Are any of you blokes Winchester lever collectors?

[Kelsey Cooter]

Do any of you blokes collect Winchesters?

I am always reading about Winchester lever actions and am extremely interested the Australian history side of things so just wondering if anyone on here collects lever guns?

[No1_49er]

Not Winchesters.
Marlins!

[Kelsey Cooter]

Not Winchesters.
Marlins!

Oh nice mate. How do you go finding old Marlins I bet they are a bit rare in Aus

[No1_49er]

Oh nice mate. How do you go finding old Marlins I bet they are a bit rare in Aus

I've managed to gather up "a few", all the way up (in vintage) from an 1900 model 1897 22LR to a 2009 1895XLR 45-70. Just a matter of keeping eyes peeled and ear to the grapevine, then swooping.
Hardest thing with any of the old stuff is getting parts: ITAR which was supposed to have been reformed for "non-military" type stuff is still a huge limiting factor. I'm sure that there must be untold numbers of suppliers in the US who would love to do business with an overseas clientele who are itching to restore their old pieces, or even get them working again.

[Flyer]

I don't collect them, but I have a 9422 XTR built around 1980. I love the Winchester lever guns. The 9422 may not be quite as accurate as the Marlin 39A, but by all accounts it is more reliable, as it has controlled feed all the way from magazine to chamber – which means you can work the lever at any angle and not get a jam or bullet falling out of the breach.

[Noisydad]

I have and regularly use a 1911 built '92 in .44-40 It has a 24" barrel and half mag. Also have a 1926 built '92 in .32-20 also with a 24"barrel and half mag. Both are sweet shooters with both black powder and that new fangled Trailboss. They are choosy about their bullets if you want fine tuned accuracy.
Their shortish crescent butt plate stocks are a little stunted for my 6' 1" frame but a lace on, leather clad, stock extension fixed that.

[in2anity]

OP are you trying to find out specifically Australian+Winchester history?

[Kelsey Cooter]

OP are you trying to find out specifically Australian+Winchester history?

Yeah mate more or less. I have The Winchester book by Madis, and a few others, so Winchester history is fairly easy (plus there is so much to read on the net). But I find when I get the chance to talk to collectors, they are able to tell me things to do with australian history & Winchester that just leaves me thinking, where on earth can I research that myself?

[Kelsey Cooter]

I have and regularly use a 1911 built '92 in .44-40 It has a 24" barrel and half mag. Also have a 1926 built '92 in .32-20 also with a 24"barrel and half mag. Both are sweet shooters with both black powder and that new fangled Trailboss. They are choosy about their bullets if you want fine tuned accuracy.
Their shortish crescent butt plate stocks are a little stunted for my 6' 1" frame but a lace on, leather clad, stock extension fixed that.

Good stuff Noisydad, I have a 92 SR carbine 32 built in 1907, and I've just bought (still waiting on pta) a 92 trapper carbine 32-20 built in 1910. I'm keen on getting into collecting, but the trapper is gun number 29 so I need to upgrade my storeage 1st.

I love the idea of black powder cartridges. I bought a lyman black powder book a while back and have the odd read of it but find it a bit intimidating as far as the clean up afterwards goes

[poid]

I've got a 9422M XTR which is 1984ish build, inherited it from the old man. It was the farm gun so has some rust etc that I need to deal with, so haven't even fired it yet. Having grown up with that in the family I do have a love for the winchester lever guns...

[bigrich]

i have a soft spot for winchester levers ( and model 70 bolt guns ) i've owned a couple , and marlin 357, 30-30 that were handloaded and scoped . but the winnies are a nice , light quick to point rifle . so long as peep sights or factory irons are your thing with most being top eject . the one i have at the moment is a 64A model . it has a half mag with no barrel bands and a pistol grip stock . sort of like a marlin XLR i guess . the original model 64's were made in the 1930's , with the 64A being made only in 1972 and 1973 , mine is a 72 model . i fitted a williams peep , and it's the most accurate lever i've owned . i can get 3/4" at 50 yards with handloads, 2 1/2" - 3" at 100 yards . at 100 yards the front bead covers about 4" of the target . this rifle isn't my first choice for a hunt , but there's just something about it that i just really like definately a keeper

wouldn't mind a 38-55 but ...........

[in2anity]

My 114 yr old Winchester 1892 is probably the most reliable and “solid” feeling lever I own. Very finely made indeed. It also has a 24” barrel so it’s among the easiest to shoot across irons. It’s the obvious first choice PC-LAS gun, a shorter 20” Marlin was my backup.The rest are Marlins, half of which are pre-Remington. They are nice also but probably not quite as reliable, and they are heavier.The Marlins will generally (mechanically) print a tighter group, not that that means much (for what levers are meant for)...

[Kelsey Cooter]

My 114 yr old Winchester 1892 is probably the most reliable and “solid” feeling lever I own. Very finely made indeed. It also has a 24” barrel so it’s among the easiest to shoot across irons. It’s the obvious first choice PC-LAS gun, a shorter 20” Marlin was my backup.The rest are Marlins, half of which are pre-Remington. They are nice also but probably not quite as reliable, and they are heavier.The Marlins will generally (mechanically) print a tighter group, not that that means much (for what levers are meant for)...

Nice mate, what caliber is your '92?
I've never gotten into Marlins, I don't know why. I do intend to buy one one day though

[in2anity]

Nice mate, what caliber is your '92?
I've never gotten into Marlins, I don't know why. I do intend to buy one one day though

32-20, heavy octagonal, half magazine (no bands). Accurate. Nice low-recoiling caliber that one. Combined with the flip up tang sight, I find a light recoiler scary - certainly warrants the use of some eye protection... I had a similar 44mag which I moved on for this reason - that and it was a brute that ate powder and lead unnecessarily (for my purposes). IMO the 44mag feels like a bit of a kludge.

If you ever do take the plunge with a Marlin (for collective sake) do yourself a favor and wait for a nice JM era one to pop up - they ooze quality compare with the remlins. Don’t get me wrong the remlins seem to mostly “just work” and that’s all that really counts with any lever.

[wrenchman]

lots of the 92s went to you guys old winchesters are collected and even wore out ones are a lot money