A friend of mine was telling me about an original 95 Winchester that he had. He thought it was 38 caliber but could not recall the number that indicated the blackpowder charge. He brought it over today and I was suprised to see the barrel stamped "38-76" The rifle is in sound condition mechanically with some bluing left and the wood appears to have been refinished some time ago. I am trying to talk him out of it, but so far he has declined my offer to take it off his hands. How rare is this caliber in the 95 Winchester? Any ballpark guess as to it's value?

Are you sure it doesn't say "38-72"? In Mike Venturino's Shooting Leverguns of the Old West, he mentions the 1895 as being loaded with a 38-72. He says that it was originally a blackpowder cartridge. He does not list sales figures for this particular loading, but with it being blackpowder, I would guess not very high. No idea as to the value.
Good luck talking your friend into letting you give it a new home.

rt

Yes, I am certain it was 38-76. That is what I was suprised about. I knew that the 38-72 was chambered in some 95's, but I had never heard of the 38-76.

Well, my tiny little brain is stumped. Maybe it was rechambered at some point, and the original numbers are partially obscured by the new numbers. See if your buddy will let you make a chamber cast. Might also try the folks at Levergunners.com, or fire off a letter to one of the gun magazines. Again, good luck.

rt