Winchester Model 1892 Deluxe. 44 Magnum.|Winchester Rifles|Forum|Winchester Collector

My 1885 Miruko Winchester is a beautiful rifle, and it is a tack driver with smokeless and BP. Why have it if you don’t plan on shooting her?

It all comes down to personal opinion and objective.  I, too, have well over 100 guns, most of them Winchesters.  I have always made of point of loading for and shooting every new acquisition as soon as possible after I get my hands on it. That removes any questions or lingering doubts about the gun’s ability to function properly.

The only firearms in my collection which have not been fired are some Colt SAA commemoratives. And I even fired one of those in 45 LC.

Just my way of collecting.  

P

Nevada Paul said
It all comes down to personal opinion and objective.  I, too, have well over 100 guns, most of them Winchesters.  I have always made of point of loading for and shooting every new acquisition as soon as possible after I get my hands on it. That removes any questions or lingering doubts about the gun’s ability to function properly.
The only firearms in my collection which have not been fired are some Colt SAA commemoratives. And I even fired one of those in 45 LC.
Just my way of collecting.  
P
  

I’m in the same camp. I’ve got to see how it performs. One time I discovered a newly acquired model 1894 in 32-40 had been rechambered to 32 Win Special when the fired cartridge case emerged “fireformed”.  I got my money back on that one. I would have likely not discovered the problem without shooting the rifle. 

Commissioner said
I would have fired it to. A newly acquired USED firearm is not the same as a NEW firearm. You are comparing Apples to Oranges.You guys are trying so hard to be right, but make an honest comparison. When is the last time you bought a brand new High grade rifle that would not Fire? In my 75 years of collecting, it has never happened to me or anyone I know. I have never read of it either.
  

I would still carefully shoot a few cartridges through it. 

All I can add to the discussion is that I’ve been buying and shooting long guns built by Miroku ever since Browning Arms Company began contracting them to build their shotguns and, later, rifles, in the early Seventies. Some of mine are labeled Browning and some Winchester but all of them exhibit very fine fit and finish.

As a comparison, I have a 1958 Winchester Model 12 Standard Grade 12 gauge, 28″ barrel Modified choke in 98.5% condition, completely stock down to the plastic buttplate. TxGunNut sold it to me at a friendly price and I have shot a round of Skeet with it. I will hunt doves with it if I get the chance. It is a great example of a fine Winchester. 

I also have a Browning Model 12 made by Miroku in 1989. It is a very accurate reproduction of the 20 gauge Skeet Grade version of the Winchester Model 12, with diamonds of checkering on the forearm, a capped pistol grip, and a ventilated rib. The only distinction is a fixed Modified choke for general field use. The wood quality is not as high as a typical Skeet Grade but the action was hand honed and it is a wonderful field gun. The finish is slightly superior to my 12 gauge gun, befitting its replicated grade. 

I also have Browning’s replica of the Skeet Grade Model 42 and could say the same about it.

The Miroku versions of the Winchester 3rd issue 1873 are the most attractive to me of the current line because they are the most accurate reproductions. No tang safety and no rebounding hammer, although neither of those features offend me, particularly the tang hammer block. 

I’m old enough to remember the Fifties resurgence of interest in the post Civil War Era, “adult TV Westerns”, Colt’s late-to-the-party decision to restart production of the Single Action Army — and all the moaning in print by the gun collecting community at the absence of the “great old Winchester lever actions” — particularly the 1873 and 1886.  “Why can’t we have them back?”

Well, guess what? Now you can have an affordable, brand new 1886 made just as well as those that came out of New Haven and made of better steels. I’ve got a new .45-90 Sporting Rifle that has the same glass smooth action of the original model, built like a Swiss watch. In translated 1962 Dollars, it cost no more than a 1962 Model 70 Winchester. 

For those enamored of the past (including me), we now can also shop a national used firearm market because of the World Wide Web. Air travel and the Interstate Highway system shrink once impossible distances to far away gun shows. 

We are truly living in the best of times, with more choices than we have ever had.