What to do with my Winchester 73?

[762 shooter]

I have a Winchester Model 73 that came from my wife's side of the family. Octagon barrel, 38-40. No one knows any history about it.

Barrel is 3/4 sewer pipe but shoots 2" groups at 50 yards with cast.

The wood is so oil laden you can hardly see any grain.

The "best" thing is that some one has personalized it by fine engraving with a cold chisel. Wood on both sides and both sides of the receiver. A round apparently went off in the magazine tube sometime in the past and I replaced it.

There is zero sentimental value and no one knows who " LA " is. Leave it like it is, refinish the stocks, or something else. I'm leaning toward doing what I can for the stocks and leaving the rest as is. Mechanically sound, chambers and ejects. I think we can all agree it has no collectors value. It does have the dust cover intact.

I believe that "LA" probably stands for the previous owner.........Little Annie oakley, but alas no provenance.


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762

[cwtebay]

Oh my gosh that's the best gun description I've seen here in a while [emoji23]
My vote is for boiling the oil out of the stocks, I'm on the fence about reboring to 44-40, and leaving the engraved provenances intact.

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[Texas by God]

To my eye, LA stands for leave alone. It is unique, shoot the snot out of it!

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[Outpost75]

If it shoots 2 inches at 50 yards with cast, I would leave the barrel original and enjoy it as-is.

[Rick B]

Leave it as it is and shoot it. I use one in similar condition for NRA Levergun Matches. Get asked all the time, if it’s safe to shoot. Faint traces of rifling at the muzzle, it shoots 4” at 100 meters.
Rick

[Good Cheer]

Uh oh. Now you'll have to get a '73 six shooter to go with it.
Get the 4 5/8" barrel.

[Winger Ed.]

I'd leave the stock alone, scrub out the barrel as best ya can, cast & shoot mild-ish loads, and enjoy it like it is.

[superior]

Does it happen to say “ one of 1000” anywhere on it?

[Minerat]

I'd leave the stock alone, scrub out the barrel as best ya can, cast & shoot mild-ish loads, and enjoy it like it is.

This would be my course if action too. My wifes grandfather scribed his name or initials on all his guns. Must have been the thing to do with your tools back then.

[MrWolf]

I would send it to me and get a JM Marlin[smilie=1:

[bigted]

My Winchester 73 is also a 38WCF. Mine is also "scruffy" but I gently cleaned it and just shoot it. It really likes BP loads and my 175 grain Lee's TC.

Yours is very cool and my vote would be to leever rite. Shoot it as is and relish the totally originalness and individul coolness of an old workhorse.

[CoRifleman]

The beautiful thing about that rifle is that you can do with it whatever you want! It's not going to be a museum piece - I don't think anyone would fault you for either course of action.

Me, I'd either shoot it as is, or take it on as a restoration project. I don't believe you can devalue it more than it's already been, so it's a win win for you.

[Hootmix]

What Texas by God said " shoot the snot out of it ",, and LA ,, means leave it alone ,, that's why the feller stamped it all over!!!!


coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.

[samari46]

If it were me it would be in the mail to John Taylor for a reline job. He usually does so good a job that you cannot tell it's been reglned. if a family heirloom do it anyway as obviously your the only one shooting it. My cousin had a 93 marlin in 30-30 i checked the barrel out one day and the rifling was pretty worn. I explained the process and at the time was way more money than he could scrape together. After he passed I was going to write his widow after some respectful amount of time had passed. I did call only to learn that the rifle had been sold to one of the family members. Oh well. Frank

[35 Whelen]

I have one that must have come from the same family!

While there are no letters gouged in the receiver, the magazine tube was battered then somewhat straightened out, someone tried to cold blue it at some point, it has Uberti toggles in it, the right sideplate is a hair too small, the stock is beat and battered and the rifle has been carried so much by the rear of the forearm, that the wood is visibly thinned there. It's a 38 WCF as well and the bore was hopeless, so I sent it to John Taylor to have the barrel lined. (Never have been able to figure out how a barrel that's never been "lined" can be "relined", but I digress...) It's amazing how much wear a 133 year old rifle can exhibit!

https://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/1873%20Winchester/1873%20Winchester-%201886%20Production/20160301_152631_zpsnoeq99jc.jpg (https://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/1873%20Winchester/1873%20Winchester-%201886%20Production/20160301_152631_zpsnoeq99jc.jpg.html)

Mine shoots wonderfully. For hunting I cast a 192 gr. FP from an RCBS 40-180 mould. A compressed charge of Swiss 3Fg pushed this bullet a hair over 1400 fps! But l normally load 8.0 - 9.0 grs. of Unique or Herco which gives 1200-1300 fps.

https://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/1873%20Winchester/1873%20Winchester-%201886%20Production/200%20yds.%20Herco_zpsg5fcpll0.jpg (https://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/1873%20Winchester/1873%20Winchester-%201886%20Production/200%20yds.%20Herco_zpsg5fcpll0.jpg.html)

So, I say at most, have the barrel lined and leave the rest alone and shoot it!

35W

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, clean it well and shoot it.

[bedbugbilly]

I'd rather have an original like that with 'true character' than to have a half dozen new Uberti '73s on the same platform! Shoot it, enjoy the heck out of it and TREASURE IT! :-)

[dverna]

I would have it relined.

Neat to take an old beat up rifle to the range and shoot good groups.

[Drm50]

Naw, I would leave it alone, clean bore and shoot mild cast.

[LtFrankDrebbin]

And here I was thinking that LA must have meant Lever Action :roll:
I'm with the majority here, if it shoots well then clean it and keep shooting it. You may spend a heap of money in a barrel liner or have it bored out and it just may not shoot any better.