Winchester / Miroku 1873 Parts

[PX150]

I badly scratched the magazine tube on my Winchester / Miroku 1873 Short Rifle (20"). I called Winchester parts to purchase a replacement, explained I did not have a part number because no schematic was available, but after confirming the length, the rep put me on hold, then came back and said no Miroku parts for at least a couple of months, but she wouldn't take a backorder. She also told me that only a Miroku magazine tube will work.

Has anyone else experienced a lack of parts from Winchester on the Miroku's? Is something up? And is there another source for Miroku parts (I checked Miroku's EU website - no luck).

Thanks.

 

[DPris]

Not a matter of something being up, they're just not supporting parts very well on the Miroku lever-actions.
Denis

 

[Tommygunn]

Couldn't you use a little bit of the common available bluing liquids on the scratch, atleast as a temporary measure until Miroku/Winchester comes through?
I scratched the side of a rifle of mine (not a Winchester) very nastily while cleaning up my gunsafe and a little bit of that liquid made that bad scar completly invisible. Perhpas it won't work as well on your Miroku (which is a LOT NICER rifle than the one I got scarred up) but it might help a little.

Places like Numrich sell parts for originals but apparently Winchester says they won't work? Huh? Well, if they did they'd be very old parts and while they might be clean they probably would not match the bluing on a brand new firearm very well even if they did fit.
Good luck with your rifle.

 

[LoonWulf]

If your planing a replacement anyway, and the damage is bothering you id remove the tube sand out as much of the scratch as possible, then polish and reblue with a cold blue....color matching can be hard but usually you can get pretty close if you did good metal prep.....or if the scratch isnt too bad find a local to reblue?

 

[Bullseye]

What would be so different than THIS Uberti tube?

I am also seeing that some 92 magazines are the same as 73's. Maybe Miroku can check to see if they have 92's and if they fit?
BTW Here's another LINK for listings of 1873 tubes that might interest you now or later as it will change over time.

 

[PX150]

Thanks for the replies.

I have touched it up; the finish matches nicely but the scratch is deep and permanent.

Assuming proper OD and ID, I imagine a non-Mikoru magazine tube could be fitted. My concern is that refinishing the entire tube would be necessary to match the bluing on the rifle.

Frankly, I was surprised that Winchester did not have one in stock (at least for resale), or offer to order one from Mikoru. These rifles have been out what - some two years?

I'm going to try to contact Mikoru directly, but I am not holding my breath.

 

[forward observer]

I happen to have both a Miroku short rifle and a Uberti sporting rifle in 357 mag

plus a Miroku sporting rifle in 44-40 plus another Uberti sporting rifle in .45 Colt

I took the digital calibers to the magazine tubes and got the following

Miroku--both calibers ------0.651 inches

Uberti---both calibers------0.646 inches

That's only 0.005 inch difference and there was a plus or minus .002 fluctuation between all of them. I couldn't detect any major color variation in the bluing of any of the tubes even outdoors in the sunlight. These are all relatively new rifles.

Chances are a Uberti tube would work just fine as long as you get one as long or longer than needed. However, the Miroku's incorporate a barrel screw about an inch back from the button and forward of the barrel hanger, which the Uberti's do not appear to have. This would simply require that a non-threaded hole be drilled in the tube at the correct position.

If the tube doesn't come with the end cap/button, you would need to order that also to ensure a proper fit.

Cheers

 

[PX150]

Thank you, forward observer! It's a plan. Fire for effect.

 

[OldBrownDog]

Just an FYI, I had something similar and also damage to the Grade IV stock happen to my 1873 when it got dropped by a careless friend. I called up Winchester, got a shipping label, boxed it up and sent it in to Missouri. They repaired it to like new and as I recall, the price was very reasonable. Might be worth a shot.

 

[CraigC]

You can't just have a gunsmith polish it out and reblue it?

 

[Steve S.]

The central repair/ warrantee center for Browning/ Winchester is in a town called Arnold, Missouri (just on the outskirts of southern St. Louis - about 20 miles south of Ferguson so your gun should be safe from teargas and fire damage) - I have had some warrantee work completed there in the past - the service is exceptional - I would contact that facility if you are interest in an OEM repair. Good shooting.

 

[PX150]

The scratch is deep, and I can't imagine professional refinishing would be cheaper than replacement ($25 - $35).

Ironically, I buggered the magazine tube on a burr while breaking down the rifle to refinish the stock - far too much open grain. Oh well, that's coming along nicely.