Miroku 1892 Takedown By Turnbull Restoration.

sharkman said:
I’ve got an 1894 Winchester in .32-40 circa 1905 that I sent to Turnbull for restoration. The barrel was completely trashed so I figured why not. Pricey but beautiful
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Sir, I'd like to make a formal request... Pictures please! Does the gun have any sentimental value and/or story attached? Man I bet that is a jewel. Did you keep it 32-40 caliber?
 
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Ok I’ll get pictures as soon as I can. As for the story, way back in the 70’s my Dad bought the gun from a neighbor. When he passed I got the rifle. Bore was trashed, worse than a sewer pipe. Magazine tube looked like someone took steel wool to it. Forearm cracked, otherwise nice wood for over 100 years old. Reciever had nice patina, but that bore…:mad: So I sent it off to Turnbull, said make it look like when it left the factory. And he did! Kept it in .32-40
 
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I don't have to say much about the level of craftsmanship found at Turnbull Restoration. All these pictures speak for themselves. I go right by their shop occasionally and stop in once a year to get one of their excellent calendars. To wander around in their showroom is jaw dropping to say the least. For those who worship firearms restoration this is what Mecca looks like.. IMG_0856.JPG .
 
My grandfather was a gunsmith and machinist in Rochester NY and knew Terry Turnbull well....as a kid I spent many a weekend at Creekside gunshop (prior to where Doug is now). Doug's group does some very fine work- .....you will pay top prices.....but you will never be disappointed with the work.

I was in the showroom a few weeks ago- very hard to not drool-
....if you go, bring your CC and a wad of cash....very dangerous!
 
sharkman said:
Hope the pictures look good, doing this on my iPad…


View attachment 1137114 View attachment 1137115 View attachment 1137116 View attachment 1137117 View attachment 1137118 View attachment 1137119 View attachment 1137120
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I just looked again on a better computer. Very very nice. Thank you for sharing that example of Turnbull's work with me. I like the color case hardening on the hammer and lever. So that is the original stock? Where you able to keep the forend?
 
MachIVshooter said:
It's one of my favorites, and the one I paid the most for. Original 1895s sure don't come cheap these days!

That photo doesn't really do any of them justice, especially the 1897 and that 1895. Here's a better one

View attachment 1136713

That one and the 1881 I won't be suppressing. The modern 1895 I threaded, so I can use that for all my suppressed .45-70 needs and leave these fairly rare originals alone.
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I keep going back to look at this amazing old rifle. It appears you can see a hint of case hardening on the receiver? Or is that fingerprints? It has a bit of figure in the stock and is overall just a real beauty. Thank you again for sharing it with us. My shoulder hurts just looking at the crescent butt though. But they sure look good. I love the S grip cap on old Marlins too.
 
For the OP, you would likely be really happy with even a standard Mirochester; have a '92 in .45 Colt, and a Marbles tang sight. They are already drilled. I feed it cowboy loads, but it would tolerate whatever. Ignore the tang safety; it can be safely carried with the rebounding hammer lowered.
I've a '94 Marlin in .44 Mag, had it whacked to 16", wonderful woods gun, absolute hammer on deer.
Turnbull's stuff is art, without a doubt.
Moon
 
halfmoonclip said:
For the OP, you would likely be really happy with even a standard Mirochester; have a '92 in .45 Colt, and a Marbles tang sight. They are already drilled. I feed it cowboy loads, but it would tolerate whatever. Ignore the tang safety; it can be safely carried with the rebounding hammer lowered.
I've a '94 Marlin in .44 Mag, had it whacked to 16", wonderful woods gun, absolute hammer on deer.
Turnbull's stuff is art, without a doubt.
Moon
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You are likely right. I do prefer the half cock though. I know Brownings made by Miroku don't have the tang safety. I have a friend that has a B1886 and loves it.

I actually considered a Marlin 1894 in 44 magnum but I'm into cast bullets and they all have .432 groove and usually require .433 bullets to get any accuracy at all. I just can't abide that right now. And since I'm too stingy to use jacketed bullets in it, well. I guess I talked myself out of one. I do really want an 1894 in 357 magnum however. The look of the cowboy model is starting to grow on me. I do my research before getting a new gun, but I also have to like the way a gun looks aesthetically.
 
One consideration I have for a Turnbull Finished 92, swivel studs, sling and swivels. I expect they would add swivel studs and those would be finished to the level of the gun. But where does one get swivels that are to the same level of finish. I wouldn't want to put uncle mikes swivels on a Turnbull.

Likewise for the sling, I want the highest quality sling I can get. I want leather, narrow and simple, but high grade leather, red dyed, maybe with a tan/buckskin color inside. I want the sling to be unobtrusive, and not be gaudy. No tooling except maybe a groove up the length on the sides, or nothing. I want chicago screws and no buckle.

So does anyone have suggestions along this line for me?
 
Bazoo, great point about the sling swivel studs, especially as a guy who has been known to off-center a stud on a stock.
Yeah, the micro-groove in the Marlins can be a lead bullet issue. Maybe just go with the Colt in the Mirochester.
Did have a '94 Winchester AE in .45 Colt, but the longer action (and awful cross bolt safety) started me on the road to '92s.
The Rossi iteration is a cut below the Mirochesters, but they are still pretty nice guns.
There have been times when a new '92 anything was pretty hard to come by. They are a strong action.
Moon
 
I have a couple buddies with Rossi 92's. One of the guns has chamber throating so excessive it bulges brass so badly it won't resize far enough down the web to then chamber in another gun. Another was visibly bulged but did resize. Both in 357. If it wasn't for those quality control issues, I could probably get along okay with a Rossi, except I'd wish it were a Turnbull.

Even my buddy's Rossi is slick though. It's a fast handling and fast cycling gun. I can only imagine how buttery smooth a Turnbull would be.
 
Bazoo said:
I just looked again on a better computer. Very very nice. Thank you for sharing that example of Turnbull's work with me. I like the color case hardening on the hammer and lever. So that is the original stock? Where you able to keep the forend?
Click to expand...

Yep, that’s all original wood
 
CraigC said:
I've got several revolvers finished in Turnbull's shop but no rifles. Somewhere I have a picture of an engraved 1886 with carbona blue on the receiver that really sold me on that combination. The 1892 is gorgeous. Make mine a fast twist and skip the takedown!
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I have a USFA SAA finished by Turnbull, time for more pictures I guess
 
@sharkman thanks for all your sharing. Wow that wood cleaned up better than I would have imagined. I work with wood and I know what a challenge it can be to coax.
 
MachIVshooter said:
One day I may send one of my vintage Marlins to them. I have a short 1893 .25-36 that would be stunning after a Turnbull job. But I also like it in it's worn original finish,
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Anecdote Alert

There was once an article in American Rifleman about the Marlin that won a collectors' association prize for its pristine appearance.
Somebody at Turnbull's heard about it and said "That looks familiar." Yup, refinished in their shop well enough to fool a group of experts.

I always think of that one when I remember the 1911 expert telling me that a serious collector ought to be able to tell a refinish from an original just by looking at it, a restorer's hallmark as I suggested should not be needed if I really knew my stuff.

Flintlock restorer John Bivens disagreed. He would examine a muzzleloader's stock keys and ramrod pipes for signs that the barrel had been shortened, usually from the breech. If it had been, he would "stretch" the barrel with a piece off a junker and build the stock back to length. So nobody would mistake it for a period piece, he would weld the bottom flats with a stainless rod that would not take the browning of a refinish. Take the barrel out of the stock and the "stretch" would be obvious.
 
Jim Watson said:
Anecdote Alert

There was once an article in American Rifleman about the Marlin that won a collectors' association prize for its pristine appearance.
Somebody at Turnbull's heard about it and said "That looks familiar." Yup, refinished in their shop well enough to fool a group of experts.

I always think of that one when I remember the 1911 expert telling me that a serious collector ought to be able to tell a refinish from an original just by looking at it, a restorer's hallmark as I suggested should not be needed if I really knew my stuff.

Flintlock restorer John Bivens disagreed. He would examine a muzzleloader's stock keys and ramrod pipes for signs that the barrel had been shortened, usually from the breech. If it had been, he would "stretch" the barrel with a piece off a junker and build the stock back to length. So nobody would mistake it for a period piece, he would weld the bottom flats with a stainless rod that would not take the browning of a refinish. Take the barrel out of the stock and the "stretch" would be obvious.
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Thank you for sharing. Those are pretty neat stories.
 
I have heard that color case hardening is degraded by sunlight. Does anyone know anything about that?
 
sharkman said:
View attachment 1137562 Years ago I read an article in one of my gun rags about Turnbull getting a bunch of USFA SAA’s and doing the finishing. Like what I saw and read so I bought one. iPhone photo, hope it looks ok
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Oh that is very nice. Thank you for sharing. Newer phones take pics as good as a $2k camera did 10 years ago in my experience. Wipe the lens before taking the pic helps a lot.
 
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