I haven't checked anything. I guess I will take it out to the range and give it a few shots after a thorough cleaning and see how it shoots before I decide to do anything to it. Even with crappy bores, some guns still shoot well. I'll just play with it and see where to go from there.
Hey! That looks just like a rifle I saw yesterday! But that was 1800 miles from here, couldn't be the same one. :tooth:
I bet JB is a cuss word around your place!
Did you make an offer on the #1?
I hope it shoots, the patina on that thing is awesome!
Used, with a cut stock, and an asking price like it was new? No thanks. It wasn't really worth bothering to make an offer. I will let a short person haggle with them over that. Zee is looking for a 7mm STW...
Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.
Feelings shmeelings. If you were 6', you would still be short. Teach is short and he is 6'2". Anyway, they have a stupid high price on a used Ruger #1 in 7mm STW at the Cabelas in Grand Junction, CO. It was $835 or something stupid like that, but then they had the perfect project lever action for $299. I hope this bore sucks so I can make it a .338 Federal. That vintage Weaver sitting on it is worth a couple of bucks as well.
Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.
If you think about it, this is the path that a rifle like that should have gone. Back in the day, they had the .358, but the bullets sucked and you get a much better BC and SD with a .338 bullet. All we are going to do is take things through to the logical conclusion. That, and I am lacking in the lever rifle department. I can't be a self respecting gun owner without one. This looks like a good opportunity.
On top of that, guns aren't much fun without a good story behind them. I am sure that this one has quite a few that I will never know, but it has a new one starting that should be a good one.
Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.
Resurrect that sucker and make it what it should have been. With the .338 Federal, you won't have the magazine issues JBC has with the .338-284 Win. As long as you use the bullets we used in your current rifle.
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
Yeah, it wasn't you who bubbaized it. You can't hurt the value by rebarreling, so enjoy.
In principal, I object to modifying a classic rifle. So feel free to ignore my didactic ramblings.
I agree, seeing as it doesn't have a stock stock. The value is already reduced. And unless the work is done by an official Winchester dealer or at the factory, which I believe no longer exists, then the collector value is history.
Also, I wonder didn't they make these in .358 Winchester? That would also be super cool.
I'm Just a Radical Right Wing Nutt Job, Trying to Help Save My Country!
They did. They're more rare and expensive ($3,000 for a good one compared to less than $1,000 for one in .308).
Even more reason to rebarrel, since it's not all original anyway. I think the .338 Federal is probably as good as the .358 in 99% of cases. If you are going for something big and dangerous you might not want to use anything with a .308 Win. case anyway. When dealing with danger, in my limited opinion, bigger is always better. But for elk and probably moose, I would think the 338 federal would pack more than enough punch within its useful range.
I'm Just a Radical Right Wing Nutt Job, Trying to Help Save My Country!
And you know they are making a modern version of the Ks now. I think they probably have much better optics than the vintage ones.
I wonder if there is someone out there that can rebuild those old ones with newer, higher precision guts and the coatings that they now have? That would be kind of cool.
Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.
So I picked it up from my LGS today. The bore actually looks pretty good. The throat is a little crackled looking for the first 1/2" but after that it looks pretty good. I am taking it to the range tomorrow with some Federal Gold Medal with the 168gr Matchkings and some Federal loads with 165 gr Gamekings and will see how she does. While I am there, I need to check the zero on my .338 Federal, sight in and test loads for my .338 Win mag, and sight in and test loads for my bolt .308. I will be extremely careful to not get my ammo mixed up!
If the 88 shoots good as is, I might just hunt down a sight hood, buttplate, and a real (or duplicate) stock for a pre-64 88. I am hoping for 3" or better (I know, that's what she said...groan).
Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.
I have several Winchester buttplates. Just give me the dimentions and space between screw holes. If I have the right one I'll send it to you. The white stuff in the checkering is just dirt, the the end one is steel.
Replies
Hey! That looks just like a rifle I saw yesterday! But that was 1800 miles from here, couldn't be the same one. :tooth:
I bet JB is a cuss word around your place!
Did you make an offer on the #1?
I hope it shoots, the patina on that thing is awesome!
With what has been done to that rifle already, it's no original. Barrel away and make that sucker a .338 Federal!
On top of that, guns aren't much fun without a good story behind them. I am sure that this one has quite a few that I will never know, but it has a new one starting that should be a good one.
I agree, seeing as it doesn't have a stock stock. The value is already reduced. And unless the work is done by an official Winchester dealer or at the factory, which I believe no longer exists, then the collector value is history.
Also, I wonder didn't they make these in .358 Winchester? That would also be super cool.
really? My brother has a Savage 340 with an OLD k4 on it. He is replacing the scope today... How much are those worth?
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
I have a vintage K-6 I'm giving to Orchidman for that .270 Model 70 he has.
Even more reason to rebarrel, since it's not all original anyway. I think the .338 Federal is probably as good as the .358 in 99% of cases. If you are going for something big and dangerous you might not want to use anything with a .308 Win. case anyway. When dealing with danger, in my limited opinion, bigger is always better. But for elk and probably moose, I would think the 338 federal would pack more than enough punch within its useful range.
And you know they are making a modern version of the Ks now. I think they probably have much better optics than the vintage ones.
Hell, I'm 6 foot 9 in my own mind, :silly::roll2::tooth:
Seriously, Jerm ain't Short!!!
I wonder if there is someone out there that can rebuild those old ones with newer, higher precision guts and the coatings that they now have? That would be kind of cool.
They don't have the same dimensions as the old ones. The old K series were longer from the turrents back and fit a lot of older rifles better.
If the 88 shoots good as is, I might just hunt down a sight hood, buttplate, and a real (or duplicate) stock for a pre-64 88. I am hoping for 3" or better (I know, that's what she said...groan).
Good luck with the 3".
I did find repro buttplates on e bay for $15.
Hell yes you do. What about the magazine feed lips? Being designed to feed slim spitzer bullets, then going to short fat blunt bullets.
I remember when tennmike built the tomato stake gun he had a hell of a time getting it to feed properly.
Dad 5-31-13
http://35caliber.com/
Fer cryin' out loud, I thought that you were posting to say that you finally finished it.