I have a decent amount of guns, ammo and firearms accessories. Not all that many accessories, I am sort of a purist when it comes to guns, I get them and usually shoot them as they are but I still have some firearms accessories. Mostly, I simply do not accessorize them - but in recent years, as age would have it, I have added glass optics to a couple of them. The old eyes are not what they once were - not terrible but certainly no longer 20/15 as they used to be.
Yet, I have had a number of firearms accessories over the years. Things like holsters, scopes and scope mounts, alternate grips, extra magazines, extra parts like extractors, ejectors, bolts, screws and springs, alternate stocks - and I'll just stop there. No need to go on, I hit the one I want to talk about. Before I talk about that one, let me say something about most of the firearms accessories I have on hand. I do not use them and wind up putting them away. Sometimes there are out of sight and out of mind for years.
The one I want to talk about is one of those out of sight for years ones. I uncovered it not too long ago from where it had been hidden from view and memory for way too long. Recently, I was cleaning up under a heavy, home made, wood shelving unit that I have in the back of my basement. I use that primarily for storage. It has three shelf levels and space under it on the floor, all suitable for storage. I have various items on the top shelf, from empty fish tanks (that I usually use for reptiles or amphibians) stuffed full of animal care accessories, to a decent sized cooler, to an incubator for eggs (normally for fowl eggs but I use it for tortoise eggs), to empty pistol cases, to some gun accessories in a couple of cardboard boxes, to whatever else fits up there. On the next level down, I have a 20 gallon tank that houses 4 juvenile Hermann's Tortoises, a 10 gallon tank that houses colonies of Blaptica dubia (a species of fairly big roaches used as food for reptiles) and crickets (yes they are sharing accommodations), and a tank with three Crested Geckos and a toad. There are some other things on that level, like a couple of jars of tortoise food pellets, some crested gecko diet powder (mix with water for a nutritious diet - and it works too), light bulbs for the tanks, and other stuff like that. On the next shelf down, I have some emergency food supplies, a small cooler, a few gallons beer jug in which to make beer (failed first attempt - probably poisonous by now), and some other stuff for my animals and assorted junk. On the floor, under those three levels, I have a few power tools and a few buckets of emergency food (like a 40 pound bucket of beans and a 20 pound bucket of oatmeal and others). All around the outside of and inside of the unit, there are nails hammered into the wood but left protruding about 1.5 to 2 inches that I use as hooks on which to hang things, like fish nets for my aquarium, rolls of duct tape, tools and yada-yada. On one end of the shelving unit, I have a piece of peg board. I have several things hanging on that end such as cleaning rods for rifles, C-clamps, squares, battery operated air pumps (for minnow buckets or for my aquariums if the power goes out), bubble-packs of deer scent (for this upcoming season), and so on.
It is amazing the stuff that accumulates. More amazing is the stuff that gets stuck somewhere and is not seen for years, maybe even more than a decade. Such was the case recently, as I said above, when cleaning up the mess that the shelving unit had become. Before I had all the emergency food buckets and some cased power tools on the floor under the unit, I used to store wood down there. I had it raised up across some pieces of 2x4 that I laid directly on the floor so as to avoid the good wood from getting badly warped or moldy. Worked pretty good but it was time to put the wood that I still wanted out in the upper level of the garage (the wife had a second floor put in a few years back while I was out in AZ for work, for a few months - one of my better surprises upon return home from one of my many extended work details afar).
Well, it was in with and under much of the wood that I found something I had forgotten I owned. It was something that Pete G (the General) had given me years ago and that I had used for awhile until I realized it was fucking up my shoulder more than the standard one that was already on my gun. It was a, Remington manufactured, steel folding stock for a Remington 870 shotgun. I was sure surprised to see that again; it must have been under there for at least 5 years without even being thought of by me, maybe more like 10 or 15 years. I really don't remember when was the last time I had seen it.
Well, taking a good look at it made me think maybe I had seen it within 5 years or so. The reason I say so is because while it was rusted, it was not as rusted as I would expect if down there for more than 5 years. Then again, who can tell? My basement is pretty dry and that is the room in which we have the boiler and the furnace. Still though, I would have expected it to be completely covered in rust had it been under there for, say, 10 years. That is, at least without me having pulled it out and cleaned it up a bit in the interim. As it stands now, it has a good share of surface rust but not too bad. I think it would clean up nicely and I suppose that is a project for me for the next couple of days, or next week, or month, or year. As I have said before, I am the great procrastinator. Actually though, when it comes to rust on gun parts or even on most firearms accessories, I usually act with haste to remove the rust and put a protective coating of Breakfree CLP on the piece. Since I am a bit snockered right now, I have had two large Zombies and am working on a Russian Zombie (just add 2 ounces of Potato Vodka to an already Rum filled Zombie), I think I will hold off on cleaning it up. I have work tomorrow and thus it will probably have to wait until Sunday or perhaps Monday.
One other thing I noted, a not so good thing, it is missing the screw to attach it to the stock. I vaguely recall finding a large screw on the basement floor not too long ago and being flabbergasted as to what it belonged. Wanna bet where that screw belonged. I hope I tossed it into a corner somewhere and not into the trash. If I threw it out, I am pretty sure I could find an exact replacement at Numrich Gun Parts or that I could find a suitable replacement at Home Depot.
There is one last bit of information about this stock. On one side of it, the metal has been stamped: "For Law Enforcement Only". Now, I have to wonder if this was put there by Remington when it was manufactured or if, perhaps, it was added later either by a law enforcement agency or a retailer who dealt with law enforcement. There are more than one reason to wonder who stamped that into the metal. First of all, even here, in the the semi-commie, totally anti-gun, state of New York - as far as I am aware there has never been a ban on folding stocks for pump action shotguns. So, the regular folks, those not in law enforcement, the We The People people should have been legally able to possess such a stock. Secondly, such stocks, for pump action shotguns, were never banned federally for the regular citizenry (therefore the reason they were never banned in NY since NY based its ban on the federal one, except for the sunset provision and thus we still have an assault weapons ban in NY state). So, one would have to wonder, why would Remington put that on the stock. I doubt very much that they did so for the reasons I just mentioned. Now, it may have been illegal in New York City for anyone but law enforcement but I still doubt that Remington stamped those words on the side of this stock and there is yet another reason that makes me doubtful. You see, if Remington had done it, I kind of figure they would have stamped it on there so you could easily read it when the stock was held upright. Upright for a folding stock would be when the stock was planted on your shoulder, the top of the stock being the part that was uppermost. If you look at the wording "For Law Enforcement Only" on this stock, it winds up being upside down when the stock is held upright. That just does not seem copacetic to me. I would tend to think Remington would put the wording there to be read easily when the stock was in an upright position. Maybe I can send an inquiry to Remington and see what they have to say about it.
Regardless of the stamped restriction, since it is not a legally based restriction (at least here in NY State), I am thinking of cleaning up this bad boy and putting it up for sale. Who knows, I might get more than just a few bucks for it. When is the last time you saw a Remington 870 with an original Remington manufactured, all steel, folding stock on it. I would bet it will bring a pretty penny even in its current condition. Otherwise, I may just give it away since I am not going to use it. (That is unless I decide to rob banks for a second career and who knows what the future holds - maybe I should clean it up and hold onto it in case times get really tough.) If I give it away though, it is going to have to be to a very good friend or to an exceptionally talented arse kisser.
All the best,
Glenn B
Yet, I have had a number of firearms accessories over the years. Things like holsters, scopes and scope mounts, alternate grips, extra magazines, extra parts like extractors, ejectors, bolts, screws and springs, alternate stocks - and I'll just stop there. No need to go on, I hit the one I want to talk about. Before I talk about that one, let me say something about most of the firearms accessories I have on hand. I do not use them and wind up putting them away. Sometimes there are out of sight and out of mind for years.
The one I want to talk about is one of those out of sight for years ones. I uncovered it not too long ago from where it had been hidden from view and memory for way too long. Recently, I was cleaning up under a heavy, home made, wood shelving unit that I have in the back of my basement. I use that primarily for storage. It has three shelf levels and space under it on the floor, all suitable for storage. I have various items on the top shelf, from empty fish tanks (that I usually use for reptiles or amphibians) stuffed full of animal care accessories, to a decent sized cooler, to an incubator for eggs (normally for fowl eggs but I use it for tortoise eggs), to empty pistol cases, to some gun accessories in a couple of cardboard boxes, to whatever else fits up there. On the next level down, I have a 20 gallon tank that houses 4 juvenile Hermann's Tortoises, a 10 gallon tank that houses colonies of Blaptica dubia (a species of fairly big roaches used as food for reptiles) and crickets (yes they are sharing accommodations), and a tank with three Crested Geckos and a toad. There are some other things on that level, like a couple of jars of tortoise food pellets, some crested gecko diet powder (mix with water for a nutritious diet - and it works too), light bulbs for the tanks, and other stuff like that. On the next shelf down, I have some emergency food supplies, a small cooler, a few gallons beer jug in which to make beer (failed first attempt - probably poisonous by now), and some other stuff for my animals and assorted junk. On the floor, under those three levels, I have a few power tools and a few buckets of emergency food (like a 40 pound bucket of beans and a 20 pound bucket of oatmeal and others). All around the outside of and inside of the unit, there are nails hammered into the wood but left protruding about 1.5 to 2 inches that I use as hooks on which to hang things, like fish nets for my aquarium, rolls of duct tape, tools and yada-yada. On one end of the shelving unit, I have a piece of peg board. I have several things hanging on that end such as cleaning rods for rifles, C-clamps, squares, battery operated air pumps (for minnow buckets or for my aquariums if the power goes out), bubble-packs of deer scent (for this upcoming season), and so on. It is amazing the stuff that accumulates. More amazing is the stuff that gets stuck somewhere and is not seen for years, maybe even more than a decade. Such was the case recently, as I said above, when cleaning up the mess that the shelving unit had become. Before I had all the emergency food buckets and some cased power tools on the floor under the unit, I used to store wood down there. I had it raised up across some pieces of 2x4 that I laid directly on the floor so as to avoid the good wood from getting badly warped or moldy. Worked pretty good but it was time to put the wood that I still wanted out in the upper level of the garage (the wife had a second floor put in a few years back while I was out in AZ for work, for a few months - one of my better surprises upon return home from one of my many extended work details afar).
Well, it was in with and under much of the wood that I found something I had forgotten I owned. It was something that Pete G (the General) had given me years ago and that I had used for awhile until I realized it was fucking up my shoulder more than the standard one that was already on my gun. It was a, Remington manufactured, steel folding stock for a Remington 870 shotgun. I was sure surprised to see that again; it must have been under there for at least 5 years without even being thought of by me, maybe more like 10 or 15 years. I really don't remember when was the last time I had seen it.
Well, taking a good look at it made me think maybe I had seen it within 5 years or so. The reason I say so is because while it was rusted, it was not as rusted as I would expect if down there for more than 5 years. Then again, who can tell? My basement is pretty dry and that is the room in which we have the boiler and the furnace. Still though, I would have expected it to be completely covered in rust had it been under there for, say, 10 years. That is, at least without me having pulled it out and cleaned it up a bit in the interim. As it stands now, it has a good share of surface rust but not too bad. I think it would clean up nicely and I suppose that is a project for me for the next couple of days, or next week, or month, or year. As I have said before, I am the great procrastinator. Actually though, when it comes to rust on gun parts or even on most firearms accessories, I usually act with haste to remove the rust and put a protective coating of Breakfree CLP on the piece. Since I am a bit snockered right now, I have had two large Zombies and am working on a Russian Zombie (just add 2 ounces of Potato Vodka to an already Rum filled Zombie), I think I will hold off on cleaning it up. I have work tomorrow and thus it will probably have to wait until Sunday or perhaps Monday.
One other thing I noted, a not so good thing, it is missing the screw to attach it to the stock. I vaguely recall finding a large screw on the basement floor not too long ago and being flabbergasted as to what it belonged. Wanna bet where that screw belonged. I hope I tossed it into a corner somewhere and not into the trash. If I threw it out, I am pretty sure I could find an exact replacement at Numrich Gun Parts or that I could find a suitable replacement at Home Depot.
There is one last bit of information about this stock. On one side of it, the metal has been stamped: "For Law Enforcement Only". Now, I have to wonder if this was put there by Remington when it was manufactured or if, perhaps, it was added later either by a law enforcement agency or a retailer who dealt with law enforcement. There are more than one reason to wonder who stamped that into the metal. First of all, even here, in the the semi-commie, totally anti-gun, state of New York - as far as I am aware there has never been a ban on folding stocks for pump action shotguns. So, the regular folks, those not in law enforcement, the We The People people should have been legally able to possess such a stock. Secondly, such stocks, for pump action shotguns, were never banned federally for the regular citizenry (therefore the reason they were never banned in NY since NY based its ban on the federal one, except for the sunset provision and thus we still have an assault weapons ban in NY state). So, one would have to wonder, why would Remington put that on the stock. I doubt very much that they did so for the reasons I just mentioned. Now, it may have been illegal in New York City for anyone but law enforcement but I still doubt that Remington stamped those words on the side of this stock and there is yet another reason that makes me doubtful. You see, if Remington had done it, I kind of figure they would have stamped it on there so you could easily read it when the stock was held upright. Upright for a folding stock would be when the stock was planted on your shoulder, the top of the stock being the part that was uppermost. If you look at the wording "For Law Enforcement Only" on this stock, it winds up being upside down when the stock is held upright. That just does not seem copacetic to me. I would tend to think Remington would put the wording there to be read easily when the stock was in an upright position. Maybe I can send an inquiry to Remington and see what they have to say about it.
Regardless of the stamped restriction, since it is not a legally based restriction (at least here in NY State), I am thinking of cleaning up this bad boy and putting it up for sale. Who knows, I might get more than just a few bucks for it. When is the last time you saw a Remington 870 with an original Remington manufactured, all steel, folding stock on it. I would bet it will bring a pretty penny even in its current condition. Otherwise, I may just give it away since I am not going to use it. (That is unless I decide to rob banks for a second career and who knows what the future holds - maybe I should clean it up and hold onto it in case times get really tough.) If I give it away though, it is going to have to be to a very good friend or to an exceptionally talented arse kisser.All the best,
Glenn B
1 comment:
I just looked a the pic of those shelves again and realized my life is a friggin mess just like them. Oh well...
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