Winchester 1895 Restoration

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Everyone likes a deal, and I have a few acquaintances and customers who are more than avid bargain hunters. Such was the case with one customer who showed up the Monday evening after a particularly successful hunt at a weekend gun show. "It’s in great shape," he said. "Except that it has no blueing left, and somebody cut the barrel and installed a banded front ramp.

And the hammer doesn’t cock." The action was already open, his having paid heed to the sign at the door admonishing all to ensure that their firearms be unloaded. With the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, he levered the bolt forward and sure enough, the hammer followed to the safety notch. I immediately thought "broken sear," or "broken sear notch in the hammer." Maybe the top of the hammer was too worn.

Taking the rifle in hand, I tried several cycles of the lever, slowly at first and then "running it like I stole it." With aggressive levering, the hammer cocked maybe twice in a dozen tries but would push off with thumb force. Taking up a small flashlight, with the lever dropped it appeared the sear spring was in place and intact. As I filled out a tag, the proud new owner asked what I though it could be. "Can’t say without running more tests, maybe some imaging, and probably some exploratory surgery.

You have insurance, don’t you?" His face got a little pale. John M. Browning’s final lever action rifle design was a departure from all previous lever actions in that he intended it to be for thennew higher pressure smokeless Chambered in 30 Army (30-40), it features a scalloped receiver and a barrel shortened by a previous owner to 22 inches. rounds. Recognizing the trend toward "spitzer" bullets (German for "pointed), he selected a box magazine that would allow for handling such ammunition.

That decision resulted in the characteristic profile of the Model 1895 that polarized shooters of the day and ever since—the Carcano-Enfield-Mannlicher-Mosin-style protruding magazine created a love/hate relationship with the 1895 that exists among shooters and collectors to this day. Like the sibling Model 1894 Winchester, the 1895 also "dropped its guts" out the bottom of the receiver when the lever was lowered, a characteristic not favored by some riflemen.

Chamberings for the 1895 included 30 Army (30-40 Krag), 30- 03, 30-06, 7.62x54r, 303 British, 35 Winchester, 38-72 Winchester, 40- 72 Winchester, and 405 Winchester. Ironically, the 38-72 and 40-72 were blackpowder rounds that Winchester elected to include in its offerings when the Model 1895 was introduced. The largest number of 1895 Winchesters were muskets made in 7.62x54r for a contract for the Russian Tsar, 295,000 of them.

It’s been said that the Americans who went to Russia to fight against the Red insurgents during the Revolution were supplied 1895 muskets chambered in the Russian round. Today, those muskets are scarce in original condition and bring steep prices. The cartridge most associated with the Model 1895 by the American public is probably the 405 Winchester, thanks to President Theodore Roosevelt, who used it extensively for big game hunting in Africa.

He also carried one in 30 Army during the Spanish American War and ‘95s chambered in that same 30- 40 round is the one that’s most likely to be found in gun safes, gun shops, gun shows, and gunsmith benches, just like the subject rifle of this article, which was made in 1901. I have three ‘95s myself, a 26-inch rifle in 30 Army that I restocked in walnut and is a companion to a lateproduction 1895 in 30-06, which I stocked years ago in bird-eye maple and eventually bushed the bolt face for the firing pin.

The third one is a Winchester-Miroku 1895 in 405 Winchester (just because) that a previous owner had cut to 20" and also installed a currently-made copy of a "climbin’ Lyman" rear sight matched with a green fluorescent inserted front bead. Yes, with factory ammo the ‘95 in 405 "kills at both ends," but I’ve long ago graduated to mostly shooting 405 Winchester cartridges loaded with 12 grains

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Pulling down on the lever will free the lever forks from the breech bolt, which can be pushed to the rear over the hammer and out of the receiver. of Unique under a 300 grain bullet that does about 1250 to 1300 feet per second in front of the muzzle, is wickedly accurate, and provides a satisfying "thunk" on the 100 and 200 yard gongs at my local club. I like the ‘95, despite it not being terribly ergonomic for one-handed balanced carry.

Returning the customer’s rifle, I elected to do a quick reconnaissance of the interior, fully expecting to be contacting the usual suspect parts vendors for a replacement hammer. A partial disassembly was indicated for this exploratory procedure, so the plug screw at the upper left forward area of the receiver was removed and the pin connecting the bolt to the lever forks driven out from the right side.

Prior to using the punch, both sides of the bolt were seen to be pretty filthy, and the ends of the pin were not visible as a result. I scraped out both ends of the pin so that it could be aligned properly with the left hole in the receiver and knocked it out. The lever was rotated down partially to bring the bolt out of battery and to the rear, just starting to push the hammer back. The lever forks were swung down and out of the receiver, and locking bolt was confirmed that it was at its lower end of travel.

Using a thumb, the breech bolt was pushed back while the other thumb was used to lower the hammer away from the breech bolt to facilitate the breech bolt’s withdrawal. With the bolt out of the receiver, the hammer actually stayed cocked this time, but minutes later it snapped forward on its own. With the aid of an LED light, I took a look inside the receiver.

We’ve all seen some dirty firearms, but the first thing that came to mind was a saying my great-grandmother used to use—"Ja sehr verschmuzt"—yes, very dirty, but in this case an understatement. The case feeder and top of the extension on the front of the locking bolt had a mound (pile?) of greasy, black dirt covering it, with 1/8" to 3/16" square loose flakes of the stuff hanging here and there. I began to think that this old ‘95 had never been cleaned except for the bore.

The nooks and crannies of the breech bolt face and underside were equally and copiously caked. I had to clean out the notch in the side of the ejector where the lower end of the vertical ejector stop pin would normally be seen, so that it could be drifted out through the top of the bolt. The coils of the ejector spring were filled with the schmutz as well. The ejector would compress into the bolt body, but it did not move freely in or out; it was slow in both directions.

The firing pin lock at the rear end of the breech bolt was also "stuck" in its slot for all the filth. Shining the light into the magazine well, the dirt at the bottom of the stamped cup was sufficiently deep to grow crops. It was at that point that the decision was made to cease gunsmithing operations and switch to archaeology—this Far That pin also retains the lever catch and its spring and plunger.

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Both removal and installation of the V-spring are made simple by stout needle-nosed pliers. ‘95’s internals needed a thorough cleaning to remove 120 years of accumulated crud. First thing, the stock screw was removed from the rear of the upper tang and the buttstock slid off.

The pin connecting the rear link of the lever to the lower tang The welded reinforcement at the front of the magazine and the paper towel show only a tiny fraction of flakes and accumulated crud that adorned this rifle. was driven out, and the lever catch and its crusty spring and plunger were coaxed out of the link using a dental pick. Next, using a pair of needle-nose pliers, the magazine follower V-spring was compressed and removed from the front of the receiver.

Then the two screws on the lower front of the left side of the receiver were spun out; these hold the magazine in place and the forward screw acts as the pivot for the magazine carrier. It should be mentioned that this particular 1895 is an early model, using the V-spring for the magazine carrier and having the magazine box screw on only the left side of the receiver.

Also, the firing pin lock was the early model with long tangs and having no firing pin lock lever or its round wire spring held fast with a short screw. With the magazine box out of the receiver and the carrier removed from it, the locking bolt required tapping down and out of the receiver because its ways were too crusted. Next came the hammer spring screw in the lower tang, which as it was loosened the hammer spring relaxed and took all force from the roller on the bottom of the hammer.

Then the hammer screw was backed out to the left, and the hammer withdrawn up and out of its window in the upper tang. That was the moment of truth— Was the sear notch damaged or missing? Was the sear broken? Or was the camming surface of the hammer nose just worn so that the bolt wouldn’t push the hammer sufficiently down to engage the sear surfaces? None of the above. Instead, the sear notch was packed with schmutz. I started to poke some of it out of the sear notch before I stopped to take a photo.

It appeared that a large flake of the crud somehow knocked loose from someplace in the ‘95’s guts and got stuffed into the sear notch, likely by the sear. Digging out the crap with a dental pick, it was obvious the sear notch was intact. The sides of the sear itself and both the upper and lower surfaces were coated with schmutz, and the buildup on the sides of the sear actually caused considerable friction against the inner walls of the rear of the receiver. This friction, despite the stiff sear

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Two plus hours in the alkaline cleaner sorted it out. spring force, may have contributed a bit to the failure of hammer to cock. It certainly didn’t help. Once out of the receiver, the locking bolt, magazine box and carrier, disassembled bolt, hammer, sear, sear Above that is the sear notch, which is not really visible because it is packed nearly full with oily dirt.

It is believed that the accumulation of crud prevented the sear from fully seating in the hammer sear notch, and is the primary reason for the customer’s complaint. spring, lever assembly, extractor, firing pin, ejector, screws, springs, and other small bits were placed in a basket in the alkaline cleaner and boiled for an hour or three, then rinsed and finally hot inhibited rinsed.

The parts immediately flash dried, and some areas required special attention with a pick or a plastic tool to remove any remaining schmutz. Then the parts got a wipe down with Weapon Shield oil. Some areas received a brushing with an M16-type cleaning brush to remove residual soil.

The breech bolt was first reassembled, installing the ejector and its spring after coating with Weapon Shield oil and using a small quickaction bar clamp to compress the ejector into the bolt body so that the ejector retaining pin could be driven in from the top. Next came the lightly-oiled firing pin and its retaining pin, followed by the firing pin lock and its shorter cross pin. Finally, the extractor was put in place and re-pinned.

Next, the carrier was reinstalled in the magazine body, and its pivot aligned with the forward hole and held in place with a brass punch. With the barreled receiver on its right side, the magazine was brought into position and started into its mortise in the bottom of the receiver. The punch was removed and the magazine gently pushed into place and the punch reinserted through the forward hole in the receiver and the magazine screw installed in the rear hole but not tightened.

With the carrier pivot and magazine box hole in alignment with the forward receiver hole, the magazine carrier screw was reinstalled and tightened, followed by snugging down the short magazine box screw. Next I installed the sear spring and screw, curve downward so as to "shed water," followed by the sear itself and its long, thin pin located from side to side in the receiver beneath the hammer screw.

The lower arm of the sear rests under the sear spring, that is, the sear spring bears down on the top of the sear spring’s lower arm to provide force for the sear to rotate against the notched face of the hammer. The locking bolt ways were oiled and it was inserted into the receiver from the bottom, with the cartridge feed forward and between the stamped cartridge retaining clips at the rear of the magazine.

Without the hammer in place, make sure that the sear hasn’t rotated into the travel path of the locking bolt, or the sear will interfere with its free travel up and down in the receiver. The rear of the magazine as well as the other side were nearly identically soiled.

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3" long hex drive bit for scale. I estimate these particles represent 1/3 of the total dirt that filled the action’s internals. After a well deserved and far too long overdue bath, the 1895’s hammer behaved as it should, never failing to catch the sear in the sear notch every time the action was cycled. The lever catch spring and plunger and lever catch "hook" were next assembled into the lever link, hook facing down, and the pin installed. The spring and plunger received a few drops of Weapon Shield oil.

The hammer can be replaced before or after the lever assembly, but I chose to do it following the lever installation. The hammer has to be The four original cartridges for which the 1895 was chambered are listed at left. Other chamberings followed later, including the 30-03, 30-06, 303 British, 7.62 x 54R, and 405 Winchester. inserted through its window in the top tang, and pressed forward a bit against force from the sear in order to align the hammer axis hole with the holes in the receiver.

After a thin wipe of oil, the hammer screw was reinstalled and torqued. At that point I couldn’t resist cocking the hammer—anticlimactically, it cocked and stayed cocked. With the hammer back and the locking bolt down against its lower stop, the breech bolt ways were lightly oiled and it was inserted into the receiver and slid forward.

I made sure the hook in the lever would engage the recess in the front of the locking bolt and swung the lever forks up into their slots between the receiver walls and the magazine, and forward into the pockets on either side of the front of the breech bolt. The lever was squeezed shut to the point that the hole in the breech bolt was in alignment with the hole in the left side of the receiver, and the connecting pin was driven home, followed by inserting and tightening the plug screw.

After a quick function check by working lever a few times and finding the hammer behaved as it should, the buttstock was slid into place between the tangs and the stock screw installed and tightened. Shouldering the 1895, the lever was worked a dozen times with the hammer staying cocked each time. I placed it back in the rifle vise, and admired the thing for all of several seconds before lifting it back up and working the action another dozen times. Again, the hammer stayed cocked each time.

Before taking it to the club and putting five test round through it, I exercised it another dozen times and again at the range after five flawless shots went downrange. As the customer had previously been notified of the cost of anew hammer, sear, and spring if needed in the worst case scenario, he was pleasantly shocked to see that the invoice reflected only the standard shop charge for a thorough cleaning and oiling.

I saved him the paper towels that had collected about 1/3 of the total amount of crud removed from his ‘95. We both agreed that all things mechanical deserve periodic cleaning and lubrication, his 1895 having retaught us that lesson and ending up being a bargain after all. AG