Ep. 276 | Slingin’ Rik’s Winchester Model 64 Deluxe - “The Deer Rifle”

When Vortex’s Erik Barber told us he had a Winchester Model 64 Deluxe handed down from his great grandfather, we had to see it. Then we had to talk about it. Deemed “The Deer Rifle,” this lever gun is about as cool as it gets. Mark Boardman, a very jealous Ryan Muckenhirn, and Slingin’ Rik himself chat about the model and the story behind it.
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[@frankwright5528]

A very warm and fuzzy gun video, Gentlemen! Much appreciated. As a '49 model, I am always delighted to hear The Kids passionately discussing and really appreciating treasured objects of their (known) forefathers. Realize how rare is a beloved fourth generation rifle!?! What it did for them it stands ready to do for you. Regarding the rifle's condition: Erik's forebearers didn't wear down the finish. They wore themselves into this rifle - in the company of generations. They ARE the finish. Priceless, truly...

[@buddy22801012]

I would never have that rifle refinished. Refinishing that rifle would be like throwing out an old family photo album. Some things are better left alone.

[@chipsterb4946]

The idea of letting Turnbull loose on one of those iconic rifles kinda makes my stomach turn. It has been used, loved, and depended upon. A “restoration” would erase all of that. Don’t do it!

[@soreloser6018]

Maybe a matte clear ceracoat

[@emmanuelcalderon1982]

as long as the metal is oiled regularly I don't see a reason to have it reblued, but I would be worried about that unfinished wood.

[@billwotruba9432]

My parents purchased a Model 94 in 32WS in 1950 to feed their growing family. They received it via U. S. mail order from Sears & Roebuck. It hasn't taken a deer since 2000, I'll have to take it out for it's 75th anniversary.

[@markmadsen6828]

Sadly, the nostalgia is what is missing from the younger generations. There is nothing I love more than gearing up for Deer season, hanging out at camp listening to all the stories from years past, getting the rifles ready, scouting the mountain ridges for sign,, all of it, that's what makes Deer hunting so magical. Super great episode,,. Awesome story! Thanks Guys

[@gocraiger]

Lol. Ryan just can’t stop coveting that rifle. It’s like he’s happy for him but violently jealous at the same time. 😂

[@jonathanshaw6984]

Picked up my first model 64 today at a gun show. Mines in 32 Winchester special. Also in the deluxe configuration. Made in 1954. It’s a sweetheart

[@20020x]

I have a Remington 141 in 35 Rem. from one Grandfather and a Marlin 336 in 35 Rem. from my other Grandfather, these guns are absolutely priceless to me. The 141 had a list of deer seasons and kills/goose eggs. Thanks Guys, y'all are my kind of people.

[@richardbrown5045]

I also have a 141 in 35 Rem that came from my great grandfather from the late 30s so much history. If only they could speak

[@bradbo3]

Man this episode has me remembering so many good times of deer camp. My grandpa , dad and uncle are all gone now……my older brother retired and has moved to florida and there just isnt any camp get togethers anymore….I have a camp and take my grown sons…but they are having kids now and time is limited. I have a few good years left for sure…..hope to make some memories with my grandkids before I have to hang it up.

[@ChitFromChinola]

Hey, I’m glad the 25-35 got some love. Ryan has such an appreciation for classic rifles and calibers. Imagine a young gun guy in this era that favorites lever actions and 45-70 and 25-35. Makes me smile.

[@kevindent9282]

If anyone is watching from Winchester, bring it back!!! please!!! Love what you you do Vortex

[@edwarddykstra1131]

All this waxing nostalgic is bringing back great memories. Fantastic episode!

[@ranchodeluxe1]

That's very cool. My Grandpa bought a Savage 99 Featherweight in .300 Savage, along with a Weaver MK4 from the local hardware store in 1956. It's my favorite 250 yard deer rifle. Lever guns just have something others platforms don't. I guess it's soul. Like Stevie Ray picking Texas Flood behind his back.

[@donaldanderson3249]

I have my great grandmother's model 94 that was made in 1914 . She took blacktail, bear and elk with it and I got it in 2000 after my dad passed away.

[@stephenballard3759]

Ryan waffled, but it is probably English walnut heartwood, not black walnut. Both are very beautiful.

[@shakychef9267]

My late Dad left me his NRA Centennial m94 30-30, which looks exactly like the m64. It's in excellent condition, complete with the box.

[@donaldmonroe8503]

Very. VERY cool episode. Looking at the marks and you know how the rifle was used. Much appreciated, gentlemen, y’all are the best. Thank you.

[@dr.froghopper6711]

My single biggest complaint about the ‘94 was the top ejection that regularly dropped hot brass right down my collar. Marlin 336’s pop them out their sides in a much more comfortable fashion. But I bought a ‘94 in 1980, the year I was discharged from the Navy. I went blind temporarily right after I got married, that same year. I thought I’d never be shooting again and I needed money, so I sold it.

[@stephenballard3759]

Ouch. Glad it was temporary.

[@bradleyhughes6853]

I always heard, "don't go off halfcocked" explanation being, when at the halfcocked position it would not go off. Also it is amazing how people can see something from the past or family and say, that gun, that item, etc. has these stories and we try to put together the past with either clues or tall tales told in deer camp.

[@stephenballard3759]

I had alway understood that it meant to go off suddenly, before you are ready, from losing your temper or getting over-excited. So, either half-cocked was the mechanism slipping, or you were cocking the gun to shoot, and slipped or let go of the hammer before it was fully locked. So, about the same.

[@budguy8829]

I recently got my late grandfather's Winchester model 64 30-30 which was made in 1940. My grandfather got it in 1941 after the original owner had sold it to the Gunshop to join the military after Peal Harbor was attacked. My grandfather, my uncles, and myself have hunted with it. My grandfather put a notch in the buttstock when he killed a deer with it.

[@24kachina]

The biggest pre / post '64 change that freaked the gun world was changing the Model 70 bolt action from a Mauser style controlled feed action to a push feed.

[@scottwilson1258]

The Winchester model 64' in Deluxe is actually named "The Deer Rifle" thats a hell of a thing being the rifle named "the Deer Rifle"! I now own a non deluxe 64 in 32 Win. Special. I also am Proud to say I am the Owner of a Wonderful model 71 Deluxe with a Bolt peep sight : - ) The Story of Ricks Grandad firing one into the Ground happens I'm told on Cold days sometimes a Winchester may hold onto one last shell from the tightness/cold magazine tube.

[@rockchalk06]

I could watch these types of videos all day everyday. We need a dedicated 1 hour podcast on Mark's 300 WSM!

[@algentry1]

i just got an 1894 38-55 SRC made in 1912. I am loving this video. That is beautiful. Wow. Really nice. Mine has a shotgun butt with a hard black rubber plate on it. I saw similar plates on 1906 gallery guns. I've never seen a Winchester this old in person. And I don't have to feel guilty callin it a Winchester. I think maybe I'm dead and God is goofing on me. Great show. Mucho Character. Thank you.

[@fedup3582]

Talking about your grandpa, etc , you make me feel old. But I am glad you appreciate a fine, classic rifle. I have one in similar condition, chambered for the 25-35. It took me a long time to find find a nice one at a reasonable price. I have successfully hunted antelope with it and I am hopeing to get a deer with it, but I have health issues that are messing with me so I don't know how that will turn out. Good luck with your 64, I hope you get to enjoy many seasons with it. Since you have a genuine appreciation for such type rifles, maybe I should put you in my will for my 64. It would be nice to see it go to someone who appreciates it.

[@garybarnhart8379]

My Dad had a model 65 and I believe that it was chambered in 348 win. He also got a model 94 carbine chambered in 32 win special. Us 3 boys used it to hunt WT with that rifle. I can't even guess how many deer and antelope that gun brought home. We grew up on a ranch in central Mt. Great times growing up.

[@robertmurdock9750]

The 348 was only chambered in the model 71.

[@garybarnhart8379]

@@robertmurdock9750 yep your are correct. My only excuse is that the last time I saw that rifle was 60yrs ago and in my mind it look just like the model 65. Did the 71 have a more robust receiver then the 65 because it was only chamber in the 348. Is that correct?

[@robertmurdock9750]

@@garybarnhart8379 The model 65 was a type of model 92 which was a downsized model 86. The 71 was a modified 86 and the 65 was a modified 92. The 86 and 92 were straight stocked, and the 71 and 65 were pistol-gripped stocks. They look alike except for size and loading gates.

[@garybarnhart8379]

I sure wish I could find one that was in a useable condition.

[@scottzipperer6146]

I have quite a few levers marlins and Winchester but my grandfather's savage is my favorite no amount of money can buy it going to my grandson when I go

[@michaelsicowitz362]

You do know there's a safety along the bottom, the pin below the lever has to be flush or will not fire.

[@LowSpeedHighDrag5]

I have a model 94 that my grandfather bought new in 1971, and it is the NRA centennial edition. It is a wonderful gun.

[@Bamboozled_by_the_BS]

What a great rifle, and stories to accompany it. Well done, as always.

[@pogeegitz]

I inherited a Model 1894 from my grandpa, chambered in 32 Winchester special. Octagonal barrel, 8 round mag tube, built in 1903. It was one of the first guns I learned to shoot, and it's still one of my favorites. It's amazingly accurate for a 120 year old rifle - I just shot it a month ago and was shooting 1" groups at 75 yards. I've carried it in the woods a few times, but haven't been able to take a deer with it yet.

[@PatriotPaulUSA]

Nice!

[@edgratz3425]

I have a 1934 vintage 64, standard version, .32 WS, 22" carbine barrel, with a Lyman 21 aperature sight. This sight is the coolest peep sight I have ever seen. Got the rifle from my FIL before he passed from Parkinson's. Never got the story behind it, but it is also worn from honest use. I have a choice of a number of rifles for hunting, but always find time to carry this around the woods every season. When I put my first meat pole up in northern Oconto County back in 1986, one tree was a maple and the other was a poplar. Since the maple grows so much slower, and the poplar so much faster, the meat pole is now at about a 30 degree angle. 🤣 BTW, I would love to sit in on one of your videos sometime. I am in SE Wisconsin.

[@ThatGuy-kf7fo]

Love this series and love beat up guns. Keep it coming!

[@stephenballard3759]

For realz, bro! I love that my father-in-law's early 1970's Remington M-700 .308 has easily become my favorite hunting rifle. I still use my single shot H & R .410 I bought with my cherry picking money 42 years ago for rabbits and grouse. It goes everywhere outdoors with me. My favorite .22 is the Winchester Model 190 my dad bought just after he got back from Vietnam. It was the only gun in the house until HIS step-dad died and left him a pre-64 Winchester M-70 .30-30, that my older brother now hunts with. The best.

[@silentlandthousandvoices]

This podcast makes you love that rifle.

[@xxholsteinxx7429]

Hey Ryan! I have a 94 in 25-35 from like 1920 that you can use to hunt a prong horn. It was given to me by my great grandma when I first got my hunting license. LMK when you are gonna hunt near Idaho.

[@fedup3582]

The "gun expert", you should really get hold of me, I have a 71 also. It worked well on an antelope too.

[@fedup3582]

The "gun expert" there, since you have interest in a 64 chambered for 25-35, maybe you should get in touch with me. If I should decide to sell my rifle, it would be nice to see it go to someone who honestly appreciates it. Or someone to leave it to when I go.

[@RichardOnkst]

Cool channel guys....im 64 years old and have my old model 95

[@ruger7mm-083]

Just picked up a 256 Newton rifle

[@carterthiessen2664]

The 64 is gorgeous, but the no frills model 94, 20 inch, full length mag tube, pre 64 will always be the best looking rifle in my mind.

[@benkeachy]

That flecking you see in the grain is due to how it's cut from the log. It's quarter sawn, a more moisture stable premium cut.

[@anonymousf454]

9.3x62, 9.3x57, 9.3x64 Brenneke, 9.3x66 Sako, 9.3x any dam thing you want, but please do an hour+ special on the truly awesome 9.3 calibers. And then do one on African pg and dg cartridges, starting with the big bore black powders and through the Nitro Expresses.

[@fedup3582]

It is wonderful to have the family history of a rifle that has been passed down. My uncle had a 1917 Enfield that my qDad borrowed to start hunting. My Dad used it until he got his own rifle, a pre 64 model 70 in 257 Roberts. When I got old enough, Dad borrowed the Enfield for me to start hunting with. A few years later, I inherited the Enfield. I still have it 47 years later, along with my Dads 257. It would be nice to pass them on to offspring that appreciate them, but I have no children of my own and my nieces and nephews don't seem to have any interest in such "old junk".

[@tomlarue2005]

Same story for me, only I turned 12 in 1967, killed my first dear that year and received my Model 64 30-30 Std. from my grandfather a few years later when he passed. Would never part with it.

[@soreloser6018]

My guess to going off half cocked. The normal state would be "half cocked" Going off half cocked would be readying the hammer as in leaving the half cocked position.

[@gebogen4409]

You guys seem to get a lot of views when doing cartridge talks and hunting rifle videos. Now that Jimmy’s off doing the tactical thing I hope you guys do more historical hunting topics.

[@fedup3582]

The "gun expert" with the "rotten right eye", you should train yourself to be able to shoot ambidextrously. I did that decades ago, and as eye issues, and wrist injuries, etc, have occurred, it has proven very beneficial. Even sometimes in a hunting situation, you are trying to make use of some natural rest, or position yourself for a shot, I have found it very advantageous to be able to shoot ambidextrously.

[@sergeantdwz5783]

Mother of God. I want Ryan to get an old marlin 1893. One that just starts the cuff of smokeless powder. In 3030.

[@Dream-season]

That’s a stunning firearm

[@luloadventure]

Great Podcast! More Podcasts like this one. Thank you. Regards from Switzerland.

[@dinoquintana4319]

Ryan your so knowledgeable. Do you know about the savage model 1920 in 250/3000.this rifle came out 5 years before my favorite the model 54 winchester. This rifle weighs 5lb 7 oz 250 savage 300 yds 80 yrs ahead of time

[@ranchodeluxe1]

Miroku, of Japan made some under contract. They .made a few really nice remakes. The Model 52 Sporter, The Browning Citori and the Charles Daly over under come to mind.

[@bneaclab1]

Have you guys ever done a talk on the 280 Rem? Maybe a comparison of the 270 280 (not AI) and the 30 06 side by side...

[@tylergrunert]

I watched this with the family. Great podcast

[@philmorris6438]

The Cabelas in Oklahoma City has two 25-35s for sale in the used gun room.

[@jmythngdmb]

Loved this episode, thank you guys

[@mikeTyson329]

Great job guys. I love this podcast!

[@ActionEHamshraershV]

Partial to the 1886/71, model 94 is an excellent gun.

[@KeepingitAnalog]

Awesome!

[@Blong243]

Send the 24 off to Turnbull since you picked it up used. This example, however, since it was passed down in the family, I'd keep it original for the sentimental aspect.

[@g24thinf]

If Mark has a lever gun in 300 wsm, he would be king!

[@ashmerch2558]

Browning BLR lightweight (curved grip) they're still in production!

[@mountainview540]

My dad has a old 32 Winchester special that ejects out the top. It's a nice rifle but ammo to feed it is very expensive

[@coganhagen01]

These are best videos

[@zayacz123]

One of you best episodes!

[@aaronwilcox6417]

Cool little rifle. It's been a few years since I've handled one in the wild. The lines of these remind me of the model 71. Love my 71 but it's really not a deer rifle and better suited for larger critters

[@fedup3582]

It will still work on deer.

[@aaronwilcox6417]

Yes but cost and even the ability to find cases, bullets, ammo for the 348win are getting more difficult to source. But darn is it a hoot to carry in moose and grizzly places

[@exodusz19]

I hope Jim is still going to be a host in future videos! We miss him

[@ogdensloan8555]

My dad has the same rifle in 32 Winchester special and has killed more things than smallpox with it. Growing up we had land in central Florida and hogs were always the targeted species.

[@thomasmorton5108]

Need to review Winchester model 71 in .348 WIN

[@chrisholloman3710]

I had a marlin in 219 zipper it was a fun little rifle

[@kennethboucherie2612]

The wood grain Ryan was talking about is commonly referred to as figuring

[@McDanielRanch]

The birth of a short lived 770

[@jeffreywilson690]

As far as function I like the Marlin better

[@thedirtygot9570]

Half cocked means you pulled your gun up to shoot thinking it was cocked and it wasn’t, ending up in a missed opportunity on a deer or getting shot in a gunfight!

[@benbaker2893]

I might be a boring person, but could you guys do a podcast on what publications you used to get wepon details.

[@robgreene1776]

Going off half cocked - originates from Flintlock days; Specifically referencing an accidental discharge occurring when the Cock/Hammer would slip out from underneath the shooter's thumb before 'Full Cock' was reached.

[@billj503]

RE; MEATPOLE - I have never seen a ladder at a hunting camp. Two of us stand on the toolbox in the pickup bed.

[@Brock-e7m]

Hey just watched your podcast from 1 year ago on the model 64 Winchester. I have a 25-35 in model 64 deluxe and would like to know more about it Thanks

[@fedup3582]

Took possession of it in 53, why don't you take the serial number and look up the manufacturing date, it might help a little. My was built in 1940.

[@jaydunbar7538]

It was first year production, they mention it in the video.

[@lonewolf6448]

I have to find one to pair up to my 870.

[@jamesjams5085]

What's it going to take to get you guys to recognize the 300 Win Mag and do a video on all of its superiority. Seriously I think you've done everything but... love the show!

[@taylormartin4346]

Ryan pretty much stated in the. 300 PRC video that it's a better .300 Win mag. No rim and higher bc bullets. Bullet selection is really the only thing the Win Mag still has going for it these days.

[@propertypreparedness6846]

They did a 300 wsm in which they talk about both.

[@jamesjams5085]

Yeah thanks I seen the WSM and the 300 PRC vids… I didn’t want your take I’d rather hear from the fellas on the show, Although I’m sure you’re highly qualified But thanks for chiming in and enjoy your 300 PRC

[@TikkaT3x]

Slap big ole Vortex Golden Eagle HD 15-60 x 52 on the side and give it a rattle can paint job. 😆😅🤣😂

[@ronalddalton5315]

Didn’t the 1894 come out after the 1864. I also own one but it’s not the deluxe but the stand which looks like the one you have but had no checkering. It was given to my dad by my mom just after they got Married and I love the gun I have killed several deer with it and it does a great job.

[@lesbratton]

Didn't you listen, the Model 64 came out in 1933, it's a variant of the 1894.

[@McDanielRanch]

Can we talk savage 99? Lever gun?

[@maddantt7757]

Pretty sure half-cocked came from flintlocks

[@markmadsen6828]

It's crazy that some old guy like me can hand a young kid an old rifle similar to that 64D and they don't understand the value.. The first thing they say is; "where is the pic rail? "Can you hit anything with this thing?" Ha,Haaa! It makes me laugh... In regret, I traded off some of my family heirloom guns when I was young,, now I kick myself.. Hold on to those old rifles Gents... They're getting harder and harder to find...

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

Winchester really didnt make many Model 64s. Just for a few years.

[@clinkerclint]

Pergolas are just unused meat poles 😁

[@duanemarsh9657]

chatoyancy

[@maineoutdoorsman677]

92% of Americans are right handed ,so not good geusss No blueing on the injections port ,

[@chuckcafiero4546]

youre wearing pants?

[@desertdude540]

This is Vortex Optics, not Black Rifle Coffee.

[@chuckcafiero4546]

@@desertdude540 oooo, burn....

[@ronaldroehrick4872]

Ryan, there is a model 64 25/35 on Guns International listed now.

[@deezJ155]

Grandpa had the carbine, peep sight, that he used in the 1900s for government coyote control