Winchester Mod 74

This is actually from a couple of weeks ago. I posted about this rifle on my Facebook page, basically copying those posts here. I like this blog format much better than Facebook, so I will be using this location to discuss projects from now on.

On the Bench this weekend was a fun little rifle that I have not handled before, a Winchester Model 74 in 22LR. This particular one was built in 1955. The owner had not fired it in awhile, and asked me to inspect it and do a deep clean and oil before he started shooting it again. I took it all apart, photos below, and reassembled and test fired. Headspace and firing pin protrusion were good. Extractor springout was low, but it seemed to eject fine during test fire. I advised the client to bring it back to adjust springout if he starts to experience FTEs. 

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I took every component out that was not staked or riveted. It was indeed time for a deep clean. All parts were hand cleaned, with the bolt assembly also getting a bath in my ultrasonic cleaner to get out the bits that are hard to reach.

Winchester Mod 74 field stripped

Completely disassembled except for the staked operating handle, ejector, and rear bolt release.

The feed ramp was pretty dirty, and the secondary stops did not move very smoothly.

The chamber, feed guide, and ejector area were pretty messy too.

I cleaned every component, and gave the bolt, firing pin, firing pin spring, and operating spring and plunger a bath in my ultrasonic cleaner to get out the deeply embedded crud. I had to change my cleaning solution after this one! Afterwards, all parts got a soak in the water displacing oil bath, then they were hand oiled and reassembled.

Parts fresh out of the ultrasonic cleaner and oil bath.

The chamber and ejector are much cleaner now!

The feed ramp and secondary stops took some scrubbing to get get everything out of all the nooks and crannies. The stops now open and close very smoothly when the bolt cycles.

The reassembled gun, ready to go to the range for laser boresighting and test fire.

Once clean and reassembled I measured the headspace, firing pin protrusion, and extractor springout. The headspace and firing pin protrusion were right on the money. This gun has obviously been well cared for, other than needing a deep cleaning. The extractor springout measured low at 0.001 inch. The extractor held on to an empty case unless I really upset it, so I thought I would see how she did in live fire before I made any adjustments. If I got any failures to eject I would go back and adjust the extractor.

This gun was a hoot to shoot! Very smooth, and easy to operate. I boresighted it for 25 yards, and did not have to adjust the sights any further at that range. It ejected all 25 rounds that I shot very well, so I decided to not make adjustments on the extractor at this time. If the client gets FTE's then I will adjust the extractor springout for no additional charge.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/d1197b_e55ec30e696b4691b26f4aaa102f6da2/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

The final result was a decent shot group, despite my poor trigger discipline :-)

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