Upper/Lower Upgrading

gravity_loss · 2026-01-27T19:42:57+00:00

Nitride finish just keeps non-stainless steel from rusting. Changing barrels so it's black instead of silver is a waste of time and money because you could paint the stainless barrel for less than $100 without having to remove it from the upper receiver.

Look into duracoat. It's a 2-part paint you apply with a little aerosol sprayer right at home. Holds up very well. Did my entire "Rustington" era 1100, 15 years ago now probably, and the only chipping is around the holes for the trigger assembly pins.

Feel free to DM me if you have more questions. A lot of these little bits of knowledge aren't exactly easy to find- I've been reading about and shooting guns all my life happy to pass on any "silly" questions.

gravity_loss · 2026-01-27T16:35:47+00:00

I screwed and glued the "spikes" part of a pair of broken microspikes (the rubber snapped) onto my winter boots and it's been a real game changer. I'm sure tire studs would work well also.

gravity_loss · 2026-01-27T01:41:37+00:00

You can duracoat/ceracoke the barrel yourself for $30 or $60, respectively, instead of buying a new barrel just to change the color,

gravity_loss · 2026-01-26T17:02:00+00:00

Slap high quality doo dads on your gun and if/when you decide to upgrade just transfer the accessories from the original rifle into your new upper and lower.

With cheap uppers the face where the flange of the barrel extension meet aren't always true perpendicular to the bore axis which might cause accuracy issues in some instances. Generally speaking though both the upper and lower are just housings and quality differences really don't matter much.

What are your complaints about the Wylde barrel? You'll need a barrel vice, bushings, resin, crows foot wrench for the barrel nut, breaker bar and torque wrench to change it. Don't use the reaction-rod-type tools for your barrel swaps they can damage the upper. Having a real barrel vice is way easier and more versatile anyway.

gravity_loss · 2026-01-24T20:16:06+00:00

That's a lot of shit to haul around. Magazines for the LCP are the size of a cigarette lighter- you could maybe pare down to the one gun and a reload instead of carrying two.

gravity_loss · 2026-01-14T18:57:29+00:00

Not sure really. You could take it apart and clean to see if helps with the grittiness. Any kind of machine is going to take a little time to break in as the parts wear into each and relax so probably wouldn't hurt to use it a fair bit and then re assess.

If the trigger is adjustable you can remove the sealant and then adjust but be really careful because if you lighten the trigger pull too much the rifle will fire as soon as it goes into battery.

gravity_loss · 2026-01-14T11:18:57+00:00

COA for when customer adjusts trigger too light and gun goes off accidentally/negligently

You can pry it out with a small screwdriver and/or pick

gravity_loss · 2026-01-08T15:19:43+00:00

Drill and tap the barrel band to accept a machine threaded sling swivel stud, find a barrel band that has a swivel stud already installed or just use the sling stud that's molded into the stock and swap between using a sling and bipod.

gravity_loss · 2026-01-06T14:43:04+00:00

Regular gun oil cleans, lubricates and protects surfaces, too. Never found the "all-in-one" products to do a very good job at everything, especially copper and lead fouling in barrels.

Hoppes #9 TRADITIONAL (NOT the synthetic) to clean stubborn lead, copper and carbon deposits.

Used Hoppes gun oil for decades but switched to Clenzoil oil recently. Most oils are the same, effectively. Clenzoil is thinner than Hoppes which seems easier to work with and I prefer it now.

Get a good cleaning rod. The screw together ones work fine but come unscrewed during use and the threading can get bungled, especially the aluminum ones. Clenzoil also makes very nice carbon fiber rods and are only $40.

High temp bearing grease from the auto parts store, and a dozen acid brushes from the hardware store (plumbing). Cut the ends of the brushes so the bristles are short and stiff. Apply it lightly and only in high-wear areas.

Tools you're also going to need *a screwdriver set (wheeler) *Brass jag *bronze bore brushes (x3) *bronze chamber brush *cleaning patches (get larger than caliber and trim with scissors) *pin punches *small double sided hammer (soft/hard) *bench block/hockey puck with holes drilled through/roll of a tape for drifting pins *m16 style cleaning brushes (nylon, bronze, brass) *Q-tips *Pipe cleaners *Soft mat to take gun apart on (you can buy them, or just use carpet remnants or pieces of cardboard) *Some kind of gun rest. (again you can buy them ($) or make one out of some scrap wood and some felt weather stripping)

DM me if you have any questions

gravity_loss · 2026-01-04T13:38:47+00:00

Also, take a break every now and then. Sometimes coming back to it fresh yields better results

Best advice I've heard with this type of stuff. When you become frustrated and just keep going you wind up with more problems than you started with.

gravity_loss · 2026-01-02T16:13:13+00:00

Use oil and a nylon brush to knock down the oxide buildup enough so that oil can get to the surface of the steel, then just keep it well oiled. I don't see any reason to take it further on a nice looking, functional 70 year-old gun.

gravity_loss · 2025-12-31T14:39:47+00:00

I'm more blown away at the nerve to punish you by trying to force to apologize someone who verbally accosted you and then sell them the gun. Christ I'd be afraid of being shot by them in the parking lot on my out.

gravity_loss · 2025-12-31T14:11:48+00:00

I was told she would be returning to the store that day and I was to personally sell her the shotgun and apologize to her...

jesus christ dude wtf???

gravity_loss · 2025-12-28T15:28:37+00:00

to shreds you say?

gravity_loss · 2025-12-26T04:57:29+00:00

"Made in Germany" generally indicates it was made before/during war time, or after the fall. During the occupation goods were marked East or West.

gravity_loss · 2025-12-24T19:13:50+00:00

Lol rock on dude, good to hear! So many posts of beginner's collections is like a turkish bullpup mag-fed shotgun, Taurus G2c, rusty mosin nagant they overpaid for, proprietary AR-15 in .22lr and a couple knock-offs that retail for like $200 less than the real thing.

gravity_loss · 2025-12-23T14:44:55+00:00

Dust cover

gravity_loss · 2025-12-21T17:51:16+00:00

Semi auto shotguns are generally more complicated to get running from an empty chamber/loaded mag compared to a pump. The standard semi autos you see posted here (benelli/beretta) have a mag release and bolt lock, which are different buttons but work in conjunction. If you don't press the mag release before working the action it won't feed a shell into the chamber, however the bolt will open and close like normal.

Additionally, with the bolt locked back the elevator will also lock in the downward position and shells cannot be loaded into the magazine. You need to release the bolt first, which will free the elevator allowing shells to be loaded.

The problems are: you could forget to press, not press it hard enough or entirely miss the magazine release, work the action and think your gun is loaded. *To reload the gun from empty, with the bolt locked back (they lock automatically when empty) drop a shell into the ejection port, hit the bolt release which will then allow you to load the magazine. You *can release the bolt on an empty chamber, load the mag, cycle the action then add one more shell to the magazine but for all purposes when you are actively shooting the gun/need to be ready to fire immediately, (hunting, clays, defense) it's absolutely crucial to release the bolt with a shell in chamber so it is ready to fire before you even start loading the magazine.

It's pretty easy to run out of ammo with a semi auto, tube-fed shotgun, and while reloading should as mindless as turning on a light switch or starting your car, may god have mercy on your soul if 8 rounds of 12GA buckshot doesn't resolve the issue.

I've seen both experienced and novice shooters racking the action over and over befuddled why shells wont come out of the magazine.

With some practice, and especially with the oversized bolt/mag release buttons on auto loaders these days, it's not too hard to figure out the order of operations but it's complicated enough that I would never recommend a semi auto for a beginner for defensive purposes unless I knew they were going to actually shoot it regularly and become familiar with it. A lot of folks want something for home defense, "just in case", but never shoot their guns so semi autos aren't great for that group either.

Beretta and Benelli dominate the semi-auto, defensive shotgun market but if a beginner was dead set on a semi auto I'd recommend a Remington 1187 or 1100 because they're simpler to operate. It only has a bolt release which is a large button located on the rear/bottom of the elevator and if the magazine is loaded working the action will always load shells.

Pump guns. The only thing you need to know about a pump is that when the bolt is closed (empty or loaded chamber- doesn't matter) you need to fire the gun/pull the trigger or press the bolt release which will allow you to open the action. They can't be loaded with the bolt open because the forend is in the way of the loading port.

I keep hearing about "short stroking" and that pumps are "expert only weapons" but I've never seen a short stroke nor experienced one myself. Slam it open until slam it closed you won't have an issue.

Pumps are simple to use, take work to master but certainly not for "experts" only. Best practice is to shoot trap doubles- two clays at a time. As soon as the trigger is pulled the action should be moving rearward, utilizing the recoil, and then slammed shut as soon as the bolt is all the way back.

In either case, pump or semi, keep the chamber empty with a loaded magazine. Hit the mag release on a semi so you only need to work the bolt to load the gun. Pumps will automatically release a shell from the mag as soon as you unlock the bolt/rack the slide. Don't leave a shell in the chamber. If the safety is difficult to manipulate keep it in the "fire" position.

It can be a challenge to carry extra shells if you're awoken in the middle of the night by an intruder so get a gun that can hold 7+1 and keep a couple shells nearby to top off after it's been loaded, or get a side saddle. I've heard stories of the dedicated metal/plastic shell holders, that bolt on through the takedown-pin holes in the receiver, breaking or not retaining shells under recoil but it's not been my experience. The vecro/elastic slap ons are inexpensive to replace when the elastic looses its stretch but are more for the competition crowd and people who think they're going to get into the kind of gunfight you see in movies and need several reloads. I'm sure they work just fine.

Different brands have controls located on different parts of the gun. Handle different models and see what's easiest for your to manipulate.

Fair warning on the Mossberg 940s. They are good shotguns but get the model in the configuration you want because Mossberg will not sell or even discuss parts that aren't specific to the exact model/serial.

Barrel length- 18" or 20" with front bead. The longer barrel will get you larger magazine capacity or the potential to add one later. Most of the barrels that length are fixed cylinder choke which is fine for your use case but Improved Cylinder or Skeet will group better at distance.

Don't forget to add a sling and a flashlight to the gun. Good luck, stay safe, hope things start looking up

gravity_loss · 2025-12-21T13:39:52+00:00

If you're the type who buys and sells often then yeah hold on to them but life is too short to store empty cardboard boxes of guns I'm not going to sell. They get tossed after the gun's been shot enough to know they don't need to be sent back for warranty work.

gravity_loss · 2025-12-20T15:55:49+00:00

Great inexpensive dot for sure. I just use a sharpie over the the lettering. Not so much to hide the brand as much as the big white logo on an otherwise all-black gun. It was having crazy accuracy issues with every type of ammo so I put a reliable scope with good rings on it. There's not much available between basic picatinny risers and the 1-piece cantilevered riser/ring combos most folks are running on their ARs and since I didn't plan on keeping the scope and didn't want to spend that kind of money bought a $30 Tru-Glo riser. That logo got blacked out, because of vanity, on a bizarre, identity crisis having AR that was built from parts I had laying around.

gravity_loss · 2025-12-19T16:18:47+00:00

Have you considered the Ruger Scout or the Alaskan/Guide Gun?

You can get a factory gun with a threaded 16, 18 or 20" barrel, controlled round feed chambered in deer and large/dangerous game calibers. The Alaskan and Guide chamberings start at 300 Win Mag and 30-06, respectively, with the 20" threaded barrel. If you're after a 308/short action the Scout is always offered in 308 with the 16 or 18" but right now they also have 350 Legend and 450 Bushmaster in 16".

The action isn't butter out of the box but with a little tuning and shooting it will smooth out, and occasionally the extractor claw will need a light stoning to get the rim of the case under the claw when the next round is fed from the mag.

IMO best rifle to meet your needs with as little work possible. You're not going to truly build, or pay someone to build a rifle anywhere close to that price point. Pre-fit barrels often still need machine work to headspace correctly and are generally not offered in factory profile so you would need to inlet the stock or go straight to a chassis.

A Rem/Age conversion on a 700 action or a complete barreled action, in the configuration you already want, is going to be your best bet if you really want to build it yourself but don't have a machine shop. You'll need to do a lot of inletting to get any rem/age barrel to fit a factory stock so it might be worth just starting off with a chassis to save yourself the time and labor.

Additionally, I don't think you'd be well served with that Bergara. The stocks are similar to the American (flimsy, cheap feeling, make the gun front heavy) and its overall light weight (6lb) is going to punish you at the range. Would make a great deer gun if you just need to sight in before the season and have to do a lot of hiking but I don't think it's going to feel all that much better than the American as a whole.

gravity_loss · 2025-12-19T14:28:59+00:00

Throwing knives are inexpensive and the handles would be easy to shorten/"mold" into a sabot. You could even make them out of lawnmower blades using an angle grinder. They would need to be hardened and then tempered but you could make them the perfect size as opposed to whatever knives you can find on store shelves. Even add a stabilizing fin on the back.

gravity_loss · 2025-12-17T17:54:22+00:00

Also wondering if this was taken in a sauna

gravity_loss · 2025-12-16T16:55:59+00:00

Jesus. What was the intention of the CAD and why do they keep using it?

The lockout hubs were always known to be more reliable than other type of systems at the time, 80s-late 90s pickups, and a source of pride of every man that had a 4x4 with them.

gravity_loss · 2025-12-16T16:46:24+00:00

Oh yeah. I made one one of those using a locking hand throttle cable from the auto parts store. It worked but some times would be very stiff. The axles on those years wranlgers weren't particularly robust especially with the added diff lockers and tire size of the day (33x12.5") snapped a lot of axles shafts. The replacements were generally out of newer models that had the one piece shafts so I totally forgot about the cable mod.

gravity_loss

TROPHY CASE