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May 9, 2024
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Hello everyone, I’ve been a member for a year or so from the SW MO Ozarks, lurking around taking in as much information on Winchester lever actions as I can and enjoying it quite a bit. I bought my first vintage Winchester just before Christmas and figured I’d post it here in case Bert doesn’t have it in his survey.
It is a Model 64 Deer Rifle in .32 W.S., serial number 1129910. It has checkering, a flat unblued muzzle, front sight hood, sling swivels, and the slim ’94-style’ forend.
It’s shooter-grade, definitely been hunted with but it’s in pretty decent condition. It’s every bit as svelte and smooth cycling as I’ve read about here. I just picked it up this afternoon and haven’t had time to take pictures of it yet, should have some in a couple days and will try to get the barrel date then too.
August 27, 2014
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Welcome to WACA Nathan, looking forward to pics of your M64 Deer Rifle
“If you can’t convince them, confuse them”
President Harry S. Truman
April 15, 2005
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Nathan said
Hello everyone, I’ve been a member for a year or so from the SW MO Ozarks, lurking around taking in as much information on Winchester lever actions as I can and enjoying it quite a bit. I bought my first vintage Winchester just before Christmas and figured I’d post it here in case Bert doesn’t have it in his survey.
It is a Model 64 Deer Rifle in .32 W.S., serial number 1129910. It has checkering, a flat unblued muzzle, front sight hood, sling swivels, and the slim ’94-style’ forend.
It’s shooter-grade, definitely been hunted with but it’s in pretty decent condition. It’s every bit as svelte and smooth cycling as I’ve read about here. I just picked it up this afternoon and haven’t had time to take pictures of it yet, should have some in a couple days and will try to get the barrel date then too.
I did not have that rifle documented (yet), but I have it added now. I too would like to see pictures of it. Of interest, I did have serial numbers 1129904 and 1129914, both also Deer Rifles.
Thanks for posting,
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
May 9, 2024
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Here are some pictures of my 64. She definitely worked for a living but is still solid. I took it out today and put a dozen rounds through it and it’s a pretty sweet shooter. Looking at the book again, I was wrong about the forend, it’s the semi-beavertail. It was too stiff to get the forend loose to see the barrel date. I’ll have to get to work with the kroil & ballistol when I have a chance.
June 1, 2023
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Very nice to see a 64 Deer Rifle outside and being used for its intended purpose. Thank you for sharing the pictures.
BRP
March 23, 2010
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Cool old rifle.Shoot it and enjoy it.
November 7, 2015
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Nice! And in 32WS to boot, that adds bonus points for some of us oddballs around here. I like an honest gun with character. Good job on the pics, thatks for taking the time to share them with us.
Mike
November 19, 2006
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.32 Special!
It sounds like this rifle has served you well and it will continue to do so.
May 9, 2024
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Thanks guys, I shoot them all, if just a little bit. It’ll have a nice easy semi-retirement along with my 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer, Savage 99 and a few others. Although I do hope to take a few deer with them this fall.
November 19, 2006
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Nathan said
Thanks guys, I shoot them all, if just a little bit. It’ll have a nice easy semi-retirement along with my 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer, Savage 99 and a few others. Although I do hope to take a few deer with them this fall.
Very nice group of rifles to hunt with
November 19, 2006
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Nathan said
Thanks guys, I shoot them all, if just a little bit. It’ll have a nice easy semi-retirement along with my 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer, Savage 99 and a few others. Although I do hope to take a few deer with them this fall.
What chambering is your Savage in?
January 20, 2023
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steve004 said
Nathan said
Thanks guys, I shoot them all, if just a little bit. It’ll have a nice easy semi-retirement along with my 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer, Savage 99 and a few others. Although I do hope to take a few deer with them this fall.
Very nice group of rifles to hunt with
Indeed it is. Concerning the caliber of this Deer Rifle, there is an interesting article on the 32 Special cartridge published in the December 2025 issue of Handloader magazine. The author, Brian Pearce, pushes back against conventional gunwriter wisdom that the 32 Winchester Special served no real or unique purpose.
The condition of this one is appealing. A little Kroil and some clear wax for the Walnut and she’ll be good to go. I note the screw slots are un-messed with. You have to know she’s put some venison on the pole and can do so again. I like everything about this gun. Congratulations.
I think the Model 64 Deer Rifle is one of the most elegant and stylish guns in the Winchester line. Like the Model 71, the advice of Colonel Townsend Whelen is apparent in its design, which reflects a marksman’s preference for a wider butt, higher comb, a pistol grip of tighter radius, and — initially only in the Deer Rifle but eventually in the Standard style, too — a more substantial forearm.
The 24″ barrel version appeals to me for two reasons. It gets the most out of all the cartridges for which it was chambered and, particularly with a shooting sling, makes offhand shooting a lot easier, at least for me. While that may not be practical for still hunting, it is so for stand hunting.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
November 19, 2006
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Zebulon said
steve004 said
Nathan said
Thanks guys, I shoot them all, if just a little bit. It’ll have a nice easy semi-retirement along with my 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer, Savage 99 and a few others. Although I do hope to take a few deer with them this fall.
Very nice group of rifles to hunt with
Indeed it is. Concerning the caliber of this Deer Rifle, there is an interesting article on the 32 Special cartridge published in the December 2025 issue of Handloader magazine. The author, Brian Pearce, pushes back against conventional gunwriter wisdom that the 32 Winchester Special served no real or unique purpose.
The condition of this one is appealing. A little Kroil and some clear wax for the Walnut and she’ll be good to go. I note the screw slots are un-messed with. You have to know she’s put some venison on the pole and can do so again. I like everything about this gun. Congratulations.
I think the Model 64 Deer Rifle is one of the most elegant and stylish guns in the Winchester line. Like the Model 71, the advice of Colonel Townsend Whelen is apparent in its design, which reflects a marksman’s preference for a wider butt, higher comb, a pistol grip of tighter radius, and — initially only in the Deer Rifle but eventually in the Standard style, too — a more substantial forearm.
The 24″ barrel version appeals to me for two reasons. It gets the most out of all the cartridges for which it was chambered and, particularly with a shooting sling, makes offhand shooting a lot easier, at least for me. While that may not be practical for still hunting, it is so for stand hunting.
Sounds like a brilliant gun writer
May 9, 2024
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steve004 said
Nathan said
Thanks guys, I shoot them all, if just a little bit. It’ll have a nice easy semi-retirement along with my 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer, Savage 99 and a few others. Although I do hope to take a few deer with them this fall.
What chambering is your Savage in?
It’s a basic 99R in .300 Savage.
And my Steyr just because I like how it looks:
The other is a beater Husqvarna 9.3.
May 9, 2024
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steve004 said
Zebulon said
steve004 said
Nathan said
Thanks guys, I shoot them all, if just a little bit. It’ll have a nice easy semi-retirement along with my 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer, Savage 99 and a few others. Although I do hope to take a few deer with them this fall.
Very nice group of rifles to hunt with
Indeed it is. Concerning the caliber of this Deer Rifle, there is an interesting article on the 32 Special cartridge published in the December 2025 issue of Handloader magazine. The author, Brian Pearce, pushes back against conventional gunwriter wisdom that the 32 Winchester Special served no real or unique purpose.
The condition of this one is appealing. A little Kroil and some clear wax for the Walnut and she’ll be good to go. I note the screw slots are un-messed with. You have to know she’s put some venison on the pole and can do so again. I like everything about this gun. Congratulations.
I think the Model 64 Deer Rifle is one of the most elegant and stylish guns in the Winchester line. Like the Model 71, the advice of Colonel Townsend Whelen is apparent in its design, which reflects a marksman’s preference for a wider butt, higher comb, a pistol grip of tighter radius, and — initially only in the Deer Rifle but eventually in the Standard style, too — a more substantial forearm.
The 24″ barrel version appeals to me for two reasons. It gets the most out of all the cartridges for which it was chambered and, particularly with a shooting sling, makes offhand shooting a lot easier, at least for me. While that may not be practical for still hunting, it is so for stand hunting.
Sounds like a brilliant gun writer
I agree, I’ve never had a .32 before but I’ve had a (gasp!) Marlin 336 Texan .30-30 for most of my life and there is definitely a difference in feel between the two. Maybe it’s just the extra 4 inches of barrel but the .32 feels like it shoots a little ‘harder’, and I am aware I’ve gone about things backwards having a pistol gripped Winchester and a straight gripped Marlin
. I count the Winchester about equal with the Steyr for being balanced and easy handling offhand, with the 64 coming out just on top for me, being left handed.
January 20, 2023
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Nathan said
steve004 said
Nathan said
Thanks guys, I shoot them all, if just a little bit. It’ll have a nice easy semi-retirement along with my 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer, Savage 99 and a few others. Although I do hope to take a few deer with them this fall.
What chambering is your Savage in?
It’s a basic 99R in .300 Savage.
And my Steyr just because I like how it looks:
The other is a beater Husqvarna 9.3.
Nathan, just saw the images. My one and only 99 [every Winchester collector should own at least one] is an R version in 300 Savage. For all that the lighter schnable tipped versions are graceful, people who’ve never shot a 300 Savage may not realize the external ballistics – including recoil – are nothing to sneeze at. With a steel buttplate on both, the R stock with wider butt, substantial forearm, and higher comb is (for me) easier to scope and faster to recover for follow-up shots. After seeing yours, I really should refinish the stock of mine because the varnish has gone blackish dark.
Beater or not, I’ve always thought the Husqvarna was a lot of Mauser 98 sporter for the money. The 9.3mm chambering confuses me. Is it the short round for which Browning’s Euro version of the Remington semiautomatic Model 8 was chambered (and on which the 35 Remington cartridge may have been based); or is it the full-house cartridge popular in Africa that the Boers used to deal with cattle-killing lions?
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
May 9, 2024
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My Husqvarna is in 9.3x57mm, basically 8mm Mauser necked up to .366. 285gr bullet about 2100fps. It was apparently very popular in Sweden for moose hunting. It was their budget model in the 1930s (and it only cost me $385 last year) but is better fit and smoother than pretty much anything built today.
I specifically got the 99R because I wanted to scope it. I have a 3-9x Trijicon Accupoint waiting for spring to sight in.
January 20, 2023
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The Swedes (in their own country) can be a little hard to take but they know a thing or two about arms and ammunition.
I came to that conclusion after buying on impulse one of Sturm Ruger’s “African” model 77 rifles in 6.5 x 55mm Swedish Mauser caliber.
When loaded with the popular 139 grain bullet tohe cartridge has the felt recoil of a 6mm Remington but terminal penetration and damage like you see with a 150 grain 270 WCF.
To give Norway its due, I think a Swedish-Norwegian commission designed the cartridge for a joint Scandinavian military project. In 1894!
I’ve thought it would make up into the very best first deer rifle for a son or daughter, in lieu of either the 243 WCF or 6mm Rem.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
May 9, 2024
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I wish Ruger made the African left handed in 6.5×55, 7×57, or 8×57. Or maybe Winchester should make a run of LH Safari Grade Model 70s. I have a LH .270 Hawkeye but I do like the iron sights on the African model. I need to work up some 129-140gr loads for my 6.5x54MS, its great fun to shoot but doesn’t love the PPU 156gr RN.
January 20, 2023
Online
That is always a problem for lefties. Both my sons are right handed but left-eye dominant, the only solution for them by the time it was discovered — too late to learn to shoot left-handed – was to close the dominant eye.
Winchester has never been generous to left handed bolt action shooters. Remington and Weatherby have provided most of the actions and proper stocks.
Of course, NULA and, I think, Hill Country Rifles, will build you what I call a semi-custom for a lot less than the tens of thousands full-on custom makers want these days. Not cheap except by comparison. Disclosure: I don’t own any such.
Since Sturm Ruger made a deal to sell all its #1 Single Shot production to Cabela/Bass Pro, the quality of that model has returned but only one caliber and configuration a year is being run. Cabela has specified a lot of metric calibers and some genuine Elephant Guns.
Between the 99R and your Deer Rifle, I think you’ve got the best two rifles America has ever made for the left handed deer/Black bear/hog hunter. Before the .300 Savage “shrunk” in the minds of gunwriters, it accounted for considerable Grizzly, Elk and Moose venison.
Any interest in one of the new Marlin big bores with flex-tip ammo and a scope? The production quality out of Mayodan looks awfully good.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
