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- Oct 4, 2005
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I have wanted a little 32 inline for a long time but never could locate one since none are really made. We all know that finding a GMB is really not an option. Some of Squeeze's Posts on his Mountaineer conversion and then the little Allen .36 just added fuel to the Fire. I had many Pm's exchanged with Squeeze to pick his brain since he is pretty experienced with the little .32, and did some reading of some articles he sent me. I had pretty much made up my mind on the specs I wanted to try out. So I finally could not stand it any longer and took the Plunge.
I sent and Email to the Gun Works/Oregon Barrel Co in Oregon with some questions and about availability of the action and the Twist I wanted. I initially was planning on using the same Allen action that Squeeze used for his .36cal. For the Barrel I had planned on a Tapered Octagon barrel 7/8 dia, 24" long, tapering to .700 at the muzzle and having a 1 in 30" twist. This rifle has a little deeper rifling as I am only planning to use Patched Round balls. A couple days later I got an email from Joe and Suzi from Gun Works asking for a Phone number to call me and discuss some options. Joe called and we talked over my specs. I had also told him this was to be used a squirrel hunting rifle and the reason I had selected the 1 in 30 twist over the standard 1 in 48 was to simulate the twist TC used in the Cherokee that allowed the use of lighter loads to simulate 22LR velocities and not Tear Up the squirrels too bad. He said the more he read the email the more it made since and thought it was a pretty neat project. Then told me that he could get the Allen action but had another option that I might be interested in. He had bought up a load of Ridge Runner .54 caliber rifles and thought it would be a good option for the build. The Ridge Runner was also a Plunger style rifle but had a Removable Breech plug and came with a 209 Adapter. The Plug is threaded with 1/4"x 28 threads so you only have to unscrew the adapter and install a standard 1/4" x 28 nipple to use #11 caps. The hammer has a small dimple in the flat face to strike the primers. The hammer has a cocking handle that can be rotated over from the right side to the left so is ambidextrous. The action and barrel are threaded so they only had to unscrew the .54 cal barrel and fit the new barrel to the action. The Action is also pre drilled from the mfg to accept Weaver #61 bases. The trigger is a Knight/Timney style trigger that has 2 adjustment screws. It had a hardwood stock with it. Joe has the Rifle itself on sale for $99 and since it is a threaded action and is already tapped it was a pretty easy decision to give it a try.
I ordered it on July 1 and the Brown Truck dropped it of last Monday! artyman: Joe called me just before shipping it out. I was surprised they got it done so quick, and he explained that Him and His Barrel Maker (the machinist that works for him) was so interested in the build that they sort of jumped in and wanted to see how it would come out. When they were done the Machinist told Joe that he wanted to build one just like it for himself but in .40 caliber, Joe said he thought about it all of one minute and told him to build 2 (one for each of them). :lol: Joe also requested me to "Let them know how it shoots". Said if it does well they might build a few to sell.
Due to having to go out of state for work this week I was not able to do too much prep work on the rifle. Today was my first real chance to study it. I took it all apart, (very easy to dismantle) and did a major cleaning to remove all the Rust Preventative and grease. Since the rifle was a pretty cheap Italian Made rifle it has some burrs here and there especially around the holes. I removed the burrs and cleaned out all the holes with taps. The action seems pretty well made and pretty strong. It has a recoil lug/ Mounting bolt installed in a dove tail similar to the Knights. I did have to take a center punch and tighten the dovetail a little so the block would not move around but that was no to much trouble. The barrel starts out round at 7/8" and then changes to an Octagon and is tapered to .710 but I guess they did have one small mistake and instead of finishing it at 24" it was 26". The flats look to be timed perfectly for install of Iron sites if I wanted them and also a thimble. The Bore is very smooth and feels even over its entire length. The newly Barreled action goes right back into the Hardwood stock that came with the original rifle and just looks like it was Floated. I plan to use it as is for the moment and then this winter I plan to carve my own Black Walnut stock. During My last trip Home to Ohio I went through the huge stock pile of rough lumber that my dad has in the barn. He has had several WoodMizer saw mills and used to cut wood on Halves sometimes when he got onto something interesting he wanted. We found he had some thick boards that I was able to get a couple nice blanks out of and it came from either our farm or one of the neighboring farms he said. So it is Wood From Home for me!
I am thinking of just cold bluing it myself but am also contemplating sending it to Someone like Black Ice. So till I decide the finish, and that I don't want to make any changes, it may just stay in the white for the next several weeks.
So here is my new .32 caliber Inline.
With 209 Module installed. Breech plug is slotted and I can use the same Knight Tool to remove it. 8)
This shows that the end cap is open and lets the plunger stick out as a cocking indicator.
The Trigger on the left is a Timney from my MK-95.
This is the Stock blank I plan to cave out for this rifle later this winter. I hope to remove most of the white stuff and keep all of the sunburst. That sunburst goes all the way though and is on the other side too. 8)
Hope the weather cools off and the club range is open with no matches soon so I can go shoot it.
I sent and Email to the Gun Works/Oregon Barrel Co in Oregon with some questions and about availability of the action and the Twist I wanted. I initially was planning on using the same Allen action that Squeeze used for his .36cal. For the Barrel I had planned on a Tapered Octagon barrel 7/8 dia, 24" long, tapering to .700 at the muzzle and having a 1 in 30" twist. This rifle has a little deeper rifling as I am only planning to use Patched Round balls. A couple days later I got an email from Joe and Suzi from Gun Works asking for a Phone number to call me and discuss some options. Joe called and we talked over my specs. I had also told him this was to be used a squirrel hunting rifle and the reason I had selected the 1 in 30 twist over the standard 1 in 48 was to simulate the twist TC used in the Cherokee that allowed the use of lighter loads to simulate 22LR velocities and not Tear Up the squirrels too bad. He said the more he read the email the more it made since and thought it was a pretty neat project. Then told me that he could get the Allen action but had another option that I might be interested in. He had bought up a load of Ridge Runner .54 caliber rifles and thought it would be a good option for the build. The Ridge Runner was also a Plunger style rifle but had a Removable Breech plug and came with a 209 Adapter. The Plug is threaded with 1/4"x 28 threads so you only have to unscrew the adapter and install a standard 1/4" x 28 nipple to use #11 caps. The hammer has a small dimple in the flat face to strike the primers. The hammer has a cocking handle that can be rotated over from the right side to the left so is ambidextrous. The action and barrel are threaded so they only had to unscrew the .54 cal barrel and fit the new barrel to the action. The Action is also pre drilled from the mfg to accept Weaver #61 bases. The trigger is a Knight/Timney style trigger that has 2 adjustment screws. It had a hardwood stock with it. Joe has the Rifle itself on sale for $99 and since it is a threaded action and is already tapped it was a pretty easy decision to give it a try.
I ordered it on July 1 and the Brown Truck dropped it of last Monday! artyman: Joe called me just before shipping it out. I was surprised they got it done so quick, and he explained that Him and His Barrel Maker (the machinist that works for him) was so interested in the build that they sort of jumped in and wanted to see how it would come out. When they were done the Machinist told Joe that he wanted to build one just like it for himself but in .40 caliber, Joe said he thought about it all of one minute and told him to build 2 (one for each of them). :lol: Joe also requested me to "Let them know how it shoots". Said if it does well they might build a few to sell.
Due to having to go out of state for work this week I was not able to do too much prep work on the rifle. Today was my first real chance to study it. I took it all apart, (very easy to dismantle) and did a major cleaning to remove all the Rust Preventative and grease. Since the rifle was a pretty cheap Italian Made rifle it has some burrs here and there especially around the holes. I removed the burrs and cleaned out all the holes with taps. The action seems pretty well made and pretty strong. It has a recoil lug/ Mounting bolt installed in a dove tail similar to the Knights. I did have to take a center punch and tighten the dovetail a little so the block would not move around but that was no to much trouble. The barrel starts out round at 7/8" and then changes to an Octagon and is tapered to .710 but I guess they did have one small mistake and instead of finishing it at 24" it was 26". The flats look to be timed perfectly for install of Iron sites if I wanted them and also a thimble. The Bore is very smooth and feels even over its entire length. The newly Barreled action goes right back into the Hardwood stock that came with the original rifle and just looks like it was Floated. I plan to use it as is for the moment and then this winter I plan to carve my own Black Walnut stock. During My last trip Home to Ohio I went through the huge stock pile of rough lumber that my dad has in the barn. He has had several WoodMizer saw mills and used to cut wood on Halves sometimes when he got onto something interesting he wanted. We found he had some thick boards that I was able to get a couple nice blanks out of and it came from either our farm or one of the neighboring farms he said. So it is Wood From Home for me!
I am thinking of just cold bluing it myself but am also contemplating sending it to Someone like Black Ice. So till I decide the finish, and that I don't want to make any changes, it may just stay in the white for the next several weeks.
So here is my new .32 caliber Inline.
With 209 Module installed. Breech plug is slotted and I can use the same Knight Tool to remove it. 8)
This shows that the end cap is open and lets the plunger stick out as a cocking indicator.
The Trigger on the left is a Timney from my MK-95.
This is the Stock blank I plan to cave out for this rifle later this winter. I hope to remove most of the white stuff and keep all of the sunburst. That sunburst goes all the way though and is on the other side too. 8)
Hope the weather cools off and the club range is open with no matches soon so I can go shoot it.