16ga.com ~ View topic - Polished turd-a worthy proposition of a waste of resourses?

Member Joined: 12 Mar 2007 Posts: 36

My thoughts..... its all in what the individual gets out of the experience..for me, I like to redo the wood on a gun that is in good functional shape... also for some reason I really enjoy just cleaning up the old dry oil and crud that has built up over years of use.... these are the things that I am good at and am not too interested in sending something out to get worked on...of course after doing that I like walking around behind my old GSP carrying one of them....

The thing I hope for most is when I hand them down to my son and grandsons they can first of all utilize them and then think about dad/grandad having worked on them and redid this or fixed that and also used it....

prussian, cause I had a suck day at work , and it was easy. My profuse appologizes, I was being cadish.

Member Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 524

Polishing a turd can result in some of the best gun deals one can ever make. There are many examples, but I will give one.

Go to almost any gunshop USA, buy yourself a rough Browning Superposed Lightning that is cheap because the top lever is well left of center and the action is all sloppy. Prices will range based upon the rest of the exterior from $500.00 - maybe 800.00 tops. Buy the gun, send it to Arts and have hime do a rebuild for about $250.00 bucks. You will then have a gun better than most, and it will be ready to shoot thousands, upon thousands of rounds. Heck, $250.00 bucks goes a long way in that case in polishing that turd. I saw two 20 GA Superposed Lightnings freshly returned from Arts about a month ago at my favourite gunshop who's been doing a lot of that lately to build up their superposed inventory. They were beautifull and almost looked brand new. They are selling these rebuilds for considerably less than market value for used 20GA supers which can be as high as 4,000.00 and average about 3,000.00. They are selling them for about 2,000.00. The funny thing is, they are in better shape than most of the more expensive original condition 20GA supers - just don't have the collector value - and they are up front about that. And while there may be a nay sayer or two on this site regarding the superposed, many of us believe they are still one of the finest, and most well balance handlers ever made.
Too bad they didnt make any 16GA's otherwise we'd all be going crazy over them - especially if they were made on the 20GA frame. I'm hoping I run into a junker 20GA super one of these days when i have some extra cash to send to Arts! For those of you that don't know Art was a long time Browning employee and knows the superposed inside out.

Guy,
My basic frustration was more with the mention of rare gems & show pieces vs. the workhorse guns - my original post even mentions this - than with class descriptions, etc (insert Monty Python quote here).

Sure the thread will wander where it will go and yes I missed the switching of the gears as it was not my intent to switch gears...The basic math of high-end units produced vs. standard models implies that an "ordinary" old double or repeater would be the subject - I'm not a pump guy so that leaves me with doubles or A-5 (the latter due to family connections).

I'm sorry for getting "thick with you" as my Irish Ex would say. Frustrations are running high with me lately and in classic fashion, I've vented at the wrong direction - Again, I sincerely apologize to you for my poor behavior.

And now that you've expounded on the rarities - what are your thoughts on getting an H&R Topper sent out for some gold inlay & choke tubes? Smile

I think you should draw a pint of Guiness, sit down and ponder on that one a wee bit me bucko. After 3 or 4 pints, things should appear to be improving a might. Wink

PS: It's totally understandable. Every time the subject of the bloody English and their fancy pants guns comes up, so do the hairs on the back of my own neck. You see, I'm somewhat of an Irish rebel myself. They can all kiss my rosy red...well you get my point. Laughing

Member Joined: 01 Feb 2006 Posts: 450 Location: Indiana

I have bought several old sxs, and pumps , Ithica, Win, and so on. All of them were about as good lookinga as somebody's dog with rickets.
I reblued them, refinished the wood, new sights, recut checkering. some needed new firing pins. I had two lefevers that needed new guts on the inside of the action. I did all the work my self so I didn't have all the expense of labor. I did end up selling them for a handsome sum. One fellow I sold to traded for a reconditioned antique tractor.
The point is if I didn't do what I did they would probably never had been used again. These guys that think a gun is more valuable if left alone when it is about shot must come from the same breed that said game get lead poisoning from lead so its ok to wound the hell out of the animals and not get the game from all this non toxic shot. Ya sure.

Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 190 Location: Washington State

Sprocket, when you get that turd polished, come on out and shoot some Washington grouse with it... Wink

It's good to go right now - when's the season open?

I plan to take more trips for hunting purposes instead of dreaming about them - get busy living or get busy dying.

Ahh Yes the Fine Art of Turd Polishing, A Turd Polishing is what started me on this adventure that has taken in a number of SxS's and O/U's. 16 Guage no Less. Most People would have thrown my Flues away, it was a sad buckaroo. The stock was broken and missing large hunks, the metal finish was somewhere between Bad and Not. One side wouldn't fire, it was challenged to say the least. It is restocked, all the things work the way they are supposed to, it has taken game. Was it worth it, probably not, but it's priceless to me. What an education and it doesn't look too bad either. The Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, I bought a Parker trojan that is cosmetically challenged, the poor lovely thing has a few freckles on the outside a little blue remaining on the barrels, the action is progressing to that earned grayish color. It whispered to me when I first held it, Psssst, I think I still have a Few Birds left in Me, Wanna Play. Gasp, alas it is a 16-4 bore but I believe it was the secret prototype the germans based the Merkel Laser-Guided Pheasant Wrecking System on. What a joy to hunt with, it has a turdish look. If I was so inclined to refinish it, so what if somebody doesn't think it would be worth it. It is another of those Diamonds in Waiting, someday maybe, but Yes Turd Polishing is Acceptable, Desireable and we find value in doing the right thing. I hope some day I get a Grandson who is a hunter, I could really put a smile on his face.
My $.02 Worth
Chet

Member Joined: 06 Nov 2006 Posts: 128 Location: NE

[quotePrussian Gun Guy
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:33 pm
hunshatt wrote:
sproc , old boy, I'z can't stand it anymore. IF you got 3k burnin a hole in your carharts then pony up to the bar and purchase he finest pheasent killin, lazer beam of a 16ga... the veritable merkel 1620, if you ani't got the ching, then one of merks red headed step brothers, like a simson 1-2k, and if your really at the bottom of the barrel the I'll bet prussian got a sauer or 2 he'd give up for the price of a bag of dog feed.

How'd I get dragged into this?[/quote]

I don't know but but I got a couple of bags of dogfood for one of them Sauers !!!
My golden, toby, can eat table scraps for a month or so. Laughing

berg

Gents - thank you All for you input and opinion on the topic - it is clear that an Object cannot be all things to all men.

I understand my personal stance on the topic and will try to rescue those items that I deem worthy of my attention and detail.

In the meantime, I wish you all many happy 16's in whatever flavor they come to you - rough, sweet and in between.

I hope all who read this understand on a personal level the message I was trying to convey.

Cheers to those Items we all hold dear to us - 16 bores!