Winchester Model 06 slide action rifle

[MtnSpur]

I was fortunate to buy a 1926 (dated by serial number) Winchester Model 06 slide action rifle at auction. The rifle had been professionally reblued and the bore relined. The wood is in fairly decent shape and I believe can be refinished. Here is my question: Do I find a gunsmith to rifle the barrel to the original 1 in 16" twist or leave well enough alone?

Any opinions or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Jim Watson]

Why would you think the liner is not 1-16?
Getting a good bore with sharp rifling is the point of relining.
Or did they put in a smooth liner with the aim of making it into a Routlege knockoff?

 

[rcmodel]

If it has been relined, there is simply no way to re-rifle it now, unless you want to make a .32 cal. out of it.

In order to put the liner in, the bore was drilled out with a long .315" drill. Then the pre-rifled liner was fixed in place with epoxy or soft solder.

If it is a Redman liner, which is very likely, it should already be 1/16 twist if chambered for .22 LR, or 1/20 if chambered for .22 Short.
(Assuming the gunsmith knew what liner to use)

Unless you are having some sort of accuracy problems, which is unlikely with a Redman liner, leave it be and enjoy it.
It probably is more accurate now then it was when it was new.

Jim Watson mentioned it could be a smoothbore liner for shooting .22 shot-shells.
I had not considered that.

But if it is, the old liner would have to be taken out and a new rifled one put back in. If it's a smoothbore, it is also bigger then a .22 rifled bore would need to be before rifling.

rc

 

[MtnSpur]

Thank you Jim and RC. I made a phone call to the auctioneer who knew the previous owner and it turns out the reline was a Redman and done by a gentleman out of San Angelo, TX. Living in a very small community has perks (everybody knows somebody sort of thing). Your responses were right on spot and I learned something new today. Thank you.

 

[rcmodel]

Here is a link to Redman's website.
Lots of good info.

http://redmansrifling.com/relining_prices.htm

BTW: I have an Winchester 1890 .22WRF that Redman relined.
Have a Marbles tang sight and hooded target front sight on it now.
It will shoot amazing groups at 50 yards.

rc

 

[MtnSpur]

I haven't shot her yet, she's just too pretty . Seriously though, it turns out the rifle was given to the gunsmith sans wood so the buttplate wasn't reblued but is in good condition. Needs a little stock work but all in all I'm pleased. As you know the 06 will accept .22 short, .22 and .22LR so I'm looking forward to some fun on the range. First picture posted to THR so hope I did this correctly.

 

[rcmodel]

Well I got news for you.

That is not an 06 stock & buttplate.
Those curved steel ones are off an 1890.
They were not blued originally, but color case-hardened.
Almost all of them are faded to just steel grey color or rust now.

The 06 used a flat hard rubber butt plate & stock with the winchester logo molded in it.

Look at the screws too.
1890 screws have fancy engraving on the heads.
06 screws don't.

rc

 

[Jim Watson]

Still a neat little John M. Browning + Winchester rig.

I have a .44-40 with Redman liner that is my CAS lever action.

 

[MtnSpur]

So now I need to locate an 06 stock.....Well, I'm learning more about this little rifle all the time. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Maj Dad]

MtnSpur,
Do you know the name of the smith who did the work? I have my father's old 06 and it is pretty tired after all these years. It's brown, the bolt is sloppy loose and needs some serious attention, and of course the bore looks like a gravel road. But, I would like to put it back in shooting condition - there is no concern about "collector" value for it at all - and get it relined & refinished by someone who wouldn't use a belt sander. Sort-of restored, but not in the serious sense. I would have to replace the wood anyway and might as well make it look like a taffeta purse...

If any of you have any suggestions as to a smith, I'd appreciate a lead.
Thanks,
George J.

 

[rcmodel]

So now I need to locate an 06 stock.....

I wouldn't worry about it.

What you got now is not a collector grade Winchester after the blue job.
It will shoot just as good and be just as nice with the 1890 butt stock.

I've seen a lot of them that way, as the 1890 wood is actually usually nicer walnut then the plain beech wood used on a lot of the 06's.

The 06 was actually just an economy version of the 1890.

rc

 

[MtnSpur]

Maj: Smith Guns in San Angelo Texas was the gunsmith. I can say he did an excellent job on the reline and reblue but I have no idea what his pricing is nor his wait times. Gunsmiths worth their salt are typically stacked to the rafters in jobs. Google the name and you'll get their website.
RC: I believe you're right and I'll just leave her the way she is. The collector value is minimal after it had been reblued and relined and it'll just stay in our family now .

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

I have an 06 which is a half nickle expert model. It has a pistol grip stock and a 20" barrel. I wish it had a straight stock and and a 24" barrel. Anyway this gun has been in the family since 1932 and I got it in 1963 when I was 12. It was made in 1921 and had been rebarreled before my dad got it in 1935. I have shot this gun since I was 7 but have not shot it in the last ten years. It has some mechanical problems and the barrel has no rifling left. The breech bolt assembly has two extensions machined in the side that fit into slots milled in the inside of the receiver that keep everything aligned and in place. Unfortunately one of them has been bent or worn and does not ride it the receiver slot. However last time I shot it will still still hit what it is aimed at accurately. One of these days I will see about getting it fixed, but being on SSI my income is fairly limited. Does anyone know of a good gunsmith in the Portland, Oregon area that will work on these?