Twenty One Gun Projects for under $200

I buy rusty, beat-up, forgotten and unwanted guns....then return them to working status and refinish them. This is a great way to learn the skill of gun refinishing and build an impressive collection of firearms.

The question of cost often comes up during a discussion of my projects.
When calculating the costs, I never include the price of the labor or materials used as the materials can often be reused and my labor would be hard to calculate as I am not a professional and don't really know what my labor would be worth on the open market.

I decided to put this list together to help inspire more people to take up the cause of saving rusty or broken guns. Maybe we won't just be saving guns but possibly creating gunsmiths in the process. Yes, most of these are .22 rifles or shotguns, that is because those are the easiest projects to find for cheap.

So here it is the list of my 21 least expensive projects, all of them came in under $200. 

#1 By far the cheapest project I have ever done was the Lil' Buckeroo project.
It started with the gun below, a J.C. Higgins model 41 (Marlin 100/101). I found it at a yard sale. It was just a barreled action with no bolt or trigger guard, but the price was right at $20

After collecting parts (including lots of extra parts) I decided to make it into a trainer for young shooters. So I cut the barrel down to 16", trimmed the fore stock and butt stock down. Then I refinished  the wood and steel, this is the result:

After selling the extra parts, I came out at -$11.18, that is correct, I made more money selling the extra parts than I spent on the entire project.... a link to the final post of the build

#2 This poor abused Savage-Stevens model 325A came from a local gun store that was liquidating their inventory. I had just finished the Savage-Stevens 325C Deer Stalker project and figured, what the heck, so I brought it home:

I built it up a couple of ways before settling on restoring the gun. I then found a better stock & an original bolt. After selling the spare parts I had only $21.77 invested. See the final installment of the build here

#3 Number three on the list was another single shot .22 rifle. This one is a Stevens model 73. I got it with a bunch of parts and the 870 Wingmaster farther down on this list. The previous owner warned me that I would probably not be able to find a bolt for it.... I ended up finding two of them. Here is what it looked like when I brought it home

After finding the bolt and a suitable butt plate (from a Savage or Stevens gun, but larger) I transformed the gun into what you see below. I even constructed a sling from an old leather belt.
After selling the extra parts I have a total of $22.68 invested. See the last post of the build here

#4 The next one on the list was my first homemade gun, a Tribute to the Richardson Guerilla Gun. A slam fire shotgun using an old (and broken) air rifle stock and some parts from the hardware store. I had a whopping $24.56 invested, see the final post here

#5 Number Five fits here on the list solely because of the purchase price. My Father in Law found this Remington model 58 shotgun for me at a garage sale for $40.00. 

I spent only my sweat in getting it cleaned up, polished and reblued, see the final post of this build here

#6 Coming in at #6 is my Project Mini Magnum. I purchased this beat up Marlin model 25M at a gun shop for $10 + tax. It is chambered in .22 Magnum and came with a decent scope, but no magazine.

After some work and some additional monies invested the result is below. I had a total of $44.50 invested in the rifle (not including the two new magazines it would be $18.50). See the last post here.

#7 This next one I found by accident, while wandering the gun show one day I overheard a table holder trying to sell an old sporterized Type 99 Arisaka to another attendee. The price started at $100 and eventually got down to $35 which included a box of new 7.7mm ammo. When the first attendee balked at the deal, I swooped in and offered to take the deal.

I bought a new recoil pad on ebay for $10 and the performed some mods to the stock and refinished the wood and steel. The final product below has a total investment of $45.00, see the final post of the build here

#8 The next one on the list is another home made gun, ..... sort of. I found  these side plates to a Cobray Derringer kit at the gun show for $1 each. 

I then bought the parts kit as a Christmas gift for my Father, He made a breech plate and we put the whole thing together for only $51.00, see the build here

#9 I traded a 1/5 of Tin Cup Whisky for a couple of project guns and a box of parts. This Remington 870 Wingmaster was one of the projects:

After finding a set of walnut Police stocks for it, I decided to make it into a vintage Police Wingmaster. With a ton of effort and $57.81 invested, this was the result: See the final post of the build here.

#10 I bought #10, a 16 gauge J.C. Higgins bolt action shotgun, for just $80.00. All it really needed was the wood refinished and the trigger guard reblued. 

Here it is after the refinishing

#11 is another $80 shotgun, this one an NEF 12 gauge. I cut the barrel to 18" then polished and reblued it, then I added a butt stock shell carrier/recoil pad for $14 for a total of $94.00

a picture of the old barrel (that I cut off) and the reblued barrel

#12 I bought this Winchester model 77 from the previous owner, who said he had bought it for a "wall hanger", I paid $50 for it. 

With some elbow grease, a few parts and a scope, I turned it into a first rate squirrel gun. Total investment was just $95.83. See the last post of this build here.

#13  In the not too distant past you could buy Marlin model 60s for cheap. I think I have owned 5 or 6 of them and never paid more than $150 for any of them (including one stainless model).

I found the subject of this project at a gun show for just $50. It was rusty and missing a couple of screws. After a complete tear down and cleaning I removed the rust and gave the gun a "Krylon overhaul" by painting everything flat black. I then installed a 3-9x50mm scope and a cheek riser. All in I had $114 invested. See the build here

I have since, completely rebuilt the gun as a bullpup

#14 Another shotgun project. I bought this Sears model 200 12 gauge from a local forum member for $40, it was in rough shape and missing the trigger assembly.

I was gifted a trigger assembly and then found a side saddle and extended mag for cheap, then had a custom stand-off device made, which nearly doubled the investment to $115.00. See the build here

#15 When I first got the bug to restore/refinish guns I was looking for a project and this Hi Standard Supermatic shotgun came along, I paid too much for it ($100) but I really wanted something to work on.

It needed a new butt stock which I found for $20 at a gun show (along with a butt plate for $2), after refinishing the metal and wood, it turned out pretty nice for only $122.00

 #16 The next one on our list is the Born Again Winchester Project. This poor Winchester model 250 was in a house fire, but didn't come in direct contact with the flames or at least not for very long. The springs still held their strength and the wood was charred but not burned to charcoal

With some luck I was able to find new stocks for the gun and a few parts that were needed.
The total investment was $125.40, click here for the final post

#17 This is one of my many 10/22 projects, but the only one on this list. I have been given a lot of 10/22 parts from people, take off barrels (some new, some old), beat up trigger assemblies, old stocks etc...This project started with this modified and painted walnut stock that was included in a box of parts I was given.

I also had a beat up and slightly rusty factory barrel (rust came from storage) and a couple of aluminum trigger housings. I used one of my Kingston steel receivers and modified the stock a little more and the result is below....only $127.50 spent on the project. Click here for the final installment of this build.

#18  Number eighteen is a Ruger Mark II pistol that I picked up for my Father for $125, it needed to be cleaned up and reblued. We added a new set of grip panels (with the red eagle) from a newer Mark II pistol for $10 brining to the total to just $135, see the last post of this restoration here.

#19 Another shotgun, this one a Western Auto Revelation (Mossberg 500). I picked this one up for $40 at a gun show, it needed a new trigger assembly, which cost $60. I then bought a Zombie stock set from Hogue and trimmed the barrel to 19"

Total investment was $140.00

#20 Next up is a Westernfield model 45, which is a brand labeled version of a Savage model 4. I bought the gun years ago in a group of guns. I paid $100 for it. I immediately bought a 10 round magazine for it.

It needed to be refinished, the butt plate was steel and rusty. I added a thin rubber butt pad, refinished the walnut stock and reblued the steel. Total investment was $155.00. See the last post in the restoration here

#21 Number twenty one is another Ruger pistol.

I bought this 1966 vintage Ruger Standard pistol at a gun show for $80, it was missing some parts and needed a refinish. 

After securing the parts, refinishing the gun and selling some old parts I had $195.99 invested. See the final post of the build here 

This is not the end....I have a dozen or more projects waiting in the wings for a chance at redemption.