Reminington Riders

[Kyle1886]

I recently acquired a Remington & Sons Riders 1871 magazine pistol, .extra 32 short, I think. It appears to function well however there are patches of surface rust in the barrel. It doesn't look as if it is pitted but in a couple of the lands it a bit "darker" than surface rust. What is the best way to attempt to remove the rust. I just swabbed the bore with Break Free and remove a lot of the surface rust. Right now I have the Break Free "soaking" in the bore. Is naval jelly to strong? I don't think the jelly will be too good on the outter surface. Thanks for any insight on the rust and any other info on the pistol.

Respectfully
Kyle

 

[rcmodel]

Naval Jelly is for rusty Battle Ships.
Don't even get it close to a gun, especially a rare gun like yours.

I would suggest you pick up some JB Bore Paste and get what rust out of the bore you can out with that.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1160/Product/J_B_reg__NON_EMBEDDING_BORE_CLEANING_COMPOUND

Perhaps if the bore is really rusted, you could try some 0000 (Extra Fine) steel wool & oil on a bronze bore brush. It will not hurt the rifling, but it will get all the rust that is going to come out.

DO NOT try to polish it up like a new gun.
To do so will ruin any collector value it might have.
Collectors prefer the original patina be left alone.

Your gun appears to be nickle plated, so do not use any strong chemicals or solvents on it.
CLP & a soft rag would be about the upper limit of any chemical cleaning that should be done.

rc

 

[Kyle1886]

Thanks RC for the link and info. The outer surface is in pretty good shape as well as the wood.

Thanks
Kyle

 

[rcmodel]

I doubt the grips are original to the gun.
They don't look right down at the bottom grip projection.
And they are very new looking wood for a 125 year old gun.

rc

 

[Kyle1886]

I can't tell if it's original wood or not, but they do fit in the frame cut out I don't know the complete provenance on the piece other than the fellow that gave it to me stated it has been in his family for about 75+ years. Next time I see him I ask more questions. Thanks for bringing that up.

Kyle

 

[rcmodel]

Gave it too you?
Yikes!

Hope you thanked him profusely!

Even a fairly rough one is worth a grand or more.

rc

 

[Kyle1886]

Correct, he gave it to me yesterday. A neighbor that I took shooting a couple of times. His Dad had a stroke a while back and gave him a safe full of old and new firearms. The Dad can no longer shoot. Young fellow, maybe 45 or so. I'll hang on to it for while and make sure he doesn't change his mind, but he was pretty emphatic that I have it. (His wife hates guns, and folks that "play cowboy" with them. Hate to break it to her, but I haven't been on a horse in 50+ years and don't intend on getting on one now).

Is there a way to see if it is new wood? The back strap screw is buggered up some but the handle screws don't look too bad; maybe some slight denting on the clockwise side as in tighting.

I do appreciate your feed back RC.

Thanks--Kyle

 

[Oyeboten]

Hi Kyle,


The Left side Stock appears to be quarter Sawn Redwood, or, possibly some species of Cedar...

The right side Stock, hard to tell, but, might be Rosewood, or, maybe, a Walnut, but also quarter sawn.

They lack an escutcheon, the Wood fibers on the Left side Stock, are being crushed by the Screw.

They do not look right for the Gun...but, who knows, the right side one maybe had been refinished at some point, and could be original.


Can you remove them carefully to see what the other side looks like?


And or, make some more close up images?

 

[Kyle1886]

Oyeboten, I'll take off the wood and try to post a couple of pics in a bit. I did ask the young fellow last night about the wood and he stated that he buffed it with wood finishing steel wool. As far as orginal wood, he is going to ask his Dad, though the Dad may not remember due to the stroke.

Thanks.

Kyle

 

[Kyle1886]

More pics

Here are more pics. You guys are probably correct that is is not original wood. Given that, in opinions how much is a factor to a collector? I know, depends on the collector, but in general.

Note: Pic 3 is the frame side of the wood.

I really appreciate the feedback.

Kyle

 

[Kyle1886]

More

Last two pics.

Thanks again.
Kyle

 

[rcmodel]

I really can't tell.

They came with rosewood grips with no escutcheons, apparently with a clear varnish finish. That picked up oil & dirt through the years and turned them very dark as shown in the two photo's of orginial guns I posted in #4.

The color & grain of yours could be rosewood with the finish taken off. The back sides do look right.

It would have been better if old dad had left them alone for sure.

rc

 

[Kyle1886]

Well, I took the Rider to a gun shop, one of the older guys that deals with the antique firearms, says "maybe, could be", and two other gents said "yes" and "no" respectfully. I was told that there is a Remington forum that caters to Riders, so I'll see what I can find out there. If you guys come up with other ideas/opinions they will be appreciated.

Note: They did look up Riders in their "Remington" book and some of the wood was "oiled rosewood/walnut, etc", as well as "laquered", and "pearl". There was another finish, but can't remember right now. Anyway, I doubt if it's orginal.

Thanks
Kyle

 

[Sunray]

"...Naval Jelly is for rusty Battle Ships..." It's for rust in general, but I wouldn't use it on that pretty little fellow. Mind you, if the barrel is heavily rusted, it's likely heavily pitted too. Means it wasn't cleaned properly after shooting BP cartridges.

 

[Jim K]

IMHO, the grips are original, but mismatched and not from the same gun; one looks like rosewood and the other like walnut, because that is what they are.

Jim

 

[Kyle1886]

Is there a source for the cartridges, extra short .32 rim fires? (Not to be shot with this pistol but to accompany it). Yes, there is pitting toward the breech end of the bore. It is difficult to get a bore brush/rod to the back of the bore due to what I think is the "ejector". It's do-able but takes effort, three hands and patience, so I can see why it may not have been cleaned properly in the past.

Thanks for all the input and opinions so far, it is appreciated.

Regards,
Kyle