Weakening quickly....

[Mistered]

You've been out voted. We decided for you.

Democracy in action!

[markiver54]

What a bunch of rabid enablers we are.

STILL... ing
Needed some humor tonite!!...

[Mistered]

Well - a little look-see tomorrow won't hurt !

[ESquared]

Always good to sleep on dilemmas like this. Sounds like this one is for sale locally? LGS or private party? I don't know anything about Winchesters, either, so is this one NIB? Would you have to dump more money in it for sights, etc.?

I'm not going to tell you to just keep adding, as I've decided to make my gun inventory a "zero sum game." If one comes in, another goes out. I've gotten to the point where one of the deciding factors is "How long since I've shot it?"

You wouldn't be thinning the herd, just re-allocating your inventory.

[Mistered]

Yep - at a local LGS NIB.
The only thing I would need to do is eventually get a tang sight for it as there is no provision for a receiver sight however the stock buckhorn on it is vastly superior to others and will suffice for a while.
While I don't have to I also have typically operated on the 'one (or more) out' when a new one comes in. I don't need to just indiscriminately collect guns to build numbers for no reason - especially if they have not been shot in a while - and may not be much ever - or if they have appreciated enough in value to sell and cover the cost of something else.

[Rifletom]

Here, I'll help. If you don't buy it, you'll be thinking of that Winchester and what could have been. There, that help?

[North Country Gal]

The quality of that 1873 will be far superior to any of those post 64 Winchesters, so if you decide to sell any of your guns, those Model 94s would be my choice. Keep in mind that at some point, you may be facing a parts and service issue with those older Winchesters. The current Winchester gun company has nothing to do with the Winchester company that made your old 94s. Even their current production Model 94 is a different gun than your old 94s.

For the same reason, I would keep the Henry. You'll always have Henry to back you up with parts and and excellent customer service and you'll want a shooter that you won't be quite as nervous about getting scratched as that 1873.

[Mistered]

Keep in mind that at some point, you may be facing a parts and service issue with those older Winchesters.

Yep - pretty familiar with Winchesters (pre Miroku that is) - and fortunately they are probably one of the rifles with greatest number of aftermarket parts as well as either used or NOS parts.
Ebay has been my ‘friend’ over the years for many needed items and typically has many pages of Winchester parts listed.

[ESquared]

Sounds like the Klondike might need a new home. How hard would it be to get it sold?

[dddrees]

You wont be sorry if you do.. The better the grade of wood the nicer overall the gun will look. I really like the shotgun butt stock on this one as well.

[dddrees]

Quick Comparison Picture of a few Miroku Winchesters.




Good Luck.

[BigAl52]

Did you buy it yet

[Mistered]

Did you buy it yet

Heck I didn't even get to the LGS for a look & handle - I was on the phone for about 7 of my 8 hour day - including about 5 calls to a company in Germany !

[fortyshooter]

Is the Winchester from Japan or the Uberti ?
The Uberti version is built like the old Winchesters with no safety or rebound hammer.
My Uberti 1873....

[Mistered]

Is the Winchester from Japan or the Uberti ?

I am considering the Miroku (Japan) Winchester.

[markiver54]

I have a solution.....just send them all to me; as a starry eyed newbie on lever rifles, I will suggest what is the prettiest and give you my best uneducated suggestion!... free of charge of course...

[Mistered]

Sounds like the Klondike might need a new home. How hard would it be to get it sold?

Hard to say but there seems to be a pretty active used market for Mod 94s here in the PNW.
I might 'comp' it out, clean it up and post it on Armslist and a PNW based gun forum I am a member of and see what happens.

[dddrees]

Is the Winchester from Japan or the Uberti ?
The Uberti version is built like the old Winchesters with no safety or rebound hammer.

There's no safety other than a modification to the firing pin and there is no rebounding hammer on the 1866 or 1873 Miroku Winchesters. However there are some diffrences between the Miroku Winchesters and the Ubertis. Pros and Cons depending on what your priorities and preferences are.

From my understanding the Uberti may actually be a better choice if your looking at getting into CAS. The Uberti simply has been around longer and parts are more readily available. Although this may change for now the Uberti may still be a better choice because they have been short stroking, modifying, and repair parts are more plentiful. If CAS was my thing I'd probably lean more towards a Uberti.

I've yet to see a Uberti but my understanding is they are more truer to form. They may not have the Winchester trademark but they are more like the original. Some say the red stock is even more like the originals as well. The stock to metal fit tends to be closer than the Mirokus from my understanding.

Miroku may have the Winchester branding but they also have made in Japan and some people don't care for that. The wood to metal fit tends to be more proud. Also the there is a larger gap between the barrel and magazine on the Miroku. However overall Miroku makes really nice rifle.

It's also my understanding that Uberti uses soft headed screws that at times are not only messed up but can be cranked on so hard it may require a gunsmith to take them out the first time. The red varnish they use on their stocks hides a greyish colored fairly soft wood and it dings fairly easy which can be harder to repair. Unlike Miroku which uses American Black Wlanut. It's also my understanding that Ubertis enternals are a bit rougher.

Thing is neither maybe perfect or completely like the original but at least they are making these replicas and reproductions if you like so at least we have plenty of options out there. Personally I like that there are a few options. I just chose the ones that work best for me.

[ESquared]

Wow, that's a comprehensive side-by-side! Lots of things to consider. For me (a non-CAS), the most practical issues are the last couple you bring up, like soft screws that are hard to remove and soft wood stocks that can get dinged up too easily. Would make me think twice about the Ubertis, but I've never held either one.

At least it gives Ed some things to look for when he heads to the shop...nice work!

[dddrees]

Wow, that's a comprehensive side-by-side! Lots of things to consider. For me (a non-CAS), the most practical issues are the last couple you bring up, like soft screws that are hard to remove and soft wood stocks that can get dinged up too easily. Would make me think twice about the Ubertis, but I've never held either one.

At least it gives Ed some things to look for when he heads to the shop...nice work!

That was my reasoning as well to include the things about the internals being rougher and some screws potentially needing to be removed by a gunsmith. It's actually kind of interesting at least to me what it took to find some of those things out. As with most things I actually spend a bit of time on trying to discover what I can about them before purchasing them. In this case some of these things were mentioned but not all or at least not easily revealed like I would have liked. These items may all actually be out there somewhere but after looking at a number of different places and finding a few things here and a few there it was actually a thread I started on another forum where some lever gun enthusiasts shared all of these things with me.

I did forget to mention that most said the Ubertis tend to cost less although to be honest I never did the actual price comparison. Price was not as much of consideration for me as the other factors so I never did a side to side comparison on that. In fact getting the rifle with the best looking furniture was a bigger priority for me so I started looking at the Winchester 2018 Shot Show versions from the very start but these other things just helped to confirm that the Miroku Winchesters were the right choice for me.


Now when it comes to the 1892 or 1894 that may be a different quandary as those Mirokus have the safeties and rebounding hammers. There are those companies that will remove them but that process can be rather expensive. Sounds like some dislike them and some don't consider it being that bad however from my understanding it does significantly alter the trigger pull weight.