I wasn't going to start a thread on this project due to my intermittent working habit with it, but I've now made some real progress so here's where I'm at.
How I got here: I wanted a Pre 64 Winchester 1894 lever action in shooting condition with an octagon barrel, until I saw the prices that is. Ok, so I'll buy a parts rifle or one that needs some work and I'll build my own for cheap. That didn't quite work out either, lol. I'll just say it now, buy one in shooting condition and save yourself all the trouble and headache that goes along with fixing one up.
The rifle I ended up with is a Model 1894 Sporting rifle with a 24" octagon barrel. I purchased it in wall hanger condition, wall hanger meaning the barrel is shot out with almost no rifling left. I thought finding a replacement barrel would be easy, think again.
Number one, you can't find a premade replacement barrel for a lever gun in stock any where that I've ever found. To have a barrel made I found only two guys on all of the internet and both were hard to get a hold of and hard to talk to. One of them I didn't feel safe sending money to as his business address didn't check out and I had read some things I didn't like. The other guy acted like he didn't have time or wasn't interested. This led me to put the project on hold for a long while. Then one day while browsing around on Gun Broker I found a guy selling a NOS Winchester Model 1894 octagon carbine barrel from1966, a Post 64 barrel. It had Centennial markings on it which I didn't like and some light surface pitting from being in storage all these years, but it was the only game in town and I jumped on it and now I've got myself a barrel. So it will now be a 20" octagon carbine which Winchester did offer in 1910 so it's a correct configuration minus the rear rifle length sight and I've solved that little problem by bidding on and winning a Pre 64 semi buckhorn so now I'm all set.
So, can you put a post 64 barrel on a Pre 64 action? Yes and no, you've got some work to do. The Post 64 barrel fits and threads in just fine but will need very minor turning for it to time up to the action. Also, dovetails will need to be cut into the barrel for the magazine hanger and forearm mount. You could use a Post 64 short forearm and skip cutting one dovetail but that would be sacrilege! The correct configuration is the long forearm, it'll just take some work to cut in the dovetail.
Here's the rifle in its original configuration with the 24" barrel. It looks nicer in the picture than it actually is in person. The serial number shows it was made in 1910.
Here's the barrel I won on Gun Broker. Pitting on the outside but with a mint condition unfired bore, made in USA by Winchester. It came with a new magazine tube and forearm, all of the original Pre 64 hardware works with the magazine tube except the hanger and forearm dovetail which will need to be cut.
Engravings on the barrel are shallow and fairly easy to remove, you can see some of the surface corrosion in this shot. Thankfully none of the corrosion ended up in the bore.
This is my lever action barrel wrench for Pre 64 Winchester 1894 lever actions made from some scrap wood, it's all you need and safer than the steel action blocks I've seen. The barrel is placed in a flat jawed vice sandwiched between two pieces of scrap wood. The block is clamped over the first half of the action only where the barrel screws in, this is the thickest part of the action and won't bend here. I soaked the old barrel in Kroil for a few hours and it came right off with almost no force. The barrels on these guns are not torqued on, you just time them up to the marks stamped on the barrel and action and you're done. The notches are for clearing the lugs on the receiver.
Here's what the original 1910 finish looked like when it was new, note the stampings.
This is the original magazine tube and hanger. The hanger sits in a dovetail and is twisted in place with the magazine tube, not pushed in from the side like a sight block. Post 64 magazine hangers are soldered in. As you can see it's in pretty rough shape, luckily I found a NOS magazine tube hanger.
This is the forend tenon that holds the cap for the forearm in place. This will have to be measured and cut into the Post 64 barrel.
How I got here: I wanted a Pre 64 Winchester 1894 lever action in shooting condition with an octagon barrel, until I saw the prices that is. Ok, so I'll buy a parts rifle or one that needs some work and I'll build my own for cheap. That didn't quite work out either, lol. I'll just say it now, buy one in shooting condition and save yourself all the trouble and headache that goes along with fixing one up.
The rifle I ended up with is a Model 1894 Sporting rifle with a 24" octagon barrel. I purchased it in wall hanger condition, wall hanger meaning the barrel is shot out with almost no rifling left. I thought finding a replacement barrel would be easy, think again.
Number one, you can't find a premade replacement barrel for a lever gun in stock any where that I've ever found. To have a barrel made I found only two guys on all of the internet and both were hard to get a hold of and hard to talk to. One of them I didn't feel safe sending money to as his business address didn't check out and I had read some things I didn't like. The other guy acted like he didn't have time or wasn't interested. This led me to put the project on hold for a long while. Then one day while browsing around on Gun Broker I found a guy selling a NOS Winchester Model 1894 octagon carbine barrel from1966, a Post 64 barrel. It had Centennial markings on it which I didn't like and some light surface pitting from being in storage all these years, but it was the only game in town and I jumped on it and now I've got myself a barrel. So it will now be a 20" octagon carbine which Winchester did offer in 1910 so it's a correct configuration minus the rear rifle length sight and I've solved that little problem by bidding on and winning a Pre 64 semi buckhorn so now I'm all set.
So, can you put a post 64 barrel on a Pre 64 action? Yes and no, you've got some work to do. The Post 64 barrel fits and threads in just fine but will need very minor turning for it to time up to the action. Also, dovetails will need to be cut into the barrel for the magazine hanger and forearm mount. You could use a Post 64 short forearm and skip cutting one dovetail but that would be sacrilege! The correct configuration is the long forearm, it'll just take some work to cut in the dovetail.
Here's the rifle in its original configuration with the 24" barrel. It looks nicer in the picture than it actually is in person. The serial number shows it was made in 1910.
Here's the barrel I won on Gun Broker. Pitting on the outside but with a mint condition unfired bore, made in USA by Winchester. It came with a new magazine tube and forearm, all of the original Pre 64 hardware works with the magazine tube except the hanger and forearm dovetail which will need to be cut.
Engravings on the barrel are shallow and fairly easy to remove, you can see some of the surface corrosion in this shot. Thankfully none of the corrosion ended up in the bore.
This is my lever action barrel wrench for Pre 64 Winchester 1894 lever actions made from some scrap wood, it's all you need and safer than the steel action blocks I've seen. The barrel is placed in a flat jawed vice sandwiched between two pieces of scrap wood. The block is clamped over the first half of the action only where the barrel screws in, this is the thickest part of the action and won't bend here. I soaked the old barrel in Kroil for a few hours and it came right off with almost no force. The barrels on these guns are not torqued on, you just time them up to the marks stamped on the barrel and action and you're done. The notches are for clearing the lugs on the receiver.
Here's what the original 1910 finish looked like when it was new, note the stampings.
This is the original magazine tube and hanger. The hanger sits in a dovetail and is twisted in place with the magazine tube, not pushed in from the side like a sight block. Post 64 magazine hangers are soldered in. As you can see it's in pretty rough shape, luckily I found a NOS magazine tube hanger.
This is the forend tenon that holds the cap for the forearm in place. This will have to be measured and cut into the Post 64 barrel.
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