I have A Whitney-Kennedy "S" Lever, adjustable set triggers, octagon barrel in 45-60 cal. This rifle was given to me in 1967, it was used as a play rifle, no firing pin, no main spring, plugged barrel and missing the top slide cover. Made the firing pin, found the other parts at Dixie Gun Works in Tn. It took me about a year to restore the rifle which turned out to be a pretty good shooter. It's retired to a display wall hanger. Just found this video. Keep em' comin'.
Best wishes and speedy recovery to your wife. Enjoyed the education on the two Whitney Kennedy rifles. Thanks for the videos and look forward to the next.
What a great video! I love seeing these rifles in action. I own a Whitney Kennedy 40/60 made in 1879 - it's a family heirloom and has been well taken care of. Does anyone know where I can find reliable ammunition for it? It's been checked by a gunsmith to make sure it's safe to use, I've just been unable to find ammo for it.
Great video.. I have been binging on all of your videos and look forward to new ones.. Your positive personality comes across very well on your videos.
I got lucky with this one and it was just gummed up and couldn't work normally. Fixed with a good cleaning. Thanks for the great screw set for my wife's Lightning. It's a factory 44-40 smoothbore that had several improvised screws. Your set fixed it right up.
Super interesting rifles, it’s nice to see how well they shoot, Thanks for the history lesson, I picked up a 53 in 25-20 it’s been polished and re-blued, but it seems to be a really good shooter got a nickel size group at 50 yards four shots
I love shooting the 53's and they are my wife's favorite levergun. She only has three Winchester, a set of 53's in each caliber. You sent me some pictures of that gun a while back, I hope you got my reply. Watched your short episode about it yesterday. Looks like a great shooter. I'll be looking forward to seeing more of it!
@@thecinnabar8442 No I never received your reply, it was definitely re-finished I only paid 1100 for it, I hope that’s not too much, it came with reloading dies in 100 rounds of ammo in a hard case and 50 rounds of unused brass 100 Hornady 60 grain bullet
never heard of the whitney kennedy rifles before, thanks for the interesting video, but honestly I do not like those rifles because Winchester are more elegant in their appearance. I would like to get old rifles, too, but those are impossible to find here.So I bought a Oliver Winchester commemorative in 44-40 together with the Colt 1873 SAA. Greetings from Germany...
@@thecinnabar8442 yes I will have an opportunity to shoot, just when the local bureau of firearms has stamped in my permission paper the new arms, after that procedure I am allowed to go to the range an can buy the ammo.
These are pretty neat rifles, I particularly like the S lever even if it's less practical than the conventional loop lever. Would be great if Uberti or one of the other repro companies would do them, particularly in the larger rounds like .45-70 for an alternative to the Winchester 1886, but sadly I guess they're not popular enough to warrant the effort.
The closest thing being reproduced is the Colt Burgess. It was also designed by Andrew Burgess. I don't think it has been a very good seller though. I'm with you, I'd love to see a large caliber Whitney reproduced.
@@thecinnabar8442 Indeed, and I have one of the Taylor reproduction Burgess rifles, though the mechanics differ quite a bit from the Whitney-Burgess/Kennedy.
Wow, never heard of the Whitney Kennedy. Fascinating. So these do not have a toggle link system? Would be interesting to see the internals. The loading gate looks like those on the Burgess lever guns. Thanks for another educational video Mark! Really enjoyed it!
Thanks a bunch! Thanks for the offer to help with the website. We're putting together something very simple and basic for now. If we get in over our heads I may take you up on your offer.
If you ever have a Bullard rifle come by the shop I would love to see how they work. I always heard the 76 action wasn't long enough for the 45-70, but the Bullard Rifle company seems to have done it?
Thank you very much for the Whitney Kennedy episode! I have a large frame Whitney in 40-60 that was in very poor condition when I acquired it. The stock was severely broken and the chamber had a blow out at the ejector groove. It was also missing the mainspring altogether. I repaired the stock with walnut, stainless all-thread and acraglas, but did not feel comfortable with welding that chamber. It has been at a gunsmiths shop for that work, hoping it shoots as well as that 38-40 when I get it back! That early model was also very nice, Billy the Kid had one just like it (S-808), and it is now hanging at the Gene Autry Museum.
Nice video. I used to have a semi auto 30-06 I used to shoot. I always wanted a Winchester lever action. Just seems like a beautiful rifle. Now I can't afford stuff like that. Do you know of any give aways to disabled first responders? Lol 😜😂 just playing. I can only wish. But this is a nice video. Thanks for sharing.
Um, what about climate change? Remember, this is an old episode, so if that's a reference to something in the video, you'd have to give it some context in order to make sense.
Beautiful rifles. Thanks for this video, I had no idea..............learn something new everyday. They are not cheap that's for sure, looked at some for sale.
Lost you there for a while so glad your out and about again. Surprising the number of different lever action rifles that almost made it, do you have any thoughts on why they didn't become more popular? Winchester's manufacturing might or design? Thanks so much for your work.
Whitneyville Armory must have seen something in these rifles that made them nervous, since they bought the company and immediately halted their production.
@@thecinnabar8442 Have you seen any indication Italy will reproduce them? I don't remember seeing any in the last catalogs I got. In the great book "Winchester Lever Legacy" under 38-40 they show a coyote taken with one and was "dead before God got the news".
No. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to do much reloading. I would have liked to have shot some black powder loads through it. These were factory cowboy action loads.
Those are too nice and beautiful guns you're a lucky man. Also lucky that those fires haven't got to you yet and I certainly hope that your wife gets to feeling better. My father had a double knee surgery and I know how he felt I can only imagine how she's feeling anyway have a great day and stay safe and keep your powder dry!
Thanks for a really cool video. Gonna have to check out more of your stuff. A while ago I tried to research why exactly octagon barrels were a thing and as far as I can tell it was mainly for aesthetics. Getting all the flats perfect and symmetrical is actually much harder than just turning a barrel down… at least that’s the conclusion I reached. Thanks again
Thanks for the conversation regarding Cerakoting as the solution for the post-64 Winchester speckling on the receivers. It came out great on mine and I highly recommend it!
Great video Mark. I had never heard of these rifles until now. Sounds like you got your hands full. We’ll continue to pray for rain in your area and knock those fires down.
Great video! I have a couple of these fine rifles. The action's are so smooth, and they seem to shoot very well. I always look forward to seeing your next video. Thank you and keep up the great work!!
@@thecinnabar8442 I try to see all the shows that you put out. Great content! The views of country on your ranch are incredible as well. Have a great day. Rob
Magnificent, thank you for sharing these beautiful rifles. I haven't heard of them before. The backdrop looks spectacular. I doubt I'll see one of these rifles in Australia.
Stumbled upon your channel tonight. Really enjoy your videos. I have a later model Whitney Kennedy, chambered in 44-40. I regret not being able to fire the rifle with my now deceased older brother some years back. I had unfortunately purchased improper ammo for the rifle on a visit with him in AZ. Watching you fire those old collectable Winchesters has inspired me to get out there with my boys and start enjoying my collection and make some good memories with my family.
I really love your videos and the way you present them. I never see anything on the Marlin Ballard single shot rifle. Do you have any experience with them?
@@thecinnabar8442 , I have 4, all in excellent original condition and another one rebarrelled by George C. Schoyen. One is a no.10 Schuetzen Jr., one of 9 known to exist according to John Dutcher’s book “Ballard, The Great American Single Shot Rifle”.
Thanks Mark. I would have really liked to shoot black powder through these, but I just can't seem to find the time to do any reloading right now. Hope to get back to the reloading room this winter.
