How to register a damaged 700 SA?

[Badbob]

Hey folks, got a weird question for ya.

I lived in Colorado. A guy at church gave me a gun that he found in the ruble of destroyed house that was burnt to the ground in the waldo canyon fire. He said the gun sat in the weather in a trash pile for about 10 months.

the gun turned out to be a Rem 700 .243 with scope. Apart from some surface rust the action works!

of course this is a great find and i'd love to use it as a project gun.

But before I start investing in having the action examined etc. etc. etc. I want to know how to approach legal gun ownership.

obviously i don't want to own a gun that was stolen or used in a crime.

Any suggestions how to approach this? Have my friend track down the owner (it was found in a neighborhood). Have my local sheriff run the serial #s?

Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful

Thanks,

Badbob

 

[CatShooter]

It is unlikely that you can locate the owner, unless you know the address of the burned building. Check with the police to see if the serial number is reported, and if not, it is yours.

 

[GSRswapandslow]

does your state register any firearms? If not...run the serial, no hit...you're good to go

 

[LHSmith]

Throw it in the nearest lake and avoid a catastrophic failure trying to shoot that thing.

 

[boltman223]

Before you throw it in the lake you have its Rockwell checked, should be between 38 and 42. I had a rifle that was involved in a fire, I had it checked for $60. If you don't know of any place that test metal call a local gunsmith or machine shop and they should be able to help you out.

P.s. if you are still going to throw it in the lake, send it to me ill even pay for shipping ;D

 

[butchlambert]

Remember Colorado is as gun friendly as Kalifornia.

 

[D-mon]

Could you trace it back the other way around?
Contacting Remington with the serial number in hand, see if they have a record of the FFL they sent it to? At least you will have a rough idea of when that gun was made and where it's journey started.

Nd

 

[mrpistol]

Hello
If the action works and it checks out not to be stolen,and the firing pin spring still throws the firing pin with enough force to set a primer off it should be ok. If it got real hot and layed out side for 10 mounths it would be real rusty and if you compressed the firing pin spring it probably would stay compressed.

 

[Uthink Uknow]

I wouldn't touch that rifle with asbestos gloves. Does a guy at church have a name? Was the loss of the home insured? Was the rifle one of the items claimed as a loss? That rifle may be the rightful property of the insurance company. Even if the rifle could be legally yours, it probably isn't really worth the money to make it useable.

 

[Badbob]

Agreed . . . I plan on having not only the hardness test but the bolt and receiver checked out by a qualified gunsmith.

the trigger and barrel and trashed.

Badbob

 

[Badbob]

Hello
If the action works and it checks out not to be stolen,and the firing pin spring still throws the firing pin with enough force to set a primer off it should be ok. If it got real hot and layed out side for 10 mounths it would be real rusty and if you compressed the firing pin spring it probably would stay compressed.

Action is fine and dry fires. There is no rust on the pin or springs. The shroud is fairly pitted but I think bead blasting will take the rust off. Thx Badbob

 

[Badbob]

I wouldn't touch that rifle with asbestos gloves. Does a guy at church have a name? Was the loss of the home insured? Was the rifle one of the items claimed as a loss? That rifle may be the rightful property of the insurance company. Even if the rifle could be legally yours, it probably isn't really worth the money to make it useable.

these are all good questions and I share your concerns. As far as I know some criminal torched it and tossed it in a pile up there. I'll go back to my friend at church and see if I can get more details before dumping cash into it. Badbob

 

[LHSmith]

Well,you never said what the state of the stock and scope were....this would give a better idea on what the unit might have went through. If it was actually in a house that "burned to the ground", what makes you believe the action was not subjected to damaging heat? Again, if it was me I'd toss it and put the temptation to sink money into it out of my mind.

 

[Badbob]

Well,you never said what the state of the stock and scope were....this would give a better idea on what the unit might have went through. If it was actually in a house that "burned to the ground", what makes you believe the action was not subjected to damaging heat? Again, if it was me I'd toss it and put the temptation to sink money into it out of my mind.

Fair enough .. . stock totally consumed, scope charred but glass not cracked.

I do metal working for a living. if the action got hot and slowly cooled it would have simply lost any temper it had. It would need to be heat treated again to regain its temper. Metal doesn't crack or split when heated. it could warp if it was unevenly heated and cooled. That is why I'll have a gunsmith inspected it. I know how to measure steel and can check straightness and tolerances myself. I think if it checks out it would be worth a new barrel, trigger, stock, and scope.

I'll keep you posted how it turns out.

Badbob

 

[robbor]

Do you have a pic of the gun BB??? it would be interesting to see it..
My uncle had a house fire in Az and lost all his guns, they sat in a pile outside rusting for years.
Im talking hall actioned customs, remington 40x 1.2" barreled 222 and lots more all with leupold scopes all destroyed, was a horrible shame.
As far as running it i dont believe a privater person can run a serial number without trying to do a transfer, or taking it to the sherriffs dept and having them possibly confiscate it. If you really want to be legal your best bet is to contact the county assessors office and have them give you contact information for the owner of the property and then contact the owner and getting something in writing. But having seen guns from a fire you are taking a big risk on the metalurgy Also having tried to hear treat metal with little to no experience, its not that easy to produce a part with minimal warpage. And i want to say some element i think burns away slightly each time its heated so it may not heat treat like you think and then you have to heat again to temper asi i recall. you need to find someone with a rockwell tester first to see if it even needs it.

 

[Badbob]

Rockwell tested the receiver today it the bottom averaged c30. I believe that is in specs. I think the next step will be to find a gunsmith to remove the old barrel and inspect all the parts.

Just a quick update.

Badbob

 

[Badbob]

Gave the parts a citric acid wash and scrub yesterday. Looking good. Next step remove the barrel and get the action check out by a gunsmith and bead blasted and ready for finish. I think I'm going add a new barrel chambered 6mmbr for target, antelope and long distance PDogs.

Badbob

 

[CatShooter]

Very few gunsmiths have the tools to check receiver hardness.

 

[boltman223]

Bob, Remington specs are c38-41 or 42. I know this only becausei have gone through the same thing.

 

[Badbob]

Bob, Remington specs are c38-41 or 42. I know this only becausei have gone through the same thing.

Boltman, where did you get those specs? Everything I've read says it should be around 30. The Ti receivers measured in the 40s, I believe.

Thx for your input. Badbob