How strong is a 1895 Winchester action.
It's a 303 British with a 28" barrel. The action checks out and headspacing is correct.
Rich

Enfields Forever (both kinds)

Rich:

If it is in good condition, and is a later 1895, the M95 lever action should be every bit as strong as the old Lee Enfields. Winchester made these rifle in .30-06 among other calibers. In terms of pressures, I have read that if you stay below 48,000 psi on a gun in good condition, you should not have problems. Like all rifles, make sure that the head space, etc. of all ammo is OK. Also, if you reload, always full length resize for a lever action, as they do not have the extractor power of a good bolt gun. If the gun is in good condition and all original, you have a bit of a collector, as I don't believe that the 28" barrel was a standard length. I like '95s but am not an expert by any stretch, so check with someone who really knows.

If it is a collectable rifle, and you are thinking of selling it, get three appraisals from Winchester collectors (not your corner gun dealer, unless you know him or her well, they specialize in old Winchesters, and you would trust them with your wife, your children, and your dog). Take the average of the three prices as a fair market value.

Loud-N-Boomer. According to Phil Sharpe's THE RIFLE IN AMERICA, The standrd barrel length for 1895 Winchesters was 28 inches. However, when the .303 was added to the list around 1903, they were given 24 inch nickel steel barrels. This leads me to believe that the 28 inch barrel was either a special order, or possibly made before the switch to the shorter barrel.
If RR will give the first 3 or four digits of the serial number followed by "X"s for the rest of the numbers, I can give him a year of manufacture.
Paul B.

I might trust him with the above 3 items but more importantly what about my pickup or the rifle itself. I won't be home till monday evening so will post ser# then. I tried to check it but my usual site was down I checked at Savage99 and I seem to remember it as a 1906 or 7 . Must be oldtimers.

Rich.

Paul B. Ser#58647 Sav99 site says it was a1908 was a 28" barrel common in that year.
Rich

Over the past 10 years I've had maybe 10 95's in 30-40 or .303 & they all had standard 28" barrels. I don't believe they went to 24" unless it was a 30-03, 30-06 or 405.