Summer Projects: The Mossberg 45A

It’s been a long time coming that I finally get my hands on my family’s .22 LR Mossberg model 45A. This rifle dates back to pre WWII era and was my great grandmother’s first, then my grandfathers then my dad’s. My dad only shot this rifle a couple of times, but he must’ve cleaned it pretty good the last time (20 years ago) because it’s still in good working condition and to my surprize the bore looks brand new!!!

Anyways, after 20 or so years you can imagine the dust and surface rust build up. I wish I had taken pictures of it before I cleaned it. I tried to look down the bore of the rifle and saw nothing. I could only imagine what was blocking it. It took me a good 3 hours with some steel wool and Hoppe’s No. 9 solvent to clean the outside of the barrel and the receiver. The action was working great after some solvent, a toothbrush and some lube. So, when all was said and done, it only took me about 4 hours to totally clean and lube this rifle. Did I already mention how shocked I was when I saw the bore was next to brand new?

So, i head to the range this weekend and I was thinking I would have feed problems and/or ejection problems, but that wasn’t the case. I loaded 3 rounds in the tube (tube magazine holds 15 LR cartridges) , pulled the bolt back and forward and loaded a round in the breech. No problems so far. Now that I’m ready to shoot I think about the “What If” scenarios like the firing pin being shot back at my face as I fired the round. Or the entire barrel splitting open and shrapnel flying everywhere. But, then I come to my senses and aim… fire. A little crack and absolutely no recoil (there was some, but nothing compared to my other rifles). This rifle was a blast to shoot. I’m just glad I was able to clean it up and away we went. No problems at all with it. I am taking this rifle every time I go shooting along with my other guns.

Thanks Dad.