Dad's old Winchester totally restored "What a beauty"

[Jeff In TX]

I mentioned back in January that due to my dad's health and age he was no longer able to hunt. He sent me two guns which have been in his attic for the last 20 years. I think I mentioned he lives six blocks from the ocean.

When I finally received his shotgun and rifle I feared the worst having found out they've been an attic for 20 years and he lived in a salty air environment and thought they'd be rusty old junk.

Well they were in bad shape but not too bad. There was a lot of light surface rust as well as the old oil or grease he used had gummed up a lot making both actions a bugger to work.

I gave them both to my local gunsmith for him to restore. I received my dad's Winchester Model 94 .32 Win Special back on Friday. According to the serial number this rifle was manufactured between 1943 and 1947 when Winchester wasn't recording serial numbers due to WW II.

Before I gave Gene the rifle to restore the stock was a mess. The finish had darkened and carmelized and looked like a dark red wood stock. Due to the deterioration of the stock finish you really couldn't see much wood grain.

All I can say is wow, hiding underneath all that age, rust, gum and gunk was a beautiful rifle waiting for a little attention.

Here she is and I can't wait to take her hunting this fall. I just have to remember how to hunt with open sights again.

 

[ss7mm]

Beautiful......Special......Priceless

Congratulations on one very special gun.

 

[Joel Russo]

Thanks for sharing Jeff. I did the same with a rifle that my grandfather gave me when I started hunting. I have since restored it and put the original scope back on it. It now has a special place in my heart and in my safe.

 

[HRstretch]

Great looking gun. Curious has your Dad seen what the gun looks like now. I bet if he held it in his hands again he would have a twinkle in his eyes of memories rekindled.

Truly a great looking gun and it isn't that hard to shoot open sites again. I took my old Remington Model 721 and pulled the scope off and shoot it open sites. I actually can hit the target and group pretty good shots at two hundred yards. Get to a range and see what it will do or better yet get to the woods and shoot some rocks and trees, even better.

 

[Jeff In TX]

Great looking gun. Curious has your Dad seen what the gun looks like now. I bet if he held it in his hands again he would have a twinkle in his eyes of memories rekindled.

Truly a great looking gun and it isn't that hard to shoot open sites again. I took my old Remington Model 721 and pulled the scope off and shoot it open sites. I actually can hit the target and group pretty good shots at two hundred yards. Get to a range and see what it will do or better yet get to the woods and shoot some rocks and trees, even better.

I only wish I could let him hold it one more time or just show it to him but that will more than likely never happen. His health as well as his memory has been deteriorating over the last 6 months. He's just moved to a rehabilitation center on Friday after 13 weeks in the hospital, with 8 of that in the ICU.

He's 80 now and just trying to hold his own. It will be doubtful if he ever gets to come home again. He just has too many health issues he's trying to overcome. It's been tough for us and we pray for him each day.

To me the gun is a priceless treasure, one that I hope my boys will cherish as I cherish it now. My dream and goal is to drop a nice buck or large hog with it this fall. That would make dad's day!

I found myself taking it in and out of the safe this weekend to look it over, looking for I don't know what. I just think it's beautiful and it has many many memories. Each time I hold it I think of another hunt with dad.

Glad you like it.

 

[captacademy]

Nice job! When I was a kid I used to hunt with a rifle just like that.