Winchester Model 54

[roostercogburn98]

May have stumbled into a Model 54 today. Who knows any about them. I know what I have read online so far. Seems to have been rebarreled so I gotta find out caliber, but I was told 22-250. It’s a monster of a barrel and has “Lovell” stamped on it. Serial number is 40452A IIRC, which should put it manufactured in 1933. I know those was the predecessor to the model 70 in some design aspects. What’s the collective knowledge here on these. Pics to follow when I get back home

 

[roostercogburn98]

So adding some pics. It has Corson engraved on a few places. The barrel is actually stamped H Lovell. Looks to have been half assishly bedded at some point in its life. A 22-250 case fits in the chamber quite nicely, but doesn’t mean that is the true chamber. Would have to cast it I reckon. The bore is tiny though, still fairly shiny and decent looking. Throat might be toast if it is a 22-250. Might have a blank laying around to get a new barrel for

 

[j-huskey]

That's neat !

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Woah! Did you buy that unicorn???

That is awesome! It's sort of the prototype Model 70. Rare as rockinghorse turds.

They have a strange bolt throw that interferes with scope mounts. Thus the 'high' claw mounts.

Henry Lovell was a rifle maker out of Indiana. Of great note in the 1930's. I remember reading about him in OLD American Rifleman issues.

I probably have some mention of him somewhere. Amazing rifle. I hope to hell you bought it and didn't ask about the price!

Sirhr

 

[roostercogburn98]

Woah! Did you buy that unicorn???

That is awesome! It's sort of the prototype Model 70. Rare as rockinghorse turds.

They have a strange bolt throw that interferes with scope mounts. Thus the 'high' claw mounts.

Henry Lovell was a rifle maker out of Indiana. Of great note in the 1930's. I remember reading about him in OLD American Rifleman issues.

I probably have some mention of him somewhere. Amazing rifle. I hope to hell you bought it and didn't ask about the price!

Sirhr

Oh I bought it, was on consignment at a shop I frequent. Fella has all kinds of cool stuff laying around. I think you might like the place. It is sitting in my gun room as we speak and price would probably make you stroke out. Not high stroke out. I knew just enough about it to be dangerous to myself but figured I couldn’t go wrong with an early winchester anything. Come to find out, it wasn’t the M70 I am searching for, but just a nice to me

 

[Average guy]

Great score.

 

[Mr. Z]

That bedding sure looks like wood glue.

 

[roostercogburn98]

That bedding sure looks like wood glue.

I wouldn’t doubt it. I didn’t dig to deep into it yet. Early morning fun for me. I’ll play with it some this week for sure

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Summoning the @buffalowinter genie… Buffalo winter, the lamp is being rubbed!

Sirhr

 

[roostercogburn98]

Summoning the @buffalowinter genie… Buffalo winter, the lamp is being rubbed!

Sirhr

I figured him or @pmclaine and or maybe @mcameron. Thinking these guys have all posted older rifles

 

[Mr. Z]

Wasn’t Norton an M70 encyclopedia as well?

 

[sirhrmechanic]

^^^ Them too!

Sirhr

 

[roostercogburn98]

^^^ Them too!

View attachment 7844063

Sirhr

Isn’t that far right picture chief slapaho

 

[Mr. Z]

Isn’t that far right picture chief slapaho

Kang Slaparock

 

[Mr. Z]

@cplnorton

Paging for insight

 

[DIBBS]

@pmclaine

 

[buffalowinter]

Looks like a standard model 54 that was re-barreled as a "varmint" rifle for woodchucks, prairie dogs, etc... The bolt handle has been scalloped to clear the scope and a rubber recoil pad added. Not sure what to make of the "bedding compound"...if that is indeed what it was intended to be. In 1936 production was stopped and the Model 70 took its place.

 

[pmclaine]

It's a very nice rifleman rifle.

Dont know much about them.

That's quite the barrel for the era.

Get some nice irons for it or some nice vintage glass....

Vintage Gun Scopes

Vintage Weaver, Redfield and other Vintage Rifle Scopes, Guns, scope rings and mounts for sale.

www.vintagegunscopes.com

 

[Odindad]

That is a late production “improved sporter” It has a one piece firing pin and shorter lock time. The gas port may have been original or could have been done later. I own a couple of 54s. Two of them in McMillan stocks. I converted the bolt to clear optics using Kimber 8400 bolt handles. Don’t worry,they had already been altered like the one pictured.

 

[Odindad]

I just noticed the trigger has been changed to a Model 70. The original was a two stage that also functions as the bolt release. Is yours using a long screw in the receiver sight hole to keep the bolt in place? That was the usual method .That would also mean the cocking piece has been altered to work with the 70 trigger.

 

[Marksman]

That's a cool one for sure. I think you have the right idea to get the chamber cast. If it's a true vintage re-barrel, it could pre-date the 22-250 Rem and be a 22 Varminter. Might be worth checking the bolt head too to see if it's one of the wildcats based on the 30-30 case, which the Win 54 could also be had in.

I always thought it would be neat to find an old beat up 54 and have it rebuilt to be like a Win 70 Sniper. Surely a 54 would be cheaper than a pre-64 70.

Here's my 54, it as a factory 22 Hornet with a buggered barrel, so I had it re-barreled with a 22 K-hornet barrel.

Also, if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, there is a great Winchester Model 54 book by David P Bichrest.

 

[roostercogburn98]

I just noticed the trigger has been changed to a Model 70. The original was a two stage that also functions as the bolt release. Is yours using a long screw in the receiver sight hole to keep the bolt in place? That was the usual method .That would also mean the cocking piece has been altered to work with the 70 trigger.

It took me a minute to figure out why the bolt would not come out. It was held in by the sight screw.

 

[roostercogburn98]

That's a cool one for sure. I think you have the right idea to get the chamber cast. If it's a true vintage re-barrel, it could pre-date the 22-250 Rem and be a 22 Varminter. Might be worth checking the bolt head too to see if it's one of the wildcats based on the 30-30 case, which the Win 54 could also be had in.

I always thought it would be neat to find an old beat up 54 and have it rebuilt to be like a Win 70 Sniper. Surely a 54 would be cheaper than a pre-64 70.

Here's my 54, it as a factory 22 Hornet with a buggered barrel, so I had it re-barreled with a 22 K-hornet barrel.

Also, if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, there is a great Winchester Model 54 book by David P Bichrest.

I believe this is the route I’m going to go with this gun. It has been altered already so no big deal changing some more. It will probably get rebarreled with a bartlein blank I have laying around. Find some appropriate glass and shoot it

 

[roostercogburn98]

It's a very nice rifleman rifle.

Dont know much about them.

That's quite the barrel for the era.

Get some nice irons for it or some nice vintage glass....

Vintage Gun Scopes

Vintage Weaver, Redfield and other Vintage Rifle Scopes, Guns, scope rings and mounts for sale.

www.vintagegunscopes.com

Will check that place out, thanks. Some old glass would make it look good

 

[pmclaine]

Is the scope a Weaver K-10?

If so it's actually a pretty nice scope. I used one on my M40A1 while waiting for an MST to come along.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Is the scope a Weaver K-10?

If so it's actually a pretty nice scope. I used one on my M40A1 while waiting for an MST to come along.

It’s a K8, still a nicer scope. Minus a tad bit of rash on one side

 

[roostercogburn98]

Might be worth checking the bolt head too to see if it's one of the wildcats based on the 30-30 case, which the Win 54 could also be had in.

From what I have read, the Cody museum can’t letter the 54s due to some lost records. I am still going to send an email and see if I get lucky. The bolt face is small so it very well could have been an off caliber rifle.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Barring any surprises in the look over, I believe this rifle will get rebarreled to 308. I’ll look for an age appropriate scope as well as look for the irons for it. It needs some tlc in a couple places, but nothing major from my quick look and tear down

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Barring any surprises in the look over, I believe this rifle will get rebarreled to 308. I’ll look for an age appropriate scope as well as look for the irons for it. It needs some tlc in a couple places, but nothing major from my quick look and tear down

Before you re-barrel it you might want to look into Lovell some more. And do a chamber cast. As I mentioned above he had quite a reputation as a gunsmith and firearms worked over by him may be quite valuable. As they are.

It would be a shame to dismantle a iconic gun by an iconic Gunsmith until you know that it’s neither. Cheers

 

[roostercogburn98]

Before you re-barrel it you might want to look into Lovell some more. And do a chamber cast. As I mentioned above he had quite a reputation as a gunsmith and firearms worked over by him may be quite valuable. As they are.

It would be a shame to dismantle a iconic gun by an iconic Gunsmith until you know that it’s neither. Cheers

Good point. I’ll dig in it before I tear it apart. It would be a while before I do anything real to it anyway. Have some of parts for swap but not all, and figure out who would do it as well

 

[buffalowinter]

As SirH said, Lovell had quite the reputation in the day. I would not re-barrel.

 

[j-huskey]

As SirH said, Lovell had quite the reputation in the day. I would not re-barrel.

Unless the barrel is toast and won't shoot anything you try in it....

 

[roostercogburn98]

So far my google fu sucks. I have not found much on that gentleman. I think I need to get my thinking grenades out

 

[roostercogburn98]

Henry Lovell was a rifle maker out of Indiana. Of great note in the 1930's. I remember reading about him in OLD American Rifleman issues.

Sirhr

So I found the guy. His name is Hervey Lovell, getting the jist he was a wildcat guy that dabbled in mainly 22 caliber stuff. The reading shall continue as well as sent a feeler to the Cody Museum to see if they could provide any direction as to OG caliber or gun specifics.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

So I found the guy. His name is Hervey Lovell, getting the jist he was a wildcat guy that dabbled in mainly 22 caliber stuff. The reading shall continue as well as sent a feeler to the Cody Museum to see if they could provide any direction as to OG caliber or gun specifics.

Sorry about the bum steer!!! The last time I read old American Riflemans was in High School... our school had a collection dating back... 50 years... in the 1980's. I read every issue before I graduated! It's where my Rainman status started ;-)

Sirhr

 

[roostercogburn98]

Sorry about the bum steer!!! The last time I read old American Riflemans was in High School... our school had a collection dating back... 50 years... in the 1980's. I read every issue before I graduated! It's where my Rainman status started ;-)

Sirhr

So the plot thickens some for me. Hervey Lovell died in 1967, so that barrel has been on there at least that long. He relocated to the PNW in his older years and began playing with larger capacity/caliber rounds. He has the reputation for making pre-war conversions to a couple of varmint geared rounds like the 22-3000 Lovell(22 caliber round going 3000fps), 22 Maximum Lovell, 22 Lovell, and the 2-R Lovell. Most flinging small bullets insanely fast, and based off a .25-20 single shot case.

 

[roostercogburn98]

I’ll add those pre-war conversions were when he was making them.

 

[Odindad]

Does the action have a clip slot?
Is the bolt face 30-06 diameter?
The 30-30 receiver was not clip slotted.
The 22 Hornet bolt face had “fingers” on the bottom of the bolt face.

 

[Odindad]

If it is a standard 30-06 based receiver, I would rebarrel it to whatever you like. You can always put the old barrel back on unless you blueprint the action. The Model 70 uses the same barrel and I have seen a few 54s with 70 barrels. I did that to my most recent 54. I got lucky and it clocked and head spaced perfect. 1940 barrel on a 1926 receiver!

 

[roostercogburn98]

Does the action have a clip slot?
Is the bolt face 30-06 diameter?
The 30-30 receiver was not clip slotted.
The 22 Hornet bolt face had “fingers” on the bottom of the bolt face.

I will have to look again, I don’t remember seeing a clip slot. The bolt face is not a 30-06 I’m pretty sure. I don’t remember fingers, but didn’t really know what I was looking for when I took it apart. I was more or less just checking parts out. I know a 22-250 and 308 case head filled the bolt face. I will look again when I get home. I have stuff inbound to cast the chamber as well

 

[Charger442]

I will have to look again, I don’t remember seeing a clip slot. The bolt face is not a 30-06 I’m pretty sure. I don’t remember fingers, but didn’t really know what I was looking for when I took it apart. I was more or less just checking parts out. I know a 22-250 and 308 case head filled the bolt face. I will look again when I get home. I have stuff inbound to cast the chamber as well

yeah, if it was a 30-06, it would be clip slotted. no telling what it started life as.

 

[roostercogburn98]

yeah, if it was a 30-06, it would be clip slotted. no telling what it started life as.

Got my fingers crossed the Cody museum will have some info. I’m under the impression they can’t letter the 54s, but maybe they still have production info and caliber.

 

[Charger442]

Got my fingers crossed the Cody museum will have some info. I’m under the impression they can’t letter the 54s, but maybe they still have production info and caliber.

Based on your 308 bolt face comment, it's highly likely this gun was originally a 220 Swift, shot the barrel out and was rebarrelled.

Have you measured barrel bore diameter? A 250-3000 chamber would allow a 22-250 to fit in it. But you'd need the bore to be .257

I would not rebarrel that gun unless it's absolutely been trashed on accuracy from throat erosion. Cast the chamber if you need to but I would keep it in what caliber it's in with Mr. Lovell's name on the side

 

[roostercogburn98]

Based on your 308 bolt face comment, it's highly likely this gun was originally a 220 Swift, shot the barrel out and was rebarrelled.

Have you measured barrel bore diameter? A 250-3000 chamber would allow a 22-250 to fit in it. But you'd need the bore to be .257

I would not rebarrel that gun unless it's absolutely been trashed on accuracy from throat erosion. Cast the chamber if you need to but I would keep it in what caliber it's in with Mr. Lovell's name on the side

Have not done any real measurements with it. Will cast fairly deep into the throat/barrel when I do the chamber. It should give me a rough idea of bore. As I read more and more, Thai rifle seems destined to sit like it is. It seems most of his work was done before the 50s which makes this setup old and unique. Both of those hit my check marks on guns I like.

 

[Charger442]

Have not done any real measurements with it. Will cast fairly deep into the throat/barrel when I do the chamber. It should give me a rough idea of bore. As I read more and more, Thai rifle seems destined to sit like it is. It seems most of his work was done before the 50s which makes this setup old and unique. Both of those hit my check marks on guns I like.

can you just stick a caliper in the muzzle? that will give a good indication if its .224 or .257.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Just getting home and looking at it some more. So it is clip slotted, and bolt face is .476, which is appropriate for 308,22-250, but also for 30-06 in a long action setup. There are no fingers on the bolt, so it very well could have been a 06. Muzzle end mics from .218-.224 rotating the calipers around the bore.

 

[j-huskey]

Thats an original 3006. It's also not considered a long action per say, it was the only action length they made.
308 didn't exist then.

 

[roostercogburn98]

@j-huskey

I have read that. The only change I length came post 64 on the model 70s.

Seems the rear scope mount screw was buggered at some point and rethreaded 8-40 as well. More of that makeshift bedding was applied on the bottom of the mount as well. I believe someone intentionally tried to bed these areas with something.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Just for reference on how long this gun has sat in a closet somewhere. This is the dust buildup on the lenses. The underside of the scope was covered in thick nasty residue as well.

 

[Odindad]

It was probably a 30-06 or .270. That was the rifle that introduced the .270 Winchester.