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Hi, just started collecting Winchester firearms and have so far added a 1893, 1887, 1892 and hopefully a 1895 SRC serial number 32301. My dilemma is, it has a crescent butt plate although with a trapdoor. I know Winchester would change butt stocks as an option but need to know if this is the case with this carbine. I called the Cody museum to purchase the letter for my serial number but it takes 4-5 weeks to receive the info. If I want an immediate check add another $140. I’m retired and that’s a bit rich for my blood. I have the rifle on hold for a week so I would like to know about the stock before I pull the trigger so to speak. Soooo, long story short I was wondering if anyone on the forum is a Cody member and would be willing to sell me one of his searches. I could send payment via paypal. I would pay whatever you felt your time and use of one search is worth to you. know it’s a lot to ask, but felt it was worth a try. I can be reaches at [email protected] if can help me. Thank You.
Why not buy a membership at the museum and use one of the searches they give you with the membership?
I’d help you out but I don’t have any searches to spare……
Thanks for the reply. Appreciate the feedback. Unfortunately I’m an entry level collector with very limited disposable $. I was willing to spin the wheel and pay the $77 for a letter in hopes it would verify the carbines stock as factory installed. But I don’t have the $150 for membership + another $77 for the letter if the stock is legitimate. It’s probably best I just walk away and wait for another carbine to surface in my price range that doesn’t have a ? mark associated with it.
Hi Greg,
One can never say never where Winchester is concerned, but I have never come across an 1895 carbine with a factory installed crescent buttstock, nor any 1895 with a trapdoor in the crescent buttplate. There are some carbines out there with shotgun buttstocks, but even those are pretty scarce. I really think you’d be wasting your money on a letter for this gun since the odds are very slim that the crescent stock is original.
If you just have to know if this an ultra rare configured carbine, the $150 Cody membership comes with 5 free serial number searches. As soon as you become a member, you can call and get the factory info right over the phone. If you were to add a WACA membership for another $45, you’d get another 15 free searches, four issues of The Winchester Collector magazine and access to every back issue, plus a WACA calendar. The magazine alone, is worth far more than the $45/yr.
Thanks to the help from a member of the forum, the carbine stock is, as most everyone probably thought, most likely not original to the rifle. The folk at Cody provided the following info;
WINCHESTER MODEL 1895 – SERIAL NUMBER 32301 Serial number applied on August 06, 1901
Type: Carbine
Caliber: 30
Received in warehouse on August 09, 1901
Shipped from warehouse on August 13, 1901, Order number 105180
So I will continue my search for one that has that is in the original configuration it was borne with.
Thanks to all who provided feedback to my question.
November 7, 2015
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As Mark has already pointed out, a Cody membership is money well spent for any Winchester collector. In addition to supporting a really cool museum and the Winchester archives you get free museum admission and a nice enough magazine. If you have a couple of days to spend in Cody I can assure you you’ll never forget the time you spent wandering through the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. It’s not just the Cody Firearms Museum, it’s a museum complex. Spend a little time on their website.
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