doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com 1885 low wall serial number looks off

I picked up a low wall in a trade knowing it had been rebarreled in a nice looking 26" octagon 25-20 WCF barrel and a decent replacement forearm but since I got it home in better light it looks like the serial number has been forged. Does It looks a little off? What do y'all think?

I think it has been "refreshed" with a vibrating pen. The serial numbers on these winchesters are notoriously lightly struck and there is a lot of wear that happens right at that point. It is a very dumb place to put a serial number anyway since tangs are often swapped (is your tang original to the gun?). So, my guess is someone wanted it be be a bit more easily seen and they went over it with the etching pen.

Nice looking barrel, but it's not Winchester...

Thanks, I looked at it a lot closer with a magnifying glass and you are absolutely right.

Thanks, it is a nice barrel but not a Winchester dangit. Anyway the bore is mint so maybe it will shoot straight.

Brent, I have one of those vibrating pens. I'm not in the habit of maiming my guns, so I use mine for a much more primitive purpose.

The hardstone hafted axes the indians used were made by a method called 'pecking and grinding'. That is, they would peck out the shape of the hafting area and then grind it down to where a handle could be fitted to it.

I use my vibrating pen to do the pecking and a sandstone to grind away the hafting area when I'm replicating the aboriginal tools...Geo

Well Geo, when Atlatls are outlawed... only outlaws will have atlatls

Is the number stamped on the side of the breech block the caliber?

Winchesters are notoriously lacking in serial number markings beyond the lower tang. If by chance you ever find one with the serial number anywhere else, you've got a real rarity!
The barrel tulip looks like what Marlin used on Ballard rifles. Might be a completely new barrel, or maybe a Ballard donated it's barrel to your Winnie? If you pull the forearm wood and find a serial number on the bottom of the barrel that doesn't match your Win. it could be a Ballard barrel.

Sharps barrels can have similar tulip profiles. They might be large enough that they could be turned down to a Low wall shank diameter and rethreaded. But I would bet it is a "new" barrel.