Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Dad’s Winchester Model 04 Lives On

My Father had this Winchester Model 04 in .22 Short, Long and Extra-Long as a kid in the late 1920s.

When his father died in 1970, and we were cleaning out his home in the Central Valley, I came across Dad’s rifle leaning against the wall just inside the garage door. It looked as if it had been left there since my Dad last used it as a kid. It was so rusted up, it was barely recognizable. The bore was completely blocked.

I went after it with penetrating oil and a wire wheel till I could see bare steel. I sawed off nearly 7 inches of barrel before I found useable rifling. I squared off the muzzle with a hand file and crowned it using a countersink bit. I cut a front sight dovetail using a triangular file. Results:



My Dad used his rifle once again, in 1971, as the “survival rifle” in his private plane when he flew through Mexico, Central America and into Colombia. He was able to satisfy Colombian customs officials that it’s presence was required by FAA rules (total B.S., of course).

My Bride used it on our honeymoon in 1975 to kill a rabbit for our breakfast while we were camped near Mount Whitney. Both my Bride and the rifle have been with me ever since.

But, I’m getting a little long in the tooth, now, with open sights needing “just the right lighting” to be useful. So, longitudinal dovetail cuts were made in the barrel to accommodate an Ultradot red dot sight. Back in business: