Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Let's see your best, "character" Winchester

Mine is a .32 special. It came out of western North Dakota and obviously spent most of its life as a using cowboy gun. If you look at guns as books, safe queens are very thin books - pamphlets if you will. Guns like this one are akin to the thickest books out there - with many thick chapters.

I'm not happy with the photos as the sunlight is strong and harsh. The carbine looks at lot more mellow in the flesh. I find the condition amazing. Aside from the character, this piece was well-cared for. The bore is excellent, action tight and my no-go gauge will not close on the chamber. No alterations such as swivel holes, tap holes, splices in the stock etc. I am amazed a carbine could see that much obvious use yet the wood fits perfectly everywhere with no splinters at the tangs and it is not undersize at the tangs. There is a bit of shrinkage at the bottom of the buttplate. Given shrinkage I've seen on other rifles at the tangs, I am amazed this carbine shows none.

They say these vintage guns were used often used like tools. And when I think of the Colt SAA's I've seen that saw obvious use as hammers to pound nails, I know some pieces saw very hard use. However, I believe there was variability and I'm confident the cowboy that used this carbine did not use his revolver to pound nails into fence posts.

Being in the presence of this carbine, one has the sense it is vibrantly alive:







Kind of a fun bonus that it is fitted with the .32 special sight - adds a dash of uniqueness.

This is one of a few I have that has been around well over 100 years. It is a Winchester 1886 in 40-65. It is marked Browning Bros, Ogden U.T. It is a second year gun being made in 1887 and sold by John Browning from his own gun store in Ogden. The U.T. stands for Utah Territory as Utah wasn't yet a state.

It is a unique gun in that respect that John Browning not only designed the gun, he actually held this thing and sold it from his store. It is also a rare version of the 1886 in that it has a single set trigger...

It's hard to compete with you old timers, but I'll give it my best shot. Does it have to be a lever gun????



The best I can do:


1937 long tang deluxe 71... Speaking of "cowboy guns", this one has a lot of wear on the other side of the barrel and magazine tube where it rubbed inside a scabbard. I'd still like to figure out which ranch used the triangle in the butt stock for identification????

BSA - I remember when you bought that .348 - perfect hunter. Neat that is is an early gun, a deluxe, bolt peep, original swivels. Ready for anything on this continent!

Yep, I carried it during elk season and it just feels right in the hands. I really like the rifle and it's a joy to shoot. The old levers with a certain amount of patina and wear have so much cool factor. If they could only tell us where they have been and the things they've seen. Your old lever rifle is one that has been there and done it too. Kind of like those old loading sets that you rarely run across. When I have those in my hands, I can almost see the old cowboys sitting in camp loading up their ammo. I ran across one in 32 Winchester the other day and 30 WCF and kick myself in the azz for not buying them

How many of you guys (besides shrapnel) used these back in the day:
http://www.antiquearmsinc.com/winchester-50-110-reloading-tool.htm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Winchester-1894-Reloading-Tool-38-72-wcf-/191146426532

Shotgun or rifle? v best winpoor

Whatever you want to show but my suggestion would be to show both

My kind of thread!!! No prissy Winchester collectors allowed

couple of winnies here.
will submit so I can see them and comment

That's just F..ing cool !!!

Gramp's 1906

Here is one of my all time favorite rifles. It's an old Winchester high wall in .219 Improved Zipper. It was smithed by the late Floyd Butler of Poultney, VT. The stock is well done with checkering and the Butler flourishes. The barrel is 26" long and most likely a Buhmiller. Floyd told me that was his favorite barrel maker. The barrels twist is 1-16" as the original chamber was the R-2 Lovell. I shot many woodchucks with that rifle while walking the green fields. Most of the shots were from prone or sitting using that marksman's sling. The scope is a Lyman 10X Supertargetspot.

The bullet is the 50 gr Sierra over 4064 for 3,600 fps.



The picture below illustrates some of Floyd Butlers work on another rifle stock that's similar to my High Wall.

I love High Walls and I love checkpiece stocks. The flourishes on your stock are interesting. Sounds like you have a lot of very pleasant history with that rifle

Ok - the pump .22 - M1890 or M62?

And the .351 - kill anything with it?

Kill anything with that .375 Bigbore?

Yeah. I need a cigarette now!

Boltman, 1890 or 62 you can't tell? Its an 1890 by the wood, and receiver.

That is slick.

I'd pick my .270 fwt as I'm still working on "character building" of my other rifles.

Old eyes combined with a somewhat fuzzy picture is not ideal I do see it now that I strain my eyes a bit.

It would have to be this '73 SRC. It came out of the Yukon Territory. I bought it, and an 1866, from a fellow that had served in the Yukon with the Canadian Weather Service.



It's an 1883 vintage and in amazing shape for 130 years old. It still gets to the range on occasion to bust a couple 44 WCF's. Unfortunately, the '66 got peddled a number of years back in a moment of weakness.
yooper