Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Browning 1895 Scout Rifle Project

It was originally a new in box 1895 in 30-06. The original 24" medium taper barrel made for a HEAVY rifle.

I had the rifle rebored to my wildcat: a 9.3x62 case necked up to .410" as opposed to the .411 of the whelen. With 61.5 grains of reloader 10x, I"m pushing 2400 fps with a 350 grain swift A-frame. The odd-ball bullet diameter was designed for old African cartridges. Not many choices in .410", but a Swift A-frame is my favorite, so works good enough.

I got to measuring the barrel contours of my old BLR 358, by gully!.......those Japanese used an almost identical contour for where the barrel attaches to the receiver on both the BLR and the 1895. It's kinda cool, discovering something like this. I immediately purchased a fixed 2.75x scout scope, a BLR aluminum scout rail, and those new aluminum, Warne Mountain Tech rings. The scope, rings, and scout rail, all being aluminum, only added 13 oz. to the rifle. Honestly, the rifle felt too whippy with the 20" carbine barrel bored out to 41 caliber. The balance was all screwed up. The forward mounted scope, really fixed the balance. 1895's are kinda rear-heavy. Drilling and tapping all those 6-48 screws was kinda tedious. I may add two more front and rear on the rail, because I don't want it loosening up. The rifle kicks less than my 9.3x62.

It weighs 8.5 lbs all up. Since I like to carry the rifle by the reciever, I decided to get rid of that ugly, blocky lyman peep sight. It bit into my wrist when carrying I'm now just robbing the little peep off the lyman, and mounting it right to the rail. It's gonna be my spring bear rifle for the dog sled. Good for 300 yds!

Those dummy cartridges: one is a 358 winchester with 250 grain A-frame, a 9.3x62 with 300 grain A-frame, and the 41 O&M wildcat with 350 grain A-frame. The 41 caliber is kinda weird, the bullets act like they're trying to be all ballisticly suave with high BC numbers and pointy spitzer shape. But then.......they are chunky monkeys, like a 458 cal.

The reason I didn't go 405, is because Elmer Keith mention that the winchester 95 would jam up tight n hell, if you didn't load the magazine with each successive rim in front of the last. Kinda silly, stacking rimmed cartridges vertically. He said he couldn't leave the power of the 405 for the 348 Winchester though. Later in that book, he mentioned that the 400 whelan with 350 grain western tool and copper bullets, was one of the only cartridges he'd used, that would drive clear through the rump of a bull elk, and onto the vitals.

I read a 1984 Jeff Cooper article about the evolution of the scout gun, and wanted to kinda combine all the best words of advice from these two elders, into something different I guess. It's a weird rifle. Everything about it was unnecessary impulse.

Forgot to add:

I still need to sand down that awful clear coat, and cut some checkering. Then go for a hand rubbed oil finish. Custom rifles are irritating, especially when a guy could get a nice factory rifle, and not have to deal with this "thinking, planning, spending and whacky madness.

Turned out real nice mainer. Those 95s are hard to come by here...I've been looking. Can you use the aperture sight over the rail?

Ive got a hankering for one in 30-06. Add a williams peep and go kill stuff.

Just an FYI, you should finish your finish before going to the checkering...

Also, you will find it much easier to apply your oil finish heavy, wait a few minutes and rub the whole thing absolutely dry. Use a lot of coats and forget about rubbing out drops. The job will be better and it will be much easier.

Sitka, I"m tempted to just pull the butt stock and forearm, and send it off to be finished. I have boats to build, dog sleds to maintain, winter caribou to catch, and winter fish to catch. Do you have any recommendations for gunsmiths that can do checkering?

Yep, I went with a .537 height heavy brass bead. The big bead is low on the rail, so the point of aim is a little high at 100 yds. If I could do it over again, I would go .6 or higher on the front sight. I use one of those old red-field pop-up sights that is affixed to the scout rail.

I think I might have mis-spoke. That peep I removed was a Williams. It really is a worthless sight. Sharp, blocky edges, overly complicated, too many parts and impedes carry at the balance point.

Nice looking rifle.

Nicely designed rifle, maine. I have had a few original Win 1895s-405 WCF- and you do have to load em carefully in the 95 magazine. Killed my first really big bull elk with a
95 many years ago. Because of creeping around in the AK interior bush, I went to a 348 Ackley Improved on a Winchester M-71. Then a couple of pre-war Model 71s in 450 Fuller and the
other in 450 Alaskan. Even had a M-71 with a Lyman Alaskan scope-worked well. The 348 Ackley has the decided advantage of pushing a 250 Alaska Bullet Works bullet or 270 gr bullet
to 35 Whelen velocity.

All said and done, your idea of combining the scoped-95 rifle-and good 410 wildcat cartridge does the business. Like that.
It allows you to handle most game at any range, including anything that shows up at the moose or caribou gut pile later.
Old Ephraim will claim a moose pile with left haunch quick-and guard it after covering it over. Sneaky and very fast, Another reason for heavier caliber
The real advantage to the 450 Alaskan in the 1886/71 is very fast handling. I have tried them all,
and nothing is as fast as a pistol gripped 86 or 71, for repeat shots that you may have to take.

My place when I get there-is 11 miles S. of Wien Lake or 78 miles N. of Denali.
About 45 miles SW of Nenana.

This has me thinking about a 50 Alaskan on my 86 Winchester. I was an early 33WCF so I believe it a good candidate for a heavy.

Still think that’s one no nonsense rifle!

Had a nice # 4 Mk2 Lee-Enfield that was the worse rim-locking rifle I ever saw!!! Got rid of it as fast as I could.

Again! I say well done on that 95!

450 and Kaywoodie,

I haven't figured out much difference in speed between any lever rifle over the years. They've all been a heck of ah lot faster than a bolt gun. That speed for shot number 2 or 3 has been a cherished attribute on many occasions.

With that said, I sure do like a Mauser style bolt gun too. The stakes are too high to pass up meat and one of my most heart-pounding moments was missing a running bull caribou in trot at 350 yds with open sights with a 9.3 bolt gun. He was up on a brush-less bench about 50-60 yds in legnth. By my last shot, he was about to drop down into the alder brush. That fifth round rang true. He went sliding in the dirt for a good 15 feet, big streak of dust kicked up. A good bolt gun can be quick enough I suppose. There's nothing more authentically bolt gun than a mauser rifle chambered for a mauser cartridge.

A kimber 8400 rebored to 338-06, A ruger 77 in 375 ruger, 416 ruger or 338 ruger compact mag, a cz 9.3x62 masuer, a winchester model 70 carbine in 458 mag. These are all bolt guns I've shot or handled, that have left quite an impression on me, all remarkable tools for Alaska.

The reproduction Browning levers really are hard to beat for a hunter. Neither the standard Browning 71 nor the Browning 95 are worth much, and deals can be had. Seems they were only made in the mid 80's, aye? Tells yah what, I haven't owned one single fancy lever gun, but by gully has my lever gun experience been rich with adventure:

A cheap 30-30 model 94 (post 1964) that my father bought me when I was 10 yrs old for all of $100 from a guy in town who made a living sharpening ice skates up in Northern Maine:

I blew the dust off the thing and sent it to Jesse Occumpaugh for a rebore job to 375 winchester. Watched my son take his first big game animal with that, a fat bull caribou at 150 yds with a 255 grain Barnes original

A savage 99 carbine in 308 win: It was a parts rifle with almost all the blueing gone. I bought if for all of $300:
A quick rebore to 358, a cheap burris 2-7 scope and that rifle brought me home two of my biggest bull moose in some truly wild river country by canoe.

In both instances, the cheapest possible job, was 3 groove rifling. I got ah chuckle when I looked down the bores, never seen anything like it.

Now this here wildcat, it's got 4 grooves. Sheesh, I might've got too spendy.

Mauser 98 fan here too!

But Im down to like five right now.

Yup, 4 groovers, livin' high and never too shy to tell you all about it.

Mainer very nice. I have always wanted to do one in 35 Whelen and with a tang peep sight only. I haven't tried a scout set up enough to warm up to them. I would finish the rifle with the Winchester Pre 64 Red stain or even better get an upgrade piece of wood from Tree Bone stocks ( I think that's the right name?).

But you already have a good collection of medium bores already.

Tejano,

I haven't warmed up to a scout scope either. Due to the top eject, it's the only decent choice. The lack of optics with this particular cartridge, would do it a slight injustice. This ain't no 45/70 here. This is a rifle that will send a fairly high-bc spitzer bullet clear through a 30-40 mph wind and hit the target at 300 yds. This particular scout rifle, does not come up on point as quickly as my 358 blr with the 2.5 leupold ultralight.

The field of view on the 2.5 ultralight, combined with the light weight of the rifle, nothing can compare. The scout scope seems a little more finnicky with cheek rest to get a clear field of view. Nothing a little practice with a bunch of 41 caliber pistol bullets won't help. BUT, it is my belief that nothing compares to a leupold 2.5 x, nothing. It's the fastest.

Always wanted a BLR in 358 used several in 308 & 243. The Leupold 2.5 & 3x are under appreciated except for a small cult following. Missed that you did the 41 O&M. That should be good for just about anything. Like the 400 Whelan similar to the 450/400 which Taylor wrote might be the best all around chambering for brush country. The 375 taking top world wide honors.

I like it.

Mainer, you are on the right track. I guess I have a few extra rifles. Two early pre-64 M-70s , one in 338-06 and the other in 35 Whelen. Scoped in 3X Leupold and Leupold Alaskan.
Years ago, I had an original 95 in 35 WCF, with an extra barrel chambered in 35 Whelen-. It was a humdinger-ended up in Palmer I think-with a cheechako.
Zipper-I would think long and hard about re-barreling that 1886 33 WCF to 50 AK. Harold Johnson did that in the 1950s
at Cooper Landing. Find a cheap standard Browning 71 without the useless tang safety-then do the 50 AK conversion on it. If you get tired of that original 86 in 33 WCF, let me know.

That cartridge on the 9.3 makes a lot of sense, and will do more than the .405. Some good wildcats have come out of the north country, sittin around a Yukon stove
in the winter with paper and design in hand. I have had some Mausers, but still prefer the older Model 70s as they are smooth as greased glass and the 3-position safety can't be beat.
Had an older M-70 in 416, but unless guiding bear hunts-its almost too much gun.

Keep your nose in the wind and eyes along the skyline."

Cabin 78 miles North of Denali, SW of Wien Lake and Nenana. Minchumina is west. Toklat grizzly country.

Any updates? Sounds like a cool wildcat. I am a big fan of the 9.3x62 and have been pondering a 400 whelen...
Have you tried and of the 400 grain offerings?