hayseed_theology
Senior Member
Since I finished up the Lever Gun Project, I have been hunting a new victim. I decided my next project would be another lever action or a revolver. Hours of scouring the marketplace, Gunbroker, and every gun/pawn shop in the state have finally paid off. I happened upon a Revelation Model 205 in .30-30 Winchester.
When I first laid eyes on it, I thought it was a Marlin 336. While it’s almost a dead ringer, you Marlin guys will notice that the extractor, lever retaining screw, tang shape, and trigger location are different. It appears that some small parts might be interchangeable, but the internals are quite different. So who did manufacture it? O.F. Mossberg and Sons! Yep, it is essentially a Mossberg 472 that was made sometime in the 70’s. It was made for Western Auto and sold under their Revelation brand. All parts interchange with the Mossy 472. A little reading on the internet revealed that this model is generally accurate and reliable, but the most common failure was a cycling issue caused by a worn/broken/missing carrier spring.
Mechanically, what kind of condition is it in? Inoperable. The gun DOES NOT FIRE. That was the first thing the salesman told me when he handed it to me. I inspected it and noticed that it appears to be missing the striker portion of the firing pin assembly. That would explain why it wouldn’t fire. It cycles snap caps flawlessly, so I think $10 worth of parts will have it shooting again. Bore is in good shape.
Cosmetically, what kind of condition is it in? Rough. Blueing is worn off in places. There is surface rust scattered all over the gun with some light pitting in places. The furniture is heavily scratched, but there are no chips or cracks. I believe the wood is salvageable.
So what’s on tap for this project? The first step will be to getting it shooting again. Next step will be to repair or replace any broken parts (like the barrel band screw with the head broken off). Next, I will have to decide if I want to return to iron sights or scope it. That will either entail replacing the sights and/or figuring out what kind of scope to put on it. Next, the fit and condition of the recoil pad is poor so that will be replaced. After that, I will refinish the wood. Finally, I want to make my first attempt at slow rust blueing to refinish the metal.
So I need some input from y’all, particularly some of our resident experts.
- Should I leave the barrel at 20” or cut it down to 18”? Or 16.5”? I am leaning towards leaving it alone, but since it’s not a JM stamped Marlin or a classic Winny, it would be a good candidate for a chop.
- Iron sights or scope? I would love to keep the scope that is on it, but it has a good bit of rust on it. The scope is an old steel tube Weaver K4-1 with a tapered post and fine crosshair reticle. It’s a classic scope with a relatively unique reticle, which makes it pretty cool to me. The glass is sufficiently clear. Is it possible to reblue a scope without ruining the seals? If not, maybe it needs a peep sight.
- Is the furniture walnut or birch? The buttstock looks like walnut to me, and the forend looks like birch. On a rough, old gun like this, I still struggle to tell the difference sometimes. If the pics aren’t clear enough, I’m sure I will figure it out after I strip the finish.
- I plan on using Pilkington’s Classic American Rust Blue. This is will be my first attempt at it, and I am concerned about the frame and lever accepting blueing. They appear to be more of a plum color while the barrel, magazine tube, and base plate appear to have a traditional dark blue color. It doesn’t translate well in the pics, but the frame and lever have a strong purple hue. Does this mean that they are a different alloy and may not blue well?
I have noticed a funny thing while taking pictures of guns. A beautiful gun never looks as good in a photo as it does in real life, and a roughed up gun never looks as bad in a photo as it does in real life. Here are the “Before” pics. I took a bunch so you could get a good idea of what the starting point is.
When I first laid eyes on it, I thought it was a Marlin 336. While it’s almost a dead ringer, you Marlin guys will notice that the extractor, lever retaining screw, tang shape, and trigger location are different. It appears that some small parts might be interchangeable, but the internals are quite different. So who did manufacture it? O.F. Mossberg and Sons! Yep, it is essentially a Mossberg 472 that was made sometime in the 70’s. It was made for Western Auto and sold under their Revelation brand. All parts interchange with the Mossy 472. A little reading on the internet revealed that this model is generally accurate and reliable, but the most common failure was a cycling issue caused by a worn/broken/missing carrier spring.
Mechanically, what kind of condition is it in? Inoperable. The gun DOES NOT FIRE. That was the first thing the salesman told me when he handed it to me. I inspected it and noticed that it appears to be missing the striker portion of the firing pin assembly. That would explain why it wouldn’t fire. It cycles snap caps flawlessly, so I think $10 worth of parts will have it shooting again. Bore is in good shape.
Cosmetically, what kind of condition is it in? Rough. Blueing is worn off in places. There is surface rust scattered all over the gun with some light pitting in places. The furniture is heavily scratched, but there are no chips or cracks. I believe the wood is salvageable.
So what’s on tap for this project? The first step will be to getting it shooting again. Next step will be to repair or replace any broken parts (like the barrel band screw with the head broken off). Next, I will have to decide if I want to return to iron sights or scope it. That will either entail replacing the sights and/or figuring out what kind of scope to put on it. Next, the fit and condition of the recoil pad is poor so that will be replaced. After that, I will refinish the wood. Finally, I want to make my first attempt at slow rust blueing to refinish the metal.
So I need some input from y’all, particularly some of our resident experts.
- Should I leave the barrel at 20” or cut it down to 18”? Or 16.5”? I am leaning towards leaving it alone, but since it’s not a JM stamped Marlin or a classic Winny, it would be a good candidate for a chop.
- Iron sights or scope? I would love to keep the scope that is on it, but it has a good bit of rust on it. The scope is an old steel tube Weaver K4-1 with a tapered post and fine crosshair reticle. It’s a classic scope with a relatively unique reticle, which makes it pretty cool to me. The glass is sufficiently clear. Is it possible to reblue a scope without ruining the seals? If not, maybe it needs a peep sight.
- Is the furniture walnut or birch? The buttstock looks like walnut to me, and the forend looks like birch. On a rough, old gun like this, I still struggle to tell the difference sometimes. If the pics aren’t clear enough, I’m sure I will figure it out after I strip the finish.
- I plan on using Pilkington’s Classic American Rust Blue. This is will be my first attempt at it, and I am concerned about the frame and lever accepting blueing. They appear to be more of a plum color while the barrel, magazine tube, and base plate appear to have a traditional dark blue color. It doesn’t translate well in the pics, but the frame and lever have a strong purple hue. Does this mean that they are a different alloy and may not blue well?
I have noticed a funny thing while taking pictures of guns. A beautiful gun never looks as good in a photo as it does in real life, and a roughed up gun never looks as bad in a photo as it does in real life. Here are the “Before” pics. I took a bunch so you could get a good idea of what the starting point is.
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