.
Having said all that, in my younger days, I, too, was quite remiss in my barrel cleaning, managing to ruin the barrel on a genuine, original jungle carbine (sorry, can't remember the official designation right now); a failure I've kicked myself for almost daily for the last 40 years. That certainly won't ever happen again!
My current .303 is a Lithgow No 1 Mk III (not Mk III* !) from 1926 which came to me half Bubba'd, and with a broken firing pin and some woodwork missing. I had a new firing pin and Lithgow "H" barrel fitted, completed the sporterisation and added a Parker Hale micrometer aperture rear sight. With that combination and my 150gr Speer handloads it will shoot well under MOA, with iron sights (aperture rear and post front). I think I'd argue that's not too bad!
Note to other potential owners out there: I did absolutely nothing to the rifle in respect of bedding the barrel or action.
I have to agree, that's not to bad at all on accuracy! And thanks for sharing that Charles. Cleaning barrels is not something we just how to do and we all have to learn it so no need in kicking yourself over that No5 now, but that was nice of you to share that story so the hopefully someone else will learn from it. And that's good to know you're getting that sort of accuracy without bedding the action. I had wondered what sort of accuracy potential a Lee Enfield has with bedding vs without.
Hi Tom, On the subject of Christmas presents you should ask Santa for some Young's 303 Oil and Express Gun Oil - both made by Parker Hale. Look forward to seeing the Parker Hale's first outing - on Christmas day?? LOL! Yet another great video!
I just love the smell of. Young’s. 303. Gun oil. Keep it away from the. Gun blue. It takes the blue off. Beautiful. Smell.
I've heard of Young's many times over the years but I've never actually seen any. If I ever run across some I'll give it a try just for traditions sake with the Parker Hale.
@@TomRiverSimpleLiving Its available on Amazon I believe.
I'm glad you are doing videos on this rifle. I just picked up the same rifle a few days ago. I will be cleaning up the bore the same way you did. Also looking for a scope mount. Do you know who has them for sale?
Another great video, cleaning a rifle is often overlooked and we both know it should not be. I'm always fascinated with what you can do with a little work. Very much looking forward to seeing you shoot it and if the groups changed and how much....BTW it's not supposed to be monsoon season there, it's monsoon season here lol...God Bless
It felt like monsoon season here when I was filming! I had to wait for breaks in the heavy stuff to finish the video because the mike wouldn't pick up my voice over the rain. Thankfully I didn't have to deal with the cyclone winds like you've been having to! Stay safe Lee.
Haha, I chose a Redfield 2-7 for mine too! It was actually you that set me on that path a year ago when I picked up my own Custom No4. Congrats. Mine loves Hornady 150grs but rem 180gr is fine too. PPU and S&B 180grs do about 2+ moa off a bench at 100m for me.
Well done. Excited for you.
And congrats to you as well! Now I just need to get to the range and see what it does! I have some 150gr Federals and 180 Winchesters to try in it for now and then I hope to work up a good load for this this spring?
the black in the grooves is carbon. it is a BEAR to remove. there are a couple of dedicated carbon removers on the market. I have not needed to use any of it yet, mostly because JB Bore Paste has always done the trick for me. but then again, none of my rifles have been thru WWII either! find out what kind of accuracy you have as is, then get some carbon remover and try it again. I KNOW that cleaning to bare steel amkes a world of differance in my rifles.
Looks very nice! I have a leupold 2x7x33 and I love it! Looking forward to the range video
Great tips and advice! I’ve seen a lot of those Parker Hale .303’s here in Canada.
Seen some Redfield Rebels around lately.
I took an old 7.7x58 Arisaka, also sporterized, and set about trying to make it shoot accurately. Instead of using penetrating oil and bore paste, I just shot one round and cleaned it, over and over, until the cleaning got easier...and the groups got better. It was a long day at the shooting bench, and pretty boring, but it worked in terms of accuracy. I can't say if it reduced any fouling, but my guess is maybe a little bit. All I cared about was that it got much easier to clean and the group size dropped about in half, just like you said.
The groups shrinking is all that mattered! And I have no doubt you knocked back the fouling in that rifle and a regular cleaning will do that. But as you saw it just takes a while.
😂 I have a 30yr old can of JB myself, it looks funky but still does the job.
Heavy carbon deposits are very difficult to remove. Once, I even tried Coke A Cola. Don't think it helped too much. Next time, I think I'll try David Tubbs Final Finish bullets. If they can smooth out a rough, bare steel bore, maybe they can remove carbon. Thanks, Tom! Merry Christmas!
If you remember I have that exact same rifle. I’d like to get a scope mount for mine as well. Could you share the mount specifics?
Same here. I need a scope mount. Where did you get it Tom?
Great video..
I'm wondering ..if you ran a long piece of cotton clothes line soaked in Kroil..would that speed up the cleaning action..a piece ?? 10 ft long..just see saw it through barrel..??
There's nothing better than the smell of HOPPES in the morning lol 😆
Good information Tom. I really swear by kroil. It’s great stuff. I think I’m going to try the bore paste that you are using. Oh and merry Christmas to you and your family! Have a happy AND healthy New Year!
Merry Christmas to you and yours as well Robert! I don't know if you've seen any of Mark Novak's Anvil videos but he's pretty impressive and he's the one that finally sold me on Kroil. He calls it "angle piss".
Thank you for the great videos. Hats off to you for abandoning the manufacturers that slink off to China to save a few bucks. If we all start to boycott the money grabbing companies that support the Government of an enemy country they may learn their lesson and return to manufacturing in their home country. Chris from UK
Yikes Tom.....come on man. Put a double folded rag under that bore guide so cleaning fluids don't drip on your stock. I know you know better than that 🙄🙄 Really love the 2-7x33 set up. Looks perfect on that rifle. Here's hoping the accuracy is not compromised by the pitting. Looking forward to that video.
It's funny you say that on the rag because I never thought about it. It's been so long since I had to do a serious cleaning that I completely forgot about a rag on the stock.
@@TomRiverSimpleLiving It's the little things we overlook especially when one is trying to instruct during a teaching video. I'm sure your mind is on instruction wording 99% of the time. Hope to see that fine old rifle at the range real soon. Have you found any dead deer yet?
@Tom River - Simple Living hi Tom. Great content. Cant get enough !!! Love it. 2 questions, can you make some vids of you out hunting and in the stand. Safe to say we all enjoy and learn from your experiences out in the field. Also may i ask what you do for work ? Hi from Australia
I'm glad you like the content Robert. And I will do a video in the future hunting out of a stand but I doubt it will be this season? My season is almost over. And I haven't been hunting out of a stand as much since I started filming just because it's tough hiking in with a stand plus the camera gear. Not to mention a rifle. If you'll notice most hunting videos where they're hunting out of stands they have a separate camera man. The camera man carries his stand (or saddle these days) and the camera gear. The shooter carries his stand and weapon. It's tough carrying all of it but that's something I'm gong to have to figure out for next season.
As for work, I'm a CMM programmer (coordinate measuring machine). Basically I'm a metrologist so I specialize in making very precise measurements. I have gone back and fourth between CMM programmer and quality engineer for most of my career just depending on what a company needs. But there are fewer CMM programmers than quality engineers so there's usually more demand for programmers. And I mainly measure machined parts and tooling. I actually started as a machinist but then went into quality and metrology in 2000. Not exactly exciting stuff but I love problem solving and trouble shooting stuff and that's basically what companies pay me for.
@@TomRiverSimpleLiving Thanks for the reply Tom, i personally know a metrologist, a quirky genius as are most ive met hahah. I only ask these questions because you yourself have now seem to represent the classic american rifle hunter and therefore i and others would like to know more about you. I share most if not all of your views ranging from minimalism to gold investment through to classic hunting rifles. Like i have said in the past when we have spoken, i love the videos and enjoy your calm and intelligent demeanour. Keep up the great work mate. Good bless to you and your family. P.s still want to see some/any hunting footage. Even squirrel hunting hahah
I can't wait to see how it shoots. What ammo do you plan on using?
Happy. Christmas looking forward. The. The new year. Your. Videos. Are very interesting. And. I will be. Giving the. Same support I the new year. Keep safe and happy new wear. Harvest. The deer our cherished. Game. Share the. Meat. Don’t waste a morsel. Give respect. To the animals. We kill. We also. Love. Hunting rifles. Makes. It all more interesting. Lots more to come.
Thank you Dominic, and Happy Christmas to you to!
What you’d say , rain is load on mic. Lol
Kroil is best for patching out after using JB imo..Hoppes is garbage..
Only 303 i can find right now is surplus is corrosive ammo. Which is fine for shooting because i run warm water all over gun drain all the corrosive salts off gun then follow up with wd40 then my normal cleaning Schedule....
A bore scope will be my next purchase
I really like that 303 rifle would you be interested in selling it
What profit would there be if they had to put in new barrels?
Could that be a No.5 ?
That is possible but I'm guessing it was a regular No1 or No4 barrel based on how much more common they were than No5's? And I don't know that there's any difference between a No1 or No4 after they get cut down on length and turned? I'm also pretty sure it was turned because of the finish on the steel. The standard barrels were never bad but the surface finish on this one is really nice. It also has "Parker Hale" stamped in the barrel plus the blueing was done really well done.
@@TomRiverSimpleLiving When you mentioned shorter barrel and lighter weight with less wood, I was reminded of those requirements as a development of Rifle No.4.
They would be used late war or afterwards.
I should have got more information before I wrote.
We come from a time when folks gave a sh#$
Hey Tom, I see you have a few Redfield scopes on your rifles. Did you know Academy Sports bought the brand from Leupold recently? I have the 1-6x24 and it seems solidly built. I still have to get it sighted in then we’ll see how it holds up.
Do you know where they are made?
@@robertgothe4847 sadly their made in China but I knew this before buying it. I did have a Redfield tactical a few years ago made in the Philippines. You just have to watch nowadays. My new Leupold binoculars are made in China too. I always thought Leupold was 100% USA made but only their scopes. The label is all blacked out where it says made in China, like they’re trying to hide it.
@@kwiturbitchin5277 thanks That is good to know so I don’t make a mistake and buy one. I have a redfield partner that is made in USA on my ruger 77 and never had a minutes trouble with it. I got it in 1995.
Thanks for that Kwit. I had no idea that Academy bought the brand, and that explains why I have only seen them at Academy.
As far as it being a good scope, I have no doubt that it is. China is producing some good scopes including the lower end Vortex scopes, which are still really good scopes. My issue with China is that I just can't support a communist country. Their government is doing some bad things and I know everything I buy from China is supporting the CCP. Now me trying my best to not buy anything from them isn't going to change anything, but it sure makes me feel better. But I do appreciate the heads up on Academy buying the brand.
@@TomRiverSimpleLiving I’m with you on not buying Chinese made products and as everyone knows, it’s hard to do these days. Great videos packed with a lot of information and wisdom. Keepem’ coming!