Winchester Collector - Forum: Restoration, Repair and Maintenance

Bert H. on '73 Winchester disassembly, inspection and clean-up/lube

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 01:36:56 +0000

TR said
A stainless steel wheel on a dremel does not sound good. Old tooth brush, Kroil, cotton rag, and maybe 0000 steel wool with oil sounds better. Old grease and light rust will come off with soak time. T/R

Agreed!

Soak all of the pieces & parts in small tub of 100% pure acetone to remove all of the old dried grease, oil, and gun powder. If any rust exists, a soak in Kroil and use of a copper wire brush will remove the rust scale.

Bert

1873man on '73 Winchester disassembly, inspection and clean-up/lube

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 01:21:25 +0000

0000 steel wool or brass wool and oil will take rust off without harming the finish.

Post pictures of the gun so we can the condition its in.

Bob

TR on '73 Winchester disassembly, inspection and clean-up/lube

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 01:07:05 +0000

A stainless steel wheel on a dremel does not sound good. Old tooth brush, Kroil, cotton rag, and maybe 0000 steel wool with oil sounds better. Old grease and light rust will come off with soak time. T/R

Bert H. on Patches still coming out filthy….dark bore w/strong rifling. Tips?

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 23:18:47 +0000

steve004 said

Jim F in CT said
I had a “revelation” when cleaning my rifles after using jacketed bullets . . .
What I thought was CLEAN . . . .proved wrong after trying “Thorro Clean”.
Running a Teslong bore scope thru after Thorro Clean, showed a “sparkling” bore!

Never heard of it - can you tell us more about it? Others here have any experience with it?

Steve,

I found several good You Tube videos demonstrating it -

Tech Central - How To Clean Your Rifle Using ThorroClean - YouTube

Bing Videos

steve004 on Patches still coming out filthy….dark bore w/strong rifling. Tips?

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 22:58:58 +0000

Jim F in CT said
I had a “revelation” when cleaning my rifles after using jacketed bullets . . .
What I thought was CLEAN . . . .proved wrong after trying “Thorro Clean”.
Running a Teslong bore scope thru after Thorro Clean, showed a “sparkling” bore!

Never heard of it - can you tell us more about it? Others here have any experience with it?

steve004 on '73 Winchester disassembly, inspection and clean-up/lube

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 22:48:53 +0000

Bob -

Great tutorial!

1873man on '73 Winchester disassembly, inspection and clean-up/lube

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 22:22:35 +0000

John,

There isn't much to be gained by removing the mag tube. The only moving part is the follower which can be removed out the end. The mag ring dovetail is not a simple dovetail so trying to tap it out will damage it. its a circular dovetail. The mag tube must be removed before removing the mag ring. Depending on what era the gun is they inlet the mag tube in to the bottom of the barrel on early guns so you can't rotate the mag ring out with the tube in it. Over time they inlet it less until there was non. I would not remove the mag ring if it firmly in place since there is nothing to clean by removing it.

To remove the mag tube you first remove the mag tube plug and screw. Remove the spring and follower. Remove the forearm cap screws. Put some oil on the mag tube in front of the forearm cap to help from scratching the tube and slide the mag tube retainer forward so it is free of the tendon. the forearm cap sometimes can put side load on the mag tube making removal of the tube harder. Now remove the pin through the mag tube and mag ring. I would soak the mag ring and aft of it will oil, now the mag tube can be removed but years of oil and grime can seal it in place and this is where most people damage the tube. Trying to rotate it to break it free. If the guns been stored in wet environment the forearm wood will soak up moisture and rust the tube bonding it to the forearm just like if you used epoxy. I have used a steel or aluminum rod turned to just fit inside the mag tube and then clamp the mag tube in a padded vise and carefully work the tube loose but rotating a seized tube too much will cause the solder joint of the tube to break.

Bob

JSchluter on '73 Winchester disassembly, inspection and clean-up/lube

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 20:53:31 +0000

I'm finally getting around to opening, disassembling, cleaning and lubing my 3rd model 73 sporting rifle. I've already decided that I'll completely disassemble the gun since the original lube has gone past gummy to petrified. It took 2 full days to soak the side plates loose. The minor damage to some of the screws indicate someone has been into it in the distant past. The interior parts are in great condition with smooth age patina under the petrified lube/dirt layer. All parts/screws have been cleaned carefully with a stainless wire wheel in a Dremel. My question concerns the forend and magazine tube. I haven't seen anything addressing removal of the magazine tube in order to remove the forend. The forend cap anchor appears dovetailed to the barrel as does the capped end anchor. I don't want to damage the thin rolled sheet tube by trying to tap out the dovetailed anchors. Can I safely assume that I can eventually break down the gunk under the anchors and slide out the tube? And will this free up the forend so I can inspect for active rust under it?

Jim F in CT on Patches still coming out filthy….dark bore w/strong rifling. Tips?

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 18:26:38 +0000

I had a “revelation” when cleaning my rifles after using jacketed bullets . . .

What I thought was CLEAN . . . .proved wrong after trying “Thorro Clean”.

Running a Teslong bore scope thru after Thorro Clean, showed a “sparkling” bore!

Bert H. on Attention: Model 07 Gurus, Semi-Gurus, and Virtual Gurus

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 17:12:41 +0000

Darrin,

Very nice However, I see that you are missing a Model 1911 to round out the complete T.C. Johnson S.L. collection.

Bert

Darrin Smith on Attention: Model 07 Gurus, Semi-Gurus, and Virtual Gurus

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 11:14:04 +0000

Thank you Bill,

I have all the calibers and all but the .32 shoot fine. I am currently in the process of replacing springs and dampeners.

Darrin

Zebulon on Attention: Model 07 Gurus, Semi-Gurus, and Virtual Gurus

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 19:33:17 +0000

Darrin Smith said
Are the buffers the same in all of the models 1905, '07 & '10?

Darrin, I don't know but my friend and fellow member Steve Gabrielli probably does. Send him a PM.

Zebulon on Patches still coming out filthy….dark bore w/strong rifling. Tips?

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 21:34:02 +0000

Has anybody tried the new ceramic bore coatings that are supposed to fill in pits and ease passage of cast lead through rough bores?

I've only read about them, never tried any.

kevindpm61 on Patches still coming out filthy….dark bore w/strong rifling. Tips?

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:53:11 +0000

I agree 100% Mike. My 1899 Remington Lee in 30-40 Krag has a very rough bore but, it is exceptionally accurate with jacketed ammo. Sometimes, a rifle will surprise you (good or bad) with how it shoots depending on the bore condition.

TXGunNut on Patches still coming out filthy….dark bore w/strong rifling. Tips?

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:46:04 +0000

I understand fully the dangers of a bore scope in an imperfect bore but sometimes it's helpful to understand the nature of the stubborn fouling. I like the foaming copper solvents but sometimes a mild abrasive like JB helps smooth out the rough spots that stubbornly hold onto fouling. The Kroil helps by getting between the barrel steel and copper fouling. My standard method it to brush with Hoppe's #9 and a nylon brush, patch it out and brush again with #9. Then I let it soak overnight. I'll repeat this for a few days before moving onto the foaming cleaners and or abrasives. OTOH it doesn't take a perfect or even a clean bore to deliver acceptable accuracy.

Mike