Rainny Day Deer Rifle

[NickSS]

I have been looking for a rainny day deer rifle for some time now. I live in the Pacific Northwest and one thing it is around here is wet during deer season. Mostly I end up hunting in heavy timber in the low lands when it is pouring down rain. I have found over the years that for this I do not want a scope or for that mater an nice rifle. Yeasterday I found a nice one. It is a Winchester 94 in 30-30 fitted with a williams FP reciever sight. The rifle has about 80% of the original finish but has had some light surface rusting of the action. Bore is near mint. I got it from a pawn shop for $225 after some negotiations. If this rifle will shoot It will make an excellen rainny day deer rifle for this coming fall.

[buckshot&brass]

Sounds like a winner.

[Poohgyrr]

I can't argue, and that price sounds good too. Congrats.

[Junior1942]

Check out my "Rain Rifle." http://www.castbullet.com/makeit/rr.htm

A Mosin-Nagant is probably the easiest rifle to dismantle ever made. I could totally dismantle two of them, dry and oil them, and put them back together before you had a M94 dismantled.

[LazyJW]

I have always favored peep sights; however, I have experienced pulling up to shoot a deer and couldn't see through the peep due to the drop of water residing therein. By the time I cleared the sight, the deer was nowhere to be found.

An open sight, especially an express type is much less likely to suffer from this malady, and is still plenty accurate for the short-range type shooting I generally encounter in rainy conditions.

I like the idea of the M-N Russian.
Joe

[Bullshop]

Jr. he shoulda put a lock nut on that rear sight.
The arisaka is another easy take down, strong and simple.
BIC/BS

[Junior1942]

The "he' is me. I would gave used a lock nut but the sight is a tight fit.

Joe, I use a ghost ring/big aperture for hunting and a small aperture for targets. I can see a raindrop filling a .050" aperture but not a .150" or bigger one.

[S.B.]

NickSS,

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/18410You_forgot_to_post_pictures_of_your_new_weapo n_son_.gif

[NickSS]

Well it is a worn 94 Winchester carbine probably made in the late 60s or early 70s. I have cleaned it up some especially inside and it functions really smooth. I was surprized that it has the old flat mainspring not the coiled springs of the later guns. I have shot it with some cast loads but accuracy was poor. When I cleaned it I got a lot of lead out then found lots of copper fouling. A couple hours of cleaning with some sweets boar cleaner and lots of elbo grease and now the bore is clean. I took it to the range again after cleaning with some 173 gr GC boolits sized .311 and 9 gr of Unique. Results were excellent less than 2 inch groups at 100 yards without leading. All I need to do is add some sling swivals and I am ready to go.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Minute of deer is usually all you need in this type of sneak up and whack em' kind of rifle.

[Poohgyrr]

Good, congrats.

[ra_balke]

Deer hunting load.

311041, cast air cooled from old ww metal. lyman slip on gas check, hand lubed with LBT blue, seated just to touch the lands, and still feed thru the action, ....loaded with 34.5 gr w-760 or same in h-414, for about 1900 fps.

Or for a little more velosity, try 36.5 gr same powder.

Excellent !

[jh45gun]

My 94 wears a williams peep sight with the insert taken out so it is just the threaded ring. The front sight is a williams fiber optic which works great in dusk to dawn situations and in the dark woods. I highly reccomend them. the front sight is easy to see in the bright light too.

[WyrTwister]

I have been looking for a rainny day deer rifle for some time now. I live in the Pacific Northwest and one thing it is around here is wet during deer season. Mostly I end up hunting in heavy timber in the low lands when it is pouring down rain. I have found over the years that for this I do not want a scope or for that mater an nice rifle. Yeasterday I found a nice one. It is a Winchester 94 in 30-30 fitted with a williams FP reciever sight. The rifle has about 80% of the original finish but has had some light surface rusting of the action. Bore is near mint. I got it from a pawn shop for $225 after some negotiations. If this rifle will shoot It will make an excellen rainny day deer rifle for this coming fall.



To protect the outside , try Johnson Paste Wax .

To protect the inside , try to find some USGI CLP in the spray bottle .

Then clean very well when you get insid , out of the rain .

God bless
Wyr

[WyrTwister]

I have been looking for a rainny day deer rifle for some time now. I live in the Pacific Northwest and one thing it is around here is wet during deer season. Mostly I end up hunting in heavy timber in the low lands when it is pouring down rain. I have found over the years that for this I do not want a scope or for that mater an nice rifle. Yeasterday I found a nice one. It is a Winchester 94 in 30-30 fitted with a williams FP reciever sight. The rifle has about 80% of the original finish but has had some light surface rusting of the action. Bore is near mint. I got it from a pawn shop for $225 after some negotiations. If this rifle will shoot It will make an excellen rainny day deer rifle for this coming fall.



For factory ammo , try the cheap Federal 170 grain at wally world . My Winny and marlin seem to like them .

I am also experimenting with the Lee 180 -185 grain RNL GC bullet & 1.00 cc of WC820 surplus powder . Accuracy seems to be promising .

This is shown to be a .303 Brit bullet . It is sized ( .311" ), GC'ed & lubed . Seated as long as I can .

God bless
Wyr

[MtGun44]

+1 on wax on the exterior. I have used silicon car wax without
any abrasives on blued guns and it works fine. Neat to see the
water bead up.

Bill

[Bret4207]

Try the RCBS 180FN and start around 28.0 gr of 3031. Work up from there. The boolit will come in around 190+ gr, has a nice FN, and is a thumper. A HP about 3/8" deep would only help. I use it in 30WCF, 303 Savage, 308.

[KCSO]

Now to make it a rainy day rifle. Remove the butt and fore stock and take off the buttplate. Soak the stock down good with Danish Oil and then seal the inside and buttt with beeswax. Take the metal and coat it good with paste wax. Now if the gun gets wet al you have to do is wipe it down.

[S.B.]

KCSO, do you mean Danish Tougue Oil?

[Hipshot]

NickSS,
If you really want a rainy day deer rifle--------1st. unscrew the apature outa the peep sight------you don't need it ! Also get a big very visable front site and install it!
Next degrease the gun and paint it------YES PAINT IT FLAT BLACK with Rustolium ! after that has dried dust the surface with SEMI-GLOSS BLACK or WRAUGHT IRON BLACK ! It won't be quite as ugly as with the flat black but will still not shine in the woods !
The paint will protect all the finishes-----just don't use a strong solvent on the exteriour of the rifle as it will take off the paint !
You will be pleasantly surprised at how it looks especially if you take a large fern and use it as a stencil for an overspray of flat grey or whatever color you like !

Hipshot

[S.B.]

NickSS, still wish you would post some pics of this rifle, please?
Steve

[NickSS]

Well I plan to use my Lyman 173 gr LFP boolit and a charge of 31 gr of H335. I have been using that bullet and load for some time. I never cronoed it but it is fast enough to kill deer with air cooled ww and a gas check with 50-50 alox and bees wax lube. Never get any leading either. This load has been tried in my new rifle and the rifle has already been weatherized. All external metal has been painted with heat cured parkerizing paint that I originally got to refinish the gas cylinder of my M1 rifle. After painting the part is put in an oven and baked for a bit. This results in a nice parkerized finish that wears great and is water proof. The stocks were stripped of their finish and 4 coats of tung oil applied and bees wax was melted into the tung oil for the last coat. This seals the wood well. The internals were cleaned and lubed with breakfree and should stand a lot of water before rst begins. As for the sights I replaced the standard bead sight with a marbles ivory one with a 3/32" bead. and I always screw out my aperture when hunting. My rifle is now ready for the season to begin. In the mean time I killed two coyotes with it last weekend.