Pre 64 Model 94 - To refinish or not?

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ImARugerFan

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Ok, I have a 1913 made Winchester 94 in .32 special. It has pretty much 0% bluing on the receiver and decent bluing on the barrel/mag tube. I know that generally refinishing old 94s like this is not a good idea because it cripples the value, but since it has such little bluing on it it probably doesn't have a high value to begin with. This was also my grandfather's rifle so I have no intention of selling it. I'd like to do some hunting with it. Is there a particular finish that works well with these recievers/barrels? I'm open to any ideas. I don't really want to spend a ton of money because for $300 I could buy a newer 94 in 30-30 and just use that to hunt with. Thanks.
 
Tough one, but not really. Since its an heirloom and won't ever get sold, If it were me, I'd have it redone, but I'd find a gunsmith who has experience doing historical restorations. While he has the barrelled action, I'd strip the wood and refinish it with a walnut stain and BLO if it's in the same condition as the metal.

Then I'd buy a set of .32 Win dies, because that ammo is getting more and more expensive avery year.
 
Yep refinish it. Your not planning on selling it. It has more value being in the family more than anything. It will be very good for the gun. a new finish will extend the life of the overall finish two folds. Then you can pass that rifle down to your grandkids
 
If you refinish it all the history is gone.If the blue is gone from honest use I would leave it alone.Most re blues on old guns make them look like Tammy Fay Baker.
 
Keep it well-oiled & enjoy it occasionally, but don't reblue. Remember...it was Grandpa's hands that wore that finish away. As you hold it, keep that in mind (and hunt with a modern, synthetic-stocked, stainless rifle when the weather gets drizzley).
 
I think if I take it to the right place it will look good. Turnbull is only 2 hours away from me and might be worth the price.
 
I wouldn't refinish it. It will take another 100 years of use to restore the "patina" and character it has now. Just accept it and enjoy it the way it is.
I reblued grandpa's winchester and wish I hadn't. I guess maybe it does look kinda like tammy faye- not quite gen-u-wine.
 
pic

As it is. At the very least I DO have to do something about those shiny barrel bands LOL!

94er7.jpg


One that shows the finish better:
win94va9.jpg
 
There are literally millions of them out there and the only ones that have real collector premiums on them are the ones that are ANIB. Do whatever's reasonable and pleases you...then shoot & enjoy.
 
Well, as everyone else says, it boils down to what your gonna do with it. If your not going to sell it, and if your not sentimental about the patina (which, by the way, is a perfectly valid thing to consider), then have it reblued. Spend the necessary money to have it done by someone who knows what they are doing for 2 reasons: One, you can be assured of a good job, and two, they will treat it with respect both historically and personally. Lots of people can refinish a gun perfectly well, but this isn't a new 1911 or something, this is a gun that clearly means something to you and as such, you should spend as much as you can afford to insure a job done properly. Put another way, if this were just some pawnshop special, I wouldn't worry about the rebluing that much. It's not, so you should.

If you think you ever might sell it, don't refinish it. Even with the worn down finish, it is worth more in it's current state than it would be reblued.

If it were me, I would probably leave it just as it is. It might require a little extra effort on your part to keep the rust off, but it requires no effort on your part to hold it and think about your grandpa. As someone else mentioned, Grandpa's hands wore it down, and rebluing is just going to erase the physical reminders of him from the gun.

I would add that I have my Dads first rifle, which is also a pre-64. His is in excellent condition, but he made it clear to me that if I wanted to hunt with it and shoot it up, I should feel free to do so. I will, and I have a little bit, but the fact is that there is no good reason for me to take it out in inclement weather. I have other guns that can get wet that don't have nearly the sentimental value that this rifle has for me.
 
Turnbull

Hey there :
If you can afford it "Turnbull" would turn that thing into a Master peice.
Then you would really have something worth keeping. It already is, But as was stated before , If it was worth Big money it would have likely been gone already. Most of the very high dollar stuff has already been scarffed up.
Re doing it yourself? then maybe I would leave it alone. But a decent Turnbull job would make it very valuable.
 
I'd use something else and keep that as a family heirloom. Any Winchester of that age will look drastically different than any refinish. To the eyes of collectors who appreciate old guns it wouldn't look "correct". Remember they only get to be original once. Just watch Antiques Roadshow and see all the people who's antique furniture would be worth twice as much if they hadn't had it restored. I know it's hard to resist the urge sometimes to fix up something we value, but it is now a piece of your family history.

Oddly enough in Europe restoration is not considered a negative in gun values. I suppose they have guns much older than ours that need restoration to be somewhat presentable.
 
Find Value.

Hey :
I guess I would try and get the gun Valued. If not a true collector item, I would just do it.
I'm sure Grampa would want you to use it. Rather than set it aside hoping it had some cash value. But , get it appraised. Then you will know what to do.
 
Refinished

I have a Marlin pump 22 that was my grandfather's. He spent summers on a hog farm after coming home from the war in the south pacific. He used the rifle for slaughtering pigs. It was in much the same condition as your 94 when it was handed down to me.
I had it refinished stem to stern, and will live the to regret it the rest of my life. The refinish job looks way too slick.
You'll regret it!! Give yourself one hunting season to consider it.
 
I have to agree with the guys saying to keep it original, it is a well aged piece of your family’s history.
 
My Dad's is a 1949 example in .32 Spl. Knowing that this gun will never be sold, I took the wood off it and sent the metalwork off to be hot-blued. While it was away, I sanded down the stock carefully, and applied 32 or so thin coats of polyurethane gloss onto it, lightly sanding with 600 grit wet/dry paper (wet). It's absolutely gorgeous!
Did I "ruin" it's value? From a purist collectors viewpoint, yes. But like I said, it ain't for sale. And, everyone who's seen it since begins their first sentence with "WOW!...". Do what you want. Do you think a frame-off restoration of a vintage car ruins it's value? I don't.
 
But 32 coats of polyurethane gloss on an old 94 ain't exactly a "vintage car frame-off restoration"!

Sounds like a lever-action Weatherby wanabe now!

Course, some folks like engine-turned hammers & triggers on old Colts & S&W's too, but I ain't one of them.

rcmodel
 
Leave it alone.

I have a 1956 made M94 that belonged to my grandfather. He bought it well use in 1960. Hauled it around on the farm in the back seat of a pickup and in a sattle scabbard on a horse for several years dispatching coyotes and badgers with it . Then loaned it to a sheep hearder who used for two years and broke of the front sight and put two cracks in the buttstock. when my grandfather got it back he put a new sight on it and continued to use it until my dad stole it out of the closet when he moved to Missouri. My dad carried it in a sattle scabbard straped on a motorcycle and in the pickup while working on his uncles farm and used it to take countless deer and feral dogs. Now it is in my hot little hands and is used to punch holes in paper at a hundred yards (Unfortunately no one ever took the time to teach me to hunt). Every last one of those scrathes, cracks, dints, and bluing wear is part of my family history and to remove them would be equal to burning the family alblum.
 
If you can find a gunsmith that will blue it with a "distressed" blueing look, then do it, since it's already at 0% - it won't LOOK like it's been re-blued, so you can only increase the value to these dipsticks that collect old winchesters like my buddy :) - the distressed blueing needs to look a little uneven and imperfect to make this work - have it end up 60%-70%. Basically tell your gunsmith to do the worst half-azz job possible. These collectors who value John Wayne memories and braggin rights over utility deserve anything you can get over on them. Sell it to one of the gun snobs, and then get a Marlin, or one of the new Mossberg lever guns! :p
 
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