Winchester M1895 in 7.62 Russian?

The Bolsheviks sold/gave a large number to the Republican Spanish during the Spanish Civil War. They ended up in smaller numbers in the hands of all post Czarist states like Finland, Latvia, Poland etc. I don’t believe Winchester had any other customers besides the Imperial Government.
 
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Finland[21]
Mexico[3]
Nazi Germany: Issued to Volkssturm units.[22]
Russian Empire[5]
Spanish Republic[23]

in: Weapons, Lever-Action Rifles, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia
Winchester 1895
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The Winchester 1895 was a lever-action rifle made by the designer John Browning in 1895 as a hunting rifle, it was very popular in the end of the XIX century.


Contents
1 Description
2 Operators
3 Specifications
4 See also
Description
The Winchester 1895 rifle has been developed by famous designer John Moses Browning as a hunting rifle, capable to safely handle long and powerful rifle ammunition, unsuitable for earlier Winchester lever-action rifles. Of about 426 thousands of M1895 rifles, made by Winchester between 1895 and 1931, about 300 thousands were made on Russian military contract between 1915 and 1917. Of those, about 293 000 rifles reached the Russia before the revolution broke out. Small numbers of Winchester 1895 rifles, chambered for .30-40 Krag ammunition and fitted into military-type stocks, also were acquired between the 1897 - 98 and used by US forces during the Spanish-American War.

Compared to contemporary military-type bolt action rifles, Winchester M1895 rifles were slightly faster to operate, thanks to its lever-action system; in Russian pattern these rifles also were fitted with clip guides, which allowed for faster reloading. On the other hand, M1895 rifles were more sensitive to fouling and dirt, than the mosin 1891 or mauser 1898, and the lever action was less comfortable to operate when firing from prone position, so typical for XX century warfare

The Winchester M1895 is a lever action, magazine fed rifle. The horizontally sliding bolt is locked to the receiver by the vertically


Winchester 1895

sliding locking piece, which slides in the receiver grooves up to lock the bolt and down to unlock it. The bolt is locked at its rear, just behind he magazine, but the action is strong enough to safely handle such powerful cartridges as .30-06 or .405 WCF. Movement of the bolt is controlled by the manually operated lever. The interesting feature of the M1895 design is that the trigger is disconnected from internal lockwork during the reloading cycle - a useful safety feature. External hammer also provided additional visual control of the state of the rifle. The box magazine held five or six cartridges in single column, and was loaded through the top opening in the receiver; spent cartridges also were ejected to the top. All M1895 rifles except the Russian-contract ones were loaded with single rounds; Russian-contract rifles were fitted with clip guides, and accepted standard stripper clips from Russian mosin 1891. Military-type rifles were fitted with long stocks with straight grips and short forends, as well as bayonet lugs and sling swivels. Commercial rifles were available with various styles and grades of stocks. Most M1895 rifles were witted wit open tangent rear sights and unprotected blade front sights.

Operators
Russian Empire
United Kingdom
United States
 
I saw one in the Nylands Brigade military museum in Finland. When the Finns made their break for freedom in 1917 they grabbed whatever kit they could from the departing Russian garrisons. Interestingly, the Russians built a new garrison there in 1912, just in time to hand it over to the Finns. One of the first buildings was the Czarist Officers mess, and it still stands with roccoco stoves and hardwood ball room floors. The troops were living in tents at the same time.
 
Friend had one and sold it this year. I was able to shoot it. Neat rifle and cool piece of history, but not a rifle I’d want to shoot a lot since the fear of breaking something is pretty high.
 
There's one in the Military Museum of Vytautas the Great in Kaunas, Lithuania. Neat to think how that rifle started in the mind of JMB in Ogden, UT, was built in New Haven, CT, shipped to Russia, used for God knows what, and then somehow ended up in the Baltics. It's travelled more than most people.

Regrettably, like every other firearm on display at that museum, there's a 1cm hole straight into the chamber. It would seme that back int he Soviet days, Management was a little hinky about having anything around that could function as a firearm.
 
Beater said:
it as actually un issued. as almost as ne
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That was very likely one of the only surviving specimens of an Imperial Russian M95 in that condition.

I have seen several and all were worn to the point of being worn out.

There was a movie a few years back, where a Russian hunter got into some trouble, the rifle he carried in the movie was an M95 in martial garb. They touted the rifle as being the latest high tech.

It was easy to see that the rifle was non functioning and badly worn.

Beater, you should have held onto that one.
 
bearhunter said:
I could be wrong, but IMHO, that rifle has been touched up a bit to make it prettier.

Still it's going to bring a premium price from collectors.
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I'm thinking the same. The various finishes appear to have worn at drastically different rates, or there are parts on it that are newer.
 
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