I seem to be a sucker for these old match guns, and a sucker for punishment. This is the newest project, which I will have no immediate time to look into! ; A Vintage Walther LGR Match Universal. The Universal has the walnut stock as with the LGR Match, with the LGR standard in beech, but the Universal has the adjustable cheek rest which will be handy as it will end up scoped for occasional use at the club shooting paper at 25 yards.
Its dirty Metalwork is rusty Stock varnish is cracking It doesn't hold air Its parts are becoming redundant and hard to source. It was reasonably priced so worth a punt and if it fails it is probably worth its cost as spare parts..
But like most old match guns its nicely engineered and holds beautifully!
It came with the original rear tube style diopter sight, minus the eye piece - it does its basic function and is in pretty good condition but unusable in keeping with the rest of this hunk of junk.
As a bonus it has the original Walther risers for both the front and rear sights.
The metalwork looks good, apart from the rust from poor storage. Its not an even covering but some thick spots. I will knock these off and see if there is much pitting underneath. Hopefully not. Its refurbished value wouldn't warrant a metalwork refinish, so it will be corrected as much as possible and regular oiling to keep it at bay.
As a bonus the plastic cocking knob and breech lever are in good order and free from cracks. I'd say it was well kept before the previous owner had it.
Stickers show it was used in competition in its day
The walnut shows some potentially nice grain in the butt, just visible through the yellowed and cracked varnish. I have some Slippery Dicks Gun Stock Oil on its way, as well as some Alkanet oil to darken the grain in hopes it will help the grain pop.
In terms of its function, the previous owner imported and fitted breech seals and a valve seal, in hopes it would hold air again but it doesn't. It has the telltale signs of a dud piston seal but i wont know until I land parts and strip it down. With the rust and cracking of the stock varnish (assume from moisture / humidity in poor storage), im afraid of what it looks like inside!
More soon....
------------- https://www.instagram.com/js_airguns/" rel="nofollow - J S Airguns Air Arms TX200('s) Theoben Sirocco HW77 FWB 300s Webley Patriot One or two others...
Current projects: Too many..
|