Miroku Winchester 95 SRC joy

[OD#3]

I bought this recently from a forum member, and I couldn't be more pleased. I had it out to the range last week for the first time, and I found it a real pleasure to shoot--smooth cycling and accurate. 6 inch steel plates at 300 yards were relatively easy when I did my part, and that was with simple Korean surplus M2 ball.

I REALLY hated to remove the ladder rear sight; the previous owner is going to be aghast about that. But I've lost the ability to get a good sight picture with barrel-mounted rear sights anymore, so I mounted a Williams FP-71. Installation was easy, since the Miroku comes already drilled and tapped for that. The barrel looked so naked and vulnerable with two bare screw holes, so I ended up removing the ladder from its base and screwing the base back onto the barrel. It may be odd, but it looks better, and the two projections that the ladder pin went into form sort of a rudimentary sight should the peep sight break off.

The previous owner took very good care of this rifle, and he said that he had more than one to choose from when he bought it, picking the best-looking wood of the bunch. It really is beautiful.

I expected unpleasant recoil due to its light weight, but the carbine buttstock is wide and rather blunt. It felt no worse than shooting an '03 Springfield to me.

This is my 4th Miroku-made levergun. Because of the high quality of my others, I've come to expect outstanding craftsmanship from Miroku, and this rifle is no exception. I admit that the rebounding hammer and tang safety of this Winchester-branded rifle bugged me in theory. But I had no light strikes, and I found the tang safety both unobtrusive and of no concern after all.

Here are a few obligatory photos. Thanks again, Darry!

[Ravenman]

Thanks for sharing. Great rifle!

[barbarossa]

I have one of the miroku 95 carbines as well, great little guns

[tman]

I have one of the miroku 95 carbines as well, great little guns

+1!

[gamekeeper]

One of the nicest 95s I have ever seen......

[buckeyeshooter]

did you replace the front blade too? I have one and you are correct, the ladder site has a notch too small for a good sight picture. I added a Williams peep also, however that front sight is so tall that I have to raise the bar on the Willams a lot to get it properly sighted in. Also that giant brass half moon is hard to see and catches brush easily.

[daisygordoninc]

Beautiful rifle, thanks for posting.
I have a couple of rifles made by Miroku as well,
they are well built and I have not found anything
but quality. In the beginning I guess we all thought
they wouldn't be what we were looking for in manufacturing
but I think they have gotten most of them right.
Congratulations

[OD#3]

did you replace the front blade too? I have one and you are correct, the ladder site has a notch too small for a good sight picture. I added a Williams peep also, however that front sight is so tall that I have to raise the bar on the Willams a lot to get it properly sighted in. Also that giant brass half moon is hard to see and catches brush easily.

No, I didn't replace the front blade, but it was a little irritating to have to raise the bar on the Williams sight that high to sight in. The elevation screw length bears little relationship to the number of tic marks on the slide; I ran out of elevation screw adjustment before the sight got high enough, though there were plenty of elevation tic marks remaining on the slide. I had to make the remaining adjustments by hand, just nudging the slide a little higher until I got it right. At the elevation shown in my picture, the elevation screw is just touching its threaded hole, but none of the threads are engaged.

I expected that substantial front blade to be a hindrance in precision shooting, but I discovered that smallish (6 inch steel) targets were relatively easily to hit at 300 yards. A smaller blade would stretch that distance out even more, but it might be at the cost of slower sight picture acquisition; that large blade is easy to pick up quickly through the peep. I suppose it could catch on brush easily, but a smaller blade wouldn't ameliorate that hazard much without changing to a more ramped base as well, and I'm not willing to go cutting on this rifle; taking that ladder sight off was painful enough.

What I didn't do was see how high it shoots at 100 yards now that it is zeroed at 300. I was having such a good time smacking steel at 300, that I ran out of ammo. That peep sight is great, but it isn't something one adjusts on the fly. As it sits, it is POA/POI at 300. I'm hoping that will translate to a 6 o'clock hold at 100 at the worst. We'll see...

[Malamute]

Nice carbine, and really nice wood. I didnt know they had the trapdoor for the cleaning rod.

Which Korean ammo do you have? Some of it is corrosive primed, so be sure which type you have and clean accordingly. PS is supposedly non-corrosive, KA is supposedly corrosive, or some of it is.

[OD#3]

Thanks for speaking up about the Korean ammo. This is some stuff I bought for my Garands back when the PS vs. KA headstamp was getting a lot of discussion. It is PS headstamped and has been excellent ammo. I use Ballistol exclusively now for cleaning my guns anyway though, so making a little moosemilk for the corrosive stuff wouldn't have been a problem even if it was KA. Speaking of KA, there was one lot (or a span of years) that was even dangerous due to powder charge or improper case head hardness. I don't remember how to identify it but it led to case head failures and ruined rifles.

[barbarossa]

Here s a pic of mine

[OD#3]

Hey, that's a real beauty! I love the figure in the top wood. Did you tie some leather to your saddle ring?

[barbarossa]

Yup sure did

[plowboy 45]

Nice lookin shooter

[Booger Bill]

I have this one in .30 Army (30/40). There was no rear sight on it when I bought it. I had a close friend who gave me and mounted a Buffington rear sight on it and we didn't have to drill. The handguard wont fit over the new sight. The handguard is cracked anyway. I wonder if I could buy one off Miroku? The gun is more accurate than I thought it would be. Since mine came from Arizona I would like to fantasize that it may have been a Texas Rangers gun. As you can see it`s been fairly well used. Actually, its a late production almost one of the last built, probably around 1930-1931 if I read it right. I have owned it about 40 years.

[OD#3]

I don't know how one gets replacement parts from Miroku. I'm not even sure that they make many spare parts, and if they did, they wouldn't make them for long before discontinuing that model entirely. That is one of the minor disadvantages with Miroku-produced stuff--you're getting something made yesterday, which presumably gives you piece of mind about using it, but the dearth of spare parts can make them as risky to use as an older original.

I think that's really cool that a Buffington fit without modification. You ended up with a better sight than Winchester originally used.

[Booger Bill]

Thanks OD#3. I haven't worked with the rifle much but what little I did I was very satisfied. Sure wish I knew it`s history but then we all have guns that we wish the same. My guess is this one is 1930. One of the last.

[buckeyeshooter]

did you replace the front blade too? I have one and you are correct, the ladder site has a notch too small for a good sight picture. I added a Williams peep also, however that front sight is so tall that I have to raise the bar on the Willams a lot to get it properly sighted in. Also that giant brass half moon is hard to see and catches brush easily.

No, I didn't replace the front blade, but it was a little irritating to have to raise the bar on the Williams sight that high to sight in. The elevation screw length bears little relationship to the number of tic marks on the slide; I ran out of elevation screw adjustment before the sight got high enough, though there were plenty of elevation tic marks remaining on the slide. I had to make the remaining adjustments by hand, just nudging the slide a little higher until I got it right. At the elevation shown in my picture, the elevation screw is just touching its threaded hole, but none of the threads are engaged.

I expected that substantial front blade to be a hindrance in precision shooting, but I discovered that smallish (6 inch steel) targets were relatively easily to hit at 300 yards. A smaller blade would stretch that distance out even more, but it might be at the cost of slower sight picture acquisition; that large blade is easy to pick up quickly through the peep. I suppose it could catch on brush easily, but a smaller blade wouldn't ameliorate that hazard much without changing to a more ramped base as well, and I'm not willing to go cutting on this rifle; taking that ladder sight off was painful enough.

What I didn't do was see how high it shoots at 100 yards now that it is zeroed at 300. I was having such a good time smacking steel at 300, that I ran out of ammo. That peep sight is great, but it isn't something one adjusts on the fly. As it sits, it is POA/POI at 300. I'm hoping that will translate to a 6 o'clock hold at 100 at the worst. We'll see...

Thanks for the reply. My sight is about the same height. I've thought about going to a Williams firesight up front if I could find one to fit. I have real problems picking up the brass on some days.

[OD#3]

So far, I'm picking up the front sight just fine. BUT... my eyes started changing after I turned 43, and they're still getting worse. Supposedly, that is supposed to plateau for about 10 to 20 years and then start getting worse again. I'm 45 now, and I may be needing a better front sight after a while; I just hope I've got a decade or two before I do.

[OD#3]

So far, I'm picking up the front sight just fine. BUT... my eyes started changing after I turned 43, and they're still getting worse. Supposedly, that is supposed to plateau for about 10 to 20 years and then start getting worse again. I'm 45 now, and I may be needing a better front sight after a while; I just hope I've got a decade or two before I do.

[DarryH]

OMG !!!! You scratched it !!!!!!

Doesn't bother me a bit, neither the change of sights or a few use marks.

Really glad you enjoy it.

Now.....if I can sell a couple AR's I can buy another lever gun.

Good Shootin!!
DarryH

[OD#3]

You know, I honestly don't know how those scratches got there. I didn't even notice them until they showed up in the photographs. I'd blame it on shipping, but I can't--you're just about the best shipper out there as far as protective packaging goes. That was comforting to see it arrive double-boxed and with all that extra padding.

I hope you can sell those AR's, and to anyone else perusing this thread, Darry is a real class act to deal with. If you've been eyeing any of his rifles, buy with confidence! Thanks again Darry!

[DarryH]

I am considering selling my Uberti 1873 Deluxe Rifle now.
I was planning on using it for silhouette shooting with standard 357 loads,
but others have told me that those loads will bend the toggle bolt on this gun.
If I have to worry about that, the rifle is no more than a wall-hanger for me.
I will keep my original 1873 rifle in 38/40 caliber.

I have to do some more research on the issue of bent toggle bolts in these guns.
I know the toggle is not as strong as my 1992's, but will it hold up to standard
.357 loads????

Will see what happens!!

Good Shootin!!
DarryH

[OD#3]

A lot of folks opined that the .357 was just too high-pressured a cartridge to be used in an 1873 clone. But many of them have been made, and they seem to handle it just fine. There's pressure, and there's bolt head thrust, and the .357 doesn't seem to generate enough of the latter to damage the Uberti toggle link actions.

[rodeo kid]

Very nice, I have always been a fan of good wood. God Bless.

[buckeyeshooter]

So far, I'm picking up the front sight just fine. BUT... my eyes started changing after I turned 43, and they're still getting worse. Supposedly, that is supposed to plateau for about 10 to 20 years and then start getting worse again. I'm 45 now, and I may be needing a better front sight after a while; I just hope I've got a decade or two before I do.

yep, will be 57 this year. Wish I could still see like in my 40's!