New to me Winchester 1895

[Idaho Mule]

I ambled thru a local pawn shop a few days before Christmas and spied this 1895 chambered in 30 US (30-40). I asked to look at it and the attendant opened the bolt and handed it to me. For a 100 plus year old rifle it's in pretty good shape, barrel retains some blue, action is tight, no splits/cracks in wood but it has several dings from use. From what I can see the bore looks to be in good shape, and no screws are buggered. The man behind the counter (owner of pawn shop) said he was asking 1200.00 for it but would let it go for 1000.00 because it was so close to Christmas. I thought about it but didn't have that much money in my pocket so I handed it back to him.
Well, day before yesterday I raided my "Mad money stash" and returned to the pawn shop and looked it over again. 950.00 later I walked out with it. Now the work (fun) begins. I need to get dies and more brass, and am looking for a Lyman 21 peep sight for it. I have some brass as I have butchered some 30-40 brass for use in 303 brit in the past. I've got some 30 cal. jacketed stuff, plus a couple of appropriate molds to try some cast. I hope to have this old rifle up and running by April/May time period when the North Idaho Dangerous Game emerge from their burrows.

[leadeye]

You bought a good rifle, I really like my old 1895 30-40.

[ATCDoktor]

I picked up this one last year:

Winchester Model 95 SRC in 30/40 Krag dates from 1925.
https://i.postimg.cc/fWc8t1PX/6AB6721C-AAFF-42CB-A8C7-DD5AA50DDB34.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

What I found with my particular 95 is that it shot best with 220 grain bullets at a velocity of 2000fps.

180 grain Remington factory ammo shot about 9 inches high at 100 yards with the ladder sight at its lowest setting and any handload that approximated factory ballistics did the same.

Slowed down to 2000 fps with a 220 grain bullet centered it right up.

The above group is 5 rounds at 100 yards off the bench.

[missionary5155]

We like everyone we have bought......

[obssd1958]

John,
I have a 2 die RCBS 30-40 Krag set here, that is in good condition. It's a set from Buck's collection, and I might even be able to find some brass in his stuff.
Let me know if you're interested, and I'm pretty sure we could figure something out that would have both you and Martie happy.

Congratulations on the 1895! I'm also looking for one, but I'm looking for the .405 Win chambering. Someday --- maybe!!


Don

[onceabull]

Not to crib in on someone else,but I can let go 1x50 Rem.220 gr Mushroom bullets in original box.. with those you can duplicate the loads that rifle was made for,,,,,could be a tad more than needed for even those nasty tempered dangerous burrowers,but value priced like all my goods !!! has yours still got the orig.28" barrel ???

[onceabull]

AND,speaking to all orig.1895 fans, take a longing lookee at the 38/72 presently listed on GunBroker... Nicest I've ever ogled, and OCTAGON barrel... I'm just a tad short of the "ASK" presently ,or would not be letting you gents is on this.... ammo reasonably able to produce from 405 W..stuff if you won't pay Buffalo Arms price

[Idaho Mule]

Don, I am interested in the dies for sure. I will PM you soon.
Bill, also interested in the 220 grainers. And yes, barrel is still a full 28 inches.

[elk hunter]

You may want to check the bore dimensions on your new to you 30-40 as some earlier Winchester barrels weren't bored to modern specifications. With my model 95 30-03 the best I could do for groups was minute-of-hub cap at 50 yards until I slugged the bore and discovered it was .304 x .312 instead of .300 x .308. I load bullets for the 303 British, .312 diameter, and it shoots a whole bunch better.

[Idaho Mule]

ATCDoktor, that's a nice looking carbine and pretty good shooting! Yours definitely has more blueing on the action than mine does. I suspect that lots of the 1895's in 30-40 like the heavier and longer 220 grain bullets but that will be fine by me. Once I get it dialed in on squirrels I'll shoot a couple deer and elk with it. In looking the old girl over again yesterday and showing it off to a friend I discovered something that I had missed upon initial inspection. The rear site says "Savage Arms, Utica NY" on it. That doesn't really bother me as I am a lot more of a shooter than collecter. Plus, I need to put a peep on anyway.

[onceabull]

Idaho Mule: I expect Don has already let you know that I'm lounging around here in Atlanta ,Ga.suburbs until 1/14/21...Then It make take me a while to find the bullets ,as they are mixed up with myriad gunshow sales stuff ,unseen since early 3/20....blow the dust off your $,though, because I had to "win"those at Ward's auctions some years ago... Good place to look for the oldtimey stuff. but you have to compete against the internet world.....try finding either those,or usable alternatives at small town gunshows,or garage sales... I passed up 5 box's of the 220 gr Silvertips in 30/06 once at our fav.hardware store one year, and they were gone the next year... Felt like I did when I took the wrong lady to the Sr.Prom,because the right one didn't show as well at the time... Two years,i was too late to the game....still wake up from nightmares re:that mistake.... Onceabull

[onceabull]

I forgot to mention that Rem-Pete used the same 220gr "Mushroom" bullets in 30/40 ,30/06,300 H&H e. Might be helpful to remember at a garage sale, et al....

[onceabull]

John: You best call on the tooth fairy for help in finding an orig.Lyman 21,and even then you will need to bring a fat poke...My one best guess for a source would be the fellow who takes 3-5 tables at the Big Missoula Show just sell ironsights....CobbMtnMac chased him down somewhere at home in Oregon while doing peep sight "research"but he isn't around to help nowadays...The Peabody copy of that sight shows up on the web for $169.39 if you want to hurry up on scratching that itch.... fwiw. I got $125 in Wisdom,for the last orig.lyman I had..it was at leaSt 5 yr AGO. DID i MENTION lately how much I like that show ???!!!!

[Drm50]

A few years ago I bought several thousand rds of Frankfort Arsenal 1905 vintage GI 30/40 Krag. I got it dirt cheap because the only thing it was good for was to salvage the bullets. Thumb pressure busted bullet through neck. Powder was a greasy mess. Ammo was in battle bandoleers printed with date & Arsenal. My 1895s in 30/03, 30/06, 30/40 and 7.62 Russian all liked that GI round nose. I only have the 1895 marked 30GOVT06 left out of my hoarde. The 30/40 would shoot very well with pulled GI FMJs, the 30/06 won’t shoot spitzer bullets worth spit. Ammo in picture loaded with 1905 Krag bullets in GI match brass.274773

[Idaho Mule]

You may want to check the bore dimensions on your new to you 30-40 as some earlier Winchester barrels weren't bored to modern specifications. With my model 95 30-03 the best I could do for groups was minute-of-hub cap at 50 yards until I slugged the bore and discovered it was .304 x .312 instead of .300 x .308. I load bullets for the 303 British, .312 diameter, and it shoots a whole bunch better.

Thanks for the tip elk hunter. I am pretty well stocked with 303 stuff and it may come in handy with this project. I have to confess that I was in search of a 303 chambering for my entrance in to the 1895 world.

[Idaho Mule]

John: You best call on the tooth fairy for help in finding an orig.Lyman 21,and even then you will need to bring a fat poke...My one best guess for a source would be the fellow who takes 3-5 tables at the Big Missoula Show just sell ironsights....CobbMtnMac chased him down somewhere at home in Oregon while doing peep sight "research"but he isn't around to help nowadays...The Peabody copy of that sight shows up on the web for $169.39 if you want to hurry up on scratching that itch.... fwiw. I got $125 in Wisdom,for the last orig.lyman I had..it was at leaSt 5 yr AGO. DID i MENTION lately how much I like that show ???!!!!

Bill, thanks for all the advice. Don has a package in the mail to me with dies and 100 of the big fat Remington bullets and some brass too. Maybe we should meet up in Wisdom this summer and you can give me some guidance and counseling. My gun is drilled and tapped for the Lyman 21 (I assume that's what it's for) and I'm considering trying to build my own version.

[Idaho Mule]

A few years ago I bought several thousand rds of Frankfort Arsenal 1905 vintage GI 30/40 Krag. I got it dirt cheap because the only thing it was good for was to salvage the bullets. Thumb pressure busted bullet through neck. Powder was a greasy mess. Ammo was in battle bandoleers printed with date & Arsenal. My 1895s in 30/03, 30/06, 30/40 and 7.62 Russian all liked that GI round nose. I only have the 1895 marked 30GOVT06 left out of my hoarde. The 30/40 would shoot very well with pulled GI FMJs, the 30/06 won’t shoot spitzer bullets worth spit. Ammo in picture loaded with 1905 Krag bullets in GI match brass.274773

Drm50, Cool picture and good info, thanks.

[onceabull]

I am thinking that Christmas must have hard on 1895 fans wallet... y'day a very decent one in 35 W.did not draw a bid with an 1800 start price and no reserve.!!!!! relisted already on GUNBROKER.... don't end upa wannabee on this one !!!! Onceabull

[onceabull]

The 303 bullet was THE solution for a couple of Krag rifle I had in days gone by(days of 29 cents/gal.ga in Calif.)the 215 gr was far and away he best for me

[MOC031]

You may want to check the bore dimensions on your new to you 30-40 as some earlier Winchester barrels weren't bored to modern specifications. With my model 95 30-03 the best I could do for groups was minute-of-hub cap at 50 yards until I slugged the bore and discovered it was .304 x .312 instead of .300 x .308. I load bullets for the 303 British, .312 diameter, and it shoots a whole bunch better.

I will emphatically emphasize that! My father got started reloading with the purchase of a Bair press and reloading dies because he thought that might resolve the accuracy problems with my Grandpop's Model 95 in 30 U.S.

I don't know the specifics of his trials to get better accuracy, other than that they failed. For his part he shortly afterwards bought a BSA Imperial lightweight in 30/06 to scratch his sheep hunting and mountain goat hunting itch... the Model 95 was pretty much lubricated and put away as the BSA was just as good for elk and deer and Grandpop pretty much stopped hunting and fishing when my grandmother died. That was circa about 1959/1960, I think, and the rifle was 60+ years old by then.

I gave it a go as one of my first reloading projects in the early 70's as a kid with a brand new Bonanza Co-Ax press, thinking I was a pretty smart cookie because I read Handloader and George Nonte and all that good stuff. Failed miserably; went back to reloading for my Husqvarna and Sako hunting rifles.

Nearly two decades later, met Ken Mollohan who suggested slugging the rifle and thinking maybe cast bullets might solve the problem. Did just that; at least slugging the throat and bore. I don't remember the exact measurements as I write this, but I do know that the bore and groove measurements are even a bit generous by .303 British SAAMI specifications (.303" bore, .314" groove, .341" throat IIRC). I cobbled loads together using a mixture of .303 British neck sizing dies, M dies, etc and tried 180 grain jacketed bullets.

Group sizes immediately went from something like 6+" at 100 yards to about 2". Still too youthful to have any patience to do load development; called that good enough for the elk hunting I was going to do in the alders and stopped there. That load was 46.0 grains of 4350 IMR with that Speer spitzer, I think it's still there.

Accurate bullet mould design that I'm now loading and hunting with is .303 British design, powder coated;a nice snug fit in the chamber sized .313" - the throat could take even bigger, but anything over .313" won't chamber unless I decided to choose to neck turn.

It would be interesting to see what you get for measurements as apparently several of here with these rifles in 30 U.S. have found throats and bores that measure more like they belong on a .303 British. My Grandpop's rifle, now mine since Dad died, left the Winchester factory in 1899; perhaps variations on barrel bore size differed over the years.

And if your old enough that your eyesight just can't deal with that razor thin notch in the original rear sight, you will think every dollar you spend to put something like that Lyman replica sight on your rifle was worth it. I certainly do. Have no idea how my Grandpop was able to use those sights to hunt with when he was in his 60's...

274910

274911

The Model 95 and my Grandpop circa the 1920's...

274913

And then my father, later in the '30s...

274914

I looked at the bore with a borescope - I was horrified. There's no getting away from the essential truth that bullet casting allows many old rifles in fine condition, other than the bore, to once again deliver fine performance. Two and three generations later can hunt with a rifle that performs just as well as it did for their ancestor who originally purchased it.

So by all means give jacketed bullets a try; maybe they'll do fine. But getting your throat/groove/land measurements may really have a lot to do with achieving success.

[MOC031]

Thanks for the tip elk hunter. I am pretty well stocked with 303 stuff and it may come in handy with this project. I have to confess that I was in search of a 303 chambering for my entrance in to the 1895 world.
Once you get your throat/land/groove measurements, you may (or may not) be pleased to discover you kind of did get a 303 caliber Model 95... Just sayin'...

[Idaho Mule]

Once you get your throat/land/groove measurements, you may (or may not) be pleased to discover you kind of did get a 303 caliber Model 95... Just sayin'...

MOCO31, Thank you so much for the info and the pictures!! I was hunting for 30-40 brass the other day because I knew I had some. Found a box of Winchester (white box) with 26 rounds of once fired, but I knew I had more.... somewhere. I found them, 38 of mixed headstamp, in a ziplock bag of all places. Upon inspection they had all been trimmed and fire-formed to chamber of a certain Ruger #1 in 303. No good for 30-40 now. Then I checked mail and lo and behold, a package from Don had arrived with dies, brass and bullets!! But, if she does end up being more 303 ish, well, I can handle that. Thank you again.

[MOC031]

MOCO31, Thank you so much for the info and the pictures!!

If you find the back end of your Model 95 is 30 U.S. and the front end is 303 British... you probably have all the bits and pieces between the two to deal with it... An NOE neck expander kit and a .303 British neck sizer went a long way towards making it easy for me.

[Shawlerbrook]

Congratulations on a great gun and a very good deal. An original 1895 is definitely on my bucket list. Love to see some pictures of your gun.

[Pioneer2]

I have the 28" rifle version in .303 British.

[onceabull]

Pioneer2: someone has to be first ask...SO---- Are you planning on keeping it for a while yet ???? Onceabull

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, 303 British would be my first choice in a 1895.