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1. Winchester Model 1895 Serial Numbers

Below is the download link for a special resource for dating Winchester firearms. These pages were scanned from documents compiled over the years by the.

The Winchester Model 1895 is a lever-action repeating firearm developed and manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th century, chambered for a number of full-size military and hunting cartridges such as 7.62×54mmR, .303 British, .30-03, .30 Army, .30-06, .35 Winchester, .38-72 Winchester, .40-72 Winchester and .405 Winchester.

• 5References

Design[edit]

The Model 1895 was the first Winchester rifle to feature a box magazine located underneath the action instead of the tubular magazine design, which had remained fundamentally unchanged from the Winchester 1866. This allowed the rifle to safely chamber military and hunting cartridges with spitzer (pointed) bullets. The M1895 was also the last of the lever-action rifles to be designed by John Browning, and featured a rear locking bolt as in his previous designs dating back to the Winchester 1886. The M1895 is the strongest lever-action rifle Winchester has produced, designed to handle the increased pressures generated by the more powerful smokeless powder cartridges entering common use at the time of its introduction. By today’s standards however, the design is considered relatively weak, and not suited to high pressure loads.^[2]

Around serial number 5000, a new receiver profile was introduced which had fluted (scalloped) sides, as opposed to the original flat sided design. This new receiver reduced the weight of the rifle by a small amount, and increased the width by 1/16 of an inch. By serial number 6000, it is thought that the last of the flat sided M1895s left the factory. These early rifles are now exceedingly rare.^[3]

Military[edit]

Between 1915 and 1917 approximately 300,000 M1895's were manufactured for the army of the Russian Empire, accounting for about 70% of total production of the rifles prior to 1936 when the M1895 was discontinued. Chambered in 7.62×54mmR, these versions were unusual for a lever-action rifle in that they also had a charger guide, allowing the M1895 rifle to be reloaded by the same charger clips used in the Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifle.^[4] Rifles made for the Russian contract had a longer than standard barrel fitted with an extended forestock and bayonet lug.^[5] Initial delivery of the rifles was delayed because adaptation to Russian standards, particularly the charger guide, proved more difficult than expected.^[6] Additional delays resulted from incompetent and obstructive Russian inspectors, who refused to use Winchester-made test gauges despite no Russian gauges existing,^[6] insisted that test ammunition be shipped from Russia (instead of using readily available Winchester ammunition made on Russian contract),^[7] and often rejected rifles for irrelevant flaws such as wood grain in the stock being insufficiently straight.^[7] Winchester later sold these rejected rifles on the US commercial market.^[7] Russia issued many of their Winchester Model 1895 rifles to troops from Finland and the Baltic states, especially the Latvian Riflemen.^[8] At least 9,000 Model 1895 rifles are known to have been provided by the Soviet Union in 1936 to the Spanish Republicans for use in the Spanish Civil War.^[9]

Other nations adopted the rifle in more limited numbers. The United States ordered 10,000 in caliber .30/40 Krag for the Spanish–American War, but the war ended before they arrived at the front.^[5] These rifles were marked 'U.S.' atop the receiver ring and fitted with stock furniture similar to the M1895 Lee Navy including the short 8⁵⁄₁₆ inches (21.1 cm) knife-type bayonet. Many parts were marked 'K.S.M.' by ordnance inspector Kelly S. Morse. One hundred of these rifles were issued to the 33rd Volunteer Infantry for field testing in the Philippine–American War. The report of testing completed on 25 December 1899 stated the Krag–Jørgensen was greatly superior for military service. The remaining 9,900 rifles were sold to M. Harley Company and most were shipped to Cuba in 1906.^[10] Some of these rifles found their way to Mexico, where they were favored by Pancho Villa’s troops during the Mexican Revolution.^[3]

Theodore Roosevelt also personally purchased an M1895 Winchester in .30 Army (.30-40 Krag) during the same timeframe. The Model 1895 in .30 Army was also entered into an 1896 New York National Guard rifle contract competition, but finished second to the Savage Model 1895^[11] due to the Winchester rifle lacking a magazine cutoff and magazine counter.^[12] Winchester strongly disputed the results of the contest, arguing that the competition had been rigged in Savage's favor, and the ensuing political controversy led to the cancellation of the contract.^[13]

Civilian[edit]

As with previous Winchester rifles, a new serial number range was launched with the M1895, beginning with serial number 1.^[14]Iqra pdf free download. Including military contract rifles, a total of 425,881 rifles were produced, with production ceasing at serial number 425,132. The standard barrel length varied from 24 to 28 inches, depending on chambering and configuration, and the Standard finish on all rifles was blue.^[3]

The rifle is most commonly associated today with former President Theodore Roosevelt; however, it was also used by many other famed hunters and adventurers, to include Martin and Osa Johnson, Charles Cottar, and author Stewart Edward White.^[2] Garrit Forbes—hunting companion of W. D. M. Bell, first cousin of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and long time personal friend of gun writer and firearms enthusiast Elmer Keith—recommended the M1895 in .405 Winchester to Theodore Roosevelt.^[15]

Theodore Roosevelt took two M1895 rifles with him on his 1909 safari to East Africa, both in .405 Winchester. Additionally, Kermit Roosevelt accompanied his father on the trip and brought two more M1895 rifles; one was chambered in .405 Winchester, and the other in .30-03 Springfield. While the serial number of Kermit's .30-03 has been lost, the serial numbers of the three .405 rifles are known to have been 63727, 63736, and 68180.^[16] Theodore Roosevelt praised the .405 M1895 in his book African Game Trails, famously referring to this rifle as his 'medicine gun' for lions':

But as we stood, one of the porters behind called out 'Simba'; and we caught a glimpse of a big lioness galloping down beside the trees, just beyond the donga … Tarlton took his big double-barrel and advised me to take mine, as the sun had just set and it was likely to be close work; but I shook my head, for the Winchester 405 is, at least for me personally, the 'medicine gun' for lions.^[17]

Although it is often said that Roosevelt called the .405 M1895 his 'big medicine,' this phrase is never used in African Game Trails, and is possibly the erroneous combination of his 'medicine gun' quote with his 'big stick' speech of 1901.

The Model 1895 in both its rifle and carbine configuration was popular with the Texas Rangers and Arizona Rangers in both the 30-40 Krag and 30-06 Springfield calibers.

In 1985, the Browning Arms Company reintroduced the M1895 rifle in .30-06 Springfield.^[18] Later in 2001, Winchester reintroduced the rifle during the 100 year anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt's presidential administration, offering it again in .405 Winchester, as well as .30-06 Springfield and .30-40 Krag since its reintroduction.^[2] In 2008 Winchester produced a pair of Theodore Roosevelt commemorative rifles.^[19] In 2009 an additional pair of rifles was offered commemorating Roosevelt's African Safari in 1909 after leaving office.^[20]

Both the Browning and new Winchester rifles are made in Japan by Miroku. The Winchesters, however, differ from the original design in that they feature rebounding hammers and a tang safety. Their triggers are also shaped differently in that they cannot be fitted into an original rifle.

Users[edit]

• Angola
• Australia^[21]
• Bangladesh^{[citation needed]}
• Bolivia^[22]
• Burundi
• Canada^[23]
• Egypt^[24]
• Russian Empire
• Estonia
• Finland^[25]
• France^[26]
• Gabon
• Guatemala^[27]
• India^[28]
• Jamaica^[29]
• Madagascar
• Malta^[30]
• Mongolia^[31]
• Mozambique
• Russia
• Spanish Republic^[32]
• Nazi Germany: Issued to Volkssturm units.^[33]
• Mexico
• Nepal^[34]
• New Zealand^[35]
• Oman
• South Africa^[36]
• South Korea^[37]
• Sri Lanka^{[citation needed]}
• Sudan
• Thailand^[38]
• Togo
• Turkey
• Uganda^{[citation needed]}
• United Kingdom
• United States

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^ ^abcKennblätter fremdes Geräts: Heft 1: Handwaffen. p. 240
2. ^ ^abcBoddington 2005
3. ^ ^abcMadis 1985, pp. 450-81
4. ^Mercaldo, Firestone & Vanderlinden 2011, pp. 77–78
5. ^ ^abJames, Garry 'Winchester Model 1895 Russian Musket' American Rifleman April 2013 p.112
6. ^ ^abMercaldo, Firestone & Vanderlinden 2011, p. 79
7. ^ ^abcMercaldo, Firestone & Vanderlinden 2011, p. 80
8. ^Mercaldo, Firestone & Vanderlinden 2011, p. 81
9. ^Mercaldo, Firestone & Vanderlinden 2011, p. 83
10. ^Canfield, Bruce N. 19th Century Military Winchesters March 2001 American Rifleman pp.41&77
11. ^Mercaldo, Firestone & Vanderlinden 2011, pp. 72–73, 190–193
12. ^Mercaldo, Firestone & Vanderlinden 2011, p. 73
13. ^Mercaldo, Firestone & Vanderlinden 2011, pp. 74, 193–194
14. ^Wilson, R. L. 'The Model 1895 Lever-Action.' Winchester: An American Legend: the Official History of Winchester Firearms and Ammunition from 1849 to the Present. New York: Random House, 1992. 104–09. Print.
15. ^Keith, Elmer M. 'Elephant & Cape Buffalo Rifles.' Guns & Ammo Apr. 1976
16. ^Wilson, Robert Lawrence, and Theodore Roosevelt. 'Theodore Roosevelt and the Winchester Arms Company.' Theodore Roosevelt, Outdoorsman. Agoura, CA: Trophy Room, 1994. 239–72. Print.
17. ^Roosevelt, Theodore. 'Trekking Through the Thirst to the Sotik.' African Game Trails. New York: Charles Schribner's Sons, 1910. 166–67. Print.
18. ^'What Is the Historical Timeline for Browning?' Browning North America's Official Web Site -- Firearms -- Rifles -- Over and Under Shotguns -- Guns. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. 'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link).
19. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
20. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
21. ^Cite error: The named reference Arnold2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
22. ^Cite error: The named reference Bolivia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
23. ^Bishop, Chris: The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, p. 239. Sterling Publishing, 2002.
24. ^Cite error: The named reference Jones was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
25. ^'FINNISH ARMY 1918 - 1945: RIFLES PART 5'. www.jaegerplatoon.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
26. ^Cite error: The named reference weapon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
27. ^Cite error: The named reference Tinderbox was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
28. ^Cite error: The named reference Jowett was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
29. ^Cite error: The named reference Jamaica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
30. ^Cite error: The named reference Malta was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
31. ^Cite error: The named reference Capie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
32. ^'spanishcivilwar1'. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
33. ^Weaver & Stevens 2005, p. 65
34. ^Cite error: The named reference Jane was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
35. ^Cite error: The named reference NZ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
36. ^Cite error: The named reference SA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
37. ^Cite error: The named reference ROK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
38. ^Cite error: The named reference Siam was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Sources[edit]

• Boddington, Craig (2005). 'Bully For The .405 - Roosevelt's 'big medicine' enjoys a revival'. Guns&Ammo. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
• Madis, George (1985). The Winchester Book. Brownsboro, TX: Art and Reference House.
• Mercaldo, Luke; Firestone, Adam; Vanderlinden, Anthony (2011). Allied Rifle Contracts in America. Wet Dog Publications. ISBN0-9707997-7-2.
• Weaver, W. Darrin; Stevens, R. Blake (2005). Desperate Measures: The Last-Ditch Weapons of the Nazi Volkssturm. Collector Grade Publications. ISBN0889353727.

External links[edit]

• Small Arms of WWI Primer 062: Russian Contract Winchester 1895 on YouTube

The Winchester M1895 was John M Browning’s last lever action rifle design and it was the design that moved away from the limitations of the tubular magazine that required the use of round nose or flat nose bullets to one that could use pointed spitzer bullets. In this transition period from black powder to smokeless nitro powders with the much higher velocities able to be achieved the Winchester M1895 was the logical next step on from the “Gun that won the West” lever actions that preceded it.

Early advertisement for the Winchester M1895. Note that these early rifles have a plain flat sided receiver. Note also the 40-72 Winchester chambering advertised. (Picture courtesy Wikipedia).

Early production Winchester M1895’s differed from their later siblings in having a flat sided receiver; a style that is only normally found on examples with serial numbers below #6000. As there were, in all probability, only around five thousand of the flat sided M1895’s made these rifles are quite rare although they do turn up from time to time. After about serial number #6000 the M1895’s had almost all moved over to a newer style of receiver with fluted sides. The purpose of the change may have been to decrease the weight of the receiver whilst enabling the upper receiver to be made a little wider. The fluted receivers are about a sixteenth of an inch wider but very slightly lighter than the earlier style ones.

An example of the earlier style Winchester M1895 with the plain receiver at center with examples of the more common later fluted design above and below it. (Picture courtesy winchestercollector.org).

Production of rifles at the Winchester factory was likely not as predictable as some might imagine and it seems possible that prototypes or samples may have been made after serial number #6000 and an example of what might just be one of those prototypes is coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction on September 8th, 2017. This rifle has no serial number, which quite possibly makes it a likely factory prototype, but has the Winchester factory oval proof mark that began to be used in 1905 stamped on the barrel and receiver at the breech.

The Winchester oval proof marks on the barrel and receiver of this rifle date from 1905. This may mean that the rifle was re-barreled after 1905 or that it was assembled after 1905. This rifle has no serial number.

This rifle is a bit enigmatic; in their description of the piece Rock Island Auction note that this rifle “had a barrel fitted by the factory with dovetail blade and elevation adjustable sights and is marked “MANUFACTURED BY THE/-WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN CONN U.S.A.-” ahead of the rear sight and “40-72 WCF” at the breech. The barrel address is indicative of the type of marking used on early Model 1895s. Later production Model 1895s eliminated the small dashes before the entire marking was omitted.” So this is a bit of a mysterious rifle which makes it all the more interesting.

Close up of the right side of the action of the sale rifle.

This rifle also has the solid lever characteristic of the early flat sided receiver model

The solid lever is a characteristic of the early style flat sided M1895 rifles.

This rifle is listed as being in fine condition as factory re-barreled. Rock Island Auction describe the condition of this rifle as follows: “Fine as factory rebarreled. The barrel retains 85% thinned original blue finish and the receiver, bolt and magazine retain 30% original blue finish with the overall balance a smooth brown patina. The lever and buttplate retain 80% vivid original case colors. The wood is very fine with some minor handling markings. Mechanically excellent.”

Right side view of the action. Color case hardening is still apparent on the lever.

Winchester Model 1895 Serial Numbers

You will find the sale page for this historically interesting rifle if youclick here.

This M1895 is expected to sell in the range USD$7,500-$15,000.

This may be a perfect opportunity for a Winchester collector to acquire an example of the unusual early style Winchester M1895.

(All pictures courtesy Rock Island Auction unless otherwise marked).

Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.

Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.