TINCANBANDIT's Gunsmithing : June 2022

I know this post is going to ruffle some feathers. It is not meant to make fun of or publicly humiliate those that chose to embellish an inexpensive or cheap firearm. I am also not suggesting that all of the firearms featured here are "turds"...some are very well built and designed weapons.
This is purely for entertainment:

They say that you can't polish a turd (although Mythbusters proved that to be incorrect), but you can roll it in glitter!

Some people feel compelled to try it anyway. They spend good money after bad by modifying or accessorizing a gun well beyond what a sane person would call reasonable.

The Urban Dictionary defines it as: The act of trying to make something hopelessly weak and unattractive appear strong and appealing. An impossible process that usually results in a larger, uglier turd.

It is not so much that the original gun was crap, but just that it is not deserving (in my opinion) of the enrichment put upon it.

We have all seen these ones.....someone buys a $100 Mosin-Nagant surplus rifle.
These are good shooters and worth every penny of the $100, partly because surplus 7.62x54R ammo is (was?) plentiful and cheap, but also because they have some history behind them.

For those new to the gun hobby, there was once a time that you could walk into almost any gun store and buy a 91/30 for $100, sometimes less. I bought my 1937 91/30 hex received at Big 5 Sporting Goods for $89 + tax.

Leaving them as they left the arsenal is how they should stay, again, in my opinion.
There was as time when sporterizing a military rifle was necessary, not so much anymore.

Please don't get offended if you are one of those guys who spent several hundred dollars on your Mosin, maybe you had good reason, but for $300-$400 you can buy a new sporting rifle in your choice of chamberings from a quality manufacturer like Savage, Winchester, Remington or Ruger. For the same amount or less you can buy a good used rifle from one of these makers. So why not just leave the Mosin alone and buy a pre-built sporting rifle?

Some day we will be cursing those who cut up a Mosin, just as we do those who cut up the '03 Springfields and 98K Mausers sixty-seventy years ago.....

Anyway..... the point of this post is to entertain you with pictures of guns people spent way too much time and effort "polishing a turd".
I wonder how much time and money was spent making custom wood grips (nice figure on 'em too) for a $200 gun? (maybe they're plastic??)

What do you suppose it costs to Hydro-Dip a pistol? Add that to the value of this Hi-Point and you may be able to buy a used Ruger or Taurus....perhaps this was a sample project for the Hydro-dipper?

This Rossi is probably worth a bit more than what it sold for when new, but only because of the novelty of owning a gold plated, engraved gun....does it make sense to do this to a budget priced gun?

The quality of most Erma made guns were questionable and this .22 PPK copy was actually recalled due to its tendency to slam fire....but go ahead spend hours engraving it anyway

A Raven? Really?

I read that Jennings once offered their J-22 & J-25 pistols with some factory engraving on the slides.....

The Astra Cub

Another cheap Spanish made gun. I have some experience with these Llamas, I have not been impressed with their build quality, but apparently the owner of this one was. Someone spent all that time spent engraving and they keep the ugly plastic stock grip panels....I guess they resisted the temptation to go "all in".

Another Llama, they even nickel plated this one....maybe it was the personal side arm of Francisco Franco?

These Rough Rider revolvers (cheap copy of the Colt Scout) sell for $150-$200 new, and 1/2 that used.....

I actually own this same model bolt action shotgun, JC Higgins model 583.2 (see my stock refinish here). These are great, but even on a good day they only fetch $100. So why someone would engrave it and put a high polish blue job on it is beyond me....

The pictures above were found freely on the world wide web and are used under the guidelines of Fair Use, per Title 17 of the U.S. Code. Where possible the source has been credited.
If you own the copyright to any of these images and wish them to be credited or removed, please contact me immediately.