Thread: Grandfather's .22

I have my fathers old Lithgow Model 12 I learned to shoot with as a kid and likewise used to bring many a hare and rabbit home, and the occasional quail, tut tut. Went home from Uni one summer and found it rusting behind the cowshed water heater in the dairy, full of fucking mason bees, a broken bolt and a barrel bulge just past the fore-end wood. He'd lent it to the sharemilker to shoot rats with. I appropriated it, told him it was now mine. Fortunately the mag was still in it, with rounds loaded !! Cleaned it and took it to a gunsmith in Tauranga, this would be early '80s. He sorted the bolt for me. needed the arm refitted. There was no blue left, but little to no rust pitting, the bore came up shiny, and it still drives tracks. Apparently there is enough barrel past the bulge to re-stabilise the projectile. He persuaded me not to shorten the barrel or to reblue it - just polished it with dry fine steel wool and oiled it. Been like that ever since and I love having it in that original condition. The butt plate has a chunk out of it and the wood is dinged and scratched and dented from kicking around in the wardrobe and living behind the kitchen door all those years. Still does the job any time I want it to and just fits naturally in my hand. The patina is part of it. No more mason bees tho!