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My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
https://www.waguns.org/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=77044		 Page 4 of 4
Author:  MadPick [ Sat Jul 15, 2017 7:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
So . . . to answer sinus211's question of "what's in the box," it was a Nepalese Gahendra rifle. They went on sale recently at IMA, so I was able to get this for about $210 shipped to my door.

These are similar to a British Martini-Henry but with some differences in the action. This is a single-shot rifle, theoretically chambered in .577/450 but apparently these have bores of varying diameter and tend to run a bit on the small side, so you don't want to put normal .577/450 ammo through it. If I decide to shoot it, I can slug the bore and then load my ammo with the appropriate bullets. There are also chamber adapters available that let you shoot .45 Colt loads, which would be a bit wimpy but that option has some obvious advantages too.

Anyway, here's a pic:

Image

And a video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrKmMkNxrr0

And if you want one of your very own.... :bigsmile:
http://www.ima-usa.com/original-nepales ... ition.html

And yes, I've made exactly zero progress with cleaning up my first two Nepalese rifles.... :facepalm2:
Author:  Arisaka [ Sat Jul 15, 2017 7:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
Not so sure I would shoot it. However I will watch you shoot it, and even dial 911 for you if necessary
Author:  zombie66 [ Sat Jul 15, 2017 8:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
Arisaka wrote:
Not so sure I would shoot it. However I will watch you shoot it, and even dial 911 for you if necessary




I would at least apply First Aid until EMS arrived, for a WGO shirt of course LOL
Author:  MadPick [ Sat Jul 15, 2017 8:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
I appreciate the "support." :4couple:
Author:  Rix86 [ Sun Jul 16, 2017 10:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
I'ma need you to keep your dick beaters off your keyboard.
My bank account can't handle your links.
Author:  Sinus211 [ Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
Interesting. Not really my style of weapon but definitely a cool piece of history.

FTR if you plan on shooting any caliber starting with a "4" or "5" through that barrel I got dibs on your collection. Do they make a chamber adapter for .22 short? :bigsmile:
Author:  Lew [ Sun Jul 16, 2017 12:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
sinus211 wrote:
FTR if you plan on shooting any caliber starting with a "4" or "5" through that barrel I got dibs on your collection.


Now that's effn funny.... :ROFLMAO:
Author:  MadPick [ Sun Jul 16, 2017 1:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
Believe it or not, I'm actually taking action . . . I'm halfway through that rifle right now, got it all disassembled and the metal parts cleaned, and I'm working on the wood.

The good news: Nearly everything is in pretty decent shape. The bore looks great, has some shine to it and is better than some of my Mosins. :bigsmile:

The bad news: As soon as I took the action apart, a little piece of metal fell out. I knew immediately what it was, based on hearing stories of some other Gahendras . . . the firing pin, which is normally an integral part of the hammer. :crybaby:
Author:  NWGunner [ Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
MadPick wrote:

The bad news: As soon as I took the action apart, a little piece of metal fell out. I knew immediately what it was, based on hearing stories of some other Gahendras . . . the firing pin, which is normally an integral part of the hammer. :crybaby:


I read something interesting about the firing pins on a forum...here's what someone wrote:

"Forgot to mention that these old guns usually have a huge firing pin which is too big in diameter to work with small pistol and rifle primers. Usually gunsmiths bush the firing pin hole in the breech block and turn down the firing pin to a modern diameter."

......just sounded interesting when I read it....
Author:  sportsdad60 [ Mon Jul 17, 2017 6:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
Steve, a friend of mine is a gunsmith and a machinist. If you ever need something made for your old rifles, contact Paul Notch and send him photos/dimensions or the broken parts.
He's very reasonable for prices to machine something for you.
He's made front sights for my trapdoor, but out of titanium rather than steel!

notchsironworks@gmail.com
Author:  MadPick [ Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
^ Thanks for that, Brian.

All right, like I mentioned I worked on the Gahendra all day Sunday. Here's a video with an overview of the rifle after cleaning:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnzRprLR3vk

And now some photos to show some of the gory details . . . .

Here's what the rifle looks like now:

Image

Here's the hammer with the broken firing pin tip:

Image

This is what the barrel bands and pins looked like:

Image

When I pulled the barrel out of the stock forend, here's what it looked like:

Image

And here's the barrel after cleaning. It has some light pitting, but it's really not that bad:

Image

This is the nasty mess in the middle of the project:

Image

This is a picture of the breech block and a couple of the action screws that go through the receiver. It's interesting to see what those old-school screws look like, with just a few threads on one end a slot cut into the other:

Image

It was tough getting all of the screws out without ruining any. I used my gunsmithing screwdriver to get the best fit possible, and used a dental pick to clean out the slot on each screw before tackling it. I felt like DGM33, grinding away with a pick until I found something solid underneath, then wiping the whole bloody mess on the nearest piece of fabric. :bigsmile: :4couple:

I also used Kroil (penetrating oil) on some of the parts. A few screws were particularly tough to remove, so I carefully used a propane torch to heat the aprts up a bit, and that helped.

I also used Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner for the first time. This did a really nice job on the metal, and I used it lightly on some of the wood as well. They advertise that you can use it on the bore too, so I gave that a try and it did a good job; the bore is actually quite shiny.

Here's the Big 45 product:
https://smile.amazon.com/Big-45-Frontie ... 00K7IHW1K/

Here's a pic of my .45 bore brush with a piece of the cleaner pad wrapped around it:

Image

All in all . . . a fun and satisfying project. :thumbsup2: Right now it's a wall hanger; maybe I'll get that firing pin repaired or replaced at some point, we'll see!
Author:  Pablo [ Wed Jul 19, 2017 4:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
Wow. Makes me have the itch to do an oldie!

Indeed, I get your .22LR ammo.
Author:  Ops [ Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
MadPick wrote:
I'm working on the wood.


Hmmmmmmmmmmmm,
Author:  sigman226 [ Tue Jul 25, 2017 3:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My latest purchase. I mean gamble.
So that is where my tooth brush went? LOL
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