Winchester 1885

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SmittyH

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I have a Winchester 1885 low wall chambered in 32 short rimfire. The bore is in bad shape but i don't think I sill be shooting it. I have seen prices all over the board for this gun This one is a early model, 1886, having a 5xxx serial number. I am thinking about lining the barrel and making a shooter out of it. Does anyone have a ball park what that would cost or is the gun worth more as a collector?

I'm new to this board but any advise would be appreciated.

Smitty Hanks
Winchester 1885-1.jpgWinchester 1885-2.jpg
 
John Taylor said it would be between $450 and $650 depending on what I wanted him to do. I’m not sure I want to put that much into a fun gun at my age.
Is anyone wanting a very interesting project? I’m still not sure how much I should ask for the gun.
Smitty
 
Pricing is tricky on these but I will take an educated guess.
Caveats are this is not a first year production and not a special order gun (which it does not appear to be).
Low end $500 where you are selling basically the action for someone to turn into a custom rifle.
Top end $1300 which may be a bit of a stretch as the bore is in bad shape.
 
SmittyH said:
John Taylor said it would be between $450 and $650 depending on what I wanted him to do. I’m not sure I want to put that much into a fun gun at my age.
Is anyone wanting a very interesting project? I’m still not sure how much I should ask for the gun.
Smitty
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I might be interested in as a project. It would be interesting to drill it, line it, and then rework the firing pin.

We would have to use the CFF pony express or ship it since its a 2 hour ride one way.
 
From what I have seen I think the gun is worth $800 Or more. If any of you want it I will take that or put it on the Sale board for $900.
I am retired so I can probably meet someone close to their location.
Smitty
 
Often the 32 RF bores will accept a .22 rim fire Redman/Dixie/Other liner at 5/16 diameter without boring. Even of boring is required, a 5/16 or 8mm long bit ($10) will get it done with a normal hand drill, no pilot needed. Secure with acraglas and chamber. Then all that's left is to plug the block face with screw and redrill/make up new firing pin. Extractor can be modded by silver soldering on a tab and cutting it in as the chamber is reamed or just buy a new replacement extractor and chamber.
 
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Sharps40 said:
Often the 32 RF bores will accept a .22 rim fire Redman/Dixie/Other liner at 5/16 diameter without boring. Even of boring is required, a 5/16 or 8mm long bit ($10) will get it done with a normal hand drill, no pilot needed. Secure with acraglas and chamber. Then all that's left is to plug the block face with screw and redrill/make up new firing pin. Extractor can be modded by silver soldering on a tab and cutting it in as the chamber is reamed or just buy a new replacement extractor and chamber.
Click to expand...
I would not recommend using a Harbor Freight $10 drill bit intended for wood for this job, and certainly not use a hand drill. The trick with deep boring is you have to start out almost perfectly aligned in order not to be way off when you are 24” down the barrel. Unless you have a lathe don’t do this at home kids!
 
I think you missed the point. In a 32 bore an unpiloted bit follows the bore. If you want to increase unpiloted bit accuracy in a 32 bore simply dull one cutting edge. Easily done as total metal removal is 1 to 3 thousands inch

And. Liners are properly drilled from both ends, not straight through. Battery powered drill with adjustable torque and speed is more than sufficient.


You are partially correct where bulk metal removal is required, for instance, boring a 22 for a liner
 
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I think you missed my point:

Internet advice + cheap Chinese drill bits = regret

Has it been done successfully by skilled people? Yes. Has a nice gun rifle been ruined by 1 Bubba with 2 beers in 5 minutes with a $10 drill bit? Yes.

If it was a beat up Sears bolt gun sure practice on that. this is a nice rifle, it deserves professional care.
 
I hear you. OP didn't want to do it anyway . And at least now you can advise more accurately on boreing from both ends.
 
Thanks for all the response.

i don’t have a lathe but would probably buy a “long” bit if I decided to do this myself. I checked with Redman and I can’t find a liner in stock anywhere. Also I am not sure I could chamber the barrel or move the firing pin. The extractor would probably another problem.

I would be worried I might turn a $900 gun into a $100 gun.

Besides, like I said I’m not as young as I use to be and I have a slight tremor that might make this much harder.

Smitty
 
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It has collector value, so sell it.

I bought a 1892 Marlin rimfire 32 that came with a NOS barrel. A local gunsmith reworked the firing pin for centerfire, and as soon as I polish up the internal parts, he will ream it to 32 S&W Long, attach the barrel and set the headspace. It was always a project, had no collector value. There are lots of project guns out there.
 
MacEntyre said:
It has collector value, so sell it.

I bought a 1892 Marlin rimfire 32 that came with a NOS barrel. A local gunsmith reworked the firing pin for centerfire, and as soon as I polish up the internal parts, he will ream it to 32 S&W Long, attach the barrel and set the headspace. It was always a project, had no collector value. There are lots of project guns out there.
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Agreed. Despite the condition of the bore your rifle has collector value. If you want a shooter best sell this to a good home and get something like this. In the long run cheaper than professional re-lining and updating the firing pin for center fire.

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