Rifle Found - California D17

[WrstMuleHntr]

Really curious to see more of the effects of years of outdoor weathering - would you mind sharing a few photos of the condition of the glass/coatings, and more of the gun?

Scope is already on its way back to vortex so I won’t be able to get anymore of that. It was interesting though that under the rings the scope was black, like the yellow coating was put on after the scope and rings were assembled together.

 

[wind gypsy]

It Looks like it has been there 1-2 years. The bolt was rusted closed so I could not make sure that it wasn't loaded, although I was able to pull the trigger, hear a "click" and nothing happened.

Dude! You're lucky it wasn't loaded or if it is that it didn't go off! If it's that rusty, i can only imagine the bullet would have in some way, shape, or form bonded to the barrel.

I bulged a smokeless muzzleloader barrel by shooting a bullet that had been sitting loaded for less than a month and only been outside for a couple dry half day hunts. Theory being that the bullet bonded to the stainless bore in some way and created a ton of pressure. That gun could have been much worse!

 

[Dos Perros]

I think it's pretty unlikely for dissimilar metals to cold bond.

 

[Pilsner]

Gen 1 Ruger American it looks like under that rust.
My vortex optics have been back and forth to Vortex for repairs often enough that they could type in its optics SN and pull up my entire purchase history. Be worth the cost of an email to them to ask if they have any info on the prior owner. The worst they can say is "We dunno".
-Doc

 

[rclouse79]

I have left a lot of things on the mountain, but I can’t imagine leaving my rifle.

 

[DuckDawg22]

The gold paint is a desert rat special. Something that rusty in that area I probably would have left

 

[RockAndSage]

Scope is already on its way back to vortex so I won’t be able to get anymore of that. It was interesting though that under the rings the scope was black, like the yellow coating was put on after the scope and rings were assembled together.

Big thanks for taking those photos and sharing them. How would you say the plastics have held up - can you scratch it with your fingernail? Is it flakey at all?

Regarding the scope, what can you share about your impressions of the glass?

 

[WrstMuleHntr]

Big thanks for taking those photos and sharing them. How would you say the plastics have held up - can you scratch it with your fingernail? Is it flakey at all?

Regarding the scope, what can you share about your impressions of the glass?

The glass looked great to me, just very dirty. All the dials on the scoped still seemed to work ok, but the zoom was a little stiff (maybe that’s the way it’s designed). On the gun the fiberglass stock is trashed. You can’t touch it without getting little pieces of itchy fiberglass all stuck in your skin. The buttock rubber is also trashed as you can see in the photo. Overall I’d say the barrel and action might be salvageable, but probably with more work than anyone would be willing to put in. On the stock I’d say it’s a total loss.

 

[WrstMuleHntr]

And as much as people talk bad about vortex I called them and told them what I found. They had no history of the scope. But they told me I could send it in and end up with a new scope for me! Totally love the way they handle customer service and the VIP warranty. No questions asked. And you talk to a real American citizen if you call customer support.

 

[RockAndSage]

And as much as people talk bad about vortex I called them and told them what I found. They had no history of the scope. But they told me I could send it in and end up with a new scope for me! Totally love the way they handle customer service and the VIP warranty. No questions asked. And you talk to a real American citizen if you call customer support.

That's pretty awesome. That scope will be valuable to them too, for failure analysis and just keeping on hand as reference for extreme weathering over time.

 

[R boar]

Scope is already on its way back to vortex so I won’t be able to get anymore of that. It was interesting though that under the rings the scope was black, like the yellow coating was put on after the scope and rings were assembled together.

Anodizing can change color when exposed to the weather, usually I see purple but I don't think the yellow is out of the question. I'd reckon it was all black originally

 

[BLJ]

What cartridge was the rifle chambered for? Could it be read on the barrel?

 

[WrstMuleHntr]

What cartridge was the rifle chambered for? Could it be read on the barrel?

Ruger American 30-.06

 

[BLJ]

No chance in California that they’ll let you keep it?
I’d be interested to see if it could be cleaned up.