My Old 1894 38/55, What To Do.....

dak47

dak47

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Summerwood/Bridge City TX & Okanagan BC
Dusting off the darker recesses of the safe and I brought out the old great grand paps Sask whitey dispatcher..... Been a few years since I put any lead downrange with this piece but the action is tight and it's suprisingly accurate at a 100y ;)
What to do with it? Only 4 digits on the serial # , but I will never part with it so actually considering refurbishing the 'Ol Gal? I'd like to put it back in service as a late season, in thick gun out of nostalgia and stuff.... Who would be the 'smith to talk to in BC or anywhere in Canada for that matter to give the metal a once over so it can see weather for times and not need constant attention??

Excuse the lack of camera skills, just poured the first special coffee....

Thanks
 
The bluing is not bad, esp considering the age. If it were mine I'd polish the metal lightly with fine steel wool and oil to get rid of the surface rust, then treat it with Fluid Film as a rust preventative.
 
Don't do anything to it!! Like has been suggested rub the steel(not too hard) with bronze wool and oil to remove any light rust. Be careful on the action as any remaining blue comes off the old actions REALLY easily. I usually rub dirty stocks lightly with turpentine and fine steel wool and wipe with clean linen rags until no dirt comes off. When clean(and dry) hand rub in a couple light coats of boiled linseed oil. Yours looks unmessed with and these are getting tough to find in original trim.
 
Don't mess with it, other than to lightly clean up the rust as the other fellows suggested. That is a very fine looking original. Refurbishing it will destroy its collector's value and its honest history. That is an early '94 that I would be proud to own just the way it is.
 
To protect the metal before going hunting with one of my vintage Winchesters, I give it a heavy coat of Conservator's Wax each evening before hunting with it the next day.
 
The only thing you should do is remove any rust spots with 0000 steel wool and some oil. Then put a light coat of oil on the steel. Anything else will destroy any collector value. Suspect that would be fairly high given the condition and that its a first year of production rifle. Might even be too valuable to shoot.
A 4 figure S/N puts its birthday between 1894 and 1895. No W's. winchestercollector.org/dates/
 
Sunray's advice is bang on and is exactly what I use to remove loose surface rust without harming in any way the original blueing. Don't do anything to the wood other than buff it with a soft flannel cloth.
 
If you start reloading for it, be very conservative on how high you go in muzzle velocity as these old guns were not built for the pressures generated by some of the propellants manufactured these days. I shoot mine in Cowboy Action long range matches so that limits me to a max of 1,400 fps. This can give you some very respectable results with proper shot placement.
 
Sage advice by all, deep down I knew it is the right thing to do, I just have a inherent need to mess with stuff, but this piece wont be one of them..... It will never be sold but I'm intrigued that it might be worth a bit, one of my buddies was trying to offer me $800 for it, I told him to pound sand but it was out of respect for our family not what it may be worth.....

Thanks again,
DK
 
dak47 said:
It will never be sold but I'm intrigued that it might be worth a bit, one of my buddies was trying to offer me $800 for it, I told him to pound sand but it was out of respect for our family not what it may be worth.....
Click to expand...
It appears to be honest and unmessed with. It was manufactured in 1895 which makes it more desirable. Hard to tell the condition, though. It does appear to have some blue on it, but is it blue or has it turned chocolate brown? I would say that $800 is on the low end, for an early 38-55 like that in honest condition.
 
Keep it as is. That bit of patina is actually a good protectant! Keep a light film of G96 on her and she will stay preserved.
Original is better and it gives her lots of character.
Or, put it on EE for $500 and PM me the second it's up! :)
How's the bore look?
 
Very nice looking winchester! I along with all the other 94 collectors would love to have it in our collection! ;)

A light clean & oil and wood buff and the Ol'gal is good for another 100 years! Thank you for sharing!
 
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