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I have a 1902 1894 takedown 30 WCF with half mag, half octagon 26″ barrel, shotgun butt, deluxe that someone prior to me removed the blueing and sanded the checkering :((((. The good news is I traded a relatively inexpensive revolver for it, and it shoots great. The Cody letter states it was blued. Since it has been defrocked, but is otherwise mechanically good, would this be a candidate to restore, or just leave alone? Would it matter at this point if the receiver was color cased, or should it be blued as original if it’s restored? Thanks, 021
Post some pictures so we can get a idea of what it looks like now. If you do decide to refinish the gun, restore it the way it left the factory. Now question you have to answer is how much you want to spend on the refinish job. You do a cheap job or have the wrong guy do it, your going to have wished you left it alone.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
I can’t post pictures ….. somehow. If you have to do photobucket I’m out, but could email pictures. Is this rifle worth spending $$$ on?
You can email them to me and I will post them. Email is under my picture.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Here are the pictures.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Thanks 1873man!!! These are the pictures I have but I can take better ones in a few days. Is this a rifle that would be worth restoring? Or will you need better pictures? Regards, 021
How are the markings on it? Were they taken down from the cleaning?
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
They are pretty good. I think whoever “cleaned it up” just scrubbed the blueing off of it, the only sanding I see is on the wood, and seems to have been concentrated on the checkering. The wood breaks my heart more than the blue. I actually think the original wood could be recheckered, but I’m not expert enough to think I could make that call. Once again, thanks and I’ll get more/better pictures soon. By the way, the first picture is from a 2014 deer hunt. As messed up as it may be, that rifle is special to me.
After looking closer at the pictures I see the stock was sanded quite a bit below the metal on the right top of the wrist. If that is what I’m seeing you don’t have enough wood left to rechecker or is not worth checkering that piece of wood or is that just a sliver of wood missing? Finding a original replacement stock would be very difficult to find being pistol grip with a shotgun butt. Repo wood would be the most likely route if you wanted to refinish the gun.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Good eye! That’s a very small piece of wood missing there. I’ll get some pics of that area. I’m thinking it could be replaced possibly, I believe it’s more cosmetic than any functional problem.
I think better pictures would be in order.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
January 26, 2011
Offline
A couple questions….
What does the letter state – exactly? I don’t think I’ve ever seen an 1894 letter that says a gun was blued, since this was standard. Also, are you sure it was checkered to begin with? It looks like it may have been a plain pistol grip stock (un-checkered). If you are sending Bob more pictures, you might add one of the letter.
~Gary~
I’m quite new at this however I have seen a lot of letters as I visit the Winchester sites daily and I have never seen bluing mentioned in any factory letter.
Winchester Model 1873 44-40 circa 1886
It’s been a long time since I looked at the letter, could be it doesn’t state that, or by not saying it I could have taken that to mean it was blued. Good points, I’ll get a pic of the letter also. You can see a very faint outline of the checkering on the pistol grip—old style, rounded at the bottom as I have seen in pictures of that era. I need to go get this rifle and look it over again, and take much better pictures, probably Tuesday. Thanks all for the help, great forum here.
January 26, 2011
Offline
Sounds like its “I” pattern checkering, which was not necessarily earlier, but just a cheaper grade of checkering usually offered with straight grain wood as your rifle reflects. The I checkering was not cut as deep, from what I can tell, so therefore it wore down easier. I’ve had several rifles with very faint I pattern checkering, not sanded down, but just wore down from use. Your letter likely says plain pistol grip, checkered.
~Gary~
Plainwood is softer than fancy grade wood and the checkering wore off faster.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
We all have different agendas , but I dont think I’d spend money on it , but Id try it out and if good function and accuracy (great hunt camp gun and conversation piece as is ) maybe keep as is for a shooter as is , and enjoy it . instead I’d be patient , and perhaps set up a slush fund for opportunities for a nice original to come up reasonable $ , and they do find you through time
For money spent on a good restoration you could buy a nice cond , more desirable original
Then you would have your first one , that you dont have to be as careful with, to use, and also have a nice Collectible original as well , for the same money (or less ) than a restoration on your 1 gun would cost you. (2 mints in one )
A Canadian member was selling a beautiful un messed with high cond 1894 takedown for less money than Bobs proper restoration $ figure
Cheers
Phil
25-20 said
We all have different agendas , but I dont think I’d spend money on it , but Id try it out and if good function and accuracy (great hunt camp gun and conversation piece as is ) maybe keep as is for a shooter as is , and enjoy it . instead I’d be patient , and perhaps set up a slush fund for opportunities for a nice original to come up reasonable $ , and they do find you through timeCheers
Phil
I think that’s the whole rationale for this discussion, should I spend $$$ on this or is it not worth it. Better pictures coming shortly, but everyones comments are appreciated. At one time, this was a darned nice rifle, I still get that feeling about it now whenever I pick it up.
I can’t imagine that the restoration would ever make financial sense but somewhere earlier in this discussion, you said something about this gun being important to you. I think only you can determine what that is worth. I’d think you have to go into it thinking that you won’t recover the price of the restoration if you should ever sell it. But, there’s nothing wrong with that if it make you happy.
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