Thank you, for preserving that very valuable piece of history! I have possession of my Grandfather's 1894 carbine, in 25-35, that he carried with him during his duties as a Royal Northwest Mounted Police officer. He bought it new in 1906, the year he started with the force. Old Winchesters Matter!!! :-)
It's fantastic that you have your grandfather's Winchester with an important history behind it. Those family guns are far more precious than any high condition "closet queen". Thanks for watching!
My first gun was a 1923 model 94 25-35 winchester. I know they're out there but I've never met another person in my actual life who had one. Killed my first deer with it and love it
It's great to see someone who appreciates these old rifles. It took many years of looking until I found a decent 25-35 that wasn't priced in the 2500-4500 range. I was looking through a rack of winchesters when I came upon a 64 that had seen some use, the bluing was worn and silverish but it didn't appear abused. Then I took a bore light which revealed that shinyest bore I have ever seen. I took the rifle home and hoped the sights were sighted in for factory ammo, seemed logical for me beings there is basically only one loading available. I still had my cataracts then so i wasn't sure how this would work. I put up a 12 inch shoot and see target, so I could see it at 100 yds, and had at it. Amazingly enough, I printed a 2 3/16 inch, 3 shot group!! I took it antelope hunting and managed to pop a nice doe, one shot, at 50 yds. I could have popped a nice 14 inch buck earlier, but it wasn't legal to shoot at that spot. But I was very happy with my doe! 😁 I would like to get a deer with that rifle yet, but I have been struggling with health issues for a few years now. But I did get my cataracts fixed. Hopefully I will still get the chance to hunt with it some more.
I love to hear stories of people hunting with old, open sight rifles. It takes some skill to harvest an antelope with open sights. Congrats! Good luck with getting to hunt deer with it. Check out my deer hunting episode from this fall.
My uncle was a trapper and I went with him as a little boy. He had a 25-35 like yours and he could shoot it like a master marksman. He never missed no matter how fast a deer was running. He taught me to shoot and how to live in the high country. We slept on the ground. I sure miss him!
Love the sound that old rifle makes when you lever a round in. Always liked the lever guns especially the winchester... guess it's from the westerns I grew up watching.
My dad was heading an ordinance co in WWII in May of '45. They took over a locomotive factory just outside of Dachau. He found a 94 win with the barrel bent around a lamp post outside. No indication of how it was bent. No signs of heating or levers used to bend it. He went in the factory, found a hacksaw and sawed the barrel off, gathered up some parts that had fallen off and took it inside. "requisitioned" a new .30 barrel for a BAR and had an old German machinist fit it to the action. Either through ignorance or hope of revenge, the old guy chambered it for 8.14 x 45(?), a popular European hunting cartridge. Dad got home and a few years later made new stock and forend from a cherry tree that had fallen on the property his sister and BIL had resently bought. Polished everything to a mirror finish and blued it nearly black. Dad passed in 2016 and that rifle is mine now. I'd really love to plug the chamber and rechamber it for 30-30, but I'm scared that I'd damage the finish. Someday I will, but I'm not quite ready yet.
It’s a shame how some of these rifles have been misused. I saw one where the tang screw was replaced with a carriage bolt! Dad was a tool & die maker. He gave me a shaving brush that was used to apply oil onto the surface of guns/gun parts.
I own that same rifle in same caliber. It was my Grandfather’s. Shot a lot of whitetails with it when I was a kid. Sadly it’s been sitting in my gun safe for 30 years. Need to get some ammo and take it out for a spin.
Would love to do an apprenticeship with you and learn how to do all that... Such a rewarding way to spend time... You sure make it look easy and fun... Beautiful job on the Winchester...
Thank you, Sir. All the information that you are passing on is so valuable! Todays generation are set erasing our history and it is a real tragedy! This information and these videos will carry on many years and give people something to turn to.
Really really enjoyed your video. Just bought a Winchester 9422 from 1973 a few minutes ago. Even here in Denmark boys have a dream of a Winchester. I’m a 61 year old boy. Lots of guns but a dream just came through 🥰
I love old Winchesters. I have a few of them and my favorite woods walking rifle looks like this one’s little twin sister, it my 1907 Model-92 sporting rifle in 32WCF (32-20) she’s a tack driver and I absolutely love to shoot her! Thanks for sharing this great old rifle and taking the time to fix her up. What a beautiful old girl!
Thanks so much for taking us along. Personally, I enjoy and like the old guns. You did an excellent job of teaching and flowed naturally.... What a wonderful old lever rifle.
Very nice video, enjoyed that immensely. Great rifles ... seeing someone ressurect these is a real treat. I have one brother of mine that has a 1921 1892 and another brother has a 1951 1894 carbine. Such wonderful rifles ... I'm the oddball with a 70s Marlin 336C.
Your repaired 1895 25-35’s twin in hanging in my display case in my office/shop. Sweet rifle, my favorite coyote shooter. Your presentation was interesting and enjoyable to watch. The scenery made me want to want to come visit and talk old Winchesters.
I have a Savage 99 in 25-35. It was my grandfathers favorite rifle. Unfortunately the bore is now so rough, it shoots about 10 inch groups at 100 yards. The chamber is also out of round. I have played with the idea of having it rebarreled, but so far it just stays in the safe.
Re-barrel or lap the old barrel. Drives me nuts when people don't use something that was passed down thru the family because they worry about messing up the value or patina. Continue the story with your Grandfather's rifle by making it usable again. Let your grandfather look down and see you hunting with his favorite rifle. Then pass it on if that's a option so the story can continue. Just my two cents.
What a stroke of luck !! The rifle shoots so much better than I expected from it's condition when ya started. I hate that "shootin blanks" feelin ya get when they don't even hit paper !!
The Cinnabar ; I just happened upon your channel and, I'm hooked. I love these old firearms, always wondering what Tales they could tell if they could talk. I've owned four 1894 Winchesters in my lifetime, all were chambered for the 30/30, I'd love to get my hands on a 25/35. Thanks for sharing this informative video with us and, you've got a new Subscriber. Stan
I have an 1894 in .38-55 that I got a couple years back, makes yours look like a pristine example, would love to send you photos. It was sold to a local gun shop by an old timer who could no longer hunt. The original wood wasn't on it, the buttstock came off another Winchester with a pistol grip and the wood was relieved to allow the lever to work, there were no holes for a buttplate. The metal has a lot of pitting, but it's not deep. It's an octagon barrel and it's from 1895. The receiver is also pitted. But the barrel and the inside of the action, look great. I got it cheap, got some correct wood, correct sights, and was surprised with my handloads that it shoots very accurately. It's one of those guns that is a survivor, and to a collector, worth pretty much zilch, but trying to imagine the stories. I've hunted with it some, never killed a deer yet, got my last buck with its brother, a sporting 1894 half mag in .32-40 that groups like a match gun from 1909. I prefer the older, guns with some use than anything too nice to want to shoot.
I just got 4.5 boxes of 25-35 ammo made in the 40s Western Winchester and another box can’t remember the maker Maby Remington . 117 grain I plan on putting them up on gun broker for sale. Original boxes of antique ammo especially rare stuff like that bring a premium. I also lucked up and got some old western “metal piercing “ .45 and .357 ammo full boxes used by highway patrol in the late 60-70s thats valuable
I like all your videos. I was interested in this because I remember dad and his friends talking about 25-30, but I assume they 25-35. I have two of his rifles, both 1894 30-30's. One a rifle and one a carbine.
Very interesting and enjoyable video, I'll be watching more of your vids soon. Tho there are several lever rifles in my herd, including a '92 Winnie, a BLR, and a pre funky-safety Marlin, hunting rifles per se arent my preferred cup of tea. Collecting and shooting old military firearms/calibers are where it's at for me... I'd like to add a traditional .45-70. Someday! Glad I found your site, it has brought back memories. Thanks!
Quick question, do you advocate using blue locktite when reassembling leverguns? They’re notorious for backing out screws. You mentioned not dropping small parts. In my shop I have the first verifiable black hole here on earth. EVERYTHING I drop disappears when it hits the floor, never to be found again. Thanks for the great video sir.
Enjoyed this, thanks. I found one of these old Winchesters years ago out on the Alaskan coast, long octagonal barrel, it was a larger caliber, an oddball, like a 38-50'something, and I think it predates an 1894, maybe an 1880? I actually was able to wire brush it to where I could read a serial number on it. Do you think Wichester keeps records? It was on the old site of an Army base. It's now a wall hanger on my barn. Just curious.
Very nice. It's great to see an older model with full rifle length, octagonal barrel, and crescent butt plate. Great job making her right again. Thank you!
My grandfather's 1894 is first year of model, in 38-55. Sometime after he passed the original finish got destroyed. Totally brown and pitted with rust on the outside. The bore still shines.
Nice to see the this as you did some repairs. I inherited Grandpas via Dad after he passed years ago. It bagged me a few deer in my youth. She was a bit heavy but it taught me to a bit tougher packing it may a seasons. I recall the first year I had it out, Idaho Fish and Game stopped me to check it out. Had the nerve to tell me it couldn't bring down a deer. I laughed as I told him that he couldn't count the deer this had taken over the years via Grandpa or Dad on his fingers and toes. Needless to say I got one myself that season. Looking forward to passing in down to my grandchildren.
243 is the smallest caliber you could use in most states.I believe the 25-35 is a couple calibers larger.when hunting in sage brush,mansinita bushes and woods.with a 117 grain factory load or similar.I would rather use this rifle than the 6 mm 243 where it's real thick river bottoms.where your only going to get one shot off.In the open I would rather have a bigger 25 caliber than the 6 mm for open country.alot of people would disagree.unless they shot one and they would know even my weatherby in 257 magnum will swoon them deer,sheep,pronghorn,big mule deer,elk,moose.But just remember one thing my grandpa who lived in Alaska did this with the 25-35 95 years ago before all these fancy new rifles were ever even thought of.
@@Robert-fs1pb Truly an all round rifle. I recall stories of Grandpa shooting geese from the grain silo with it as they flew over too. Idaho Fish and Game and I got into a pissing contest about using back in the early 80"s . Advised him, when he grew up and knew how to use a firearm we could talk. Its not so much the size of the bullet as is the placement on its target that matters. Just make sure you are within the range needed to place the right shot. It is a very prized rifle that I look forward to passing down to the grandkids.
I have a Frankenstein 25-35 . It has a Remington barrel with a Winchester action. a Marlin butt plate maybe stock with marbles sights. Plus tape around the stock where it fastens to the action. I never shot the rifle since I never trusted the repairman. I know the last time it was shot was back in the 60s. Action and trigger works fine. Not worth anything just a family heirloom. Back in the 50s and 60s plenty of deer were taken using the rifle.
Hey great job!! I am a nut for lever guns! I have been doing this for 40 years! I love the care you took to keep it original! This is a bunch who thinks a new barrel and what ever!! I like them as perfect as possible! Let me know if you need finding a part! I am on the Gulf about 35 miles north in Mississippi! Love to see a real cowboy!!
Most early carbines did have saddle rings. Some were ordered without saddle rings and are known as "Eastern Carbines". The 1894 in this episode is a rifle, so it wouldn't have had a saddle ring. Thanks for watching and commenting!
For my oiling on any gun, I put the oil on an old shaving brush. Much better than a cloth that traps dust and metal particles between the rag and the bluing. AND you can get down in every nook and cranny. I saves the bluing on the sharp edges of an octagon barrel and frame. As an aside, those 25-35's were really good shooters in their day. Over the years (many) I managed to acquire all 5 caliber 94's with 26 octagon bbls! I love them.
Great video. If you are really interested in making a video showing how to repair a bad brazing with a tig welder, I have an Iver Johnson single action break open Chamion model shotgun with the side release lever that is incorporated into the trigger guard. At some point in its history, it had the side release lever broken and repaired. I would be interested in having this gun restored to black powder shell shooting condition.
I love the tang mount peeps. Ours has a marble tang mount we usually keep the insert out of it because we use it usually in drives and stalk hunts where shots are usually made reactively very fast
My favorite's always been the .32, followed real close by the .38-55 (though, I prefer it, just box ammo is kinda hard to find), but I shot a friend's 25 and I gotta say its mighty damn practical. Download it for small game, hot load it for whitetail. Good job. Thank you for bringing that nice old rifle back.
Thanks! Others may disagree, but I don't think there's a bad caliber choice in the 1894 lineup. It just depends on what it's being used for. I'm with you on the 25-35 - it's darned versatile for small to medium game. And it's also lots of fun to shoot.
Great video- I inherited a 1894 rifle in 25/35- 1908 vintage-it was given to my dad by an old marine buddy- story goes it came with the family from North Dakota pre 1920. This video has motivated me to get it out of the safe & try it out on coyotes ! Thanks Much!
Great video! I'm a big fan of 25-35. If you have the opportunity could you do a video on reinstalling the wood forends on 1894 Winchester and Marlins. I've made the mistake of removing a couple and had a terrible old time getting everything lined up again, maybe the wood had expanded and was compressed before I took it off. Of course removing wood to get everything back together is a touchy proposition as taking too much off results in a rattling forend.
I've been planning to do some complete disassembly and assembly episodes on these old rifles at some point that will include removing and installing the furniture. Keep an eye out for those in the future.
Been using 4ought steel wool for decades. So many people ruin beautiful pieces by using coarser steel wool or (heaven forbid!) a sander to their guns. I really enjoy this channel.
What memories. A friend of mine's family rifle was a M94 in 25-35. Nice patina, nickel steel barrel, "for semi-smokeless powder", long, octagon barrel, buckhorn sight. They said it had taken a lot of deer in the mountains of Nevada. I used to go over to their house to watch "Outer Limits" on Wednesday nights. They were always nice enough to get that rifle out and let me hold it during the show. I think of it every time I get out the Marlin 336CB in 38-55, or one of the 25-45 Sharps AR uppers.
Back several years ago when the old lever guns were not to terribly expensive for average and below like the one you worked on, I bought up a few. Dont shoot them much but do enjoy getting them out every once in a while and oiling them up a little and just looking at them....
@@thecinnabar8442 I traded off a 1873 and have always regretted that.... I havent been to a gun show for a long time but I’m sure that the $300 -$400 price range is no longer a reality....
Really glad you serviced that beautiful old rifle. What a cool unusual caliber, and what a special flip up peep sight! Thanks for sharing and hope you show how well it hunts 👍
I’d imagine they’d shorten the mag if the spring got weak, and caused miss-cycles . You loose a round ,but the weapon will cycle again by not shortening he spring.
I would be interested in seeing the repair of that finger lever. Good job on that 25-35. Its nice to see someone giving some love to a old forgoten firearm.
I have an 1890 that the front hanger dovetail is completely buggered. Could I just tig weld up both ends of the dovetail and then recut them on the milling machine?
My first firearm was a winchester 25-35 given to me by my grandfather he was a winchester only man. He also left a beautiful .32 special 38-40 and 30-30 carbine because no lever collection is completer without the immortal 30-30
Another well done video Mark. Good stuff. Was your tang sight locked into its detent. Looks like it was leaning forward early in the shooting process. Might be the source of what appears to be a little vertical stinging. Nice shooting old 25-35 at any case. Will look forward to your next video!
Great eye, Mark! That combination of tang peep and sporting rear sight made an interesting sight picture. I actually found myself unable to focus on the tang sight and naturally lined up on the rear sight. The tang sight wasn't locking into place and I'll need to take it apart and see what's going on with it. I'll remove the rear sight before I shoot it again to "unclutter" the sight picture.
Easy peasy. A .25-35 is on my short list of acquisitions to, uh, aquire. I would think it would be perfect for calling coyotes when multiple prairie yodelers come in all at the same time. Great vid!
The ammo's pretty hard to find in good times and almost impossible these days. A person needs to reload to make sure to have a reliable source of ammo.
Great video I have a old rossi 45lc that should hold 10 rounds but you can only get 8 in the tube could this be something with the end cap ?Other than that its the best shooting rifle I ever had! Thanks!
Sixty years ago I bought a model 94, 25-35. It was built in 1910 with a 28 inch barrel, which was a special order length. Changed the sights and added a Marble peep sight. I shot mostly varmints from a rest. At 200 yards I could put the bullet right on the money. It was the best rifle I ever owned. I foolishly sold it many years ago. The only down side was that long octagonal barrel got heavy if you had to carry it a long distance.
Damn that Bubba da `smith ! I use to pass all those cobbed up Bubba guns. Now even the "junk" is hard to find. Another great video. Completely enjoy them. Than you!
Excellent video. It's good to see you get that 1894 repaired and back to shooting. I have a Winchester 1897 shotgun that needs some repair. Do you work on shotguns also?
I have a question regarding were you got your replacement parts I have to same rifle in about the same condition I need to track down a tube follower end cap and screw would like to know were you can track down parts thanks
I educated myself on the repair and resto of Winchester lever rifles about 20 years ago. I found the mag hangers rather ingenious as the dove tail aids in the lock up to align the tube. I repaired a 1894 DOM 1897 that has little blueing and was well abused, stocks, Barrel, screws replaced. What amazed me was this rifle was built before aircraft/cars machine work done on steam power and leather belt drives...all to within .002+- Inch...Amazing
The craftsmanship on these old rifles is definitely impressive considering what they had to work with. Sadly, the craftsmanship on most modern guns doesn't come close, even with today's technology.
@@thecinnabar8442 You can buy a Custom made rifle... W1895, 94, M 36...but you will spend $ 5000.00 + in work to make it as good as a standard case colored Winchester / Marlin that sold for $30.00 in 1900. My go to hunt rifle in a Savage 1899 in .300 Savage. Its the safest hunting lever rifle ever made with 3 safety features, Round count, lever lock, chamber loaded button, First class craftsmanship.
Mate I knew that rifle would be a good shooter as soon as you said she was in the back of the safe. If you said it was out the back shed then I would be a worried lol great job mate and a great video
My grandfather had one of those if I'm not mistaken it was handed down from my great-grandfather to him and when my aunt and my cousin got greedy over my grandfather's land and stuff they took all the guns and stuff before anybody at the rest of family could get what they wanted greed but my grandfather did have one
I HAVE THE SAME RIFLE AND DOES NOT HAVE THE PEEP SIGHT, THE FIRST SIGHT HAS LEAFS TO LIFT FOR LONGER RANGE AS NEEDED, IT SHOOTS WELL BUT SHOULD HAVE MORE POWER FOR DEER, I HAVE SHOT DEER WITH IT BUT WILL USE ALITTLE MORE POWER, IT IS GOOD FOR YOTES,ITS IN NICE SHAPE, NICE TO SEE THERE ARE SOME AROUND, THANKS FOR THE SHOW, GOD BLESS.
