Winchester 1895 question

[MikeDW]

I am new to the forum and thank you for any feedback you can provide.
My father-in-law recently handed down a few guns for me to eventually hand down to my son. One of them is a Winchester 1895, manufactured in 1900.
At some point in the guns history it was modified on the forend with a different color wood. Has anyone seen anything like this or know if there was any purpose for such a modification? My father-in-law received it from a close friend over 50 years ago who did not have a history on it.
Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Mongo59]

Just for looks and feel. They filled in the groove with the lighter wood, the walnut is still under there as evidenced by the brads that hold the strips in place.

 

[MikeDW]

Thanks for the information and the feel makes sense. Any idea if this was done in a particular time period/decade or just random? I am assuming this would be a custom gunsmith and not Winchester modification.

 

[BigRed]

The 1895 is a special Winchester.

May I pass along some friendly advice?

If your wife's Dad is passing this along, you better damn make sure you appreciate his daughter and how much he loves her...and you will do well to recognize what that means.

 

[MikeDW]

BigRed, without question and great point. I got incredibly lucky with my wife and father-in-law. He treats me like a son. He sets a great example for me on how to act when my daughters get married.

 

[marvin02]

Looks like someone filled in the finger grooves on the forend. Here's a site with a pic of one not altered and a link to info about them.

Redirect Notice

www.google.com

An of course Forgotten Weapons has a video:

 

[BigRed]

BigRed, without question and great point. I got incredibly lucky with my wife and father-in-law. He treats me like a son. He sets a great example for me on how to act when my daughters get married.

Then ask him why the rifle is as it is when he gave it to you.

 

[indykid]

Like the others, guessing it was a custom job by a very good gunsmith.


One of my favorite leverguns!!! Unfortunately mine are modern versions while you have a true piece of history!

 

[MikeDW]

Great looking guns Indykid. From all my research it does seem like the gun created a monumental shift in long rifles.

 

[MrSmitty]

OP, what caliber is you 1895? Just love those guns, a guy on Life below zero next gen hunts with one, I think it's in .405 Win, not sure though.. My FIL left me a few guns also, I never expected them, but he knew I loved guns, and his daughter ( not in that order...) and we helped him out a lot over the years, shopping, and taking care of his house. When he passed, he left me his tools, truck, and guns...One was a 30-30 Marlin 336...it will be passed to my son......

 

[MikeDW]

OP, what caliber is you 1895? Just love those guns, a guy on Life below zero next gen hunts with one, I think it's in .405 Win, not sure though.. My FIL left me a few guns also, I never expected them, but he knew I loved guns, and his daughter ( not in that order...) and we helped him out a lot over the years, shopping, and taking care of his house. When he passed, he left me his tools, truck, and guns...One was a 30-30 Marlin 336...it will be passed to my son......

It is stamped a 30 U.S. so (30-40 Krag). I will check out Life Below Zero, be great to see it in action. I love the 336 and what a great gun to hand down.

 

[Mongo59]

That was about the time they were working on the 30'03, the forerunner of the 30'06.

Now, if you had a prototype for the 30'03 you'd have something...

 

[MikeDW]

That was about the time they were working on the 30'03, the forerunner of the 30'06.

Now, if you had a prototype for the 30'03 you'd have something...

Interesting, now I am going to have to look into that history. Googling now.

 

[Mongo59]

The only survivor of the 30'03 is the .270 which is a necked down version.

They had ballistic problems with the round and ended up shortening the case and making other changes to get our first 'spitzer'.

 

[MikeDW]

The only survivor of the 30'03 is the .270 which is a necked down version.

They had ballistic problems with the round and ended up shortening the case and making other changes to get our first 'spitzer'.

Very interesting history of the 270. I love to shoot my 270 but didn't realize the 30'03 was the original