21NAVY

"Here, one would say, is an arm that is useless for sport, cumbrous for self-defense and could not serve any honest purpose, but which in the hands of political fanatics might provoke disaster" H.B.C. Pollard, British Arms Expert writing in the Saturday Evening Post, 1923 Helmer, Gun that made the twenties roar.

I use plated Berry's in my Colt 28. they work great and don't foul the comp.

I figured it was too expensive to learn to fly helicopters, so I just beat on my chest real hard while I talk on the radio. Same thing:)

I'll weigh in here, not being an expert, I'll put my foot in the water. The gun obviously has been well cared for, a few dings and scratches here and there, I wish my Colt looked that good, but I paid less than half for 10% or so less condition with original wood, a year ago. It's a shame the wood was fooled with on that gun. Based on the price of 39K in this market, I'd think you have room for 2.5 to 3K deduction based on the price, or more. Board folks correct me, but I'm not aware of any higher-end Colt's going for over 32K for quite some time. I'm not disparaging the gun by any means, It's beautiful in every respect, It's just that unfortunately for whatever reason, it's no longer original, and the price based on current market, I believe is overpriced somewhat. The wood can be fixed to look better by a competent colt wood person, ie Deerslayer.

The parts box was built the same size as an XX mag, and will fit in any XX mag slots you may have.

Zeno has a great collection, and is fast and courteous.

I sure hope he's leading a whole, Whole bunch with the Thompson, and close!

History International Channel, Ch 271 on DirecTV is showing a documentary on the SVDM, and the documentary "Crimewave-18 months of Mayhem" tonight. Just finished killing several un-armed and innocent Watermelons with the 28, so might be a fun Thompson TV evening.

Mine arrived today, Very nice, and snug fit. Makes a nice display piece, and a crafty carry case.

Received my new-extra trigger frame from Don @ Omega Weapon Systems in Tucson today. Nice and greasy, not a ding, no grind marks, no electric pencil. Has a very nice GEG cartouche on the strap near the S/N Mill marks aren't too bad. Looking forward to using everyone's tips and getting to work on it.

Baking soda works good, It's a slightly softer finish than small glass beads, and works well on delicate parts. Eastwood has nice home do-it-yourself soda blasting equipment for small projects. The glass beads I use are so small, it's basically dust, and leaves kind of a soft satin finish.

That looks awesome, what was the final grit? I have a big glass bead machine I use on my airplane parts, very small beads, that should take the finish off pretty quickly. That's exactly what I had in mind. I appreciate your posting of the photos. Steve Karnes at Phoenix Enterprise in Palo Verde Ca is going to reblue mine when I'm ready.

I wanted to say thanks to my examiner, Nancy Flannigan, a very nice lady. She had a simple question, and phoned my dealer, he was unresponsive to her call for over 3 weeks. I obtained her number, and we got the question answered and the transfer approved over the phone in 4 minutes. She said they are piled up with transfers, and thanked me for getting mine off her desk. She was extraordinarily courteous and professional, and I very much appreciate what she does for all of us. They are backed up, but be patient, they are a very professional group in my opinion. If you consider what they actually do, approve machineguns for people who want to go shoot, or collect, they do a damn good job of entertaining our self-imposed need to go fast. A government agency run for the only purpose of letting all of us go shoot fast, or quietly, or with a short barrel, pretty amazing to consider, I think.

It's gone to a better place.. You just have to keep reminding yourself that..Someday you'll meet again.

Mine was almost 8 months to the day. That was with a trust, no photos, no Fingerprint cards. Would have been about 3 weeks sooner, the examiner lady called the dealer with one simple 5 second question, and he didn't call her back for 3 weeks. I finally took care of it with her directly. Very nice lady, and she approved the transfer while I was on the phone. Won't be using that dealer again.

Can't tell from the picture, is that the 28 you got from the estate? What's the S/N? Looks nice.

I ordered another Parts kit from Don at Omega Weapons in Tucson, so I'll have it in a couple days ,and git' er' done. I have a colt Mag lever and selector paddles, so hopefully it'll look Colt-Like anyway when I'm done. Thanks for all the tips and tricks.

Some have L sights, most Lyman's He must have had a charmed marriage,,,LUCKY!

I am doing it right now. It will replace my current WH lower. Stripping it is easy enough but the metal was clearly milled with no attention to the finish work. To bring the savage frame to the colt level of finish will require a lot of hand sanding and polish work(actually I do not think the Colt parts were sanded much below 150 or at most 220 grit). I started with 150 grit sand paper and progressed to 320 grit. I cannot sand finer than 320 as I will rust blue the metal and the bluing will not take on a smoother polish. I would recommend buying a set of super fine files for areas that need a little more work. Also you will lighten the safe fire, ect markings no matter how carefully you sand. I can give you the name of an engraver who can restore your lettering. If someone can tell me how to post a pic I can put pictures of my polished savage lower up. It is still in the white. That would be great to see your work. I have wheels in the shop, but will need to do hand work for the nooks and crannies. I figured the Savage trigger frames are so plentiful, it wouldn't be a big deal if I messed it up. I read that Colt had shaped wheels for brushing every contour on the different assemblies. How did you strip the finish?

I range shoot my Colt 28 with a Savage A1 Trigger frame, which obviously dosen't match very well, and I wondered if anyone ever refinished a WWII Trigger frame to the brushed finish and blued it? Seems like it would be a fun little gunsmith project. Might look a little better at the range anyway. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Seems I read somewhere that Colt Rust Blued barrels, and did receivers in carbonia in the ovens, They had like 30 of the big furnaces to do the treatments at Harford. Hope I read right.

Probably so, it is a DS. You don't want those old un-marked parts in your gun. I've got a brand new Savage bolt and lock, never used that will spruce that gun right up. Just send me those un-marked ones, and I'll take care of them for you:)

BTW- I paid $18,500 for a 1928 this year, matching numbers but had Savage internals in the trigger frame, except for the selector paddles. Solid 85% gun, excellent wood plus 3 digit Colt L-drum, 4 patent date 20 rd mags and case. Spent a little money on original colt parts for the lower, and all original now.

well I think I have found exactly what you are talking about and I am about to drop an offer on it. They are asking 29K which from what I have seen is a low opening offer. I agree with Fire Merc, Somewhere between 21 and 24K from what I've seen in the last 6 months. As the previous post said, buy the gun, not the story.

No info in Gordon's book. 7209-7213 all no data. If you have Info, I'm sure Gordon would appreciate it.