more old rusty crap that works great

[68C15]

I picked up a Ruger Standard .22 semi-auto pistol the other day. A friend does car detailing and he found it in the trunk of a repo. The thing was coated in rust and nothing moved. So I made a solution of one part penetrating oil and one part air tool oil and with a cheap sprayer I coated the whole thing and let it sit for a day. Wouldn't ya know it? It worked! I could take the thing apart. Next I continued with a larger batch of the solution and put all the parts in to soak for another day. Occasionally I would take a scotch brite pad to it and work the rust away.

Since I got it for a real low price I figured I had nothing to loose. A trip through the parts washer, a rinse in the sink, and a blow dry got it good enough to make an initial assessment. The bore had rust build up but after running a bronze brush through it came clean except for the last 3/8". The muzzle, crown and end of bore have rust pitting.

OK, time to see if it goes BANG and cycles. I went out of town and found an area with no building next to the train tracks. Nice and safe place. I've tried guns here before and no one complains. I decided against the range where I normally have fun because I didn't want any bystanders to get involved in a potential situation. After I clamped it down in a suction base vise on my car trunk I ran a 30 foot length of fishing line on the trigger and loaded it with one round.

It worked!! Perfect cycle of the action. Next was a "trial by fire" with a full magazine paying close attention to any hang fires. I ran 4 magazines through it and had 2 missfires. Those were light firing pin strikes. Could be due to insufficient lube. OK, fine. Total lack of lube. Hey, this was intended to be a stress test after all.

Next was the accuracy test. I set up a target at 10 yards. Shooting off hand (one handed) I got 1 1/2" groups doing slow fire. It passes my standards.

Then I got home and researched the history and serial number. The thing was made in 1952!!


Now, what should I do with the thing? I was thinking I could take it all apart, bead blast it to get rid of exterior rust that I previously didn't care about, and re-blue it at home. I did that a couple years ago with a 20 gauge bolt action made in the late 30's and it looks/functions wonderfull.

I'll take pics of the current condition as well as more of the progress and report back.

This is getting fun. Taking someone else's crap, clean it up, make it work, and look good again.