Did a little smithin' on an old Winchester today.

[chief38]

One of my good shooting buds down the street brought over his newly acquired Winchester M94 carbine chambered in 30-30. The 54 year old gun was in incredible overall condition except for a 1" piece section of the barrel just behind the rear sight dovetail. The bluing was completely worn off there - and for the life of me I can not figure out why as the gun appeared to be shot very little! The only reason I could think of is possibly someone with sweaty hands or a rough glove carried the rifle there and wore it off over time. There were no bad scratches and the worn bluing had no rust. As much as I don't care much for the results of cold bluing, I used some Birchwood - Casey Permablue paste and it came out decently. I don't know how long it will last but at least the rifle now has some protection in that spot and looks much better.

The second issue was the rear sight was missing and he was constantly cutting his fingers on the very sharp dovetail edges. He ordered a Marbles filler insert that was supposedly the correct size, but it took some careful fitting to actually get it in place. No big deal - just not what I'd call "drop in". That came out great as well.

The third issue was there was an old Lyman peep sight on the gun (hence the reason the original buckhorn style rear sight blade was missing) but other than the mounting block, all the Lyman's parts were missing. He bought a new one from Midwest Gunworks and I installed that as well.

So now he has a beautifully made Winchester M94 carbine in what I'd rate as 97% condition and he is looking forward to sighting it in as soon as the weather drops below 95º. It's been very hot here! All in all 3 easy - peasy jobs and I was very happy to see that the 54 year old Winchester was well kept (for the most part). Still perplexed about how the bluing was removed in that one spot! Sorry - forgot to take pictures - as usual.

 

[Bald1]

I assume this rifle resides in SW FL. Sounds like a good hog gun. 54 yr old would put it around 1971. Shouldn't it have had that weird finish that wasn't bluing? Or was that just the receiver?

 

[cndrdk]

Had one like that also, blueing worn off in that area. Mine was the result of being carried in a pick up gun rack.

 

[30-30remchester]

Had one like that also, blueing worn off in that area. Mine was the result of being carried in a pick up gun rack.

Pickup racks have rubbed off so much bluing on my rifles. I went nowhere without a rifle in the rack. Finally, I thought about it, 40 years too late mind you, and thought of a perfect solution. I wrap black electrical tape around the barrel where it comes into contact with the rack. When I was guiding deer and elk hunters, most from the LA area, they would often ask why my rifle had tape on the barrel. My go to answer was that I had broken the barrel in half and I didn't have enough time to get it fixed yet. The number of people that believed that story astounded me. Often, I was referred to as the guide with the broken barrel.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Way back, bought 3 up in Indiana.
Was stationed there.
Still have all three, can't recall which one was first.
So I'll only sing one Song!

 

[chief38]

I assume this rifle resides in SW FL. Sounds like a good hog gun. 54 yr old would put it around 1971. Shouldn't it have had that weird finish that wasn't bluing? Or was that just the receiver?

No the gun overall had a deep dark bluing finish and was perfect except for one area. Yes - 1971 is correct.

 

[chief38]

Pickup racks have rubbed off so much bluing on my rifles. I went nowhere without a rifle in the rack. Finally, I thought about it, 40 years too late mind you, and thought of a perfect solution. I wrap black electrical tale around the barrel where it comes into contact with the rack. When I was guiding deer and elk hunters, most from the LA area, they would often ask why my rifle had tape on the barrel. My go to answer was that I had broken the barrel in half and I didn't have enough time to get it fixed yet. The number of people that believed that story astounded me. Often, I was referred to as the guide with the broken barrel.

Could have well been done by a rack of some sort. Didn't think of that! Thanks for the probable / possible cause!

 

[raylesworth]

Gun rack tracks are what we called them here. Hardly ever see a gun rack anymore, but there are easily more pickups in Montana than cars & SUVs. Too inviting for thieves, I believe. You might closely examine the finish around the wrist of the buttstock, and discover some wear there, too...which would confirm the theory. Bald 1's comment above about the weird finish from the early 70's was the result of Winchester's early attempts at investment casting, which Bill Ruger had really perfected, but Olin corp. didn't get much right after '64. If your friend has an opportunity to trade the '94 for a Marlin 336 of that same vintage, it will be a big improvement, IMHO. A pre-64 in the Winchester label would be a big step up as well, and they're surprisingly common out here. Yes, you would have to add some c-notes to do so. But not for the Marlin. If this 70's era '94 has a sentimental connection, all bets are off, 'cause I totally get teary eyed on those accounts. My wife thinks my ancestors owned about 40 of them !
And 30-30remchester....that is a good story! We had an old guide in our camp that the boss (outfitter) kept on just to tell stories, around the big camp fire each night. He would bring them in tight about the trip up a steep and narrow trail he was traveling in the Flathead alps area above the White river, and around the bend he spotted a griz sauntering down the trail his direction. With no way to go up or down, he thought he could back up around the corner & lite out for camp, or at least a better option. Low & behold a mountain lion just dropped on the trail behind him, and did see him, showing no interest in retreat. At that point, the old guide goes silent, and the dudes shift on the log seats a bit, waiting for his story to continue. Finally one sings out "so what happened?" The old fella lets out a big sigh, and with a very serious voice goes
"I was killed"