model 1894 38-55

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Alberta hunter

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I inherited a Winchester 1894 38-55 and am wondering if it is safe to shoot with brand new factory amunition. I believfe it should be safe to shoot but figured I would ask the experts.

Thanks

A.H
 
Yep factory stuff is very anemic :puke:
Ken Waters fav load was 35gns of 3031 behind a 250 bullet!
I simply switch 250 for a 220gn horn FP & get approx 1800fps.
Makes for a great hunting rifle then :)
 
I shoot my 1906 -1894-winnie 30-30 almost every weekend with factory ammo. any brand thats available and cheap. The Federal seem the best with 150 grain soft point. The winchester brand are a close second, As long as the barrel is stamped nickel steel for smokeless powder, it will take the pressures of these factory loads. Enjoy the 38-55...I have just purchased a 1894 38-55 also...dom 1906...it is hard to find ammo but I have found a canadian supplier in Ontario.
 
Alberta hunter said:
I inherited a Winchester 1894 38-55 and am wondering if it is safe to shoot with brand new factory amunition. I believfe it should be safe to shoot but figured I would ask the experts.

Thanks

A.H
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I guess the first thing to ask, is how familiar you are with lever guns?
On an 1984, the action should be reasonably tight when closed, and quite loose when open.
(Empty rifle) Closed, there should be very little on no movement when you push down at the back of the bolt just ahead of the bolt stop, even less if you push forward on the bolt.
(brass in chamber) There should at least be less of all of the above. Better still, there should be no movement at all.
Look for missing screws, and pins, and for cracks, particularly in the tang area of the receiver, and stock.
With a strong light, carefully examine the chamber as best you can, and check the bore, for obstructions, cracks, or rings.
Dry fire the rifle a few times, and check the smoothness of the action. It should have no severe hitches.
If all of the above passes with flying colours, I'd try it with FACTORY loads from Winchester or Remington.
Hotter loads after a good standard reloader's work up.
 
Win94 said:
The .38-55 i had wouldn't stabilize the hornady 220's. The hard casts the Bullet Barn sells shot like a hot damn though.
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Yes that's true, a lot of 38-55 & 38-56s Wins have a larger bore than .375 & won't handle the Horns.!
Most I have seen run .378-379 for some strange reason :rolleyes: while other 38-55s of the era like my Savs run .375 :)
A friend made a bullets squisher out some some old swag dies & stuff :D that actually expands the Horns out to .378. They look good & shoot like a house on fire in my old Wins:), unfortunately I now have to keep my reg 220 horns & squished ones seperate!
 
Thanks for the replys. I took it to the range yesterday afternoon and was pleasatly surprised with the accuracy of this old rifle. The groups were about 3 inches at 100 yards and for only being able to see the paper and not the bullseye with the old Iron sites I feel this is a pretty good group. I just might take it for a walk this fall and see how it will do on a nice fat tastey doe.

A.H
 
3" at 100 yards is awesome with open sights. You have a great gun there. I have a 32 special from the .30's that is worn with chararacter and shoots awesomely. Those pre 64's beat the hell out of the newer ones that were produced.
 
That's some pretty good shooting with iron sights at that distance. I'd feel very comfortable taking that in the woods in the fall. I plan on hunting Deer with an old 1886 this season, and can't wait to get the old gun into the woods. That's exactly what they were made for!

Good luck!

Matt
 
94

I just got a 5 digit serial # from my passed uncle in .38/55, it was built in 1896 and is pretty nice with a kinda rusty bore, can you rebarrel these?? If i do rebarrel, can i change the chambering to 30/30 or something else??
 
hunterhenderson said:
I just got a 5 digit serial # from my passed uncle in .38/55, it was built in 1896 and is pretty nice with a kinda rusty bore, can you rebarrel these?? If i do rebarrel, can i change the chambering to 30/30 or something else??
Click to expand...
If you do that, you will be haunted by many spirits. If you don't like the rifle as is, sell, or give it to someone who appreciates it. {I'm in for the give part :)}

Seriously, an unmodified '94 in 38-55 is a reasonable sought after rifle.
And, as Senior noted, it can be handloaded to be quite a smasher, even flatten out the trajectory quite a bit.
 
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