Winchester 67A- What about them?

[spife7980]

Dad brought home a Winchester 67A this past week he was given for free so Im thinking about trying to make it an offhand gun for my sheutzen matches. It has a lyman rear aperture and presumably matching front hood. It had about 4" of the stock lopped off to fit a kid but its not the boys model as it still has the full 27" barrel.

Anyone have any good info on these or improving them? Right off the bat the trigger absolutely sucks. The trigger is pinned in the stock by a brad nail and you can actually feel it scraping against the wood. Im going to sand it down smooth but Im also thinking of maybe fashioning up some small metal sides so that it has something a bit smoother to interface against.

Any one bed one of these? Im thinking about trying to pillar bed it so that its bedding right in the stock screw/recoil lug part of it and a dab on the rear tang with the forward 20" free floating but I saw that Larry Potterfield of Midway has a film and he bedded the entire barrel into the stock. (For those not familiar it doesnt have a separate action, its integral with the barrel. Pic attached as an example.)

 

[Morebrasspls]

Interested to see if you get any feedback and where you go with this.
I also have a 67A that I acquired on the closer to free side of the cost scale. Mine has the same sight setup as in your example pic. It is one of my favorite rifles for relaxed plinking due to its light weight and simplicity. I am planning on having it cut to 16" and threaded for some quiet varmint control and marksmanship training with the little ones.

 

[pmclaine]

I have given each of my kids a 67A "Boys Rifle".

Neat guns but far from competition ready. As you noticed the firing mechanism is Neanderthal in its primitiveness.

Ideal trainers with their one shot, manual cock action.

The "Boys Rifle" version has a shortened length of pull and shorter barrel for well "boys" and in the case of my daughter "girls".

Its the type of gun that you would give a kid limited ammo with and challenge them with "You dont not get another round, unless you make a hit with this one."

Probably a lot of kids, families fed themselves during the depression with these rifles.

I recently stripped the stocks on my kids guns and did them up in linseed oil, added some Winchester M70 1 inch rings and mini M1907 slings for carry...

Before...

After....

 

[spife7980]

Those look great! How was it driving those trigger retaining pins out? Mines pretty mucked up, I cant even see it on one side so Im afraid Ill have to dig it out to actually remove the trigger.

And yeah, neaderthal and not competition grade at all unlike my worked over 52... but still could be lots of fun. And all my ammo boxes are all loaded up so I need something to tinker with in the evenings.

I was ready to strip mine and bed it this week already but I saw a stock on ebay so Im now the high bidder on it for 35 bucks. If I win it great, I can have a nice factory finish with a full length stock instead of the awful hack job it has now. If not then Ill just deal. I need to get some good pics of this pig for yall before I put makeup on it.

 

[pmclaine]

I used a 1/16" punch from right to left, came right out with a millenia of goo covering the head of the pin. Later went right back in with no effort. I soaked the stock so much in stripper that the wood probably swelled some and ensured the pin hole stayed tight.

The finish actually came off pretty easy with a product called "Dads Stripper" or something like that. Nothing like the Remington RKW shit they used on 700s.

Like you I was able to get a spare stock so I still have the originals as well as my refinished stocks.

Not thinking these things will go up in great value that saving the original stock mattered but I saw a good deal on to Boys rifle stocks and picked them up.

The Boys Rifles tend to pull a little more money than the more numerous full size 67. I think I paid $250 or so at different times for each of my kids guns.

Comparing these nicely blued, solid walnit pieces to a Cricket or similar makes the expense a no brainer.

These are real guns not crap.

With apologies to Cricket owners, they are fine guns, its just that you can tell they didnt design them with the idea kids mattered. When these 67s were built kids were considered "small adults" and they built the guns the same way they did for adults.

 

[spife7980]

Comparing these nicely blued, solid walnit pieces to a Cricket or similar makes the expense a no brainer.

Ill get pics tonight, youll see a cricket is probably way more neatly finished than mine.

 

[j-huskey]

1934 @ $5.50 to 1963 @ $18.50. Short, long, or long rifle.
Low cost depression era family survival rifle, I've got my Grandads, from 1935. Paid 5.75 at Western Auto. Fed the family a bunch of meals with it.
I learned to shoot on that rifle. Super piece of survival gear. Glad to still have it.

 

[spife7980]

Here she is in all her glory with a barrel that has been sanded clean of any bluing. I assume because of rust? It has non of the hardware on the stock other than the action screw.

Thats right, the sights do stop the bolt from coming all the way back or being removed and the safety selector is snipped off. I mean, its still impossible to put on safe with the peep sight on but at least its jagged and missing. And yes, the notched sight does obscure part of the view through the rear aperture.

Yes, thats the trigger. No, I dont believe that these sights would have been the ones that came on it factory. At least I hope it wasnt drilled and sanded like that factory. The front I had sanded hoping to float the barrel before I realized that the whole thing was U shaped and I would never be able to float it. I guess thats why Larry Potterfield bedded the entire length of the stock.

And the sear/extractor. The trigger slides in that slot and pulls it down to release the firing pin, the bolt slides back and the piece moves with it before springing up to flick the case away.

And the lopped off butt

 

[pmclaine]

She is a rough one.....

but you can restore her glory.......

Just dont spend more than $175 doing it because you could probably buy an pretty nice one for that.

The sights were certainly not original mine just has the buckhorns and a front post. Ive seen various add on sights done better and worse than yours.

Bolts are available on Ebay as well as stocks as you know.

My local shop had a whole squad rack of 67s a few months ago. I kidded with the owner that he had won an auction for a shooting team and in fact he had they were high school inventory or something like that.

If you want a second parts rifle let me know I can probably get you one cheap.

Thing is if you get the parts rifle I think you will be calling your present rifle the parts rifle in quick time.

 

[spife7980]

Yeah, rough one indeed but probably a wonderful barn rifle. If I can’t get the ebay stock for my current bid I won’t be spending a penny on it... well maybe a butt hook for offhand but that’s not really for the gun, I would take it off when something else comes along. And whatever the cost is out of my old bucket of devcon. And I swore off even shooting the thing but then I remembered how much a good offhand gun costs and said ehh, maybe I’ll piddle with it.

 

[j-huskey]

I had 5 at one period in my life. I never saw an original with any sight besides the buckhorn and post.
Like McClaine, I've seen a few with added sights, and didn't really like them because they weren't "original" and kinda stole the soul thing.
The bedding thing, most of those old 22's respond better to full bedding because back then there was no stress relieving and the barrels were what they were.
Most shot super accurate because you never could heat up a single shot 22 enough to make it squirm.
The biggest thing was how well the stock was or wasn't finished, how much it swelled or shrunk in weather changes, and the less than precise fit kept the zero from being hinky with those changes, you couldn't really see the change with the ammo and buckhorns. It was a different world then.

A lot of 10-22 rifles are barrel bedded and the action floated for best accuracy. The 67 will shoot fine out of the stock as a barreled action...... so, a reasonable stock seal job and a stress free full bed job, and it's going to shoot as well as it will.
A recrown will do more for accuracy than a bed job if crappy cleaning dinged the crown.
Hope this helps.

I've added a white pine 2x4 wall stud scrap to a cut off stock, hello belt sander and furniture stain, add buttplate, and move on...
If I get the time, I'll dig out a 52 whose stock got the 2x4 treatment and take a pic and post it.

 

[spife7980]

The crown looks alright but it’s definately not a nice large new age crown. It’s a tiny chamfer but it doesn’t snag a qtip or appear rough. I’ve wanted to pick up one of those crown-do-it-yourself rigs. This could be a great experiment to see if it does or does not help. Or it could be a horrible experiment because it could not shoot well either way!

 

[j-huskey]

Rgr that

 

[MtnCreek]

There's several in my family. About everyone had one in their closet when I was growing up. My grandfather's went to one of his sons, then to my mother, but it's in my safe. Probably even odds most have never had a cleaning rod run down them from either direction. Most I've seen have a veneer of old WD-40 covering the surface and in the bolt / trigger. I had to clean contact areas in the fire control with a razor and then kroil to get it back to clean metal to metal.

The one in my safe is 100% as it came, so let me know if you need a photo of anything specific.

 

[RTH1800]

Cool rifle but I think if you compete with it you will be fighting out of your weigh class.

 

[spife7980]

Oh, I definitely will be out of my depth against all the nice ballards and anshuetzs but currently I only compete in scope rest and this will allow me to shoot more than one class without altering the family heirlooms. And its not big competition, no prize tables, just for fun.

 

[pmclaine]

Pure love of shooting with one of these.

Shooting was a lot more fun when the measure of accuracy was being able to hit a beer can at 50 yards.

Now we have made it only fun when you are able to hit that beer can but it has to be in the upper loop of the B in Budweiser or you suck.

 

[spife7980]

Exactly, half the people that shoot there cant do any better than this thing is capable of off hand anyways according to their scores, Im just glad to be along for the ride

 

[RTH1800]

I'm still trying to hit the bear can with my Vudoo!

 

[j-huskey]

I sat the beer can in the driveway, and on the 4th try, got it with the Toyota truck....

 

[RTH1800]

J, Good Plan.
I decided I needed more targets so put 24 cans in a small area hoping to hit just one. No luck, found by the time I drank 24 cans of beer my results were even worse.

 

[j-huskey]

Mine atop another project.

 

[spife7980]

Ooooo, you have an early one.

 

[j-huskey]

1935, $5.75 @ Western Auto....

 

[RTH1800]

That was a PILE of money in 1935.

 

[pmclaine]

That was a PILE of money in 1935.

Yes it was.

Concerning dating these things the only means to try and do so as far as I have discovered is determined by which parts are chrome plated.

I believe my sons rifle to be early as it has a blued trigger and trigger guard while my daughters rifle has a chrome trigger and blued trigger guard.

Unsure what other combination of finishes help determine date.

Rifles from a time when there was more freedom.

 

[j-huskey]

That was a PILE of money in 1935.

Especially at 5.00 to 6.00 a day.... reported average income was 1,600.00 a year, car was 650-675, gas was 10 cents a gallon, bread 8 cents a loaf.
Except I remember my Dad saying he worked for 5.00 a week, a dollar a day, in 1934 Oklahoma....
Rifle in pic came from my mom's side, and they were a bit better off than Dads side, they ran a cotton gin, my dad's side picked it on shares..... interesting how they got together Oklahoma and Alabama...

 

[pmclaine]

Went by the local shop today and took a look at the stand of 67As. Looks like only a couple left and some magazine fed .22.

I should have got pictures of the first one on the left with the blue trigger and trigger guard.

I did see this one with the nicely done rear sight that maintained the flip blade safety and still allows for bolt removal.

 

[spife7980]

I didnt win the auction.
Its just about the ugliest bed job ever but it cant be any worse than what it had!
I didnt realize how tough it would be to do with as little effort as possible evenly as opposed to just doing the action and free floating the barrel.
Its not quite centered and it has a few voids and I fucked up and dammed it to bed behind the "recoil lug" not remembering that it has to be free for the ejector spring to pass through so it had a good bit dremeled back out but so far the 10 bucks in bedding compound Ive invested into the rifle is good enough for something that wont ever get shot. (Dad bought a martini as an off hand gun the week after I got to piddling with this one)

Maybe Ill sand it and stain it some night this evening.

 

[pmclaine]

Unsue if you are still working on your 67 but thought Id revive this thread after seeing this....

Winchester 67/68 Rifle Gun Stock | eBay

Very minor fitting may be required.

www.ebay.com

Ive bought two of this sellers stocks over the last month.

One is being used to "restore" a rifle that was my friends fathers first rifle.....Winchester 1902...

Other is for a Remington 700 SA that I impulse bought "cheap" and will soon be an expensive waste of money into the gun money sucking pit.....

Its pretty solid wood at a reasonable price.

 

[spife7980]

I am not, I bedded the barrel and then sanded down and and restained the stock. It’s not even and it’s got a few spots where I didn’t have enough compound in front of the trigger stuff but it didn’t lock the trigger up and it works and shoots. Poorly still but that’s fine.

I could have sworn I took pics of it all redone but I cant find them so this midway state of the bedding is all I have.