1895 winchester

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Last Post 03 October 2020

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sluggo posted this 17 June 2020

I have come into possession of a 1895 Winchester. It has been reblued so it is not a collector's item. It is a takedown model. The weird thing is that when I went to take it down I had to unthread the barrel. The barrel does not have interrupted threads. The barrel is unmarked. It locks up tight with no play and does not close on a field gage. Does this sound right? Could it have been rebarreled or were some 95's made like this? I am a little concerned about shooting it. It is in 30-06 cal. The previous owners son said it was his dads hunting rifle. That could be true or false I do not know. Any help would be appreciated.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 17 June 2020

a really cool old gun. you really should be kind to it and not shoot full loads even if it is tight .

sounds like you are close in headspace. you can do a redneck crutch test by choosing three different 30-06 brass and put one layer of scotch magic tape behind the base and try all three ... if it doesn't close on even one with the tape, you have a nice tight one. if all close, try 2 layers of tape. if it still closes easily, i personally would tighten it up. since it doesn't close on a " field " gauge ... you will be ok with a few mild cast loads.

the above is not professional, but actually works 98 per cent of the time.

ken

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ALYMAN#1 posted this 17 June 2020

I have one that my father got from his brother years ago, it is in 30-03 caliber (long neck 30-06 for 220 gr?bullet). It will unlock with even cast bullet loads and has also has been reblued in the 50's. Have done considerable research on the unlocking problem to no avail, but have my doubts on safety of this gun, so have done little with it over the years. It shows primer backing out the last time I tried it with light loads. There is interesting articles in leverguns website under article/model_1895. Disassembly is available in NRA firearms assembly my copy is 1993 , page 310-311. See also the 1886 disassembly on the take down model on pages 306-307.

Hope this helps.

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sluggo posted this 17 June 2020

Thank you. I think I have that book and will check that out. My friend brought over a 30-06 no go gage and the bolt does not close on it. I will check and see if it is 30-03 chambered. I believe the 30-03 had a longer neck than the 30-06 otherwise they were the same? I guess my concern is the unmarked barrel. The markings could have been removed when it was reblued or it is from somewhere else. I could not find out so far if any original takedown barrels were fully threaded instead of having interrupted threads. I would like to try some cast loads in it.

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Wheel Weights posted this 17 June 2020

Yes the 30-03 is a long neck 30-06 and also the basis for the 270 WCF.

Winchester never made a takedown with uninterrupted threads. Your bbl is not original.

If it is unmarked it is not a Winchester bbl.

Fireform some cases with the Zeglin method and load to 30-30 levels. Should be fun and won't kick the snot outta you as 95s do with full loads.

Post some pics. No markings on the bbl at all ???

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sluggo posted this 17 June 2020

I cannot find any markings on the barrel. They might have been removed when it was refinished. I like the idea of reduced loads. I think that steel cresent butt plate would leave a nice rasberry with full power loads.not the best but here are some pics.

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ALYMAN#1 posted this 23 June 2020

Dug the old beast out and did some investigation that I have not done before. Ending up replacing the lever link/bolt pin with a section of 11/64" drill bit 0.175" dia x about 0.832" long section due to both link ends being several thousandths small (hope it is not too hard- I'd rather replace pin than wear lever ends). It is now tighter. Loaded several 270 cases expanded to 30 cal with starting load of H4895 and a cast bullet to try when I get to range next. Will update later.

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beltfed posted this 23 June 2020

IF it has a 30-03 chamber, best brass to start with is 280 Rem brass which is longer than the 270 or 30-06 brass.

You need to do a chamber cast to determine the chambering.

(Sounds like it is a replacement barrel. Probably now an actual 30-06 chamber.)

beltfed/arnie

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sluggo posted this 23 June 2020

Thanks: I have determined that it is a 30-06 chambering. Looking forward to trying some mild loads in it.

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ALYMAN#1 posted this 02 October 2020

An interesting article on the 1895 is located at leverguns.com/articles/model_1895/htm. It speaks to the strength of the various Winchesters and Miroku models. Since mine is early 1912 manufacture and I just got it working somewhat properly and is in 30--03 chambering, I am proceeding only with cast bullets at hopefully less than 40KSI using Mr Lee's 1 grain pressure/velocity calculations. Just to make me feel good about being able to shoot this beast after 70 + years I have been around it.

The article's author makes points that parallel my limited results and experience with the rifle that i have and I heartily recommend his cautions to anyone trying to use an early Winchester production gun. I have a Browning 1895 so it will be used for anything I would want full 30-06 loads for.

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dkmenefee posted this 03 October 2020

Very nice rifle! Glad you used a real FIELD headspace gauge. All a case and tape will tell you is how the rifle closes on that case and that roll of tape. What's the standard of your case and tape? Right.

1895 winchester

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