David Austin
36 Cl.
My last rifle was for my 12 year old daughter...she's 54 now. I did all the inletting with a three cornered file I ground into a chisel. Finished,I took her away from her fave TV show and handed it to her. I had to bully her into shooting it. Two shots took out the X in a .22 target...25 yards. The barrel was a bored out to .32 and rifled. A Mauser piece of junk. Left the chamber end round ...two wedding rings and hex tapered the rest of the way. I made the sights, ramrod ferrules trigger, triggerguard and buttplate out of scrap steel. The lock is something I got in a trade. I had a smith thread the barrel and tang. The rest is on me. Stain is steelwool dissolved in nitric acid and neutralized with baking soda...several applications. Finish is hot linseed oil and beeswax...26 coats.
Two shots...she said.."Satisfied?" "Yes" She thrust it at me. She never shot it again. When she turned 50 she asked if I still had it. "Yes...but..." "But what?" "I broke it..." "And?" "I lost the broken forestock...and the barrel, the triggerguard and floorplate and buttplate." "DADDY!" "I still have the lock....it's broke but it looks like a lock.." "Fix it. I wanna hang it over the fireplace. But I don't want it to shoot." So...the barrel is in the wood. She's gonna have to do the rest.
Two shots...she said.."Satisfied?" "Yes" She thrust it at me. She never shot it again. When she turned 50 she asked if I still had it. "Yes...but..." "But what?" "I broke it..." "And?" "I lost the broken forestock...and the barrel, the triggerguard and floorplate and buttplate." "DADDY!" "I still have the lock....it's broke but it looks like a lock.." "Fix it. I wanna hang it over the fireplace. But I don't want it to shoot." So...the barrel is in the wood. She's gonna have to do the rest.
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