The Benefits of a DuraCoat Firearm Finish

Posted by

If you have an old gun that has some rust or scratches, you may want to think about applying DuraCoat to the finish. DuraCoat is a modern solution to finishing your gun’s metal surface, but it also works on wood, plastics, and polymers.

cleaning your hand gun and putting DuraCoat finish on it

The Benefits:

Your old gun may have some wear and tear on it whether it’s from hunting with your rifle or shotgun, or a handgun that still works, but just has had some years on it. This is where DuraCoat comes in. DuraCoat comes in many finishes, textures, and colors.

The metal surfaces are degreased and sand blasted before the DuraCoat finish is sprayed on. It gives the gun a smooth finish and after it’s cured, it provides a protective coating that is long lasting.

You never want to see your gun in rough shape, especially if it’s in good working condition. You’ll never want to take it out. Getting a finish done on your gun will look much better, and you’ll be proud to show it off to friends and family.

With your hunting rifle or shotgun, every year comes wear and tear from being out in the weather. Getting a clean looking finish on your hunting weapon will give you the satisfaction of going out for the season again.

Clark Craft Gunsmithing

Here at Clark Craft Gunsmithing, we have the experience and expertise in repairing and cleaning guns. We can give your gun a good-looking finish using the DuraCoat finish. Doing it yourself can be very tricky if you haven’t had much practice. Plus, you’ll need equipment such as an air compressor, sand blaster, professional quality small aperture HVLP spray-gun, room air filtration, curing oven, etc. We are all set up and equipped with everything you need to see your gun’s finish improved.

Contact Clark Craft Gunsmithing at 417-234-7093 today to find out about our services!

Here’s What to Know About the Ruger 10/22

Posted by

I remember my first Ruger 10/22 well—it was one of the originals: a 1965 make, just a year after the original Ruger 10/22 hit the market.

ruger bullets on cloth

Over the years, the Ruger 10/22 semiautomatic autoloading rifle has become a hallmark in craft gunsmithing, known for its ten-round magazine and smooth, easy-to-use design.

Now, it is often deemed the “Volkswagen Beetle” of guns, due to its enduring ability to be customized as owners see fit.

You can start with the magazine itself. The ten-round rotary mag is detachable, and allows owners to seamlessly swap in different cartridges. At Clark Craft Gunsmithing, we have added a magazine catch that barely has a bump on the bottom which makes it easier to handle. However, we’re happy to work with customers to find a magazine release that fits their needs.

Another easy fix is the bolt release. As it stands, the Ruger 10/22 comes equipped with a lever by the trigger that opens, but it’s too close to another lever in the back. So we’ve replaced it—so now all you have to do is touch the bolt, release it, and it’ll close on its own. The same goes for the extractor; every Ruger 10/22 ships with a metal extractor, which can sometimes block consistent extraction. Clark is now able to use a hardened steel sharp edge laser cut in order to make the extraction more stable.

And finally, the trigger. The Ruger 10/22 is an older manufacture, and thus the trigger itself is stiff. To replace it can cost hundreds of dollars, too. Luckily, we’ve got you covered—our new custom trigger sells for only $69, and is a far smoother trigger than other models. You won’t believe it’s the same firearm!

At Clark Craft Gunsmithing, customizing and improving guns is our mission. And with a classic like the Ruger 10/22, we hope to create a model that not only works better for you, but also, still honors the gun’s prestige, and distinction. If you have any questions or concerns about our customizations, don’t hesitate to ask—we’re here to help.

 

Importance of Regular Gun Cleaning

Posted by

Importance of Regular Gun CleaningWhile guns can be a great tool for hunting and protection, it is essential for the owner to treat their firearm with respect.

If you own a firearm, you should be keeping up with gun safety, keeping it out of reach of those who are not certified, and keeping it clean.

The importance of regular gun cleaning cannot be stressed enough. So why is gun cleaning important and how can you clean your gun correctly? Let’s dive in.

Like any possession that you want to keep around for the long haul, a gun should also be cleaned often to maintain its longevity. If treated and cleaned properly, your gun can easily last several decades and work well any time you decide to use it. You can hand your gun down from generation to generation with simple and routine cleaning, oiling, and storage.

You may not realize it, but there are many different substances that can make it inside of your gun which can make it easily malfunction. Salt from your hands can easily make it into the interworking parts of the gun and corrode the metal components. You also have the chance to see a buildup of gunpowder residue that could impact the accuracy of the weapon.

More than just keeping it clean, proper gun management will ensure that your firearm works properly when you need it the most. If you are hunting, you don’t want a dirty gun to spoil the perfect target. If you are using it for self-defense, the last thing you need is a malfunction that puts you or your family in danger.

Not only will cleaning your gun keep it in good shape but taking it apart will also help a novice understand more about how the firearm works. The more you know about the gun, the more you will appreciate its power. Proper cleaning will help you to see how the parts interact with each other. This is especially beneficial if you have multiple guns of different styles.

The importance of a clean gun cannot be overstated. Let Clark Snyder at Clark Craft Gunsmithing LLC, a licensed gunsmith, clean your firearm for you. I will completely disassemble the firearm, removing every pin, part and spring. I inspect them for wear or damage and reassemble it to test it for proper function. I have tools, cleaners, and solvents, to get even the dirtiest of guns gleaming like new with a thorough cleaning and lubrication.

My Story

Posted by

“I have more guns than I need but not as many as I want.” — Fmr Sen. Phil Graham, R, TX

When I was eight years old all my neighborhood friends were getting BB guns. I wanted one too…. REAL bad! Christmas was coming soon so I asked my dad if I could get a BB gun for Christmas.

He thought long and hard and finally said “No” BB guns get used as toys, kids shoot porch lights, neighbors’ cats and all too often, each other, he explained. I’ve heard enough stories from friends to know he was right. His solution was to promise me that on my net birthday, still a number of months away, he would get me a .22. There would be no mistake, this was not a toy. It was a real gun, to be handled and shot only under his supervision.

Christmas came and went. Even more of my friends got BB guns. My friends were jealous of my promise of a real gun in my future and I was jealous of their BB guns in their possession. It was a long time to my birthday in the middle of summer.

Dad was observant. He saw how now, since Christmas every boy on our block had a BB gun. In two or three months he asked if I’d like a late Christmas present. That evening we went to Andy Anderson’s Sporting Goods on 39th Street (for all my Oklahoma City friends).

For months I had been drooling over pictures of the Browning semi-auto .22 and thought I had my mind made up. The salesman showed us one of those. Then he said, “Let me show you something new that we just started carrying,” and he brought out a Ruger 10/22 carbine. I was only eight years old and never have been big. The 10/22 was a perfect fit. I fell in love with it and we took it home.

I still have that gun and I still love it. In spite of a few thousand rounds, hours in the brush plinking and hunting rabbits and even my son dropping it (sorry… had to tell.. .no blood no foul) it still looks and shoots like it’s brand new.

Recently I did a little research on the Ruger 10/22 in general and mine specifically, calling Ruger with the serial number to find out when it was made.

Ruger introduced the 10/22 in August 1964. Mine was manufactured in February 1965. Dad paid around $60 bucks for it. Ah those were the days. Now if I could just find some .22 LR ammo to shoot…

A few years later when I entered Junior High a man down the street sponsored a NRA Junior gun club at the school. A friend and I called him and he invited us to come try it out. They met every Friday at the National Guard Armory. I went the very next Friday night. I was instantly hooked. As the club leader said, “any one can learn to shoot. All it takes is time and a car (rail road car) full of ammunition.”

The club owned a number of single shot bolt action .22’s with target sights They did the job. But some of the slightly older kids had some really nice target rifles. One evening one of the members who worked at a local gun shop called and said he knew of a nice rifle for sale if I was interested. The following weekend we took it to an outdoor range and on a windy Oklahoma day but a box of shells through a whole you could cover with a dime (ok, yes, used a bench vice). That night Dad wrote the owner a check for $125 for a gently used Winchester 52 D Target model with bull barrel and accessory rail. I found the canceled check just the other day.

Over the next several years I shot a few thousand rounds through it, earned various NRA marksmanship awards and attended a few matches. How did I do? “Old men forget and all shall be forgotten but he will remember with advantages the feats he had on that day… ” That’s Shakespeare.

It wasn’t long before chemicals took control of my life: gasoline and perfume. My Friday nights at the range dwindled and then stopped; high school, college, graduate school, marriage, children (twins) all made shooting times few and far between.

I picked up a couple of poor quality handguns; a .44 mag a friend gave me because he didn’t like the recoil and a cheap .380 auto that I bought to help out a friend who needed some quick cash. It is this little poor excuse for a firearm that is responsible for rekindling my interest in guns and shooting in a big way.

My sons, now adult-ish, were going to go plinking with some friends and wanted to take it along. I didn’t mind so they borrowed that and a couple other guns and headed off for an afternoon of killing fruit (some see the produce aisle as good nutrition, we see it as a source of exploding targets).

When they returned from their outing the first words were, “Dad, we broke your .380.” I was skeptical that even they could break a gun just by shooting it. But on examination, the slide was cracked almost all the way around about an inch from the muzzle. Later, talking to a guy at a local gun shop about what happened, he offered this pearl of wisdom, “Pot metal breaks when it gets hot, don’t it?” I said it was a cheap gun.

I wanted to replace it with something for home defense. My sons are big boys and have always like big toys and military history. They had long been interested in 1911’s but my usual response was “I really don’t want or need something that big or powerful. Just wanted to replace my .380. But I had been reading, looking, shopping and re-evaluating.

The fourth step I took in the wake of the Sandy Hook Shooting was to purchase and AR15. I had been wanting one but the time never seemed right. There was always something else higher up my list. It never seemed to fit into the budget. But now things seemed drastically different. It seem there was a real possibility that it was now or never. Better buy one before they are banned again.

Being a Ruger fan I looked at their AR and liked what I saw. Clicking on “Buy this Gun” took me to a website from which to order. This was the Friday night of the shooting. There were 97 available. I was planning on going to a gun show in the morning, so I waited. Before going to the gun show in the morning I looked again and there were 65. When I got home from the show (only stayed a couple of hours) there were 45, then 44. I purchased number 43. By 5:00 pm they were all gone. Not just the Rugers but every AR, and not just the AR’s but every AK and SKS and similar style rifle had been sold out on one of the largest internet gun sellers. I am sure it was the same everywhere.

OH, and by the way, now I have a BB gun too It’s a Daisy Model 25– a Classic in its own right.. I staple some paper targets to a cardboard box in the basement where I have my work area.. From time to time I take BB breaks. From a chair at one of the work tables to the target is about 20-25 ft. The gun is amazingly accurate and its fun to have a little target practice at home. I have a long handled roofers’ magnet that I use every so often to walk around and clean up the BBs that didn’t get caught inside the box.

One Saturday I took one of my sons gun shopping. He was quite surprised when I walked out with a Colt Defender .45 ACP 1911. pistol. My other son who lives out of town was no less surprised.. He replied to my text telling him what I had bought with, “You’ve been saying all this time that a .45 was too much gun for home defense, etc. And now you bought one. What changed your mind?”

I replied, “I have a Korean car.” There was a long pause before I got another message from him. “What does that have to do with it?” he asked. I texted back, “There is nothing macho about having a Korean car. A .45 ACP, that’s pretty macho.”

Of course shooting can be rather expensive. So that expanded into another hobby. Reloading: loads of fun! Can cut down on the cost if you shop right and requires more tools and equipment. I like tools and equipment. Now reloading nine calibers.

Then came the tragedy of the Sandy Hook school shooting. Everything changed and nothing is really back to normal yet. Certainly no one could not be affected by it. On that day I did four things. First, I cried. I’m a guy, I don’t cry often. But I’m a parent and a caring person. I cried. Then, I renewed my lapsed NRA membership. They are the ones, sometimes the only ones standing up against other powers to protect our right to have and bear arms. They are the good guys. Join and support them. The third thing I did was to write to my Representatives and Senator encouraging them not to give into the onslaught of anti-gun legislation that would so obviously be coming. I have done so about once a week or more ever since. They listen. They respond. Above all else, they want re-elected. Write them. Often.