Crash Coarse on Winchester models 1886 (.45-70), 1894 (.32 W.S.)?

NavyCuda

NavyCuda

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I just inherited a small collection. These are my two favorite from it.

It has been about 10 years since I have seen these firearms. I would like to disassemble and clean them both to prep for a trip to the range in the coming future. What is the ideal method of lubrication? Any helpful tips would be greatly appricated.

I have not fired the 1894, but the 1886 in .45-70 is down right cool. It is a well used gun... it's barrel is approaching warn out but is so much fun. Doesn't really matter to me where it hits, as long as it's on the paper somewhere.

The 1894 I have been around while it has been fired and seems to have some serious kick. Also a very sharp crack. Absolutely amazing balance too it. Defiantly a true carbine. I don't remember if the picture shows it, but it also has a saddle ring. Barrel seems to be in very good shape.

http://members.shaw.ca/navyf350/pics/DSC02281.JPG
http://members.shaw.ca/navyf350/pics/DSC02289.JPG
 
senior said:
Nice socks :p

You say the 94 has a nice kick!!
Sounds like your maybe lucky & got a 38-55 SR:)
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definatly a .32 special. I'm 25 now, so you can imagine that in 1998 when i was at the range with the family and we were shooting these rifles seemed alot larger than they do now.

My dad's ex-wife received a pretty good bruise from a magazine worth of it.
 
senior said:
When I was 15 my brother handed me a 348 to shoot!
Took a few years to get over the flinch that baby inflicted in me :(
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My grandpa taught me to shoot at a very young age, shooting are some of my first memory's. In fact I received the .22LR pump action winchester 1906, that is the first firearm i ever operated. Even though I was very young (6ish I'm guessing) he let me fire some heavier hitting rounds that left me with a flinch that I've only recently mastered.
 
have a Winnie 32 Special DOM 1949 carbine and it is very close in recoil to the ever popular 30-30. The 45-70 I have can give the impression your shoulder should be a foot to the rear from where it is. Both are very nice to see...keep original and a light oiling on all moving parts should suffice to get it operationable. Most of my winnies are pre 1911 and all shoot like they were made yesterday....flawless and smooth.
 
Winnipeg Toymaker said:
have a Winnie 32 Special DOM 1949 carbine and it is very close in recoil to the ever popular 30-30. The 45-70 I have can give the impression your shoulder should be a foot to the rear from where it is. Both are very nice to see...keep original and a light oiling on all moving parts should suffice to get it operationable. Most of my winnies are pre 1911 and all shoot like they were made yesterday....flawless and smooth.
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The 1906 is pretty fun to shoot, but after an uncounted number of rounds though it accuracy is laughable. Action still functions flawlessly. In the thousands of rounds i put through it, never jammed once feeding short or longs.

EDIT:

What is the "safest" ammo to put through these two rifles?
 
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I certainly would use factory stuff. It is loaded light as it is used in many different manufacturer's guns. If you reload, i would use the lightest load listed and work up til the gun says it likes the combination.
 
My 1894 was manufactured in 1911 according to wiki. I sure love the balance of this little rifle. I need to clean and lubricate it and source some ammunition... I can't wait to shoot this thing.
 
the online sources for dating Winchesters has been judged by the WACA to be out as much as 4 years. For a 1911 Winchester...the serial numbers would be between 553063 and 599263. I have a 30-30 rifle that is serial 59459x DOM 1911 and authenticated by WACA polish room records.

these old guns are such a delight to shoot and oh if they could talk...what stories would unfold. i have a couple carbines too but with the weight difference between the two, give a little more recoil and shorter barrel means louder .
 
Winnipeg Toymaker said:
the online sources for dating Winchesters has been judged by the WACA to be out as much as 4 years. For a 1911 Winchester...the serial numbers would be between 553063 and 599263. I have a 30-30 rifle that is serial 59459x DOM 1911 and authenticated by WACA polish room records.

these old guns are such a delight to shoot and oh if they could talk...what stories would unfold. i have a couple carbines too but with the weight difference between the two, give a little more recoil and shorter barrel means louder .
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Mine is 584,54X. I wouldn't mind finding out the history of my rifle, but that money could be better spent on ammunition :p
 
The info from Cody Museum just states that the gun was produced in the factory in its present configuration, and the dates it went into the warehouse and shipping date. this shipping and warehouse info can be gotten free on the WACA site.

You know it is a 1911....just take it out...buy some ammo....and enjoy. I sure do with my 30-30s, 38-55, 25-35, 25-20 and 32 special. My 45-70 is a marlin cowboy model.
 
Looks like 1888, possibly 1887. I have one in the 267xx serial range that authenticates to 1888. You can get a factory letter which would authenticate this and its main features (telling you if its original or not, and if returned to Winchester, what work was done on it).
 
Winnipeg Toymaker said:
Well worth getting a letter on the 1886....in most cases it can double the value.
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I was mostly curious of the age. These are going to be passed on to my children one day.

I pulled apart and completely cleaned and greased my 1894, so soon I will do the same to the 1886.

Should I be careful of the ammo selection with the 1886 considering it's age?
 
NavyCuda said:
. Should I be careful of the ammo selection with the 1886 considering it's age?
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Yes. Get the head spacing checked. Just to be on the safe side, I'd get a gunsmith knowledgeable in lever guns to check that the gun is safe to shoot and use only currently available factory ammo safe to shoot for Remington Rolling Blocks and similar. I would not shoot heavy loads in this gun (PMC 350 grain and similar).
 
John Spartan said:
Yes. Get the head spacing checked. Just to be on the safe side, I'd get a gunsmith knowledgeable in lever guns to check that the gun is safe to shoot and use only currently available factory ammo safe to shoot for Remington Rolling Blocks and similar. I would not shoot heavy loads in this gun (PMC 350 grain and similar).
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I remember that it did have some kind of issue with new ammunition. We had a bunch of old .45-70 laying around that it fed and cycled with no issue, but with brand new factory ammo we had some issue. I don't know if it wouldn't feed or eject. can't remember.

Further inspection shows that it is quite dirty inside, but 10 years of poor storage conditions may also be responsible for this.

I don't see anything that appears broken or oddly worn. The barrel is definatly well used. The action cycles smoothly and flawlessly without ammunition.

I do not have any .45-70 dummy rounds or ammunition that could be deactivated to safely check proper operation.

I'm quite mechanically inclined so I might have to spend some money and order some books on this old timer. Do the books include the blueprints and dimensions of the different components?
 
Antique Firearms - Assembly/Disassembly by David R. Chicoine is what you're looking for - has disassembled gun blueprint as well as the necessary assembly/disassembly - pg. 451.

On the head spacing, you can get Clymer Go/No go gauges from Brownell, Sinclair and other gunsmithing sources.
 
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