Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Winchester Model 1893 Shotgun. B32XXX serial number puts date of production as 1896.Standard field grade, 30" barrel. As you can see, the wood is in very good condition, barrel ispatina'd, mag tube has most of the original blue, receiver is faded blue to brown. Action is tight and works as it should. Bore is mirror bright, all screws (except for mag tube, looks a little buggeredwhen whomever installed a plug) look untouched. Makes a nice companion to my A series 1893 I bought about 12 years ago from a pard on the Wire. Thatone had been professionally re-blued sometime in the past and looks as new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocWard Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Brules Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Yes!!! I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Old guns like that tend to follow me home too. Is the 83 considered a black powder gun! I was at a show on Friday and a guy had a 97 that looked too good to be true. High polished blue job, most likely newer wood and recoil pad. The guy said the previous owner had sent it back to Winchester to be refinished. I pointed out the rounded edges. Then turned it over and you could see dips and ripples in the left side of the receiver. The guy just shrugged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uno Mas SASS #80082 Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Sniff -- what a beautiful story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Warden, Yes, the 1893 is considered a black powder only shotgun. It was designed around the 2 5/8" black powder 12 gauge shot shell. This is what led to Winchester further developing the gun into the 1897, which could handle the then new and higher pressure smokeless shot shells coming on the market. The story goes that Winchester would give you a new 97 if you sent them your 93. Some say Winchester recalled them, others believe they just advertised the possible problems and let the owners of the 93's decide what to do. I have read though that any 93's sent in for repair were retained by Winchester and a new 97 was sent in its' place. Supposedly, Winchester destroyed all of the 93's sent in. Out of the appx 34,000 93's made, some estimate there are less than 8,000 remaining. I am fortunate to own two. PS; To the best of my knowledge, these guns were and are safe to shoot with the proper shells (assuming of course they are in sound working order). They were not recalled to the extent Marlin did with their early pump guns, which could and did shear a pin and send the bolt flying back into your face! I make my shells by cutting the star crimp portion off, creating a shell about 2 3/8" overall. I load 5X grains FFg, a 1/8' over powder wad, a 1/2" fiber cushion wad, 1 oz shot, an over shot card and then roll crimp in an old roll crimping tool. This results in a closed overall length of 2 1/4". Wyatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Trying to recall... but wasn't the '93 disallowed for SASS shooting a number of years ago...? I seem to recall Coyote Cap's attempts to produce a replica of the '93 (but with stronger '97 features) being derailed by "the powers that be..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 93 is no-go in SASS but find and dandy in WB. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Yep, they thought the more open ejection port would be an unfair advantage, even though the shape of the port makes it harder to throw one in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Brules Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Warden, ............... The story goes that Winchester would give you a new 97 if you sent them your 93. Some say Winchester recalled them, others believe they just advertised the possible problems and let the owners of the 93's decide what to do. I have read though that any 93's sent in for repair were retained by Winchester and a new 97 was sent in its' place. Supposedly, Winchester destroyed all of the 93's sent in. Out of the appx 34,000 93's made, some estimate there are less than 8,000 remaining. I am fortunate to own two. Wyatt It's not just a story, or "urban myth"; Winchester did exchange 93's for new '97's. There in 1897, at the turn of the century, there was no such thing as what we understand or consider by today's standards to be, a "recall". Winchester snobs (wannabe's who'll tell you that George Maddis was/is full of crap) disdain the "recall" terminology. For its time, though, that's kinda what it was. Winchester did have what we might consider to be an "exchange program," wherein they'd swap out an existing '93 for a new '97. I'm not sure to what extent Winchester actually "advertised" this exchange, but I personally think it was fairly common knowledge. As I understand it, when a '93 was brought in (or sent back?) for repair (or as an exchange request), Winchester would decommission that '93 shotgun and just send'em a new '97. Why did Winchester do this exchange? The '93 was designed and built with materials suitable for black powder cartridges, and a chamber length suitable for the shorter 2 5/8" length shell. Smokeless powder had only just been introduced. Within two years, it became apparent that black powder was on its way out. Winchester, sensing this sea change in propellants and its impact on the firearms industry, upgraded the materials and the design of the '93, re-introducing it as the '97, with a 2 3/4" chamber, capable of handling smokeless, 2 3/4" shells. So, I'd have to say that Winchester thought the '93 was not, or only marginally safe for smokeless load's pressure profile along with the increased pressure experience caused by shooting 2 3/4 in the 2 5/8 chamber. My opinion is that I would not use the '93 with smokeless powder and I wouldn't use it for competition because of the large number of shells fired through our shotguns. Of course, your mileage may vary and I'd have to say, "You decide." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 A pard that I shoot with in Dulzura and Escondido has a1893 that he uses. It is not a Winchester but a reproduction. Both clubs have given him permission to use it at their CAS matches. In watching him use it I don't see an advantage in loading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 Wow, two full paragraphs by Mr. Brules to say exactly what I already said!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Brules Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Wow, two full paragraphs by Mr. Brules to say exactly what I already said!! Maybe and maybe not; let's call it an elaboration, a sharing of information, and let it go at that. Congratulations on your new shotgun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 All in all, it IS a neat shotgun. And with proper ammunition its gonna be an absolute hoot to shoot! So, Wyatt, how 'bout a picture of your other '93...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Hardpan, Right now we're campin' for the holiday. I'll post pics of my other '93 after I get home on Sunday. I haven't shot that one, and even though I'm pretty sure at least the receiver has been reblued, the rest of the gun looks absolutely new so I have resisted. This one, I'm gonna shoot with the shot shells I described in my post above. Wyatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Wyatt, I'm looking forward to seeing it. So where ya camping...? I'm jealous... I can think of a few places I'd like to be camping 'bout now! Done a bunch of winter camping in the Sierras... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 We're at the Pechanga RV Resort in Temecula, bout as rough as the Mrs. likes to get. Nice thing is, is that it's only about 25 minutes from home. Wyatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.