New Member from PA|General Discussions & Questions|Forum|Winchester Collector

kevindpm61 said
Greetings fellow WACA members. I recently joined the association after stumbling upon a rare rifle that is for sale (verified by a Winchester records). I’m in the process of dealing with the seller and hopefully I can strike a deal with them.

This rifle will need restoration work to bring her back to her full glory. I’m looking at this as a long-term project. If and when I get the rifle in hand, I will post pictures and more specific info on it. I’m hopeful that the forum will be invaluable in the restoration process.

My interests include vintage hunting rifles of various manufacture. Currently, the only antique Winchester that I own is a Model 1897 Black Diamond Trap Gun with English style stock. I plan on taking her out into the woods today to bag some squirrels.

My current collection of firearms include:

Steyr Mannlichers 1903, 1905. 1908 and 1910

Steyr 1893 George Gibbs Sporting rifle (took a seven-point with this one last year)

Haenel Mannlichers x2

Ross M1910

.256 Newton

1899 Remington-Lee in 30-40 Krag (this will be my deer rifle this year)

Remington 30 Express

Remington 721 (my father’s rifle)

Thanks for allowing me to participate with the forum. 

  

Welcome!  My collection also extends beyond Winchester levers and includes vintage bolt action rifles.  I was quite interested in your list.  Your Ross M1910 is a .280 Ross sporting rifle?  

Let me add that I share Anthony’s concern about potentially restoring an old Winchester.  Particularly a rare one.  It might be worth your while to post some photos here as we will respond with opinions

Welcome, Kevin! Sometimes restoration is the best option but many of us like old guns with character as well as condition. I would try to discourage the seller from having the gun “checked out”. Some of today’s “gunsmiths” have little experience with vintage firearms. You both know it likely has issues, that’s all that should matter. I’d assure the seller you won’t attempt to shoot the gun before performing a safety check and needed repairs. Looking forward to details of your project.

 Mike

kevindpm61 said
Thanks for your responses guys. Yes, my Ross M1910 is in 280 Ross. It is a great shooting rifle and seems to like standard .284 bullets. I have a very accurate load with Speer 145 gr bullets that clocks at a tad over 3,000 fps.

I understand everyone’s concern regarding restoration of an old Wnchester. Unfortunately, someone already did work on this rifle. The original case-hardened receiver has been reblued along with some other modifications, to the barrel and forearm. 

As mentioned earlier, I will be able to share more information and pictures if I am able to purchase the rifle. There is apparently some functional issues which the seller is having checked out. They said that they might not even sell the rifle if it is deemed unsafe or non-functional. 

  

The .280 Ross is supposed to use .287/.288 bullets (very hard to find) but many have obtained very acceptable accuracy with .284 bullets.  What do you use for cases?  I’ve used .300 H&H and most recently 7mm Weatherby.  I’ve also used other belted magnum cases as well.  These aren’t ideal as the .280 Ross case is not a belted case.  When you fire the loaded round the case expands to become flush with the belt.  In more recent times, I’ve heard the .375 Ruger case is a better choice.

Back to your prospective Winchester, yes, I wouldn’t express any concern about refinishing a rifle that has previously been refinished.  Sort of like if someone had rifle that originally had a 28 inch barrel, but had been shortened to 24 inches.  I would have no concerns if someone wanted to shorten it to 22 inches

I have some milsurps too, mostly WWI & II stuff but not all. Newer levers too and some black guns but definitely not what I’d call a “collection”. I did the same with a nice 1894 I got cheap that someone else had already refinished (way to shiny and not that great)….had it stripped and casehardened and reblued to a more original look. Welcome to the forum! 

Chuck said
Oh my, what a confession.

  

Yes indeed.  But I would have fallen over had he listed a Marlin

kevindpm61 said
Greetings fellow WACA members. I recently joined the association after stumbling upon a rare rifle that is for sale (verified by a Winchester records). I’m in the process of dealing with the seller and hopefully I can strike a deal with them.

This rifle will need restoration work to bring her back to her full glory. I’m looking at this as a long-term project. If and when I get the rifle in hand, I will post pictures and more specific info on it. I’m hopeful that the forum will be invaluable in the restoration process.

My interests include vintage hunting rifles of various manufacture. Currently, the only antique Winchester that I own is a Model 1897 Black Diamond Trap Gun with English style stock. I plan on taking her out into the woods today to bag some squirrels.

My current collection of firearms include:

Steyr Mannlichers 1903, 1905. 1908 and 1910

Steyr 1893 George Gibbs Sporting rifle (took a seven-point with this one last year)

Haenel Mannlichers x2

Ross M1910

.256 Newton

1899 Remington-Lee in 30-40 Krag (this will be my deer rifle this year)

Remington 30 Express

Remington 721 (my father’s rifle)

Thanks for allowing me to participate with the forum. 

  

Kevin – 

I assume your .256 Newton is a Newton rifle?  I know that should be an obvious assumption.  However (and I can tie this back to Winchester) I once had a Winchester-Lee rifle in .256 Newton.  Way back in the day, August Pachmayr advertised a service where he would rechamber Winchester-Lee rifles to .256 Newtons. I had one.  I’ve never heard of another, however if he offered (and he advertised it) the service, surely the one I had wasn’t the only one he did.  

kevindpm61 said
Steve

My rifle is a Newton in 256 Newton. It is a first run rifle in the 1300’s range. She is a cool rifle in excellent condition. Came from the factory with a bolt shroud aperture, double set triggers, fancy wood, cheek piece and metal butt plate. The rifle was presentation gift and has additional non-factory engraving and commemorative engraving on the floor plate.

  

Kevin –

Thanks for your response.

That sounds like a very cool rifle.  I love the bolt mounted peep sights they sometimes put on (that yours has :).  I have a friend who was a Newton collector.  I recall at one time he had over 40.  He also had lots of factory paperwork as well as quite a few Newton loading tubes (in their original cardboard tubes).

I’d be interested in hearing about your Steyr 1893 George Gibbs rifle.