To Blue or not to Blue.... Model 1886 Crescent Butt Plate|Restoration, Repair and Maintenance|Forum|Winchester Collector

My letter states the following: Rifle, 45/90, Octagon barrel, Takedown and Plain trigger. It was manufactured in late 1894. The rifle has a blued finish. The stock has been shortened and a rubber recoil pad added. Oh Happy Days! I am hopefully going to fix that. I need an original stock and butt plate. I pretty much know about the stock but I have a question on the butt plate. I know it must be the crescent type with toe with a 1 5/8 inch extension into the comb of the stock.

The question is should it be blued or case-hardened? I know that the bluing was done to the rifle in 1894 because it has the takedown feature. Were the butt plates on these takedown rifles also blued or were they case-hardened?

Cheers

Kirk

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