twomoons said
also,i could not find the ksm stamp forward of the trigger link
All the more reason to lead me to believe it was originally assembled as a sporting rifle using left over parts that had been government inspected. The muskets would have the KSM in about 5 or 6 places IMHO.
I would tend to agree with "Road King" that it was originally a sporting rifle. The 1895 I wrote about earlier letters in its current configuration as a 40-72 with 26" octagon barrel and has the KSM on the lever only. The lever certainly looks original to the gun, with matching patina. It was built shortly after this 38-72, so it seems likely that Winchester was cleaning up some leftover parts from a musket order at about this time.
Commercial Model 1895 rifles were definately assembled with "K.S.M." marked parts that were left over from the original military orders. These parts may have been over-runs but were probably rejected parts by the military inspector that were perfectly acceptable for commercial purposes. I’ve owned a couple of there rifles and they are generally in the serial number ranges for guns manufactured in the 1899 – 1902 time period.
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twomoons said
BERT,
I AM SORRY.I WILL GET THE COMPLETE SERIAL NUMBER TODAY.MY DEALER TOLD ME TO NEVER DISPLAY A COMPLETE SERIAL NUMBER ON ANY WEAPON,OR RIFLE,OR PISTOL..
I WILL GET IT TO YOU TODAY
SORRY SIR
Steve,
Unless you or your dealer is buying & selling stolen firearms, there is no valid reason not to display a complete serial number. There is a lot of very useful information that can be gained when a complete serial number is disclosed.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
twomoons said
also,i could not find the ksm stamp forward of the trigger link
All the more reason to lead me to believe it was originally assembled as a sporting rifle using left over parts that had been government inspected. The muskets would have the KSM in about 5 or 6 places IMHO.
Not all U.S. government contract muskets are marked in 5 or 6 places. The US musket I have is only marked on the hammer and barrel with the KSM stamping. It doesn’t have markings on the lever, the lever linkage, or on the buttplate. So never say never.
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All that said I’m still not sure that means anything in regards to the musket discussed on the forum. Someone will have to check with the cody records to really determine anything. Also the musket we’ve been discussing, I haven’t seen a good picture of the top of the receiver. If it was a US contracted musket is should be stamped U.S. or have a Rack number on top of the receiver just in front of the bolt. Does this gun have such markings?
Sincerely,
Maverick
WACA #8783 - Checkout my Reloading Tool Survey!
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-surveys/winchester-reloading-tool-survey/
Isn’t this an auction for this rifle?
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=393274887
The gun does qualify as a C&R but that does not mean you can ship it directly to the purchaser. It requires shipment to either a C&R or FFL holder.
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