[Montkun]

So I was about to lay down for my mid-afternoon nap when one of my aunts called me. She was cleaning out one of the closets of her fathers old house when she came across an old shotgun sitting in the back. She remembered how it got there, but it's not exactly under the best of circumstances so i'll skip the back story.

It's a 1971 Winchester Model 37A single shot 12 GA. chambered for 2 3/4" - 3" shells. Of course after sitting in the closet for about 30 years, there's surface rust coating the barrel and receiver and the front bead is missing. I rubbed it with a little motor oil to show the engraving and stampings on the barrel at least. Now to find a gunsmith to possibly refinish the bluing and make sure it's in proper firing order. It's always fun to get free guns, even if it costs me $100 or so to get it back to right again. I'd like to keep the furniture just as it is, mostly because I believe it adds character to a gun.

 

[TexasAviator]

Nice find, and nice of her to think about you!

I agree, I like character in a firearm as well!

 

[rcflyer]

Nice gun. If she finds anymore that you and her don't want, give me a call. In all seriousness that is a very nice find.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Nice single shot! Hope you can get it working and looking good!

 

[aquajim]

Nice find, and nice of her to think about you!

I agree, I like character in a firearm as well!

I agree.

 

[BigSkiff]

Nice find. That's a good starter for a teenager too.

 

[Montkun]

After looking up the possible value of the gun, I think is might be more worthwhile to make this a refinishing project of my own. I finally got the barrel open after using some penetrating lube to break the outer seal of grime and corrosion. There was about an inch and a half of plaster flakes built up inside, but the hammer cocks fine and the firing pin still extends with no problems. So my next step will have to be removing the stock and getting down to cleaning off that rust on the exterior.

 

[Johnny]

0000 steel wool, gun oil and elbow grease. It takes the rust off and leaves what bluing is still stuck on there. Don't use sand paper it will take the bluing off!

 

[gbusmech]

Cool gift. I also have an attic find shotgun but the butt stock is broken it's an old Stevens single barrel 12ga. mod -97A- if anyone has a used butt stock lying around....

 

[MOONDAWG]

I'd be willing to bet every farm & ranch in the country has one in a closet.

Great old work horses.

 

[JimSheldon]

Cool gift. I also have an attic find shotgun but the butt stock is broken it's an old Stevens single barrel 12ga. mod -97A- if anyone has a used butt stock lying around....

View attachment 20571

Check Numrich gun parts ( http://www.e-gunparts.com/ ) and see if they don't have a stock available for that old Stevens 97A. Those people have tons of that kind of stuff in their warehouse and they just might have one. If they do, the price is usually fairly reasonable unless it's a really rare item and then they jack it through the roof.

 

[RevolverFan]

Neat find! I just got rid of it's predecessor, the Winchester 370, to help fund a Taurus purchase. Your 37A is a little better built than the 370 (both built in Winchester's Cobourg, Ontario Canada factory). The ultimate find would be a Winchester 37. It's the original, pre-Canadian model, and it's built like a tank! By the way, you can get an owner's manual for it on eBay for around $7, and there are spare parts to be had on GunBroker if you should need them....

 

[glenwolde]

Duracoat it. In purple.

 

[dbeardslee]

Cool. That'll be a fun project.

 

[harley 1986]

You might try bronze wool vs steel wool.. Its a little more forgiving.
Sometimes homedepot or lowes might have it. or Brownells BRONZE WOOL - Brownells

 

[rodfair]

If you use steel wool be sure to use a magnet on the parts you have "wooled" If you go to Grainger they should be able to supply you with the equivalent in "scotchbrite" with the same roughness. If not grainger then a metal refinishing shop. Steel wool leaves miniscule pieces of steel that will rust.

 

[Harrychl]

Hey, that's really nice! A little work and she'll be looking good as new! I'm like you, I like the stock as she looks...Lucky guy

 

[btleslie]

Nice surprise.

 

[Lil Beaver]

I'd be willing to bet every farm & ranch in the country has one in a closet.

Great old work horses.

While I am sure that there are a lot of old single tube shotguns stashed around the country. The real problem is finding them, believe me I know! I have my fathers old Hopkins and Allen 12ga. sgl. shot and it is missing the forearm, which my brother lost back in the 50's, in the mean time somebody lost the butplate and stock bolt before I got ahold of it. I found a local gun dealer who came up with a replacement stock bolt and I ordered the forearm and butplate from Numeric Arms, when I got the parts the forearm was the wrong one ( it fit the model with the takedown mechenism on the left side of the receiver ) and the butplate was a generic!

Low and behold when I had taken my wife to Duluth last summer for a doctors appointment with specialist I done what I usually do while sitting around in a motel room and browsed through the YELLOW PAGES and found a bait shop / gun shop within just a few miles of the motel and only about a mile off our route home. I stopped in and started looking around and when I walked around the corner of one of the aisles there was a H & A 12ga. sgl., again it was the takedown model but it had the original H&A butplate and the stock was in very good condition ( Dad's had a chip out of the wrist area on the Right side ). I haggled with him on the price and ended up buying it for the stock and butplate. While on the way home my wife said if Ihadn't bought it she would have belted me one in the chops and bought it herself!!!

I still need the forearm for the model without the takedown lever, anybody out there with a forearm for this?