Remington 141 Facelift

I love to work on guns that haven’t crossed my path before. Recently, a customer brought a tired old Remington 141 into my shop that just begged to be worked on. I’ve never been a big fan of the pump action in any type of firearm but this one had the twin attraction of being a gun I had never worked on and chambered in .35 Remington, a caliber I have never used. Topped off by along-discontinued Balfour scope and Pachmayr mount, it was a combination I couldn’t pass up.

Everything worked as it should but the old girl had definitely seen some time in the field and was pretty tired. There was light, scattered pitting on the receiver and barrel, bluing wear on the high spots, and the stock finish had seen better days. All in all, it was the perfect specimen for a bit of customizing and refinishing. The Model 141 followed on the heels of the Model 41 and is a sleeker, reliable, and handy rifle. It was manufactured from 1935- 1950 with the exception of the war years.

About 76,881 were made. One of the attractions of the gun is the pre-war craftsmanship. The action is smooth and reliable, and the fit of wood to metal is excellent. It is all steel and walnut, so it is attractive and parts rarely break or wear out. The pump action was produced to compete with lever action guns from Winchester and Marlin in an action type that many American hunters are well acquainted with.

What could be more natural for a hunter that grew up with a pump shotgun than to take to the deer woods with a rifle with the same type of action? Unlike the Winchester Model 94, a scope can be mounted on top of the action and its spiral magazine tube keeps the points of the bullets off the primers, allowing it to safely handle spitzer bullets with their higher retained velocity; something neither the Winchester or Marlin lever guns can do safely. Customizing old guns is always a controversial subject.

Collectors want old guns left in the same configuration as they were when they left the factory and insist that any change decreases the value. Yet, at the same time well used and worn old guns are devalued because they are not in like-new condition. It sometimes seems that unless you keep the gun in its original box and unused it is devalued in the collector’s eyes. To the average gun owner who rarely changes anything about his factory gun beyond adding a scope, all he really wants is a dead deer.

Worn bluing and dents in the wood are badges of honor that show the gun has been used. If he leaves it to his family after his hunting days are over, the person receiving it may want that old gun refinished to make it look new again in honor of his relative. Some will refinish the gun themselves but many look at the bluing and the dents and bring

A cabinet rasp is used to the remove wood around the grip cap and make it stand proud of the bottom line of the stock. There should be no high or low spots. them in to have the job done. I keep pictures of previous jobs around to show new customers what can be done to customize the gun at a reasonable price, making it better looking as well as more functional while still honoring their loved one’s memory.

It Bottom: After checkering and refinishing the wood and rebluing the metal, the 141 took on a classic, custom look. is the kind of add-on sale that makes me a bit more money and gives the customer a sense of pride in a custom rifle unlike any of the thousands of the same model out there. In this case, the gun showed a lot of minor pitting on the action and barrel. The finish was worn in many places.

I discussed some changes we could make to the stock and forend and the owner really liked the idea of having a "custom" gun without the multi-thousand dollar price tag. I used the factory stock, added a pistol grip and grip cap, and checkered it before refinishing. The forend on this rifle is rather fat and round and has what I think is ugly grooving to keep the hand from slipping when wet or wearing snow-covered gloves.

I rasped the grooves off, then contoured the wood and checkered it in the same pattern as the butt stock. Before attempting any metal work the gun must be completely disassembled and detail cleaned. In most cases you’ll find the gun hasn’t be truly clean since it left the factory. Dirt and debris that is 50 to 75 years old will be found just where they were deposited all those hunting seasons ago. This is also the time to inspect the parts and deburr, repair, or replace any that are broken or show excessive wear.

The pitting was carefully buffed out of the barrel and receiver. Doing good metal work without wallowing out the screw holes, or rounding the edges, the barrel, and receiver is a learned skill and never easy. When first attempting to polish metal for rebluing, I strongly suggest using (Continued on page 23)

Always remember that nobody ever sees how long or how hard you worked on a project. All they see is the finished product. Be sure your finished product is one you can be proud of. Careful refinishing provided a cost-effective "custom" job for my customer’s Remington 141. AG emery cloth backed by a flat sanding block. The barrel can be done with the emery cloth used in a shoeshine motion but flat surfaces and sharp edges cannot be maintained without a good, flat sanding block.

It is slow and tedious work requiring patience. Keep at it and you’ll get there. draw file to remove most of the metal that has to go, then finish up with abrasive cloth. Either way, this is a time consuming task. The kiss of death for the beginning gunsmith is the buffing wheel. I’d bet you a cold adult beverage more guns have been ruined by electric sanders and buffers than rust. Patience is a virtue that I have very little of and I normally work flat surfaces with a