1895 Winchester Pros and Cons

[Thin Man]

The last time I had a '95 in my hands was about 40 years ago. A friend was showing me his father's '95 in 30'03 that had damage to it. Apparently a cartridge detonated inside the rifle and the receiver had swelled out on both sides. The lever was down in the "open" position and we could not determine if this damage had occurred with the bolt closed or open. Sure was a shame to see the rifle destroyed.

[Bent Ramrod]

I have one in .35 Winchester. Not a target rifle, but accurate enough. It’s more accurate than the pristine .405 I helped an acquaintance shoot up some old factory ammo in so he could reload the shells, and about as powerful, truth be told. A slightly smaller bullet going slightly faster, and (at the time) the rifles were much less expensive since the .35 didn’t have the cachet of the .405 nor the ready ammo supply of the .30-40. I got it figuring I could use .38 and .357 jacketed pistol bullets as inexpensive subloads, but found an Ideal 358318 hollow-point mould that makes for even cheaper shooting.

The full-house loadings just shade the .358 Winchester, as the .30-40 does the .308. The rifle is more closely fitted than some of the other Winchester lever guns, in keeping with the more powerful smokeless loadings they used. Loading is kind of slow and finicky; you have to insert the round almost vertically, and tilt it down as you push it back. The Russian contract rifles had clip guides that made loading much faster, but most of the examples of those I’ve seen are shot-out, loosey-goosey wrecks. A friend had a sporterized one that would pop the lever open to the extent your fingers would let it at every shot. The .30-06 and 7.62x54 cartridges appear to be right on the edge of what the gun will handle as a steady diet. If you get a .30-06, I would shun the new heavy loadings and load back to the old 150-gr/2700ft/sec standard.

Also, I was amazed to find, they are not legal for Lever Action Silhouette. Even though they have the exposed hammer, they have a box magazine, rather than a tube, and so are out. So is my Savage 99 in .25-35.

[HWooldridge]

I have one in .35 Winchester. Not a target rifle, but accurate enough. It’s more accurate than the pristine .405 I helped an acquaintance shoot up some old factory ammo in so he could reload the shells, and about as powerful, truth be told. A slightly smaller bullet going slightly faster, and (at the time) the rifles were much less expensive since the .35 didn’t have the cachet of the .405 nor the ready ammo supply of the .30-40. I got it figuring I could use .38 and .357 jacketed pistol bullets as inexpensive subloads, but found an Ideal 358318 hollow-point mould that makes for even cheaper shooting.

The full-house loadings just shade the .358 Winchester, as the .30-40 does the .308. The rifle is more closely fitted than some of the other Winchester lever guns, in keeping with the more powerful smokeless loadings they used. Loading is kind of slow and finicky; you have to insert the round almost vertically, and tilt it down as you push it back. The Russian contract rifles had clip guides that made loading much faster, but most of the examples of those I’ve seen are shot-out, loosey-goosey wrecks. A friend had a sporterized one that would pop the lever open to the extent your fingers would let it at every shot. The .30-06 and 7.62x54 cartridges appear to be right on the edge of what the gun will handle as a steady diet. If you get a .30-06, I would shun the new heavy loadings and load back to the old 150-gr/2700ft/sec standard.

Also, I was amazed to find, they are not legal for Lever Action Silhouette. Even though they have the exposed hammer, they have a box magazine, rather than a tube, and so are out. So is my Savage 99 in .25-35.

If I move forward with buying one, I just want to hunt with it - so tight action and accurate are most important to me. I have a couple of firearms that look like they were dragged down a gravel road but they have very good actions and shoot well. Do you think the 35 Winchester is any harder to load than the 30-40, assuming brass is available?

[slam45]

the nit picking useless rules across the silhouette disciplines is why the game is a mere shadow of it heydays... if they had embraced shoot what you got and just let go of the rule fighting it would still be shot all over the place...

[tarbe]

Only drawback to an 1895 is their relative scarcity and resulting high price.

They are wonderful rifles. I have only experienced a 30-40, but would love to get a .405 one day.

[Char-Gar]

I have a 1911 vintage Winchester and a Browning Japchester 1895 both in 30-40. The only issue is when loading the magazine with a rimmed cartridge, make certain the rim of the case goes in front of the rim of the case below it. Good rifles.

[HWooldridge]

I surfed a bit; the availability and price of 35 Win brass isn't anything to sneeze at - think I'll stick with looking for a 30-06 or 30-40. The 405 doesn't interest me and the other choices are too exotic for anyone who wants to shoot very much.

[tarbe]

I surfed a bit; the availability and price of 35 Win brass isn't anything to sneeze at - think I'll stick with looking for a 30-06 or 30-40. The 405 doesn't interest me and the other choices are too exotic for anyone who wants to shoot very much.

Hard to beat a 30-40 in this platform. It will do pretty much anything a man wants to do within 200 yards - which covers 99% of the hunting anyone is likely to do in NA with a traditionally sighted levergun (I think).

[Bent Ramrod]

If you have the loading data, dies and bullets or mould, the .35 loading is no different than the .30-40. I had the mould and dies already, and an as-new .35 1895 barrel. I was planning to drive a hard bargain on one of the shot-out .30-40s I kept seeing at gun shows and rebarreling it, but as soon as I found the barrel, the .30-40 wrecks disappeared and/or skyrocketed in price. So I looked for a complete .35 and eventually found one at a price I could afford.

Hornady sold .405 brass a few years ago, and I bought that and necked it down in one pass to .35 WCF. Oddly, you have to trim the stuff; it’s a little longer than a .30-40 shell, but a little shorter than a .405 shell. Anything to keep the consumers mystified, I guess. Bertram also has .405 Basic brass. Haven’t lost a formed shell from either manufacturer yet.

You can expand .30-40 necks to make a slightly short .35 shell. Bob Hagel did that back when brass was unavailable for the caliber and reported that the cartridges fed and shot fine. But a .30-40 is probably the easiest alternative for practical shooting, although if you plan to hunt with boolits at cast velocities, the extra weight and frontal area of the .35 might make a difference.

[HWooldridge]

If you have the loading data, dies and bullets or mould, the .35 loading is no different than the .30-40. I had the mould and dies already, and an as-new .35 1895 barrel. I was planning to drive a hard bargain on one of the shot-out .30-40s I kept seeing at gun shows and rebarreling it, but as soon as I found the barrel, the .30-40 wrecks disappeared and/or skyrocketed in price. So I looked for a complete .35 and eventually found one at a price I could afford.

Hornady sold .405 brass a few years ago, and I bought that and necked it down in one pass to .35 WCF. Oddly, you have to trim the stuff; it’s a little longer than a .30-40 shell, but a little shorter than a .405 shell. Anything to keep the consumers mystified, I guess. Bertram also has .405 Basic brass. Haven’t lost a formed shell from either manufacturer yet.

You can expand .30-40 necks to make a slightly short .35 shell. Bob Hagel did that back when brass was unavailable for the caliber and reported that the cartridges fed and shot fine. But a .30-40 is probably the easiest alternative for practical shooting, although if you plan to hunt with boolits at cast velocities, the extra weight and frontal area of the .35 might make a difference.

Sounds like good advice. The biggest animals we have locally are feral hogs and any 30 caliber does the job on them - same as whitetail. If I ever go elk or bear hunting, I'll just carry my 45-70 Marlin and allow for distance.

Thanks to everyone for the comments.

[tdoor4570]

HW the old 30-40 does just fine on elk , I started hunting at 11 years old using a 1898 Springfield Krag killed my first elk at 12 using the same rifle . plan on using my 1895 Winchester to get my next elk. If my 30-40's could talk and list the number of deer and elk they have taken it would be scary.

[Gray Fox]

I have one of the mid-80s Japanese '95s in .30-06 that I load to .30-40 velocities with 200 grain boolits and some Hornady 200 grain RN. I have the copy of the side mount aperture sight and it is a combo that will kill anything I'll ever point it at. GF

[missionary5155]

They are a brute of a rifle. The 405 (jap) is not a good one to hand carry all day unless you are stalking a critter that will want to chew on you.
The 30 Gov. models we have are lighter and once you are used to an 1886 or a 76 in your hands (or the Garand) all day they are little issue.
It is nice to have that 405 and 4 rounds of heavy duty thumping if ever needed. I flick a lever far faster than a bolt.

[Battis]

I looked at one today chambered in 30-40. The forestock had been refinished, but the rest of the rifle looked untouched. The action was smooth and tight. What a great looking rifle. The store is asking $1250 and I hope someone buys it so I can stop pondering it.

[FergusonTO35]

I don't have a 95 but I have it's descendant, the BLR. I think JMB would have liked it.

[Battis]

Like I said, I saw one in a store yesterday in Maine. I went home, thought about it, checked their website and it wasn't listed. I called first thing this morning and it was gone. Popular rifle.

[HWooldridge]

Like I said, I saw one in a store yesterday in Maine. I went home, thought about it, checked their website and it wasn't listed. I called first thing this morning and it was gone. Popular rifle.

People are snapping up old Winchesters…and to think I bought a 44-40 custom ‘73 with a 28” barrel in 1977 from a pawn shop for $125. Sold it for $200 a year later and thought I’d made out like a bandit…hindsight and all that.

[indian joe]

People are snapping up old Winchesters…and to think I bought a 44-40 custom ‘73 with a 28” barrel in 1977 from a pawn shop for $125. Sold it for $200 a year later and thought I’d made out like a bandit…hindsight and all that.

I never had a 95 in my hands - saw one hangin on the wall of a store many years ago - thought it looked small for what it was - carbine length in 303brit - also thought it would likely kick pretty good - bein light and all - seems i must been standing too far away to see properly .

[gc45]

Mine had rediculous recoil so sold it..It was a new Browning reproduction in 30-06..Nice looking gun though. Must say, I am not one who likes copious amounts of recoil and having had and still have many old Winchester levers I find the 95 right at the top on felt recoil but of course they are both smokless and high pressure ammo...

[indian joe]

Mine had rediculous recoil so sold it..It was a new Browning reproduction in 30-06..Nice looking gun though. Must say, I am not one who likes copious amounts of recoil and having had and still have many old Winchester levers I find the 95 right at the top on felt recoil but of course they are both smokless and high pressure ammo...

I have a 71 browning 348 - its never bothered me but the 95 I saw looked lighter and smaller - long ago - imagination maybe.............
Had an 8 pound sharps 45/70 was a mean thing to shoot prone, carbine stock looked too thin to drill so I made a 2+ pound lead buttplate - kinda wonky to carry now but quieted it down .