Original barrel or not ???|Winchester Rifles|Forum|Winchester Collector

What makes you think is has been re-barreled, Chris? I’ve heard some 38-55’s were re-barreled to 30WCF but haven’t seen much to back up that theory. Maybe the stampings on the left side of the barrel will help our sharp-eyed brethren confirm or refute your theory. Reblued isn’t the end of the world, a Winchester used hard would often need some aggressive maintenance. Some collectors are coming around to this, others probably never will. I’m fascinated by the 38-55, it was the original chambering for the  1894 and was still popular long after “better” cartridges came along. Don’t apologize for this gun, Chris. One of my “best” 1894’s is  refinished 1894 rifle in 38-55 (about ten years older than your rifle) bought from an old friend. The period refinish is obviously a maintenance measure easily spotted at well over an arm’s length. A tang sight and a good bore ensure this rifle a role in my long delayed 38-55 project. I know my rifle is a shooter. If someone cared enough to refinish your rifle back in the day do you think maybe it was a good shooter? It may never have the collector value of some pristine examples but I’m a sucker for a shooter. At least half my 1894’s prove that!

Mike

Chris, I agree with Mike about period refinishes.  Proper Englishmen and the canny Scots figured this out a long time ago. Price out a lovingly used Pre-WWI Purdey best grade that has been “re-blacked” – usually just the barrels because the receiver is case colored or “coin finished” and covered with fine English scroll. Often the checkering will have been “refreshed” – in the bone-hard Circassian Walnut.  The tag will at least clean out your sinuses if it doesn’t stop your heart. 

Chris,  The key to a good wood refinish is whether or not the wood has been sanded down below the steel at the wood/steel junctures (bad); and whether or not the original contours of the stock have been maintained (good) and not softened by over-aggressive sanding (bad). Any severe gouges should be filled with a dark grain filler and chips inlaid with matching wood, before re-staining and topcoating. Too much shine in the topcoat ought to be knocked back with a few light passes with 4-0 wool.  From what I’ve observed at Cody, even the old field grade Winchesters in mint condition did not have a matte wood finish but reflected some light. 

I’ve never studied the early production – to – WWII finishes on the various lever action models. I’d always assumed the early guns were linseed oil finished, perhaps with a drier added to create a sort of oil varnish. After a certain point I thought they were lacquer topcoated.  I believe in all cases the wood was filled with a blackish pore filler and sprayed or wiped with a red/brown stain to homogenize the sapwood with the heartwood. 

The wood finish on your 38-55 looks good to me for color.  There’s considerable variation in the finish color of even vintage Winchesters wearing their factory finishes that haven’t seen a lot of Sunlight. 

The late Dr. Ron Stadt, a university professor and teacher of vocational classes, who was also a talented craftsman in his own right and a very serious collector and student of Winchester shotguns, wrote a book titled Winchester Shotguns and Shotshells that I’ve always considered one of the better scholarly treatises on the subject.  Stadt was pretty blunt about metal re-finishing.  He said that, if the steel is properly prepared and re-blued by a knowledgeable master craftsman, it is impossible for the best experts to tell the difference with certainty, between the resulting finish and a factory original finish. Ron had seen a lot of Winchester shotguns and knew all about manufacturing tool marks and color variations, too.   

A favorite of mine is a late, grooved receiver Model 61 Winchester that was in very high condition when I found it on a consignment rack — except for one little problem. I suppose to discourage theft, somebody had at large scale scratched his Texas driving license number on the left receiver wall – with a nail or other sharp tool. Made you cry to look at it.  The rest of the gun was so minty the shop still got $495 USD for it.  I took the gun to Scott May in Denton, a long-time gunsmith and custom gun maker, who kept it for seven months!  Reduced the left receiver wall to eliminate the scoring and reblued the entire gun, taking the trouble to repaint the safety button cylinder stripe in dead-on red enamel.  No pulled marks, no phony shine.  It looks like it came out of the box for Christmas. I’m not saying the late Ned Schwing couldn’t have told the difference. But nobody I’ve showed it to so far thinks it’s been refinished until I tell them.  It’s one that will stay with me until last call. 

Yes, that works for Winchesters proofed as a last step.  However, there are Members with far more expertise and experience than I will ever have, who say that was not the sequence of events commonly followed. Rather, most guns were proofed in the white and then sent to the polishing room and then underwent the Dulite bluing process. 

I refer you to the recent thread on this forum [Late Model 71 Serial Numbers….Clearing Up a Misconception] wherein Bert H. asserts that any Model 71 not proofed through the blue has been refinished, citing the lengthy article he published in the Collector.  In opposition, Lou Luttrell, our Model 70 Guru,  points out that WRA’s standard process was to first proof, then polish and blue. 

[If I have misunderstood what either of these two learned gentlemen have written, I would expect to read about my error shortly, if not get a withering PM, which I would promptly disclose. ]

I have a shotgun that came out of Texas.  In the 70’s it was not uncommon to scratch your driver’s license number somewhere.  On mine it is barely visible under the hand guard.   This helped me track down the family that once owned this shotgun.  So, it isn’t always a bad thing.