Author Topic: Not a single 45-70 at the gun show (Read 904 times)

STW · « **on:** January 22, 2005, 06:54:08 PM »

Not a single 45-70 at the gun show. At least that I could find. Not that gun show prices are any good these days.

Saw lots of nice older winchesters--several 33wcf 1886 models (and don't know anything about 33wcf).

Saw a great 1903 Marlin in 30-30.

Saw a beautiful old Winchester 1895 in ".30 Gov" I'm a model 94 fan and have thought these were clunky looking but what a nice one in person. Suddenly I'm feeling like a need a 30-06 :shock: But I can't remember now, do these eject from the top

Newest thing at the gun show was that my wife went with me. Called out to her as I was leaving, "want to go to the gun show with me?" and she said yes and was in the car in 10 min :eek: Wish she hadn't felt the smooth pull on that 6" bbl Colt Anaconda because now I'm saving for her instead of my 45-70 :?

MGMorden · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2005, 01:22:05 AM »

Quote from: STW

Saw a beautiful old Winchester 1895 in ".30 Gov" I'm a model 94 fan and have thought these were clunky looking but what a nice one in person. Suddenly I'm feeling like a need a 30-06 :shock: But I can't remember now, do these eject from the top

Looks like they do [eject from top]. From pictures I can't see an ejection port on the sides, and the only base Weaver lists for them is a side-mount.

kevin.303 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 23, 2005, 05:37:04 AM »

yes they are top ejection. thats the great thing about winchester lever guns. they are one of the ambedextrious (spelling?) guns out there. i hear ya about saving money. i think i'm cursed when it comes to lever guns. first of my unccle grabs my grandfathers 94 before i do ,then after saving $600 for a Winchester 95 in .303 british i lose my job and have to use the money to pay bills. now after saving $450 for a minty '92 in .25-20 i have to spend that and a lot more on pricey and painful dental work! i'm cursed i tell ya.

Shorty · « **Reply #3 on:** January 23, 2005, 10:55:50 AM »

Is that ".30 Gov" a .30-40 Krag? I know that sporting nomenclature called that; .30 USA (US Army) but wouldn't the .30-06 have been marked as .30-03 or .30-06? :?

kevin.303 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2005, 11:56:16 AM »

yes .30 Gov is .30-40 Krag. it goes by many names.

30-40 US Krag
.30-40 Krag, US Army
.30-40 Krag Army
.30-40 Krag
.30-40 Krag & Winchester
.30 USA
.30 M1892
.30 M1896
.30 M1898 .30 Flanged
.30 US Krag
.30 USA Army
.30 USA
.30 Krag
.30 Army
7.62 (Kal .30) US Krag Jorgensen M/93

STW · « **Reply #5 on:** January 25, 2005, 06:07:21 AM »

I asked the guy at the counter selling it (he looked the knowledgable type you you never know at the show) and he said it--".30 Gov." was 30-06, and I know that 30-06 was chambered in main battle rifles so I thought it was plausible. Was 30-06 ever called .30 gov by a service branch?

Guess it would pay to chamber a round to make sure-- not that you could or should do that at the show :shock:

86er · « **Reply #6 on:** January 25, 2005, 05:10:59 PM »

I think that the gun you saw may have been a .30-03, which was first offered in 1905. It was the immediate predecessor of the '06 that Winchester first catalogued in 1908. I believe that the '06 guns are marked .30 Gov. '06. The .30-40s are marked .30 US until the very end of the series, when some were marked .30 Army.
The 1895 Winchester was the first sporting rifle to be offered in the .30-06 caliber. The older ones have a reputation for having excess headspace, a problem that developed from using later, higher pressure cartridges. Any '06 marked '95 should be examined by a competent gunsmith that is familiar with that model. I have a vintage 1924 .30-06 SRC that shoots very well, all things considered. Only the hot reloads are avoided, all factory fodder is fine. :-)

STW · « **Reply #7 on:** January 25, 2005, 06:03:12 PM »

Interesting--wish now I'd looked closer. I wonder why Winchester is not chamering their new 1895 model in something besides .405 win. Guess they see it as a collectors gun, a nostalgia? gun which needs to be in the cartridge it was famous for.

86er · « **Reply #8 on:** January 25, 2005, 07:11:46 PM »

Maybe the '95 in .405 WCF was made famous by T. Roosevelt, but the most popular caliber was .30 US, or .30-40 as it is better known. Another contender was the .35 WCF, a big game caliber par excellence. Interestingly, the Russian Government contract of nearly 300,000 muskets in 7.62mm made that caliber the production champ, and it wasn't even for use on this continent. Many did return, though, and were sold for pennies by various arms companies. :-)

jhrosier · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2005, 05:27:30 PM »

Quote from: STW

Interesting--wish now I'd looked closer. I wonder why Winchester is not chamering their new 1895 model in something besides .405 win. Guess they see it as a collectors gun, a nostalgia? gun which needs to be in the cartridge it was famous for.

The '95s have been sold by both Browning and Winchester in recent years as limited production guns. Browning has offered the gun in 30-40 and 30-06, Winchester in .405. One or the other also offered it in .270.
The Winchesters recently offered have rebounding hammers and tang mounted safteys, which some folks have objected to. Mine has the tang safety and it doesn't bother me. The Brownings were offered without these safety features. The Winchesters are available either with the butt-ugliest color casehardened finish or a standard blued finish. The original styled semi-buckhorn rear sight on the Winchester is just as useless as it was 100 years ago. Buffalo Arms has a remake of the old Lyman #38 receiver sight, which is correct for this gun. It needs to be fitted by a gunsmith (holes to drill&tap, screws to be made).