I already reload and keep 30-30 Win ammo as I have a Winchester model 94 in that caliber, so adding another rifle with the same chambering was an easy decision.
See my Featured Gun post on this rifle here
I decided to name this Project Deer Stalker because it seems like the perfect deer gun for the woods or brush, areas where you need a lightweight, short, easy to handle rifle. The same reasons Ruger used the name for their .44 Carbine. Ruger was forced to drop the name because of a similar sounding name being used by Ithaca (Deer Slayer).
The first step is a thorough inspection....I had checked the bore before buying the gun and it was shiny and sharp.
Here are the before pictures:
The rear sight is a Marbles and the front one looks different than some of the others I have seen, this may be one of the changes made from the 325B or maybe from a model 340?
very light corrosion on the barrel
Here are the cracks in the wrist, they look pretty serious
The butt plate has seen better days
There is a large chunk missing from the grip cap area.
When I removed the stock there was some rusting on the barrel where the barrel band rides.
Because I didn't have much in the gun and it needed a new stock, I took the plunge and bought a beautiful stock that was made for a model 340. The stock will fit, I may need to make room for my bolt handle (which is different than the model 340).
The butt pad looks like a correct reproduction unit, but the screws should be slotted. I'm pretty sure I have some correct ones in my stash. If not I can restore the originals. I am not going for a perfect restoration, I just like to have them look "period correct", meaning that the mods and parts match what was available when the gun was first purchased
I also have this nice Amish made 1" buffalo hide sling that I purchased on ebay. It will look perfect on this rifle.
Plans:
First on the list is to shoot the gun and see how it runs.
Second would be to fit the new stock to the gun
Then I plan making this one of the nicest 325Cs ever by:
- polishing to a high shine and rebluing the metal
- polishing and nitre bluing the screws
- polish the bolt and bolt handle to a high shine
- adding sling swivels and the leather sling.
I took a box of reloads that chambered and took the gun out to shoot.
The gun chambered, fired and extracted the reloads without fail. I fired a couple of magazines full of ammo.
The empty cases showed no signs of an abnormal chamber, no scratches and no blow-by. The dimples in the primer, were not perfectly centered, but pretty close.
A picture of the bore, dirty, but no signs of rust when I cleaned it
All in all it showed to be a good investment.
On with the refinishing.