Cabelas rifles

[Red Raider Rookie]

Any idea who made Cabelas BP rifles between 1991 and 1993? That was way before Bass Pro bought them and the store brand turned to junk. Were they good rifles or should I replace? Seems to be a shooter.

 

[user 48679]

There should be a maker's mark on the metal, either exposed or under the wood, that will give you your answer.

 

[leadhoarder]

I have always known them to be investarms but I do not know about that far back.

 

[ElkStalker]

Should be investarms. If it is, it will have an I in a box. Same company that made Lyman rifles until last year. I’ve been told that some Cabela’s older rifles were also Pedersoli. I don’t know that to be true though.
Either one is a keeper.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

It was Investarms

 

[morehops52]

Any idea who made Cabelas BP rifles between 1991 and 1993? That was way before Bass Pro bought them and the store brand turned to junk. Were they good rifles or should I replace? Seems to be a shooter.

I'm kind of curious ....if you have "a shooter'" why would you take a chance on replacing it and possibly getting a "less than shooter" ? Just wondering and no offense intended.

 

[Red Raider Rookie]

Thanks Elkstalker I will take a look this evening. The reason for the question is that sometimes it doesn't go boom. I've taken to adding powder under the nipple before every shot which really slows things down. Running a bore scope into the clean out hole it looks like things aren't exactly lined up.

 

[morehops52]

Ok, I think understand the situation a bit better. So you have a rifle that doesn't always go boom but when it does it's pretty accurate. There might be a mechanical remedy for things not lined up. That's not in my wheel house but someone may chime in on that. Being as you say it goes off with some powder under the nipple my suggestion would be to replace the nipple with a musket nipple assuming you can get the musket caps locally to avoid a hazmat fee.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Seems as if fouling has been building up in the flash channel so the flash channel is partially blocked. With the oils from loading and storing, the fouling has become crusty and somewhat impervious to cleaning. Has @Red Raider Rookie tried a Magnum cap? Has a pipe cleaner been run from the nipple seat to the powder chamber? Has the powder chamber in the breech been brushed out?

While the hotter caps may keep the shooting going for a while, there is a partial blockage that isn't going away. Time for some aggressive cleaning and the use of a hotter cap. These Invest Arms rifles have a sub caliber powder chamber in the manufactured breech plug. These are not always cleaned by normal flushing unless some aggressive solvents are being used. I would make up a batch of MAP (equal parts of Murphy's Oil Soap, Rubbing Alcohol and hydrogen peroxide). I would plug the nipple and let it soak in the powder chamber for several minutes. Then it is time to scour the powder chamber. I use a 30 caliber bore brush with the wires looped through the base not crimped to scrub that sub caliber powder chamber. Once the powder chamber is well scrubbed and the MAP dumped out, a pipe cleaner or copper wire then should be poked from the nipple seat through flash channel into the powder chamber. If the MAP has done its job, a blast of air from an air compressor or a CO2 ball discharger should blow out the remaining fouling. Popping a cap should also knock some of the fouling out. I would run a damp cleaning patch to the breech to catch the dislodged fouling to pull it out of the barrel.

While I find musket caps hotter than the standard #11, think they are unnecessary if the flash channel is clean and cleaning the flash channel and chambered breech is easier than finding caps these days not to mention the musket nipple properly threaded for your rifle.

 

[leadhoarder]

Yeah I would be trying to clean the flash channel out with brake cleaner and see if it gets any better.

 

[Red Raider Rookie]

 

[NorthFork]

Investarms made. I would kindly suggest removing the barrel and subjecting it to a soapy water bath in a bucket involving a patch run up and down rapidly for at least 5 minutes. This should clear any and all fouling in the patent breech. Be sure to use WD-40 or alcohol to displace water when you are down.

edit- You have a good rifle. Take care of it.

 

[leadhoarder]

Investarms for sure.

 

[ElkStalker]

View attachment 183756

That is a great rifle. As was suggested above, some attention to cleaning out the flash hole and the patent breach will really help you here. The flash channels in these rifles are pretty simple, so the first thing I would suspect is that the rifle hasn’t been properly cleaned and fouling is your problem. After every firing, The barrel should be removed, remove the nipple, place the breach in warm water with a few drops of Dawn dish soap. Deep enough to completely cover the firing channel. Use your Rod with jag and patch to pump the water in and out of the barrel. This will draw the cleaning solution up the bore to the muzzle, then will force everything out the firing channel. This will clean your patent breach, firing channel and bore. Then repeat with clean warm water to remove any soap left behind. Run some dry patches, then WD40 if you like, followed by more dry patches, then finally with a patch treated with a quality gun oil to protect against rusting. If the previous owner neglected to clean it properly, it may take more work to clean away the fouling. Plugging the nipple and soaking with Kroil will really help, or you can use the solution mentioned above.( I have not tried that one myself). Then follow the cleaning method I outlined as well as the tips from Grenadier. You may also want to inspect your nipple and make sure the flash hole isn’t worn and that everything is like new.