Thread: Lever Action Back From The Dead

I haven't been very active here for a while due to the fact that Australia -NZ travel has been next to impossible for the last 2 years and I haven't been back to our place in the Marlborough Sounds since the whole shit show kicked off .
Anyway thats not what this is about .
I recently purchased an old Winchester model 92 25-20 rifle .
For years I carried a Winchester 44/40 model 94 in the Tractor with me ( We have a Tractor Slashing business here in Queensland ) and a large number of Pigs/ Dogs ( we don't call them Dingoes ) meet their maker to it .
My eyesight went to pack and I could no longer use the iron sights on the old girl so it got replaced by a scoped rifle .
Then about a year ago I found a " No drill scope mount " for the 44/40 and with a Vortex Red Dot I was back in action
That renewed my interest in Lever Actions and when I found a completely Junk/Trash 25-20 at my local Gunshop I couldn't say no .
We have a property here in QLD that isn't overun with Critters , but Dogs and Feral Cats are the biggest problem we face , and research of the 25-20 cartridge says that it is a .22 Mag on steroids ( My .22 Mag Anschutz rifle is always with me ) so even though history has labelled the 25-20 as a underpowered relic it is actually the ideal "Bang Stick" for me .
When I purchased it I knew that the last few inches of the barrel were toast and the stock was in a bad way .







A strip down and degrease with brake cleaner removed 105 years of oil / grime , why are old rifles always covered in 1mm of this mix ?
This is a pic of it before the "spring clean " note the rust and grime .





A visit to the local Gunsmith to lop the Barrel ( now 17 inches of good rifling ) and the addition of a no drill mount got me to a usable rifle again .
Factory ammo is hard to come by and expensive , but managed to snack a packet of Winchester and Remington locally ( 25-20 was a popular cartridge in its day in Australia )
Sighting in group at 50 yrds with a Vortex Crossfire Red Dot .





A quick " Bubba " fix of the crack in the Stock .





Put to work the next day .





Then a member of an Australian forum provided a new Stock for the old girl .




I know the Winchester Traditional People will be turning in their graves right now , but " Bite Me "
I have taken an old unwanted and unusable rifle and given it a second chance .
I love it and it's now my favourite rifle and yes I own my fair share of Carbon and High quality glass

PS - 2 Cats and 1 Dog down .