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drcook

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Well I have the final and final project going in the DRC - 16ga saga. As I mentioned back when I appeared on this and the Ithacagun forum, I really wanted one of the new Ohio guns but that they just didn't fit me. Always in the back of my mind, I knew one way or another I would acquire my goal.

MK and I always over allocate our taxes so we can take care of business and have some fun money for our individual projects. In the prior years, my money went towards fixing our diesel that we use to pull our travel trailer. This year mine could go for something else.

I found a 1966 model 37 16ga that I bought. I also bought a brand new, yes ! brand new, 16ga receiver from Numrich. They still have 47 of them left. They also have one that is parkerized with no engraving. (which, with the parkerizing removed and a high polish put on it, would look pretty sweet).

The 1966 is in good shape, but the 1970 is in better, so I am going to swap all the internals, mag tube, foreend, stock etc onto the 1970 receiver. The barrel is a field barrel, 28" fixed full choke. I might keep it, might sell it.

I have a load of scrap metal waiting to go the recycler on Earth Day, they give you more than usual on Earth Day. I have enough scrap to buy one of the new Ohio vent rib barrels with choke tubes.

So I will have procured and built myself a platform that fits me (has the corncob foreend also) and has a new barrel.

AND I am going to put one of the old RayBar sights that I got from Walt on the gun to complete the entire project and bring it together.

I will post pics when the gun gets here and as I put it through the stages of finalization.

Then I will have an extra receiver and I was given a 20" barrel. Yes given. There was a barrel bought and cut off, before it was tried and the receiver and the heart wrenching discovery that 225.00 just sailed out the window due to the fact the receiver was pre-855,000.

Eventually, I will either have it threaded for choke tubes, or have a poly-choke put on it and build another youth/lady sized gun when I find another donor receiver.

I also know where there is a 24" vent rib barrel that is threaded for choke tubes. I have a thought about another gun for my wife in the future but it is only a thought at this point, no firm decisions.

I might even sell the extra receiver / 20" barrel to someone who wants to build a gun from parts for their spouse/child/grandchild.
 
Discussion starter · #2 ·
Today I sold the 28" full choke field barrel that came with the gun.

I put a deposit on a 26" and a 24" vent rib barrel that takes screw in chokes. The barrels are King Ferry barrels and are threaded for Colonial choke tubes. One barrel has a modified choke in it, the other a full.

I have a full set of flush fitting Colonial tubes and a full set of extended, steel rated tubes, so I am good to go.

I was thinking about swapping the receivers, but since I got the gun home, I found that there was no wear / carry marks on the receiver, Just on the butt stock and the typical magazine tube marks. I am going to cover them up with Ox-pho until next year and get the mag tube only reblued (maybe).

The other receiver I have and the 24" barrel are going to become a gun for my wife next year or so, as soon as I find a donor gun. I can buy a gun cheaper and take the parts, than I can simply buying the parts.

Woo Hoo. I am at the end of the road now, as far as I am concerned. No more gun buying for myself. Next year when I find the donor gun, I will cut down the factory stock to youth/lady size and get a blank from Macon to fit to this gun.

I will have it put together and with me for the June 26th get together.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
So as you might have inferred by seeing the picture in my thread about assembling a gun for my wife, this project is complete for the near future. Down the road I might restock it in English walnut, but for now, it is exactly what I wanted and fits me just perfect.

I went back through the choke tubes that I received when I bought another gun and I discovered that I even have a choke tube for turkeys. The barrel on this one is a King Ferry and uses Colonial tubes. The picture really does not do it justice as to the degree of bluing and the polishing that was done prior to being blued.

The reason that it might "need" restocked in the future is the pressed in checkering. (Keep in mind, that in this case, "need" is a subjective term, and is being used as justification to come up with a chunk of wood.

While I have read about people actually being able to cut diamonds out of the pressed patterns, I don't see how I could on this one. I have also seen where folks have steamed the pressed pattern out, but it leaves marks and you have to cut new checkering there to try and hide it, and hopefully the fibers weren't broken.

However, as it stands, this gun is going to give the 1956 I have a serious run for being the number 1 gun.

What I would like to know (and this is a serious question, by the way), does any of the board members know what has changed dimensionally to make the current production Ohio guns not fit me, when the older ones do just fine ?

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