New to me - 1894 Win 32 Special

[geobru]

I recently picked up a 1908 era 1894 Winchester rifle in 32 Spl at the local candy store. It was a consignment gun that sat in the rack for a couple of months, during which time I looked it over pretty closely. Generally the gun was an honest gun, but the mag tube was dented, the front sight was a newer Marbles, and the lever safety didn't function, which reduced the value in my eyes to a lot less than what they were asking for it. It does have a lot of character and was definitely NOT a safe queen!

One day I dropped by and saw that it was gone and I asked the proprietor if he got his price on that rifle. He said he had it sold but they couldn't load ammo into the magazine and the sale fell through. He brought it out so I could take a look at it. The problem was that the lifter was worn and it didn't drop down far enough to get out of the way of the loading gate.

He asked me if I wanted a project gun and I asked him how much. After some haggling, I made an offer that was $300 less than the asking price. He said he'd check with the owner. Three weeks later, the owner finally appeared after dropping off the face of the world. During that time, I took apart a 1951 carbine to see what it might be and came to the conclusion that I would have to buy $100 in parts to get the old girl running again. I wound up getting it for $350 under the original asking price.

I got a lifter for it and a replacement magazine tube, and it was ready to rock and roll after I cleaned out the crud on the lever safety springs!

[Blaine]

I love a happy ending.

[geobru]

Me too!
I was pleased with the outcome. The new tube matches pretty well because there is still a lot of original bluing on the barrel.

Next step is to get a front sight that is correct for the vintage of the gun!

[Griff]

I love a happy ending.

+1.

[ollogger]

Nice old gun & glad you got it!
For me the sight that is on it now is a lot more user friendly than the original



ommogger

[earlmck]

Nice old gun & glad you got it!
For me the sight that is on it now is a lot more user friendly than the original

I echo the sentiment. And if I replaced that front sight it would just be with a fiber optic: these old eyes are having trouble seeing those "period correct" things.

[EdinCT]

Glad to see it found a good home. I love a honest rifle and in one of my favorite calibers too. I know its not a realistic probability, but every deer I ever shot with the 32 went right down or left a heavy blood trail. Much better than a 30WCF

[geobru]

Nice old gun & glad you got it!
For me the sight that is on it now is a lot more user friendly than the original.

I have to at least get a sight that looks right on the rifle. The Marbles that is on it just looks too new. Besides that, when I shot the old girl, the POI was about 8" high at 40 yards.

I took the sight off and fabricated sight extensions out of a business card that were the height of replacement sights and attached them to the sight with a bobby pin. Found out that I need a .500 front sight instead of the .375 that came on the rifle. I may wind up going with a tang sight in the end, but for now, I want to get the original configuration up and running.

[Rube Burrows]

Lovely rifle. Congrats.