new Winchester '73 mag tube questions?

[RDB]

Does anyone have photos they can post of the mag ring attachment to the barrel on the new Winchester '73 rifle?

I looked at one in the store today and saw another fella post that the mag plug screw is threaded into the barrel. I saw the retainer pin on the mag tube retainer ring today but was unsure how or if the ring is dovetailed into the barrel of just sitting on it with guides on either side. Does the mag tube thread into the receiver? Detailed pictures of the bottom of the barrel where the mag ring sits would really help me out making a decision. Thanks for the help!

[Malamute]

Im curious to see what info you turn up regarding the Miroku 73 specifically.

The Miroku 92s have the magazine ring either spot welded or brazed/soldered to the barrel I believe. The magazine cap is like most 94s, the cap is threaded and the unthreaded tip extends into a small hole in the bottom of the barrel. It has a screwdriver slot in the end of the cap, like most did before the late 20s I think, but the early 73s were the last one to actually have a threaded cap into the tube, which I think was changed in the 1870s. The only Miroku guns I know of with the tube threaded into the receiver was the 1886 carbine. The 71s may also, but Ive not had one apart or seen a firsthand account.

[RDB]

Nothing yet as it seems no one has take their's apart. But silver soldering the mag retainer ring to the barrel makes perfect sense. Just don't see the dovetail there under close personal inspection. I'm betting the octagon barrels have a square top to the retainer ring to fit the oct barrel and the new half round version is round to fit the round barrel profile.

Originally Posted by forward_observer
Just a minor correction. The slot that the forward magazine ring/hanger fits in is not really a true dovetailed slot although it's referred to as one--at least on the model 73 and 92. The slot that is machined in the bottom of the barrel is in fact cut elliptically.......

I don't believe that is the case on the newest Miroku '73s. Anyone pulled their mag tube and forearm off to check how they are attached?

If I were to guess I'd say the new Miroku does not have an attachment of the barrel retainer ring to the barrel and the pin only positions the ring on the mag tube. The screw threaded into the barrel is doing the actual retaining of the mag tube. Easy to check if that is correct. Remove the mag end cap screw and slightly bend the mag tube downward. If you can see air between barrel and retaining ring it is a fiction fit and no dovetail on the barrel. A stronger way to attach a mag tube, which at times Winchester used (as has Miroku) was threading the mag tube into the receiver and then using the end cap screw to stabilize the tube at the end.

Reason I am asking is, if the barrel is not milled for the retaining ring any of these guns would be a easy conversion to a half mag gun. Only thing showing would be the mag tube end cap retaining screw which could easily be filled with an appropriate and almost invisible set screw/plug.

If the bottom of the barrel is milled like a typical Winchester or Uberti then the conversion to a half mag gun is too obvious.

[RDB]

update.....

"the second service center I called had the answer. The guy told me that the Miroku's magazine ring/hangers did not use the traditional method that Winchester used and were instead soldered on with silver solder."

[RDB]

I talked with the head tech guy in repairs at Winchester today.

Mag tubes are not threaded into the reciever.
Mag retainer ring is silver soldered to the barrel.
Mag end cap screw is not threaded into the barrel but the stud is lock tited into the barrel hole and cap. He figured I'd better bring a my pet gorilla with the right screw driver to pull that one out

[Malamute]

$% Stomp did a half magazine on his Miroku Winchester 92 several years ago. He may have detailed what he did, but I dont recall. A search may turn up info, or a note to him.

The post-64 rifles that Winchester did in the form of commemoratives had a flat milled into the bottom of the barrel and a flat magazine ring soldered or spot welded into the flat. Once upon a time I bought a new old stock Buffalo Bill 26" octagon barrel with a broken magazine ring. The seller threw in a new magazine ring. I never fixed it, i cut it to 22", just behind the ring and plan to cut an old type ring to a straight type dovetail rather than rotary type. Its one of those projects I might get finished while i can still shoot it. Moral of that story, Id guess that Miroku did a similar type attachment rather than profiling the ring to the barrel, but I dont have firsthand information. It worked on the 30 cal barrels which had thick barrel walls to work with, I dont know if it would on the 44 or 45 cal barrels.

Let us know if you get brave and start cutting/filing on it or get more info from Stomp or other source.

I believe the pin thru the magazine ring serves to help keep the tube in place. The ones Ive had apart only interacted with the ring and tube.

[AJMD429]

If the bottom of the barrel is milled like a typical Winchester or Uberti then the conversion to a half mag gun is too obvious.

You could always fit a bayonet lug to the dovetail....

Or......a dovetail blank filed and finished to match the barrel profile.