Never let pricedo loose in a gun shop

[pricedo]

Very nice!

Follow-up:

The hardware is in excellent shape on the old gun and the gunsmith quoted me a price of $400 to do the restoration on the stock and bluing as well as a complete strip/clean/repair-replace broken & badly worn parts/lubricate.
I told him to go ahead and do it since being a 49er like I am the gun has a special significance to me.
These people have done really good work for me in the past.

[Ranch Dog]

I think that is a good deal!

[pricedo]

I think that is a good deal!

Very !, considering the quality of the work done in that shop.
Doug Turnbull probably wouldn't even look at it for less than $1000.

I'll let the old gunsmith take his time though.......age is slowing him down so I told him there was no rush on this job.
He's not as quick and dexterous as he used to be.
I think he's up to 7 minutes to strip/reassemble a 92.

[Steelbanger]

Good morning pricedo,

Since I arrived on the scene in 1940, would you mind if I call you junior? Just wondering.

[pricedo]

Good morning pricedo,

Since I arrived on the scene in 1940, would you mind if I call you junior? Just wondering.

Be my guest.
It's nice to have somebody around I'm not older than.
Now you need to find a 1940 Winchester 94 as your personal levergun mascot.
I think there are some years missing in the Winchester 94 chronological hierarchy when the civilian factories were conscripted by the feds to making war munitions.
1940 might be one of those years.

[pricedo]

Had the Winchester 94TE/450 out to a real rifle range yesterday with a few boxes of the Hornady factory 325 grain FTX ammo. The groups were an unimpressive 2 1/2 - 3", 3 - shot @100 yards.
Something has to be done with that gritty, creepy trigger. Far too gritty & creepy for a $1200 gun.
The trigger didn't make much difference at 25 yards but it is a PITA at 100 yards.
Will try it tomorrow with the Hornady factory 350 grain FPs.
The Marlin 1895GS that I just repaired the broken stock on was giving me less than 3/4", 3-shot groups @100 yards all day long with the factory 325 grain Hornady FTX 45-70 ammo. The Marlin shot circles around it's Winchester counterpart even though it cost 1/2 as much.
The Wild West Guns Happy Trigger I installed in the Marlin that broke at a crisp 3 pounds made all the difference in the world at 100 yards.
The guns had identical 2-7x33mm Leupold scopes on them.

[Ranch Dog]

You think you can take care of the trigger or will you need to find a smith? Still think a 94 chambered in 450 Marlin is absolutely awesome!

[pricedo]

You think you can take care of the trigger or will you need to find a smith? Still think a 94 chambered in 450 Marlin is absolutely awesome!

I think a Winchester 94 chambered in anything is awesome............been a Winchester fan for years......especially of the pre-64s.
2 1/2" @ 100 yards isn't terrible but I expect better from a $1200+ gun and WILL get it.
We'll see what it does with the 350 grain FPs tomorrow morning.
Regardless, that trigger needs work.
I know a gun smith that will hone a Winchester trigger for $50.
The gun is not a whole lot different from the earlier Winchester 94s in design except for the tang safety & rebounding hammer.
The rest of the gun is great...........the cycling is slick and flawless.
The quality was apparent right out of the box.
A knock-em down on the ground and fill the freezer hunter could probably live with the trigger but I expect more from a gun in that price range especially when Rossi 92s that are 1/3 the money have good to excellent triggers NIB.
Look at the well known guns that historically had unimpressive triggers, the Winchester 88, the Browning BLR.......even an unadulterated stock Marlin 1895 has a mediocre trigger. The mediocre Marlin 1895 trigger was a blessing in disguise cause it created a market vacuum that outfits like Wild West Guns and Grizzly Custom Guns lined up to fill.
Most 94s I have ever owned and do own have great triggers......probably all the lawyers safety junk jammed into the Miroku 94s to address a fictitious/hypothetical crisis screwed that up.
The main reason for the superior performance of my Marlin 1895GS over the Winchester was the Wild West Guns "Happy Trigger" that I installed as part of its Remlin Rehabilitation a couple of winters ago.
I think you and I share one trait in common.......we don't let things beat us.
Some repairs I'll tackle myself but I leave triggers to the experts.
That trigger will be dealt with in no time.
I probably wouldn't have been so disappointed in the Winchester 94TE/450 if it hadn't of been out-shot so badly by one of the "peasant" brands.
The accuracy of my Marlin 1895GS with the factory Hornady 325 grain FTX ammo @ 100 yards was uncanny.

**One thing that Rossi got right from the get-go was triggers..........never bought a Rossi levergun yet that didn't have a good trigger right outa the box.

[pricedo]

Had 4 boxes of the factory Hornady 325 grain FTX 45-70 ammo left and decided to see if the blue Guide Gun 1895G was as accurate as its stainless sibling.
The 100 yard, 3-shot group pictured above is typical of the groups the 1895G achieved on the range this morning with a shaky but stubborn geriatric attached to the recoil pad.
The scope was an ultra-compact 2-7x28mm Leupold VXII.......4 oz lighter and 2" shorter than the "Rifleman" series as well as $150 more money.
I've read about and now experienced first hand the notable accuracy of these 325 grain "Gummy Bear" bullets in 45-70 Guide Guns.

[Ranch Dog]

Yeap, that is gonna work!