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kevindpm61 said
Rifle shipped from the dealer yesterday. I should have it in my hands next week. I’m anxious to go over the rifle with a fine-tooth comb.I also found it interesting that the Winchester records mentioned that there was no rear sight seat in the barrel. What exactly does that mean?
I asked Jim if the butt plate on the rifle is the original “rubber butt”. At that time, he told me that he had not ever seen a rubber butt. Anybody have insight to this?
Winchester introduced the hard rubber butt plate as a special order item in the early 1980s. The butt plate on your rifle is not a Winchester hard rubber plate.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Thanks Bert. Does anybody make a reproduction of the correct butt plate? I assume that it would have a widow’s peak. I see that NC Ordinance makes a repro of the 1897 plate. Would this be correct in appearance? I’ll need to measure the stock dimensions when it arrives.
kevindpm61 said
Thanks Bert. Does anybody make a reproduction of the correct butt plate? I assume that it would have a widow’s peak. I see that NC Ordinance makes a repro of the 1897 plate. Would this be correct in appearance? I’ll need to measure the stock dimensions when it arrives.
The plate in the picture you posted above is the correct style and appearance, and yes, it should have a widows peak.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Hi Gang
The Hotchkiss arrived today. I picked it up after work tonight and hurried home to unbox it. I will say that the seller packaged the rifle nicely. It was wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a Plano case. The case was wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a cardboard box. The rifle arrived safely without damage.
The rifle has exceeded my expectations. My cursory exam shows that the barrel measures 24 inches in length. I suspect that it has been replaced. The bore looks too good to be original and there are no Winchester markings. The contour is slightly smaller than the barrel contour of the forearm. The forearm shows original inletting for a round barrel.
The receiver has been blued but, the contours look good with very little pitting. Upper and lower tang markings look strong, and the serial number is clearly visible. The safety and magazine cutoff function as they should. Cartridges load into the tubular magazine and feed properly. A 45-70 cartridge almost chambers 100%. It is just a little tight for the last 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the casing. I will need to do a thorough cleaning of the bore and chamber.
The stock has a couple of areas of minor repair. One area is left of the top tang and the other area is left of the forearm. These appear to be old repairs. I removed the butt plate and inspected the end of the stock. No markings noted in this area. The wood has not been modified.
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to own this beautiful rifle. I still can’t believe that I stumbled upon this rifle and that I was eventually able to purchase her.
Nice. Now you need to collect some of the other Hotchkiss Sporters. Sporters are not easy to find.
I’m not really looking for anything else at this time. I’m still giddy about buying this Hotchkiss sporter. That doesn’t mean that I won’t stumble on something that might tickle my fancy. I have a varied collection of sporting rifles that includes: 1893 Steyr George Gibbs sporter, all 4 proprietary cartridge Mannlicher rifles, Haenel pre-war sporting rifle, 1899 Remington-Lee, 1910 Ross ,1916 Newton and a Remington 30 Express.
Kevin –
Glad it arrived safe and sound and you are pleased with it. Keep us posted on your progress.
Thanks Steve. I’ve been thinking about this rifle and what I want to do to get her back to the original configurations. Currently, I’m trying to source a reproduction butt plate to replace what’s on it now.
The wood is actually in very good condition. I would never restock this rifle. The old growth wood is just beautiful. A couple areas might need a helping hand to make it look even better.
The receiver and trigger guard will need to be color case hardened and I want to have a new 28-inch barrel made with correct markings. I’ll also need to source a correct front sight.
I’m very much a DIY kind of guy, but the metal work is beyond my skill set. I started a conversation with Mark Douglas about taking on this project. I never met Mark, but I certainly enjoy his videos, and I get a feeling that he is a straight shooter. On top of all that, he is a fellow Mopar man. He had is AAR ‘Cuda on the one episode. I restored my 1970 Duster 340 which I’ve owned since I was 16.
I don’t have my 440 Six Pack Challenger anymore but I do have a standard Model 1916 Newton.
You gotta love a six pack!. I enjoy reloading and shooting the Newton. They were great rifles…. ahead of their time. Mine was drilled and tapped by the previous owner. Most of my hunting rifles have aperture sights
I’ve never owned a Newton. When Jim Foral sold his Newton collection I had a chance to pick up some very nice ones. This falls under the category that you can’t own them all. When it comes to vintage bolt action rifles I took the Ross rifle fork in the road.
Steve, I was lucky and bought some stuff from Jim. Same with Bruce Jennings. Dave Saks does get parts sometimes too. He was my supplier in the very early years. My rifle is a family gun so it has been around for most of my life.
I emailed Jim about a week or so ago. I didn’t ask if he still had anything Newton.
Reading the Newton books the Ross is often mentioned.
So far, my Newton and Ross collection contains one of each 
. Maybe they will grow in time.
I spoke with Mark today, and we discussed the Hotchkiss. It looks like the rifle will be shipped off to him for restoration. I have a good feeling about having him do the work. It sounds like having a barrel machined to the proper contour will take a while. I’ll get the rifle shipped out sooner rather than later so that measurements can be made in order to proceed.
And so the journey begins.
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