I finally sacked up and started disassembling Grandpa’s 1873 last night to scrub the decades of accumulated crud out of it.
I think it’s going to need a new mainspring, a new firing pin, new mag spring and follower, and possibly a new forend (I managed to SPLIT the old one lengthwise while disassembling it. I also need new sights, since some asshole decided at one point to remove the sights.
Consulting reference manuals, it appears I have a Second Model 1873 with a medium-heavy barrel, of which it appears about 1100 were made.
Here’s what I’m thinking - y’all tell me what you think.
Restore to firing condition, but don’t refinish or do any stock work.
Restore to original condition (or something similar). Matte blue, clean up the wood and refinish in some fashion. The gun is drilled for a tang sight, so add the tang sight instead of the traditional buckhorn.
This is out there, I know, but I wonder if GGGrandpa might not approve. Replace all parts to make it fully functional (new springs, etc), add something like an Ashley Ghost Ring rear and tritium front, refinish the wood in a dark rubbed oil finish, and refinish all the metal in Black-T or similar, leaving all the original markings intact, of course.
I know 3 is borderline blasphemous by Winchester collector standards - but given the tradition of serious shooters in my family, I bet my ancestor would get a kick out of his rifle being modernized and used on a regular basis.
It’s soaking in solvent right now, so I don’t have any big incentive to hurry up and do something.
Also - I need a source for 1873 Second Model parts.
From what I can make out in the serial number, it appears it was made sometime in the late 1880s. And that would be some fucking swagger to have my ancestor’s gun made into a modern fucking killing piece.
I helped a friend a few years back get an 1873 back in shooting condition. It to was made in the late 1880’s. I had to get a new firing pin as the old one was missing. I got one from Dixie Gun Works. A few screws were missing which we had to make the magazine tube was slightly deformed and we had to work out some dents and replace the spring. His had a bad bore and after discussing it he decided to have it relined to the original caliber, 38-40. A couple of other small parts were replaced but I can’t recall exactly what ones. I think one was a hammer spring. We left the metal finish as is and simply cleaned the stock and oiled it a bit. Overall it looked pretty good once cleaned up.
Interestingly my friend found this rifle hanging on a nail in the back of an old barn on his property. It appeared to have been there for years, complete with mud dauber nests on the stock. After we got it fixed up he tried to kill a deer with it but it didn’t work out, yet.
I like to think I’m a practical person, but I won’t vote for #3. I’m not so sentimental to say leave it at #1 though. I think fixing it up and making it like new again is the ideal route.
I think there’s something to be said for having something that connects you to the past. It’s a piece from the 1800s. There’s no shame in that. In fact, it’s quite cool. Let the gun be what it is, instead of forcing it to be something it’s not. Think of it like a Model T Ford. Yeah you can put a modern drivetrain and running gear in it, but isn’t it cooler restored to original condition?
Plus in it’s original condition it serves as a nice historical bookend to the more modern rifles in your collection. Sit it next to your SCAR and you’ve got well over 100 years in small arms development and all kinds of interesting conversation. And when you’re done talking, you get to shoot a really cool old rifle.
#3 is a terrible idea… There’s restoration, and then there is demolishing history with a wrecking ball.
I would lean towards a mix of #1 and #2. Get it into firing condition, and then just clean it up. Don’t scrub off the patina, that ruins it. Don’t go crazy and reblue it with touch up blue, it will look dumb.
Let’s see some pictures of this revolver and we’ll go from there. Let’s see exactly what condition it is in, and it will be a lot easier to make recommendations.
… I guess I am more interested in preserving the history of a 130 year old family heirloom than I am creating a “modern fucking killing piece”.
Why is it that those who least appreciate history, always inherit the most interesting things?
And I certainly appreciate history. I just thought considering its condition (crusty, to be kind) means that it doesn’t have much collector value as it is, so why not do it up a bit?
Of course, I’ve been on the lookout for a good condition Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless in .380 to send to Novak for a work-over that would probably make you vomit.
Oops. I missed the vague reference to Winchester near the end. In my mind, when someone calls something an “1873” with no other information (as he did at least twice before Winchester was mentioned, and even then not as part of the model number) I default to a Colt 1873, Single Action Army.
Just restore it. You will end up feeling back for modifying it.
If you haven’t had a chance to go shooting with it much, I can guarantee you will have a blast, without the “new” stuff. I absolutely love taking my 32-20 out. Much fun in ever way.
My vote is for #1, plus a new forend that would be artificially aged to match the condition of the stock. Not staunchly opposed to #3 though. Anything I’d have done in the vein of #2 would have to go the way of a Turnbull restoration.
Small FFl’s are the best way I have found. There are many shops who despise of anything new, and stick to the old stuff. This is pretty much how I got parts for my 32-20. Most of these tiny shops don’t have websites so it’s more just googling for phone numbers and calling in.
