My father in law has a few guns that I will have my hands on in the next few months. The one that stands out is a 1873 Winchester which was owned by his great grandfather. He said that it was probably from the late 1800s early 1900s. Has an octagon barrel and is 32 caliber.
The gun looks to be in fair condition, been in a closet collecting dust since the 1960s. I had the chance to see it in person last week and it looks complete, but needs some work. the lever is very sloppy, action works, but does not close completely. The wood has quite a few dings and dents but no cracks, the barrel and receiver are in decent shape, i guess the term is patina.? Not rusty, but no longer blued.
Is this an easy gun to work on? I would like to get it back to firing condition. I will need to most likely completely disassemble the action and clean/lube everything and tighten the lever.
Is this a gun to really mess with, or should I just clean it up and keep in on the rack as a conversation piece?
The gun looks to be in fair condition, been in a closet collecting dust since the 1960s. I had the chance to see it in person last week and it looks complete, but needs some work. the lever is very sloppy, action works, but does not close completely. The wood has quite a few dings and dents but no cracks, the barrel and receiver are in decent shape, i guess the term is patina.? Not rusty, but no longer blued.
Is this an easy gun to work on? I would like to get it back to firing condition. I will need to most likely completely disassemble the action and clean/lube everything and tighten the lever.
Is this a gun to really mess with, or should I just clean it up and keep in on the rack as a conversation piece?