I got it! (the 32/20)

[Four Fingers of Death]

Picked it up today. The exterior of the rifle is worn, but the internals and barrel are excellent. It was well oiled and the Bbl was very clean. I ran a flannel patch through it and it came out spotless. I tried to take a picture of the bore without success. How do you do this?

The rifle cost $A300.

It has a 24" ex Bbl and cresent style buttplate. It has buckhorn sights and a half magazine. It should be a godd shooter. I will use it for hunting and colonial action, which is an Aussie style cowboy action. We use short magazine lever rifles, loading a maximum of 6 rounds to allow shooters to use these old Winchesters which are plentiful in Australia.

mick.

[9.3X62AL]

That's a great deal on a fine little rifle, Mick.

I'm just getting under way with my latest 32-20 rifle, and early indications are that the rifle will be a little more cooperative accuracy-wise than its second cousin in 25-20 (both are recent Marlin 94's). The Starline brass I got for the project is a real cut above the W-W and R-P brass I've used previously.

[McLintock]

Looks like a really nice little rifle, and just right for a good shooter, mechanically sound with a good bore, but not too hurtable on the outside. Looking for one myself about like that I can afford or trade one of my '94 38-55's for. I shoot Cowboy Action over here in the States and have two 32-20 revolvers but no rifle at present; just .44's and .45's in the main match rifles. Lot of exported Winchesters seem to have button or half mags like that, wonder why the preference in other countries.
McLintock

[Oldfeller]

Mick,

To take a picture of the inside of a rifle bore requires a light source down inside the bore and a fine manual focusable short range digital camera. Muzzle shots are fairly easy to catch, but rarely come out very clear on normal autofocus digital cameras.

http://photos.gunloads.com/images/Oldfeller/muzzle.jpg

I'd better plan to clean up the crown on this bad boy, I see a bit of a button rifle "exit ridge" on that muzzle, don't you?

http://photos.gunloads.com/images/Oldfeller/3inchesdownbore.jpg

The camera is a Fuji 2000, and here is the bore of my new 7mm-08 Savage/Stevens about 3 inches down the pipe. THIS is why I told all you guys to go buy this camera when it was $179 on close out at Circuit City about a year ago and told you it was well worth the money. With this camera, if you can see it with your naked eye you can duplicate the image on the camera.

Oldfeller

[DOUBLEJK]

That's a Nice rifle there....yer gonna like it...I got a Model 53 32-20 this spring n ain't put it down yet...just got 2 new molds ta try in it a MM135Gr. imitation of my Lyman #3118 same nose but added some length to it n added a crimp groove n the group buy 314-120 so ain't gonna set er down fer a spell yet... it's an addictive little cartridge...

[Four Fingers of Death]

Looks like a really nice little rifle, and just right for a good shooter, mechanically sound with a good bore, but not too hurtable on the outside. Looking for one myself about like that I can afford or trade one of my '94 38-55's for. I shoot Cowboy Action over here in the States and have two 32-20 revolvers but no rifle at present; just .44's and .45's in the main match rifles. Lot of exported Winchesters seem to have button or half mags like that, wonder why the preference in other countries.
McLintock

I don't know, nine out of ten original 1892s that I have seen have half mags.

As to the photos, I used a reflective plastic bore light and freehanded it. I will have to set it up firmly mounted next time.

I have had a few guys ask for photos. I'm going away for the weekend and will set it up properly and send your photos together.

[GregP42]

Mick,

That is a nice looking rifle, the one we have was my great grandfathers, it is a short carbine with an octagon barrel and full lenght magazine under it. I will see if I can borrow dads camera as mine sucks pond water.

Greg

[Cherokee]

I have two original Marlin 1890's in 32-20. One I had relined (28") and is one of my most accurate rifles. The other (24") is in queue for a reline when funds are available.

I have a new pair of Ruger 32-20's that will be joining the 28" Marlin in CAS. The Marlin will really cook.

[McLintock]

Hey GregP42,
If your rifle has an octogon barrel, then it's probably a "short rifle" and that's one of the scarcest special orders to find; all carbines had round barrels. It may have either a rifle or carbine butt and may have a saddle ring, but is considered a rifle. Only 1 in 850 rifles had the option and the only options more scare in the '92's was engraving and a longer than standard barrel. So if it's factory original and in good condition, take care of it. If factory original, the magazine retaining band should be 3 3/8's to 3 1/2" from the end of the mag, if it varies by more than 1/8th" it's probably not factory original. A lot of '92 "Short Rifles" were sold in Texas and they became known to collectors as the "Texas Specials". if it is factory orginial, and in good condition, it would be well worth your time to get a "factory letter" for it to help establish a value for it for insurance purposes. Just a thought.
McLintock

[Four Fingers of Death]

Bugger! The Winchester factory (lead flat nose bullets) are a poofteenth of an inch too long. They catch on the bottom of the chamber mouth. Absolutely refused to feed. Fired a three shot group Placed in the chamber manually, all with a ding on the nose), standing supported at 50 yards, went about 2", but I was pi$$ed and not having a good day anyway.

It looks like it needs a tiny bit of a chamfer.

I can tolerate a lot of things, but failure to feed ain't one of them!

Mick.

[versifier]

Mick, Nice rifle. Really, really good deal. My brother who likes his Winchesters saw your post and what you paid and just about ****! We're talking some serious drooling here. We don't see them like that in these parts, except at an occasional show and then they're not usually for sale.
That bore photo really wasn't a bad first try. Next time, after running a patch through to remove excess oil to minimize glare, lay the gun on a table or bed with the muzzle sticking out. Put some dark fabric around the barrel for better contrast and to block out any incidental light except for what's coming from the bore. With a lever or a semi, open the action and put a piece of white paper or shiny foil at a 45degree angle to the bore. Then, take the brightest lamp you've got, like 100-150watts if you can, and place it to illuminate down inside of the action. The paper/foil should reflect enough light to properly illuminate the bore. Use a tripod if you have one, but get the lens within an inch or two of the muzzle and set the camera on macro mode. Using the LED screen, play with the focus until you like what you see. It takes longer to explain than it does to do it. You should be able to get a decent shot of the first four or five inches without too much trouble. :-D An SLR 35mm with manual focus is easier initially, but then you have to have the right lens, develop the film, etc., pay $$, wait for processing, then scan to computer (Royal PITA).

[Four Fingers of Death]

Yeah, I've had a few SLRs and really like dthem, but my last one carked it and it was virtually the cost of a new one to get it repaired. I bought a littel digital to test the water, so to speak and am very happy with it. I might buy a bigger unit in the future.

Mick.