Opinions re Winchester 1895 lever action rifle?

F

FoghornLeghorn

New member
I've been looking to buy one lately. Mostly I've been looking at the newer ones. I know Winchester went through a bad period where they were producing inferior stuff. What should I look out for.

BTW, everything is online. I can't physically look at it.

I see that the new 270 Winchester caliber is substantially less than others. Is that for any particular reason?

I'm inclined toward the 30-06, but the 30 40 Krag seems pretty desirable, especially since it's a caliber I don't have.

thanx
 
Winchester's bad period: don't worry about it with the Model '95, as they weren't making it anymore by that time.
Current production '95s with the Winchester name on 'em aren't actually made by Winchester. They're made by Miroku in Japan under the Winchester name, leading to some folks that'll refer to them as "Japchesters" and the like. Miroku quality is excellent, but the lawyers got involved and the Winchester-marked leverguns they make have some safety stuff added that a lot of folks don't care for.
Caliber is a subjective matter. '95s in .270 being priced lower is due to lower demand. Near as I can tell, because it's not a chambering the original Winchester '95 was offered in and there's also the perception that such a hard-to-scope levergun is wasted on a lighter, flat shooting cartridge like that.
 
Thanks so much.

I wouldn't be scoping it anyway, and yes, the 270s long range, flat shooting characteristics would be largely wasted on me shooting an open sight gun.
 
If you don't want the inauthentic modifications like a tang safety and a two-piece rebounding hammer, look for a Browning 1895.
It is out of the same Miroku factory. The first such "reissues" carried the Browning trademark because they were designed by John Browning and they are closer to the originals.
By the time they started putting Winchester trademarks on them, they had started tinkering with the design.

Here is one on Gunbroker
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=410868272

I am not recommending it, just showing an example.
 
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FWIW, there's not many .270 Model 1895's around anyway - They were such slow sellers that Winchester returned every one in their warehouse to Miroku for conversion to .405, which sold like hotcakes.

I've had both a .30-06 & a .405, both "Winchester" by Miroku's, and found them to be accurate, beautifully fitted/finished & reliable w/o any issues.

I didn't particularly care for the tang safety on them, so I simply ignored it.

I fitted an XS peep sight, meant for a Marlin 1894 (flat bottomed base) to the rear half of the bolt top of each, along with a higher XS white Line front sight - which made a great hunting rig.


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Most folks that want a 95 are into history and tradition and the 270 is a caliber that didn't exist in the original line of calibers Winchester offered in the 95. That is why it's less popular. HOWEVER if you like the rifle and are interested more in hunting with it instead of collecting it and having a "cowboy rifle" the 270 is one of the best calibers you can get.

I own one in 30-06 and a new Winchester in 270. I detest the tang safety, so I removed mine and plugged the mortis in the tang with a steel blank and finished it down to a point you almost can’t see it. The new rebounding hammer on the other hand is a wonderful new addition. The hammer goes to a blocked halfcocked position automatically and it's extremely safe.

My 30-06 has the standard manual halfcocked as all the old Winchesters do. It's not a "super safe" mechanism. But safe enough if we know and obey the 4 rules of gun safety.

We often think of lever rifles as being the ones that shoot slow moving bullets at close range so we don't need a flat shooting iron sighted gun. That also is a preconceived notion that is based on the status-quo of gun design.

With my 95 in 270 I zeroed 3" high at 100 yards. I have found that on deer and antelope I can hold on the chest clear out to nearly 400 yards with no hold up at all. Now days my eyes are loosing their clarity, but a few years back the 95 in 270 became my absolute favorite iron sighted hunting arm. It's quite accurate and there are effectively NO holdovers out to almost any range I can still hold the bead on a deer or antelope.
At 500 yards the bead covers the whole animal so holding on the chest would become a fools guessing game.
I almost filed the front sight to a fine blade on the 270 so I could shoot game ever farther, but then I realized that I have never had a reason to shoot farther then about 425 yards with it so why modify the original bead?
I came to my senses you might say.

Anyway, if you can live with the fact that Winchester bent over for it's corporate Lawyers and installed the tang safety (You can choose just to never use it and the rifle is still super safe because of the rebounding hammer)and you are more a hunter than a collector, the 95 in 270 Winchester will be a rifle you'll love.
 
Jim, thanks so much for that link. I'm currently bidding on it.

And thanks to all who responded.

Now, I need a '42 Waffen SS Luger, 22 cal DW Pistol pack, and 27-2 blued mint w/4 inch barrel to finish scratching my itch.

Jim, BTW, what is a decent price on that Browning?
 
That's a hard one to put a price on I have the same one and I'd have paid more than the $850 price tag the guy had on it, as IMHO it's the only accurate repro and it's better made than the originals due to modern metallurgy.
 
Beats me, I do not follow such stuff except as something like this thread triggers a discussion.
My Browning 1885 BPCR, derived from the Winchester "Highwall" Single Shot is a fine rifle, though. You will not go wrong with a Miroku made Browning or Winchester, even though from the far side of the world.
 
Winchester189530gov19025001-15-2015_zpse1355f91.jpg


I bought one a year ago in 30 Gov [30-40 Krag] made in 1902.
I paid $500 at a pawn shop. I now think the barrel may have been shortened and the front sight moved back.
I have not shot it, but did did take it apart and got more than a pound of dirt out of it.
I had a hard time putting it back together, as there was nothing in my books and no youtube video to help me. If I do it again, I will make a youtube video to help others. It is tricky.
 
Lyman reproduction

The Lyman peep site was popular on the original 95's. I had one on a 30-40 model 95. I put this reproduction on one of the new 95's. This one in 405.

 
Opinions re Winchester 1895

The rifle is a great find for a collector or target shooter but as a field /hunting rifle it was next to impossible to one hand carry due to the box magazine.
 
Win71
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but somebody done stole your barrel.:eek:
I've been wanting to get one of those repro Lyman 21s for mine looks great.
 
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