# Check this one out.



## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Had an uncle bring this over today, not sure what he wants me to do to it or not do to it. He is not a hunter and will likely never fire it. He's never fired it as long as he's owned it.

It belonged to a family member I've frequently heard mention of but that had passed away prior to me coming to life ('80).

Uncle Leo.

As I understand it, he was a peace officer in Davis County many years back and a very well loved and respected one at that. Even by the criminals he interacted with. I'll have to dig up some more bio info on him.

Anyways, here is his old hunting rifle. The serial number seems to point to a manufacture date of 1948. Good 'Ol Model 94 in 30 WCF.

I know nothing about this caliber. Is it similar to a 30-30? Enough so that you could shoot 30-30 through it or is it specific?

Seems a shame to remove all the rust, sand and refinish the stock and re-blue it. The action, lever and trigger have a great patina but there is a nasty patch of rust on one side of the barrel.

I haven't opened it up yet (assuming I can do so) to visually inspect the barrel. The action feels like it hasn't seen oil in decades.

I believe the goal is simply to get it firing and functional.

Thoughts? Who could be trusted to work on this if it needs something beyond my capabilities?





































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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Looks like he was in fact married to my grandmother's aunt, Ethel Rae who just joined him in the afterlife a couple years ago.

Found this pic of his headstone. 

July 11, 1925 - Oct 21, 1978









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## 7mm Reloaded (Aug 25, 2015)

That’s a NICE gun! I wouldn’t do anything to the outside of it . 30 WCF is the original name for 30-30 win.


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Yes I would do what you can to the action and go ahead and shoot it.


The .30 WCF



Man it sucks to get old I still think my grandfathers Enfield 1916 is still good enough for the grand kids. LOL


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Great story KineKilla! I love history and hearing/reading how past family helped shape the west and Utah itself. Love the headstone and the inscription "A GOOD COP". I guess you can say its set in stone forever. 

That's a tuff call on what to do with the rifle. I'm sure it could be a small fortune to have it completely tore down and restored to "near new" condition. (if that's what was decided) But...If you leave it alone, that *IS* the rifle that he owned and used. 

If it were me in your situation, I'd have it cleaned up by a professional, re-blued and not touch the wood. The pits in the steel will always be there unless you went all out and had them cleaned and filled in. That's when it becomes a real expensive restoration project.


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

You can inspect the barrel without taking the gun apart. "Restoring" a gun like that can actually reduce the value. Nothing to be lost by cleaning the barrel and action, don't know why it wouldn't fire. Although many deer have been taken with that cartridge it's ballistically inferior to just about anything else. 

You might be interested in cleaning it up and getting a box of ammo just out of curiosity. Amazing it's so rough not being that old. I sure wouldn't put any money into it beyond a set of gunsmithing screwdrivers if you don't already have some.


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

I have the tools to take it apart. In order to get a really good look in the barrel, I will at least need to remove the slide.

If I'm gonna do that I will also pull the lever, trigger, mag tube spring and clean everything.

It's not an extremely old gun but it is 74 years old and from what I've heard was used for years to provide game meat for the family.

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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Restoring it isn't going to detract that much from it's value and may just increase it. 

I have a old Savage Super Sporter in 30-06 that was made in 1935. My uncle used it for years before he gave it to me when I was 5 years old. I then used it for years until the barrel was pretty much burnt out. I can tell you where the fist shot is going to go but after that it is a guessing game. I have though about putting a new barrel on it and rechambering it but decided that it will stay as it is as long as I own it, there are a lot of memories with that old rifle. 

So in the end it is a safe queen unless I decided to pull it out for a final hunt.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

KineKilla said:


> I have the tools to take it apart. In order to get a really good look in the barrel, I will at least need to remove the slide.


Get one of these first. For $10, they are all kinds of useful:









Megapixels HD USB C Endoscope Type C Borescope Inspection Camera for Android | eBay


Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Megapixels HD USB C Endoscope Type C Borescope Inspection Camera for Android at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!



www.ebay.com





Run it down the bore and look it over.

-DallanC


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## 7mm Reloaded (Aug 25, 2015)

Imo I would clean the barrel out well with Sweets 762 solvent. Then open the action and put a new bright white patch on the bolt face then hold the gun for sunshine is on the patch and look down the barrel. You will be able to see very well also. Or you can sell it to me😎


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

7mm Reloaded said:


> Imo I would clean the barrel out well with Sweets 762 solvent. Then open the action and put a new bright white patch on the bolt face then hold the gun for sunshine is on the patch and look down the barrel. You will be able to see very well also. Or you can sell it to me😎


My dads trick to look at the bore of a rifle was to use a shiny dime held near the chamber to reflect the light off of it while he looked down the barrel.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

All you really have there is an old abused gun. It doesn't show nearly as much sign of use as it does neglect. You can assign some "sentimental value" to the gun, but collector value is minimum for firearms of this manufacture, model, and caliber. Do with it what you want but nothing you can do will raise the value enough to cover the costs of restoration.
My recommend... just clean it, oil 'er up and pass it on with what provenance you have to your kids.

My guess is that if you run a rod down the bore to clean out the spiders, it will shoot fine and is safe to use.


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

https://www.gunvaluesboard.com/1948-winchester-94-30.-30-30-472258.html



I think $250 would be optimistic given the apparent condition. For lever guns I just open the action, put something white over the bolt, even a piece of a paper towel, then angle it so light shines on it and look down the muzzle, as described above. No need to take it apart to get a good idea about the bore. 

Spending good money to restore it would be unwise, as all you'll end up with is a refinished gun. According to the Blue Book no refinished gun can ever be rated better than "NRA Good":



NRA Conditions Grading Standards | armsbid.com


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

I would never sell it. It isn't mine to sell anyways. I'm just giving it some overdue love and returning it to my uncle. He will never shoot it.

It's just a small project for me. It would be great to have it someday as an heirloom and put it to use shooting deer but I suspect it will get passed down to one of his grandkids.

I hope they appreciate the sentimental value and use it on occasion.

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## NDAR15MAN (Sep 10, 2020)

I would clean up the internals of the gun and get it shooting really good. Then hang it on the wall an have a 8 x11 framed document about the family member that owed the gun. Keep passing it down to the next generation. MD


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## lifesshort (Apr 3, 2017)

As soon as you get it shooting get it out on a hunt. When I got my grandfathers 94 in 32 special I made sure it shot and took it bear hunting. It did what it was made for. Since then have taken a deer with it. It has a piece broken out of the stock that grandpa glued back could probably get that fixed so it looks better but that is part of what makes it unique. Hopefully someone will appreciate after I am gone.


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Finally got around to cleaning the rifle up. Stripped all the inside components, cleaned them in the sonic cleaner. Cleaner was nasty after a couple cycles. There were literally spider nests inside the thing.

Barrel interior is in really good shape.

Reassembled everything after giving it all a liberal soak in oil. Action is not perfectly smooth but smooth enough. Did what I could for the outside as well without going nuts or ruining the patina.

Overall, I believe it's ready to shoot and hunt. I'll have to see if I can find a box of 30-30 and put some downrange.























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## 2pntkiller (10 mo ago)

The cal ranch in tooele.has had 30 30 pretty regularly, if i swing by and they have any ill grab a box or two if you wanna come get them


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

I noticed that Scheels was pretty well stocked on rifle ammo as well. We have a weekly RMEF committee meeting there on Wednesdays, I'll have to remember to look.

Thanks for the offer though.

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## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

If you want to drive to Riverton I can give you some.


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

MrShane said:


> If you want to drive to Riverton I can give you some.


I may just take you up on that. It appears that 30-30 is not super expensive, given I can find some.

My goal is just to function test the rifle and see how far off zero it is. Because it is not my rifle I do not plan to do much more to it.

Now if my uncle decides that this rifle belongs in my collection more than his...who am I to argue with such logic?

Poor thing has been in a closet or under a bed unused for over 40 years. At least with me it would be maintained and used on occasion.

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## jlofthouse16 (Oct 18, 2021)

Clean it up, oil it up and hang it on the wall.


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## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

KineKilla said:


> I may just take you up on that. It appears that 30-30 is not super expensive, given I can find some.
> 
> My goal is just to function test the rifle and see how far off zero it is. Because it is not my rifle I do not plan to do much more to it.
> 
> ...


Just let me know when you need a few, I’ll share.


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## jlofthouse16 (Oct 18, 2021)

Every time I try to reply I get:

"This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread."

Yet, I can't seem to find the cue for starting a new thread. Arguah!


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

jlofthouse16 said:


> Every time I try to reply I get:
> 
> "This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread."
> 
> Yet, I can't seem to find the cue for starting a new thread. Arguah!


When you are in the forum you want to start a new thread there should be an option to create a quick thread near the top of the page.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

jlofthouse16 said:


> Every time I try to reply I get:
> 
> "This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread."
> 
> Yet, I can't seem to find the cue for starting a new thread. Arguah!


Depending on what you are on will dictate how to create a post. 

A computer or a phone using desktop mode on the upper right hand corner under your user name there is a box to click on to "Create Thread"

Using a phone and TapTalk it can get a little bit confusing but can be done. 

But looking at your profile you have created a couple of post in the past.


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## jlofthouse16 (Oct 18, 2021)

Thanks Critter


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