Advice and Guidance Sought ...

New to the forum - First Browning - First Post ...

I have just come into possession of a (1976 • wrong) fat fingered the entry, actually 1978 Belgian SA22. It has a problem. The stock is broken in 2 places.

1) What research has told me this is a common break on these guns ...

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2) A corresponding problem on the opposite side.

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Not knowing the true value of the gun - my question is this ... is it going to be better as far as value goes to repair the breaks as best I can without refinishing the stock or just go ahead and refinish the entire stock ( butt and foregrip) in the process ? Downside to the repair is the large piece of wood from the left side is missing with no hope of recovery.

The gun has some other flaws but nothing major.

Thanks in advance for any response and incite on this little project.

Welcome to the Browning Owners Forum RJTMAC !!

Please introduce yourself to our community via the NEW MEMBER WELCOME AREA...a mandatory step for membership !!


Read all the rules here:

http://www.browningowners.com/forum/index.php?threads/forum-rules-and-guidelines.5204/

Enjoy the forum.

BTW...the gun has a few more problems than the stock...rust and pitting also are prevalent...so, don't worry about the value...as something from 1976 will not appreciate in value till long after you and I are gone...just address the obvious problems and enjoy your "new" SA-22.

Parts: http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers.htm

"BTW...the gun has a few more problems than the stock...rust and pitting also are prevalent...so, don't worry about the value...as something from 1976 will not appreciate in value till long after you and I are gone...just address the obvious problems and enjoy your "new" SA-22."

Yes it does or at least did - was considering stripping and bluing but after 2 hours of elbow grease mixed with some Rem Oil, a very mild and soft bristled brass brush and some 0000 steel wool worked wonders for the exterior metal. Just have a couple of very small places that may need some bluing attention. Really glad the metal cleaned up so well ... the factory bluing job is really in very good shape. The pitting on the side of the receiver is still slightly visible but very tolerable and not really noticeable now unless you are looking at it at just the right angle.

Stripped and got the first sanding done on the butt stock and the fore grip this afternoon ... Continued work on getting the deeper flaws, scratches, dents and stubborn factory finish removed tonight.

Tomorrow will see some stain go on the butt stock next to the are where the wood is broken out and missing. This will give me a match color to then to start mixing the filler with stain to get as close a match as possible. Trying accomplish 2 things here:

1) to get a repair that will be a blend and not be a just a glaring sore thumb and be the first thing you notice and see when you look at the gun.
2) Make the repair strong enough to hold the stock in place and not have it rotate around the magazine tube.​

Hoping to get the repair done and the stock into the finish room sometime this weekend.

Tearing the "action" down for inspection and cleaning in the next couple of days ... Shooting for the week after Thanksgiving for a completion target date.

Any reason for the huge type font above....?!

None other than I have a hard time reading small text...

Understood... !!

Anyway...what you outlined sounds like a good plan...keep us in the loop in this thread.

Good Luck...

Pics of original stock condition. Stock generally pitted and scratched all over. Fore Grip was not in bad shape but is going to be stripped and refinished with the butt stock.

First Sanding after scratch and flaw repair. Ironing, 220, 320, 400 grit.

NICE WORK...

Preliminary clean up of external metal ... More work to be done when the action is removed. Trigger guard needs some work for sure. Going to remove a Drivers License number that was engraved along the bottom and the rear of the trigger guard behind the scroll work.

Turning out real nice rjtmac...

Missing piece of wood ... filled ... shaped ... sanded ... ready to stain ...











Small crack on the right side repaired ... filled ...

Fore Grip Stained ... No Finish yet

Awesome job so far....well done !!

Butt Stock stained but no finish ... Finish work starts today ... 10 coats ... about 5 to 6 days to complete. Meanwhile tear down of the action and cleaning. Polish bolt and all articulation surfaces. Oil slightly and reassemble. Also today will tackle the job of getting the Drivers License Number off of the trigger guard.















Pics cont. next post

cont.

You are truly a woodworking craftsman sir...

Tear down of action done today. The "little shooter" appears to have not been cleaned since date of purchase. If there was a crevice or milled out area it was packed with gun powder and oil "concrete". Surfaces could not be cleaned with cleaner and rags and brushes but had to be sanded using REM oil and/or 3 in 1 to get the surfaces clean. The Firing Pin was so coated with residue I had to sand it down. The entire action was completely torn down ... a Thank You to internet you tube "how to" videos and another Thank You to Dremel and high speed wire brush wheels. This tear down was a different experience from my previous restores in the Winchester and Marlin world ... simpler really but dealing with and learning about first time procedures and new parts slows progress.

Had an especially fun time doing first time reinstalls of the recoil spring and the 2 springs and plungers that go back in to getting the barrel lock switch in place. Trying to keep the Barrel Lock Plunger and Spring held down while keeping the Barrel Adjusting Ring Follower and spring pushed up and lined up in a groove of the Barrel Adjusting Ring to get the Barrel Lock back in place is a 3 or 4 hand operation but your hands need to be the size of a small child.

I also had somewhat of a surprise. The internal machining of the Browning was seemingly not much better than on the other firearm brands I had worked with. For some reason I was really expecting the quality of a Browning to be better. The machining on the bolt was especially rough. Spent quiet a bit of time sanding and polishing* the bolt.

Got the Drivers License Number removed and that area of the trigger guard blued.

Polished all the rails and rail runs. Lubed the action lightly and reassembled.

The completed hardware is assembled and waiting it's newly repaired and refinished furniture.

* Polishing ... combination of 400 grit - 1000 grit sandpaper and Dremel brass wire brush wheel ... all done both wet (oil or cleaner) and dry.

5 apps of finish applied ... 5 to go ... should be 3 more days ...