Hurley's Gold

Pre 64 Winchester Model 1894 Sporting Rifle - From wall hanger to shooter.

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  • RedArmy

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    I wasn't going to start a thread on this project due to my intermittent working habit with it, but I've now made some real progress so here's where I'm at.


    How I got here: I wanted a Pre 64 Winchester 1894 lever action in shooting condition with an octagon barrel, until I saw the prices that is.:eek: Ok, so I'll buy a parts rifle or one that needs some work and I'll build my own for cheap. That didn't quite work out either, lol. I'll just say it now, buy one in shooting condition and save yourself all the trouble and headache that goes along with fixing one up.

    The rifle I ended up with is a Model 1894 Sporting rifle with a 24" octagon barrel. I purchased it in wall hanger condition, wall hanger meaning the barrel is shot out with almost no rifling left. I thought finding a replacement barrel would be easy, think again.

    Number one, you can't find a premade replacement barrel for a lever gun in stock any where that I've ever found. To have a barrel made I found only two guys on all of the internet and both were hard to get a hold of and hard to talk to. One of them I didn't feel safe sending money to as his business address didn't check out and I had read some things I didn't like. The other guy acted like he didn't have time or wasn't interested. This led me to put the project on hold for a long while. Then one day while browsing around on Gun Broker I found a guy selling a NOS Winchester Model 1894 octagon carbine barrel from1966, a Post 64 barrel. It had Centennial markings on it which I didn't like and some light surface pitting from being in storage all these years, but it was the only game in town and I jumped on it and now I've got myself a barrel. So it will now be a 20" octagon carbine which Winchester did offer in 1910 so it's a correct configuration minus the rear rifle length sight and I've solved that little problem by bidding on and winning a Pre 64 semi buckhorn so now I'm all set.

    So, can you put a post 64 barrel on a Pre 64 action? Yes and no, you've got some work to do. The Post 64 barrel fits and threads in just fine but will need very minor turning for it to time up to the action. Also, dovetails will need to be cut into the barrel for the magazine hanger and forearm mount. You could use a Post 64 short forearm and skip cutting one dovetail but that would be sacrilege! The correct configuration is the long forearm, it'll just take some work to cut in the dovetail.


    Here's the rifle in its original configuration with the 24" barrel. It looks nicer in the picture than it actually is in person. The serial number shows it was made in 1910.
    JjDsgPF.png



    Here's the barrel I won on Gun Broker. Pitting on the outside but with a mint condition unfired bore, made in USA by Winchester. It came with a new magazine tube and forearm, all of the original Pre 64 hardware works with the magazine tube except the hanger and forearm dovetail which will need to be cut.
    54ZaEYK.jpg


    Engravings on the barrel are shallow and fairly easy to remove, you can see some of the surface corrosion in this shot. Thankfully none of the corrosion ended up in the bore.
    l6FQI5b.jpg


    This is my lever action barrel wrench for Pre 64 Winchester 1894 lever actions made from some scrap wood, it's all you need and safer than the steel action blocks I've seen. The barrel is placed in a flat jawed vice sandwiched between two pieces of scrap wood. The block is clamped over the first half of the action only where the barrel screws in, this is the thickest part of the action and won't bend here. I soaked the old barrel in Kroil for a few hours and it came right off with almost no force. The barrels on these guns are not torqued on, you just time them up to the marks stamped on the barrel and action and you're done. The notches are for clearing the lugs on the receiver.
    RwqV7ky.jpg



    Here's what the original 1910 finish looked like when it was new, note the stampings.
    IPg2OdB.jpg


    This is the original magazine tube and hanger. The hanger sits in a dovetail and is twisted in place with the magazine tube, not pushed in from the side like a sight block. Post 64 magazine hangers are soldered in. As you can see it's in pretty rough shape, luckily I found a NOS magazine tube hanger.
    0nxpKl7.jpg


    This is the forend tenon that holds the cap for the forearm in place. This will have to be measured and cut into the Post 64 barrel.
    XkfTacq.jpg
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    RedArmy

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    My idea for the new barrel is to make it look weathered and original to the rifle so I left some of the pitting in place. Once blued I'll weather it back down to match the receiver as close as possible.
    1Ui7lvS.jpg


    I'm going to have the markings from the old barrel laser engraved into the new one. Hopefully my guy can do it, there's a lot of small lettering he'll have to replicate.
    PV13SnS.jpg


    For sights, I'm going to try and use the original Marbles front and the new semi buckhorn for the rear. The front might not be high enough, I'll just have to try it out and see. I have a solid brass Skinner front sight too that I might use, I'd like to go with the original though.
    s02pwwL.jpg


    Iip5WCL.jpg
     
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    RedArmy

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    And here I've finished cutting the dovetail for the magazine tube hanger. I bought a dovetail cutting guide but found I really didn't need it for this cut. I replicated the small gap under the hanger just like the original barrel had and the hanger spins in place like the original as well. I used a NOS Pre 64 hanger as the original was a little too beat up. The original magazine plug and hardware bolted right up.
    qBuEpPe.jpg


    Ei8nU3u.jpg
     

    RedArmy

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    And here's where I'm leaving it today. I'm pleased with the way it's going so far, it feels like a new rifle with all of the parts being nice and tight. Can't wait to get this done and shoot it for the first time. I wonder how long it's been since it last fired a round.

    yhqZWIV.jpg


    gyEtRqO.jpg
     

    RedArmy

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    Just for reference, here are two period correct Model1894 carbines.

    This one was issued to border patrol agents, I believe it was made in 1906.
    tkTQOfx.jpg


    The last time I looked at this one they wanted 7k for it, probably sold by now. I think this one was a 19" barreled carbine, it's also the high grade model with a brass butt cap. Wouldn't mind having the cap on my stock brass plated too.
    O0NnXqT.jpg
     
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    RedArmy

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    Thanks guys, just need to get the dovetail for the tenon cut and I'm home free. The forearm also has a crack running lengthwise that I didn't notice until I took it apart so I'll probably have to refinish after I repair it with epoxy, shouldn't be too hard. I've got the perfect stuff to do that job already.

    DexFnoO.jpg
     

    RedArmy

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    Damn fine work.............

    Why not just reline the original barrel?

    Thanks, I searched for barrel relining services and found none that would do a 30-30. If you know someone I'm all ears, I would love to put the 24" barrel back on. The only other thing I know to do is to have it rebored to 38-55 by JES. Finding reloading supplies for 38-55 is going to be tuff, it's already expensive enough for 30-30.
     

    RedArmy

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    By the way, if you're trying to find parts for an old rifle be it a Winchester or Marlin etc, give these folks a try: https://homesteadparts.com/shop/ Just don't expect a fast turnaround, this is an old time operation, if you order parts today you might get them next month, you will get them though.

    I found just about everything I needed there, if your going to keep an old gun running you better get spare parts while you can. Most of these parts interchange with other Winchesters so if I decide to get another one and I most probably will, then I'm all set.
    4m3TU0Q.jpg


    I'll be going through the receiver once I'm done with the barrel fitting, if anything is found to be excessively worn or broken I can now replace it. I have a new magazine spring for the shorter tube as well.
    t2e5YHc.jpg
     

    benenglish

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    The only other thing I know to do is to have it rebored to 38-55 by JES. Finding reloading supplies for 38-55 is going to be tuff
    If you go that route, please do a good deal of research first. So much 38-55 brass out there was made entirely out of spec. AFAIK, that means most of it for decades.

    IIRC, only Starline is producing the dimensionally correct stuff. Obviously, if you know someone doing reboring to that cartridge, they're probably your best source of info but I thought I'd just toss out a warning.
     
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