Make: Winchester

Model: 1894

Serial Number: 165537

Year of Manufacture: 1899 (Winchester Serial Lookup pg. 9)

Caliber: .32 Winchester Special (WS)

Action Type: Lever Action Rifle with Side Loading Gate fed by Full-Length Magazine

Barrel Length: 26” Octagonal 

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade dovetailed to the barrel above the muzzle. The rear sight is a V-notch elevator sight dovetailed to the top rear of the barrel.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece checkered walnut with a capped forend, capped semi-pistol grip, straight comb, and steel crescent buttplate. There are scattered light nicks, scratches, compressions, and handling marks throughout. The checkering is sharp. There are no chips or cracks. The LOP measures 13″ from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate has lost most of its finish and now has scattered nicks and some discoloration. Overall, the stocks are in Fine condition.

Type of Finish: Blue and Case Color

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is semi-bright and the rifling is well-defined. There is some stubborn fouling and mild erosion in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, this bore rates an 8 or 9 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 85% of its metal finish. The balance of the finish shows some patches of wear that have patina and speckled oxidation forming. The barrel has light nicks, dings, and scratches, as well as some handling marks. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Very Good condition.

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

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This rifle comes with a letter from the Cody Firearms Museum confirming this rifle’s configuration and original shipment date from the warehouse in March 1903. 

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 Win. 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 relays in his excellent reference work “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 is a Winchester Model 1894 deluxe rifle made in 1899 and chambered in .32 Winchester Special, a necked up .30-30 cartridge. This is a beautiful old Winchester Model 1894 deluxe rifle with checkered walnut stocks, a capped semi-pistol grip, and a 26” octagonal barrel.