Log In
Members
Home
Add Reply
Add Topic
Kirk Durston said
Here is one of my favourite Winchesters. Even though it is a beater, it is unmessed with (i.e., no one has ever done anything to ‘fix it up’). It is a Model 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine chambered in 44 W.C.F., serialized in 1913. This carbine came out of northern British Columbia. Judging from its external appearance, it spent way more time outdoors than merely hunting once per year. I’d guess it was a trapper’s carbine. Inside, however, it is a beauty with an excellent bore and smooth action. I can put five rounds into a 2 & 3/8″ circle at 100 yards with my own soft cast bullets. The honest history, speaking of a carbine that earned its keep, coupled with amazing accuracy, makes it one of my favourites even if it is a beater.
Beauty! And I like the staging too.
I like this thread. I’ll get around to posting some of mine soon.
Shoot low boys. They're riding Shetland Ponies.
Kirk Durston said
Even though it is a beater, it is unmessed with (i.e., no one has ever done anything to ‘fix it up’).
Sorry, Kirk, though that one is surely well-worn, I think it’s is too good to qualify as a full-fledged beater. Smooth metal, it appears, & the stock seems more stained & discolored than really beat-up.
clarence said
Sorry, Kirk, though that one is surely well-worn, I think it’s is too good to qualify as a full-fledged beater. Smooth metal, it appears, & the stock seems more stained & discolored than really beat-up.
I agree with Clarence. I wish I had a photo of the 2 ’92 Carbines in .44-40 that I bought from native hunters and trappers up in James Bay that would qualify as true “beaters”. I guess my first model 1894 would qualify also although owned by the Oblate Mission and not trappers.
Well, here’s my 24″ 44 W.C.F. rifle; 1892 first year, SN 1948. Shoots well (6″ plates while standing 100 yds) and I stopped the wood from drying out any more with Kramers.
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
WACA #10293
rwsem said
Well, here’s my 24″ 44 W.C.F. rifle; 1892 first year, SN 1948. Shoots well (6″ plates while standing 100 yds) and I stopped the wood from drying out any more with Kramers.
Although the stocks on this one seem to have been knocked about somewhat more than Kirk’s, there are no missing chips or splinters around the tangs & buttplate, which is common on your true beaters. The receiver looks smooth with a nice even patina–no pitting, scrapes, gouges, that I can see. Takes more neglect or abuse than this to make a true beater, I think.
November 7, 2015
Offline
Kirk Durston said
Here is one of my favourite Winchesters. Even though it is a beater, it is unmessed with (i.e., no one has ever done anything to ‘fix it up’). It is a Model 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine chambered in 44 W.C.F., serialized in 1913. This carbine came out of northern British Columbia. Judging from its external appearance, it spent way more time outdoors than merely hunting once per year. I’d guess it was a trapper’s carbine. Inside, however, it is a beauty with an excellent bore and smooth action. I can put five rounds into a 2 & 3/8″ circle at 100 yards with my own soft cast bullets. The honest history, speaking of a carbine that earned its keep, coupled with amazing accuracy, makes it one of my favourites even if it is a beater.
There’s no shame in a carbine earning it’s keep, Kirk! Awesome carbine, remarkable staging. Your carbine is proof that “beater” is a badge of honor.
Mike
November 7, 2015
Offline
rwsem said
Well, here’s my 24″ 44 W.C.F. rifle; 1892 first year, SN 1948. Shoots well (6″ plates while standing 100 yds) and I stopped the wood from drying out any more with Kramers.
Very nice, Ronald. I know every time you pick up that rifle you can feel the history it represents. Thank you for preserving it for the next generation.
Mike
rwsem said
Well, here’s my 24″ 44 W.C.F. rifle; 1892 first year, SN 1948. Shoots well (6″ plates while standing 100 yds) and I stopped the wood from drying out any more with Kramers.
WOW! In my neck of the woods that is not a beater!
November 7, 2015
Offline
Dave K. said
WOW! In my neck of the woods that is not a beater!
A gun with this amount of character is a beater indeed, but that’s not a bad thing, Dave. Ronald’s gun has done exactly what it was built to do and wears it’s battle scars like the hero it truly is. If John Moses Browning could pick up this rifle today he’d be one proud papa.
Mike
Here are a couple of my beaters. Top carbine is a .25-20 that we purchased on the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona back in the mid 60’s. Paid $15.00 for this one. The bottom carbine is a .44-40. Bought that one in the late 60’s from a gun shop in Phoenix. This carbine came of the Papago Reservation west of Phoenix. Paid $25.00 for it. Both guns are a bit worn and loose, but the bores are very good and they both shoot very well. The tooled leather butt cover was on a junk 94 SRC that I used for parts many years ago. Thought it was cool, so I put it on the .44-40 carbine.
win4575 said
Here are a couple of my beaters. Top carbine is a .25-20 that we purchased on the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona back in the mid 60’s.
Bailing wire around the shattered wrist earns that one the beater distinction for sure! If you’re willing to replace the barrel band with another wire wrap, you’d have a prize-winning beater.
Not so sure about the other one, but that butt-cover is great! I’d buy the gun just to get it, if it were for sale.
Clarence,
Both guns are very cool. I’ve had them now for over 50 years. I was with my dad when he bought the .25-20 right out of a hogan on the Navajo reservation at a trading post called The Gap, not far from Lee’s Ferry in northern Arizona. Dad paid $ 15.00 for the carbine, bailing wire and all. My folks bought me the .44-40 carbine for Christmas in 1966. When it arrived, the barrel was bent down against the magazine tube. I took the forend off and straightened it with gentle taps against a tree as I fired it. When it was dead on, I put the tube and forend back on. It is actually a very good shooter. Boy, how I enjoyed being a kid. At 70, sometimes life sucks.
clarence said
win4575 said
Here are a couple of my beaters. Top carbine is a .25-20 that we purchased on the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona back in the mid 60’s.
Bailing wire around the shattered wrist earns that one the beater distinction for sure! If you’re willing to replace the barrel band with another wire wrap, you’d have a prize-winning beater.
Not so sure about the other one, but that butt-cover is great! I’d buy the gun just to get it, if it were for sale.
Reminds me of killing bears on the Rez with one of my NDN friends. The forend on his model 64 .30-30 was held on with electrical tape. On one occasion we got on a really nice black bear boar. I had my Ruger SBH and Earl had his model 64. He fired 2 rounds hitting the bear once. He then didn’t want to go into the brush after it cause he only brought 3 rounds and just had the one left. I went in and got it with the .44
Shoot low boys. They're riding Shetland Ponies.
win4575 said
At 70, sometimes life sucks.
Wait till you hit 77, as I did 4 days ago. But then I have a friend who hit 90 last yr, & still shoots trap using his own machine several days every wk in the summer.
But the more important question…what will you take for that butt-cover? I wish you hadn’t shown it!
November 7, 2015
Offline
win4575 said
Here are a couple of my beaters. Top carbine is a .25-20 that we purchased on the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona back in the mid 60’s. Paid $15.00 for this one. The bottom carbine is a .44-40. Bought that one in the late 60’s from a gun shop in Phoenix. This carbine came of the Papago Reservation west of Phoenix. Paid $25.00 for it. Both guns are a bit worn and loose, but the bores are very good and they both shoot very well. The tooled leather butt cover was on a junk 94 SRC that I used for parts many years ago. Thought it was cool, so I put it on the .44-40 carbine.
I like them both, never ceases to amaze me how well some of these old beaters shoot. I recently decided there’s magic in some of these old Winchesters, nothing else explains it. Thanks for posting a peek at history.
Mike
I feel the same way. Shooting antique guns is one of the reasons I collect. There is definately something magical about shooting an old gun. It starts with loading the ammunition, then the sound and the smell of the burnt powder. Finally the recoil and excitement of walking up on a good target. All of this makes me wonder what it must have been like for the original owner of that gun when he popped off his first round. The first time I fired one of my 1st model 1873’s or an 1876 in .45-75 or .50 Express, I thought it was simply an awesome experience.
win4575 said
Shooting antique guns is one of the reasons I collect. There is definately something magical about shooting an old gun. It starts with loading the ammunition, then the sound and the smell of the burnt powder. Finally the recoil and excitement of walking up on a good target.
Well said, I feel the same way. T/R
1 Guest(s)
