Hi Mel
Nice find. Yes, that one should clean up nicely. The front sling ring should be mounted on the left side. My reasoning I posted on the Boyliya Thread that Stu linked to above. But easy enough to reposition it during the cleaning process.
I too have a Tanchika in "attic" condition. I've never attempted to clean it since it's in 100% complete, unmolested condition. Also since I own 3 others. LOL But if it were my only piece, I too would clean it.
You will likely find the stock is mostly wood covered with metal sheathing.
Two things I notice with your gun: The barrel bands look as though they may be replacements (period?). But this would be common. Also, I notice the barrel tang screw looks to be a modern wood screw replacement (?) and threaded in from the top. Originally, the barrel tang screws were mounted from the bottom behind the trigger, inside the trigger guard and threaded into the barrel tang. If you look behind the trigger you will likely find the head of a screw or maybe just a hole. My guess is that the original screw became cross threaded or broke at some point and the barrel was reattached using a simple wood screw from the top. You can't completely remove the original screw from the bottom without removing the trigger guard, which is nailed to the stock instead of being set with screws. But the original tang screw from the bottom only needed to be loosened a small amount to separate it from the barrel tang itself. So the original screw never needed to come completely out anyway.The barrel tang screw mounting from the bottom of the stock and threaded into the tang is common with all Balkan style guns. But mounting the screw inside the trigger guard is strange to me. But it is common to every Albanian musket and pistol I have seen.
So you may want to look out for this while disassembling the gun for cleaning.
Rick
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