1895 Winchester questions

A friend of mine brought out his 1895 Winchester to the range the other day, it appears to be the sporting model because of the schnaible(spelled wrong?)forend with the black insert. It is stamped SRC on the lever. Someone told him it was a San Juan Hill rifle because of the SRC stamp, I said it means saddle ring carbine, is this correct? It is also marked .30 US on the top of the barrel and I looked at one other that has .30 ARMY marked on the top of the barrel. Why the two different markings for the same 30-40 Krag caliber?

A saddle ring carbine is different from a sporting rifle. The US on the top could mean US acceptance, where is it stamped? What's the barrel length? The .30 Army and .30-40 should be the same thing. Got pics? Just a few...

On the top of the barrel in front of the reciever ring where the caliber stamp is it is marked 30 US. I'll see if he will let me get some photos. I guess the forearm could have been replaced. It also has the climin Lyman rear sight.

If we can get some pics it will be way easier to identify.

There are some records of the Winchester 1895 in SRS and the Winchester Collectors in Cody Wy might have something - it will cost some money either way

Here are some pictures of the rifle. It has KSM stamped on the lever, not SRC, and another three letter mark on the hammer that looks like it's overstamped on something, I can't quite make it out. I measured the barrel and it is 27" from the muzzle to the reciever ring. It also has a B on the bottom of the lever. Sorry about the sideways pics, I don't know why they came out that way.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/01052-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/00958-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...9/001113-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/00763-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/00861-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/00672-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/00298-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/00386-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/00488-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/00577-1.jpg

that Lyman No 21 receiver sight is worth something, you should be get serial number checked, there may be records that will show how the rifle left the factory and to where it was shipped and the date.

http://http://www.rarewinchesters.co...model_95.shtml

Check the fourth rifle down, it has the KSM stamp. Do you think the furniture has at some point been switched out to the sporting configuration and it is the same rifle as this one? The serial number is 22959 and it has the 1898 patent date on the reciever. I cannot find the KSM stamp on the barrel so maybe it has been changed also.

I checked more closely and it doesn't have the US stamped on the top of the reciever and the only KSM marked parts are the lever and possibly the hammer, so more than likely it is a sporting rifle with a replacement lever and hammer, this is what I can gather from looking at the rifle.

The Winchester barrel proof with the oval W P together started in 1905. That 27 inch barrel is an odd length, but back then you could order almost any length or else it was cut back. The Winchester collectors can tell if it was cut and the location of the front sight

The standard barrel length for the .30-40 Krag was 28 inches. I have a feeling the marked parts are left overs from a military contract, as the gun manufacturers didn't throw anything away that was usable. The rifle appears to be a standard sporting rifle with the optional Lyman sight.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Johnny Peppers

The standard barrel length for the .30-40 Krag was 28 inches. I have a feeling the marked parts are left overs from a military contract, as the gun manufacturers didn't throw anything away that was usable. The rifle appears to be a standard sporting rifle with the optional Lyman sight.

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I will go with Johnny Peppers on this one. I waited for pics before posting an opinion based on your first verbal description.
The caliber markings ,I have seen, for "30/40 Krag", are marked more than one way on M95's. ( .30 US, .30 GOVT, etc.) It is a known fact that major manufacturers did not throw good parts out if they were left over from another contract. You measured the barrel length from the muzzle to the front of the reciever. Barrel length is measured from the muzzle to the breech bolt face in cartridge arms, so if one adds the extra length to your measurement, it would be a "nominal" 28". I have only seen three (3) U.S. military M1895's in person, and they all had 28" barrels and the full "musket" style stocks.


FWIW,

Emri

Coming in here late. But my 1895 c1905 and then one shown here look very very similar.Differences are the flat shotgun style butt plate (mine has a curved steel butt plate and the barrel mounted rear sight mine has a block in the dovetail) I don't know of any of the Military models with the Lyman receiver mounted sight. Nor do they have the std buckhorn rear sight. The 1895 US Musket had a flip up style rear site shown here: http://www.antiquearmsinc.com/images...-musket-11.jpg

As said the barrel should be measured by putting a 1/4" wood dowel or cleaning rod down the bore with the action closed. When the rod/dowel stops mark the dowel at the muzzle withdraw it and measure from that mark to the end of the dowel.

I don't see any std version of the 1895 that this rifle fits. The butt stock is either from a Carbine or a Military contract. The receiver sight fits with a sporting rifle. The barrel mounted rear sight also fits with a sporting as does the 28" barrel.

The serial number would help.

Winchester would build your rifle to any configuration you wanted. The Lyman sight as well as the shotgun butt were extra cost options. Even when ordered with a receiver sight, the rifle came with the standard sporting rear sight unless the order called for it to be left off, and the barrel was then not dovetailed. The .30 US is the caliber marking for the .30-40 Krag caliber. The standard Model 1895 Carbine came with the tangent style rear sight.

Just measure the barrel from the breech fact to the end. Most people measure the barrel from where it enters the receiver, rather than from the breech face.