Pre-'64 Winchester

[orygun]

I remember those, that was an FN idea. Which seems like a sound one. I believe they were also offered on Browning rifles, a corporate commonality thing. I wonder why they didn't catch on more. Maybe not that many hunters could see the benefit of fine tuning. Some people might not have like the aesthetic of something attached to the end of the barrel. In that respect, they were before their time what with muzzle brakes and suppressors now being the rage.

It was ugly as sin! Had a friend with one. He said he could notice the difference when tuning the BOSS.

As to what happened to it upon Brother's passing, I struggle to even speak of it. Such are dreams come to fruition: often fleeting.

It's hard enough losing parents, but I can't imagine what it's like to lose a sibling, especially way too soon.
My belated condolences.

 

[Spitpatch]

I remember when my dad gave me the rifle, he pointed out the logo on the buttstock, saying it would make the rifle more sought after in the future. Perhaps he was referring to the buy out you mentioned?

View attachment 778036

Your Dad was making a "pre-emptive strike" to protect the gun from a fate all too many suffered: The installation of an after-market recoil pad (and the necessary discarding of the Red Pad).

Those that did this to their guns did it for a very good reason: The Red Pad offered only a mention of recoil mitigation. A nice Pachmayr did the job oh so much better. It also almost without exception required the original stock to be sawed to maintain a good length of pull near factory specs.

But collectors will sniff and look into the distance as if the "butchered" gun never intruded on their vision. This is why you will see "Red Pad" invoked in multiple advertisements for collectible Winchesters.

 

[Spitpatch]

"It had the BOSS tunable muzzle device"

"It was ugly as sin! Had a friend with one. He said he could notice the difference when tuning the BOSS."

The BOSS (Browning Optimized Shooting System, I believe) was another one of those "revolutionary developments" that was really a warmed-over idea with a nearly Zombie-like ability for resurrection. When Browning and Winchester ended up owned by the same conglomerate, the ugly punctuation on the tip of the barrel found its way onto previously gracefully designed Winchesters.

To answer the question swiftly: YES, it works. But it does NOT exempt the owner from load development for the very best performance toward accuracy. The selling point was a theory (I really DO like that word) that one could shoot ANY load in one's gun, and by grasping that cylindrical object in one's hand and caressing it one way or another, one could achieve accuracy Nirvana.

Its more than interesting to see these guns on the used racks now, priced at a percentage LESS than the same gun without the phallus.

Personally, I was already sleepy without ever having manipulated one.