Make: Winchester

Model: 94

Serial Number: 1280459

Year of Manufacture: ca.1943-1947

Caliber: .32 Winchester Special (.32 WS) 

Action Type: Lever Action Carbine with full-length tubular magazine.

Barrel Length: 20” Round

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a beaded blade dovetailed to a textured, ramped base fixed to the front of the barrel and slotted for a hood (none included). The rear sight is a “U”-notch semi-buckhorn sight with riser, dovetailed to the barrel, fine adjustable for elevation. The tang is drilled, tapped, and filled for a tang sight (none included).

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut with a banded forend, straight grip and comb, and serrated steel shotgun-style buttplate. The stocks have some scattered light marks and compressions. There are no chips or cracks. There is minor finish loss on the belly at the toe. The LOP measures 13 1/4” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. Overall, the stocks rate in Fine Condition. 

Type of Finish: Blue

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 10/10.

Overall Condition: This carbine retains about 95% of its metal finish. The action shows some operation wear. There are a few scattered scratches on the receiver including some more notable marks and intermittent finish loss around the loading gate and lever. There is some finish loss on the sides of the barrel band. The screw heads range from sharp to tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this carbine is in about Excellent Condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The carbine has a half-cock safety and a lever safety. We have not fired this carbine. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None

Our Assessment: The Model 1894 was another Winchester lever action rifle designed by gunmaking genius John Moses Browning, and it became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was the first commercial sporting rifle to sell over 7 million units, and was also the first commercial American repeating rifle built to be used with smokeless powder. It was introduced in 1894 in two black powder cartridges, the .32-40 and .38-55 Winchester Center Fire rounds, but by August 1895 Winchester had developed a different steel composition that could handle higher pressures, and the .25-35 and .30-30 WCF chamberings were introduced. As R.L. Wilson relates in his reference book “Winchester An American Legend”, Winchester’s announcement of the Model 1894 in their November 1894 catalog certainly proved prophetic: “We believe that no repeating rifle system ever made will appeal to the eye and understanding of the riflemen as this will and that use will continue to warrant first impressions.”

This Wartime Winchester Model 1894 Carbine was made between 1943-1947 and is in Excellent Condition. It features a 20” barrel, 95% of its crisp, original blued finish, gorgeous two-piece smooth walnut stocks with a banded forend, straight grip and comb, and serrated steel shotgun-style buttplate, clear markings, and a bright bore with sharp rifling and no erosion. The .32 Winchester Special cartridge is based on .30-30 WCF, perhaps the most popular deer cartridge in America, but necked-up to .32 caliber, giving it a little more power. This is a phenomenal Model 1894 Carbine in .32 WS, and a testament to Winchester’s enduring craftsmanship.