A couple weeks ago, I got a call from a Winchester collector friend of mine. He knew I was looking for a 32-20 and he had spotted a beauty in a gun shop about five hours drive from here. The price they were asking was a steal compared to what it was worth. There were only about 15,000 ever made which makes them pretty rare, but those with upgraded wood are extremely rare. I got on the phone to the shop, asked some detailed questions, and by the time I hung up, I had bought the gun.
It arrived yesterday and am I ever pleased. It is an original Winchester Model 53, the final, lightweight version of the Model 1892. The barrel date is '29'. According to other barrel dates I have, this one would was probably made early in the year of 1929. Better still, it has upgraded wood. I have 276 Winchester Model 53's in my database as part of my research for an article I am starting to write this winter. Out of that number, there are only five that have upgraded, fancy, or deluxe wood. When I removed the forearm to see the barrel date, I saw some letters stamped on the butt end of the forearm wood, the part that fits into the receiver. They appear to be 'LT' and 'XX'. I wanted to remove the buttstock, but just in case the Lyman tang site was perfectly sighted in for windage, decided not to mess with it. I would say the barrel is in about 95% condition, the finish on the wood is in about 90% condition or better. The receiver has a fair amount of flaking which is the norm for Model 53 receivers and other receivers of the late 1920's. The bore is mint, and I mean 10 out of 10, all the way from the chamber to the muzzle.
I decided to try it out, but the only 32-20 cartridges I have loaded up were a few with .312" bullets. My other Model 53 32-20 slugged at .314" groove diameter, so I figured these bullets would not be that accurate and start leading up the bore if I shot too many of them. Not knowing exactly where the tang sight shot, I set up a target at 15 yards and fired three rounds. The result was a ragged hole with a 1/4" group size. I then set up a target at 30 yards and took three more shots. The result was a 15/16" group and that was achieved with a 20 mph cross wind and a muzzle velocity of about 1,200 fps. I'm looking forward to trying out some .314" bullets, which I have lots of.
Well, you never know what might be sitting on the rack of a gun shop off the beaten track. Here are some photos of the beauty ....
Here is a close up of the rear fold down Marbles sight ....
and here is the Lyman tang sight, which I am very grateful for with my old eyes ....
.
