The only practical way of learning how to repair and work on firearms is to get your hands dirty and work on 'em. That requires guns, and you don't necessarily want to work on or modify your prized Parker or Winchester. You need inexpensive project guns whose sole function is to provide you with opportunities to develop and test your skills. Gunsmithing books are indispensable when it comes to learning new techniques and procedures. There is often just no other way of picking up the information you need. But there is one area where many, if not most, gunsmithing books are causing problems and not addressing the needs of today's gunsmith hobbyists. In many of the older gunsmithing books, especially those written before or during the 1950s and '60s, you will find lots of emphasis on sporterizing military rifles.

(T) Remington Model 514, (C) Stevens Model 15-B, (B) Remington Model 33

That was all well and good when military surplus Mausers, Springfields, and Enfields were plentiful and often incredibly cheap up through the late '60s. I can remember paying less than $25 for good 98 Mausers, and British Lee-Enfields were even cheaper. Military surplus rifles were of little or no interest to most collectors at that time, and the supply seemed to be inexhaustible. Most of these rifles were bought by hobbyists and were converted into sporters. Some were extensively modified with new barrels, stocks, and sights while others simply had the forend of the military stock cut and any unnecessary military hardware, such as bayonet lugs, barrel bands, etc., discarded. The workmanship varied from outstanding to just plain awful.

Contemporary collectors often condemn the "mutilation" of those military rifles, but a lot of good gunsmiths perfected their skills with work on these rifles. In fact, back when I attended gunsmithing school, many of the schools required that you sporterize or convert several military surplus bolt actions.

There are some military surplus rifles still available, but the better candidates for traditional gunsmithing projects are also very desirable as collectables. Keep in mind that there are a lot more military rifle collectors now than there were 40+ years ago, and these folks tend to buy up good rifles.

Winchester 1906, To get good at gunsmithing you have to get your hands dirty working on guns. Inexpensive U.S.-made .22 rimfire rifles afford many good gunsmithing opportunities.

So what's a budding gunsmith to do? What can you use for project guns if inexpensive military bolt actions are not readily available? (And as point of reference, I tend to think of good project guns as typically costing less than $100.)

Well, there are a number of possibilities. Although traditionally we think of converting or sporterizing military rifles, why not work on U.S.-made sporting firearms? With every passing year more and more older sporting rifles and shotguns come onto the market, and many of 'em actually drop in value as time passes. As new models are introduced each year, older firearms are relegated to the back of the closet or to the "cheap" rack at the local gunshop.

Shotguns are also readily available for gunsmithing projects. This Remington Model 11 is basically sound and a good candidate for repair. By working on it the hobbyist can learn a lot about how long recoil shotguns function.

Most of these firearms would be ideal for hobbyists. Not only are they inexpensive, they also offer lots of opportunities for customization, repair, or refinishing. In fact, if you really want to develop your gunsmithing skills, these older, used firearms can actually provide more opportunities for various types of work than the traditional Mauser or Springfield conversion.

Finding Project Guns
My first recommendation is the .22 rimfire rifle--the common, ordinary .22 rifle. Lord knows how many millions of .22s have been produced here in the U.S. as bolt-action single shots, bolt-action repeaters, lever-action repeaters, semiautomatics, and pumps. While there are some very desirable collectables, such as the Winchester pumps, many others are just seen as old. (And don't worry about pitted bores. Lining a .22 barrel is an excellent project for a hobbyist.) These rifles often can be purchased for very little money.