The following photos provide a closer look at the custom work performed by Fred Zeglin of Z-Hat Custom on my Browning 1895. Originally produced as the Winchester Model 1895, this lever action is the penultimate lever gun design by America's greatest firearms visionary, John M. Browning. It features a single stack vertical magazine that permitted the use of pointed bullets and is strong enough to use modern loads (although most experts suggest slightly reduced pressures to be gentle to the action). Mine is a Japanese reproduction license-built by Miroku for Browning in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Miroku also produces the latest Winchesters.
What I wanted was a potent medium caliber traditional weapon for hunting big game like elk, moose or the larger African plains game, such as kudu and eland. Fred Zeglin was the natural choice to do the work, given my prior satisfaction with his rebarreling of my .340 Weatherby and his familiarity with the 1895. I thought about several calibers for this rifle: .338-`06, .35 Whelen, .375 Hawk and 9.3 x 62 mm and .411 Hawk, but finally settled on the .375 Hawk as the optimum combination of power and trajectory. As mentioned on the previous page, I asked for a heavy number 5 contour Douglas XX chrome-molybdenum alloy barrel, 25 inches in length. Since the 1895 is capable of flat shooting, I thought that a forward mounted, low-powered telescopic sight would give it the full benefit of its ammunition without spoiling the classic styling. Having quick detachable mounts would still permit the rifle to be used with plain sights.
Custom Browning Model 1895 with Scope Detached
The photos below shows the quarter rib with and without the Leupold 2X Scout Scope in place. It is secured by Talley TNT quick detachable rings that were color case hardened and with nitre blued screws. The quarter rib was custom fitted to the barrel specifically for this scope and the dovetails for the Talley bases cut by hand. A fixed standing blade was filed for my preferred load prior to final blueing.
Quarter Rib with Leupold 2X Scout Scope
Quarter Rib Showing Fixed Rear Sight and Dovetail Cuts
Close-Up of Scout Scope and Talley TNT Rings
I asked Fred to let me select my wood from the blanks and he sent me a series of jpegs. You have to use some imagination since the wood is unshaped and unpolished, but you can see the figure and judge how well it will work with the stock shape. I ended up choosing a medium-expensive piece (believe it or not) and proposing that the blank be inverted relative to the chalk line made by the wood shop. Fred cut a nice point pattern checkering at 22 lpi that compliments the lines of the straight stock.
Close-Up of the High Grade Black Walnut Stock
The buttstock was fitted for a smooth steel contoured butt plate, which was also color case hardened. Recoil is not at all rough and it looks far better than with a rubber pad. Clocked screws is a nice touch.
Color Case-Hardened Butt Plate
Fred sent off several of the small parts (hammer, trigger, lever, scope rings) to be color case hardened and the screws to be nitre blued.
Close-Up of Receiver Showing Nitre-Blued Screws and Color Case-Hardened Hammer
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This web page was designed by HTL
Ulfhere@MindSpring.com
Photos by B. J. Nichols, Courtesy of Fred Zeglin
Copyright 2004 -- All Rights Reserved
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