2 caliber markings on 1886 Win.
I just ran across a Win. 1886 that has a lot of blue & a mint bore. My question is about the caliber markings on the bbl. On the top flat at the receiver it is marked 40 65 WCF on the flat just to the left it is marked 45/70 GOVT. Has anyone seen anything kike this & how would it affect the value? Any help would be much appreciated!
0
-
Hello does the 45/70 Govt markings look to be the same quality as the other markings [?] My guess is it started life as a 45/65 and then someone wanted to shoot 45/70 in it somewhere in my pea brain I thought they were the same case but different bullet weight thus with one bullet the case only had room for 65grains of powder but the other weight bullet "lighter"gave you room for 70 grains.
[:I] Wow sorry I did not read 40/65 the first time but thought it read "45" /65 [:I][:I][:I]0 -
Apparently somebody bored out and re-rifled a worn out bore to keep the rifle in service.
Undoubtedly the rifle was originally a 40-65 W.C.F., but do to the ravages of time, the bore condition had deteriorated to the point that it was no longer acceptable. The logical choice would be to bore it out to 45-70, as no other changes to the rifle would be needed.
The fact that it has been rebored does indeed negatively affect the collector value, but it does retain a fair amount of value as a shooter.0 -
Thanx much, the bore really is mint & this is what threw me because it is too good for the rest of the gun. The 45/70 markings are stronger & deeper than the 40 65 and are aligned almost exactly with the 4o 65 markings. Any idea just how much of a negative this would be? 0 -
Having that rebored like that, and rechambered, would undoubtedly cut the collector value in at least half. If it has strong rifling, I would see how it shoots, if you havent already.
Best0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
4 comments