Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General What to look for in a "well used "Win pre 64, .25-35 ?

I'm still biten by the pre-64/ ,25/35 bug. I happen to know where there are a couple of "well used," that means rough looking, pre-64, 94's in .25/35. Rough looks I don't really mind. But I will want something that shoot reasonable well. Would 3 MOA be asking alot for such a rifle ?
What I'm considering is asking the the gunsmith at that store, a very competent guy I've learned, to clean and examine such a rifle for flaws that might impact it's accuracy or reliability.
Is there anything in the basic combination of that rifle and cartriage that might render it impractical to buy and use as a sort of beater rifle ? I'd be using either open sights or a peep sight, probably the later. Casual large varmits and deer. Nothing over 150 yds., probably much less. E

Really pretty straightforward. Shake it and look it over for missing parts. Work the action. Lack of smoothness is not good. Look the interior of the bore over good. If it's got a pretty decent bore and it works good, you're fine. Most of the beaters are beaters though. Right now, I'd go with an upper end gun. It won't cost you a lot more than a poor one.

E: the nose of the link gets worn in time and allows a shell to end up under the link. headspace is usually worn but wisner's has oversize locking blocks ro locking bolts.

I just looked at it again. The wood is good, the metal is pitted and the action was pretty smooth. The sights suck. Hard to see. Reduced from $1000 to $450, the last of an estate sale. They are going to clean the bore and check it out for functioning including firing a round. It's a SRC to boot. I'm very tempted. E

I'd snag it for $450 even in the condition you describe.

Actually, I was wrong. They want $600 for it. Down from $1400.
The barrel and chamber have no pitting. Just needs a good cleaning. No significant wear on the action/lockup. Fired cases come out just fine. They cycle normally, etc.
I've noticed something kind of odd. The SRC I fondled has a small rifle feel. Balances and comes up nicely. The 1947 94 I checked out, again, feels bigger (?) and doesn't seem to handle quite as well. Doesn't shoulder as nicely or smoothly ? I'm not sure, but there is a definate difference. And it favors the SSRC model.
The sights on both are terrible. Hard to see. The triggers on both are much heavier and not as nice as my dad's old 64, .30-30. I'll bet that can be improved.
I'm still thinking about it.
What's bothering me is paying $600 for a pitted, old rifle.
Sometimes it's tough being vulnerable to the alure of a particular rifle. E

It's worth $600 in the condition you describe. I'd buy it if I were you.

$600 sounds high to me. I paid $500 for a .32 Special (1941 mfg.). with about 50% blue (nice patina with no pitting), a good bore and good wood three years ago. Had an original tang sight, too. I have seen better examples in .25-35 for $700-$900 within the last couple of years. However, SRCs in .25-35 in any condition don't pop up very often--I looked for almost ten years to acquire my three .25-35s (two Winchesters and a Marlin) and never did see an SRC in that chambering.

A 25-35 for $600 is a buy if the bore is pretty good..I have a SRC 25-35 that has no blue, no pits, good honest wear, solid wood and the bore is peppery, but it shoots two inches and under..I have had it for 60 years and it was like that when I bought it. I gave it to my one of my kids. Most any 25-35 shoots really well. I was offered $1000 to as much as $1500 for it..

I have another 25-35 SRC in about the same condition and it also shoots about two inches at 100 yards and it was a gift from a very good friend so it has a permenent home..I deer hunt with it quite a bit. I value it at about $1500.

Grab it.

How many 94's have you seen with those issues?

The last saddle ring was 1926?? (help me here) In 25-35, maybe the most collectible of caliblers for the 94. With bore left??? Why is it still on someone elses gun rack. I second the motion, buy it. But, it is a kind of puny deer cartridge. By the way... with the rifle around the 1915-25 range there was something funky going on with winchester's blueing process and didn't stick well to the receivers very well. If there isn't much left but in the protected areas that could be why. IMHO it goes with the territory.

Having shot a number of elk and deer in my cowboy youth with the 25-35 SRC, I can tell you that if you put the bullet in the heart/lung area up to say about 150 yards on elk and 200 yards on deer it will kill them pretty darn quick. If you shoot them around the edges your in for a long haul and may not recover the animal, thus I usually limit my shots on both species to about 100 yards and pretty much broadside standing...Easy with Whitetail from a blind or Mule Deer behind my house.

If your trophy hunting then a bigger gun is really the best way to go, I have watched some real monster bucks just graze over the next saddle because I was not comfortable taking the shot, a shot that would have been a cinch with my 06 or even my 250 Savage..

I can do that because I feel like I have shot my share of big bucks, and see no need to be greedy, so don't mind leaving them there for some one more appreciative, or some kid that is really wanting a nice trophy for his first buck..I see my 25-35 as my meat gun, I usually shoot a spike or fork horn deer these days and I don't hunt elk with it anymore.

If you can hunt with the 25-35 under those terms then its a great little rifle and fun to hunt with, like archery or muzzle loading, you have to do your hunting before you do your shooting..IMO it is almost as good a killer as a 30-30 but not quite. It is however, in my experience, generally a considerably more accurate cartridge.

I say grab it, you seldom see .30-30s, let alone .25-35s
in a Model 64. A friend of mine has a beater Savage 99 in
.25-35 caliber and a TC Contender. Have asked him to sell
the 99 but he wont budge.

A SRC is worth that with any sort of original gun/orignal finish remaining and a decent chamber and bore. I would buy it.

The saddle ring was discontinued about 1932. It was found on some guns a year or two later as parts were used up.

Grab it, it took me 10 years to find mine & it had the stock replaced (mess) but still shoots ok
MC