Mike Irwin
Staff
"I believe the switch from nickel-steel barrels to the later barrels was quite a bit earlier, though I'm not sure when."
As it began to investigate the new smokeless powder for the .30-30 and .25-35 cartridges to be chambered in the newly designed Model 1894 rifle, Winchester ran into two problems that caused the rounds to be held back until 1895...
1. Powder. Smokeless powder technology was still in its infancy, and it was still giving American manufacturers fits. It was hard to manufacture consistently, many batches began to decompose almost as soon as they were made and had to be discarded, and the US military was taking almost all suitable powder from commercial manufacturers (primarily Lafflin & Rand at this time) for use in the .30-40 Krag.
2. Barrel steel. The new hot burning smokeless powders required harder nickel steels. Not only were those steels more durable, they were a lot harder to machine, which resulted in Winchester having to update a lot of its equipment and its manufacturing techniques.
The end result was that when the Model 1894 hit shelves, it did so with the older, softer steel barrels and in the blackpowder .32-40 and .38-55 cartridges.
It wasn't until late 1895 that Winchester could manufacture market quantities of nickel steel barrels and that smokeless powder was available in quantities sufficient to support commercial sales of .30-30 and .25-35.
Additional note on early smokeless powder.
After the US Navy and Marine Corps dropped the 6mm Lee Navy in the early 1900s there were millions of rounds of original ammunition left over.
After some years in storage, Bannerman's of New York bought the rifles and ammunition.
It was found that, due to issues with the original powder, the vast majority of the ammo was unusable due to the cases being badly damaged or destroyed by the acid released as the powder broke down.
Apparently all of the ammunition was considered to be a loss and it was destroyed, apparently by dumping it into the Hudson River off Bannerman's Island.
As it began to investigate the new smokeless powder for the .30-30 and .25-35 cartridges to be chambered in the newly designed Model 1894 rifle, Winchester ran into two problems that caused the rounds to be held back until 1895...
1. Powder. Smokeless powder technology was still in its infancy, and it was still giving American manufacturers fits. It was hard to manufacture consistently, many batches began to decompose almost as soon as they were made and had to be discarded, and the US military was taking almost all suitable powder from commercial manufacturers (primarily Lafflin & Rand at this time) for use in the .30-40 Krag.
2. Barrel steel. The new hot burning smokeless powders required harder nickel steels. Not only were those steels more durable, they were a lot harder to machine, which resulted in Winchester having to update a lot of its equipment and its manufacturing techniques.
The end result was that when the Model 1894 hit shelves, it did so with the older, softer steel barrels and in the blackpowder .32-40 and .38-55 cartridges.
It wasn't until late 1895 that Winchester could manufacture market quantities of nickel steel barrels and that smokeless powder was available in quantities sufficient to support commercial sales of .30-30 and .25-35.
Additional note on early smokeless powder.
After the US Navy and Marine Corps dropped the 6mm Lee Navy in the early 1900s there were millions of rounds of original ammunition left over.
After some years in storage, Bannerman's of New York bought the rifles and ammunition.
It was found that, due to issues with the original powder, the vast majority of the ammo was unusable due to the cases being badly damaged or destroyed by the acid released as the powder broke down.
Apparently all of the ammunition was considered to be a loss and it was destroyed, apparently by dumping it into the Hudson River off Bannerman's Island.