Joined
·
22 Posts
My gunsmith - machinist pal recently gave me a Commemorative Winchester, the Oliver F. Winchester 1894, in 38-55, 24" octo bbl. Now, what self-respective gunny would honestly buy or even accept such a garrish piece of stuff. One of 19,900 apparently; hardly rare! Anyhow, he came to be it's new owner because the original owner was caught in a "delicate" sitch, in bed with his secretary when wifey came home early. The annoyed wife apparently went down to the den, pulled this wall hanger down and SMACKED it hard across his desk. Broke the butt stock in two right at the wrist. That didn't bend or damage the metal at all! He was instructed to get rid of that rifle, Don't know what significance it had in their relationship....
Funny, unless this was your rifle & your wife.... In which case, you should just sit there, in the corner, and not say anything! Oh, and be thankful she didn't toss you out!
My gunsmith friend searched high and low for an exact replacement buttstock, however predictably, since Winchester no longer exists, had no luck. Tales of me having to have a custom buttstock made scared me off. Then, I happened to recently get in touch with The Winchester Arms Collector's Association, and one of their members actually has lots (I mean LOTS!) of the parts for almost all these commemoratives. Including SEVERAL of the exact replacement stocks for my piece. Lucky? Me?
So now, It will become a shooter. This fellow said that Winchester actually did use some better-than-average parts and barrels in these, unlike what some folks have told me, so the proof will be in the shooting. If its a shooter, I'll keep it. Why? Because my dad's first hunting rifle when he was a tough young lad in the northern BC wild country, was this exact spec rifle & chambering (no, not the commemorative). I remember handling it as a young boy; it was a rusty rattler. Now, if it actually shoots accurately, especially Black Powder, it could be fun!
As for the glitzo gold? I'll let it wear a bit first, then probably have the lever color-case hardened, and the receiver re-plated with a matte almost french grayed receiver. Should tone down the glinting sun's reflections in the eyes of other annoyed shooters down on the line, eh?
I mean, how often do we get handed a free nifty gifty rifle with historical connections to our dads?
Funny, unless this was your rifle & your wife.... In which case, you should just sit there, in the corner, and not say anything! Oh, and be thankful she didn't toss you out!
My gunsmith friend searched high and low for an exact replacement buttstock, however predictably, since Winchester no longer exists, had no luck. Tales of me having to have a custom buttstock made scared me off. Then, I happened to recently get in touch with The Winchester Arms Collector's Association, and one of their members actually has lots (I mean LOTS!) of the parts for almost all these commemoratives. Including SEVERAL of the exact replacement stocks for my piece. Lucky? Me?
So now, It will become a shooter. This fellow said that Winchester actually did use some better-than-average parts and barrels in these, unlike what some folks have told me, so the proof will be in the shooting. If its a shooter, I'll keep it. Why? Because my dad's first hunting rifle when he was a tough young lad in the northern BC wild country, was this exact spec rifle & chambering (no, not the commemorative). I remember handling it as a young boy; it was a rusty rattler. Now, if it actually shoots accurately, especially Black Powder, it could be fun!
As for the glitzo gold? I'll let it wear a bit first, then probably have the lever color-case hardened, and the receiver re-plated with a matte almost french grayed receiver. Should tone down the glinting sun's reflections in the eyes of other annoyed shooters down on the line, eh?
I mean, how often do we get handed a free nifty gifty rifle with historical connections to our dads?
