Project FleaMarketFind: Black Ops Sniper .177

[El_Pistolero]

I picked up this yesterday for $50. The internals seems great, the rifle cocks easily and sounds powerful when fired. The bore is bright and shiny. There are a few exterior issues--
-Extensive surface rust on barrel, pump arm, receiver, etc
-Flip-up front sight broken, missing rear sight
-White paint spots on stock and fake receiver (looks like latex wall paint)
-Missing washer and nut for right pic rail
-Adjustable cheek riser not adjusting, front will flip up and back down a little only

Project Plans--
-Clean outside with mild cleaner and a long-bristle brush then detail clean with rubbing alcohol and small brushes/QTips
-Remove left-side handle
-Replace rail washer and nut
-Forget about iron sights
-Install mil-dot scope and rings (w/ a lower ring mount size. No need for see-thru mounts like on stock rifle.)
-Remove rust with a chemical remover
-Repair cheek riser
-Repaint in camo*
-Wrap scope and moderator with burlap , rather than paint

Future Plans-- Open rifle up to clean, polish, and lube the internals

*I recently repainted my .30-06 with rattle can camo paint and am real happy with the results. I started off trying the dish soap technique and wasn't satisfied. I experimented a little and hit a upon an easy technique that gives a cool 3D effect. I'm anixous to try it again. See photo of rifle fore end below.

 

[beerthief]

good find looking forward to more pictures .

 

[thom]

I have one that I've had for a couple of years. It is possibly the most accurate break barrel rifle in my collection of about 20 guns.

 

[El_Pistolero]

I have one that I've had for a couple of years. It is possibly the most accurate break barrel rifle in my collection of about 20 guns.

What kind of distance is reasonable to expect with this gun? It's killing me that I can't shoot the rifle to see what a 25-yard grouping looks like since it has neither sights nor scope. I'm waiting to order the mil-dot since I'm going out of town this weekend. I think if I order in a couple of days, it will come right after I get back.

 

[El_Pistolero]

I gave the rifle's outside a bath and it looks better although the plastic stock, etc. is really dull. Good for a real sniper rifle, I guess, but not what I want. That's why I thought I would paint it a cool camo to match the desert SW U.S. where I live.
If I were to keep the synthetic stock black, I would first try spraying it with silcone to see if that would rejunevate the outside. That stuff is great for auto door seals and such. Maybe ArmourAll instead of silcone? Anyone have thoughts on spraying something on a synthetic stock to revive it?
I recently watched a youtube video where they used a heat gun to rejunvenate old, oxidized auto trim. They're basically burning off the top layer of plastic, or at least re-melting the top back into the trim below. The results were like-new trim. (Top advice for using the gun, "Keep it moving. Don't stay in one place too long.")
Anyone try this technique on a synthetic gun stock? Aren't most basically fiberglass and a bonding agent? What would a heat gun do to that, I wonder?

 

[El_Pistolero]

I've removed the handle and the two parts of the bipod. I've also removed the side pic rails. I'm reluctant to take off the top rail. If it's held on by washers and nuts like the sides, the hardware will fall into the rifle.

For removing the rust, I'm going to try CLR in the area where the pump arm is shrouded by the rifle. CLR stands for Calcium, Lime, Rust and uses a phosphoric acid. I chose it over other brands because I already have some under the kitchen sink.

I'm going to lightly brush it onto the metal to see how it works. If it works okay, I'll treat the barrel too. I think a spray bottle of water and sodium bicarbonate might be a good idea to have ready if I need to quickly neutralize the acid.

Please share any rust removal advice you may have. Here's a few close up pix after first cleaning--

 

[thom]

What kind of distance is reasonable to expect with this gun? It's killing me that I can't shoot the rifle to see what a 25-yard grouping looks like since it has neither sights nor scope. I'm waiting to order the mil-dot since I'm going out of town this weekend. I think if I order in a couple of days, it will come right after I get back.

I can shoot quarter size groups all day long at 25 yards. I plan to have a shooting day very soon, waiting for a day when temps are less than upper 90s, and will include that rifle and several others at longer distances.
I plan to eventually buy a chrono to check out my guns, just for curiousity.

 

[El_Pistolero]

Project Update
Remaining tasks: I've put the rifle back together except for the side pic rails and bipod. And I've ordered a new breech seal. After getting these two things done. I'll zero the scope.

Completed:
-I had to use paint remover on a q-tip for the paint splatters. I would load the q-tip, dab the paint dots in a small area, and then go back and wipe them off. The paint remover creates heat so I had cool water in a bowl and paper towels to wipe the area down.
-The pistol grip is rubber so I didn't want to use remover on those spots. I just used WD-40, paper towels, and elbow grease. They came off, eventually.
-I applied remover to spots on the pic rails and the paint on the rail came off too. I thought it was anodized. I'll have to repaint it.
-I had to completely disassemable the stock to repair the adjustable cheek rest. Most of the hardware was loose or had come off entirely. I 'Blue Locktited' everything putting it back together.
-I cleaned the rifle with spray silcone and that was not what I wanted to do. It was cloudy after it dried. I tried automotive exterior trim restorer and that worked pretty well.
-The barrel required sevreral applications of CLR and then sanding to remove all of the rust. Of course this removed the bluing too. I'm thinking repaint with cerakote-in-a-can. The rust on the breech and pump arm came off easily. There's some light pitting on the breech.
-The pic rails from the sides are proving difficult to reattach. I removed them because they were loose or missing hardware and because I was thinking I would paint the rifle. There simply isn't enough room to hold a rectangular plate and then two lock washers and two nuts inside the forend. I've stacked the washers and nuts on the plates and put little tacks of Blue Locktite on everything with the hope I can hold the entire package with one hand and turn a screwdriver with the other. :-/
-Mounted a Bushnell scope I had. I now understand the need for tall see-thru scope rings, the cheek rest is useless without that height. I tried zeroing the rifle at 25 feet but the groupings were erratic. I think the breech seal is so far gone I'm getting inconsistent push behind the pellets.
-I've reconsidered painting the rifle. I think I'll leave it black.

Fun Fact: In the sun, the moderator can look black, green or red. It depends on the angle viewed.

 

[El_Pistolero]

Project FMF is mostly complete now. The only required task left is to replace the breech seal. I got the side pic rails back on but not without A LOT of hassle. I recommend never removing them. The rails are each held on by two nuts, bolts, and lock washers with a metal backing plate. All of that hardware was most likely put in before the rest of the rifle was assembled. It is hard to get the nuts to start threading because the end of the bolt almost touches the air chamber but if you pull the bolt back, the lock washer is still in the way. Plus the position of the pump arm makes working in the little slot difficult. I finally used a length of steel wire with a very short hook on the end, just enough to catch a thread or two, to get the nut down to the bolt.

If you do remove the side rails here's something that might help with reattaching-- I couldn't get a wrench or needle-nose pliers in to hold the nuts so I could flatten the lock washer. I was using a random tool from the bench to jam against the nut and the force caused the side of the plastic forend to warp a little. That bow might be enough to get the nuts back on. Probably not SOP but perhaps easier than removing the barrel, air chamber, etc. The pair of nuts closest to the muzzle are the ones hardest to access, btw.

I'll replace the Bushnell with Black Ops scope and rings eventually and maybe cerakote the barrel black. All three pic rails need touching up. I've decided to hold off on painting it rattle-can camo.

Fun Fact! The bottom of the fake magazine is removeable. There's a hidden compartment.

 

[El_Pistolero]

Reading the fine manual, I found out the hidden compartment held the hex wrench for the cheek riser.

 

[maxtrouble]

Nice restoration job. Looks like a shooter, did you find the magic pellet yet?

 

[Moog]

Is that a springer or a gas ram? I looked it up on Amazon and the product description referred to it as a springer and then called it a gas ram.