Make: Winchester 

Model: 1894 Extra Light, Deluxe Takedown “Short Rifle”

Serial Number: 162439

Year of Manufacture: 1899.Received in factory 1902, shipped 1903.

Caliber: .30-30 Winchester Center Fire (WCF)

Action Type: Lever Action Rifle with Tubular Short Magazine

Barrel Length: 22″ Half Octagonal, Half Round

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a Lyman white beaded blade dovetailed into a base that is fixed to the barrel. The rear sight is a “U” notch semi-buckhorn sight dovetailed into the barrel. The top tang is installed with a folding Lyman aperture peep sight.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece checkered walnut with a capped forend, hard rubber capped pistol grip, straight comb, and Winchester checkered black hard rubber shotgun buttplate. The checkering is strong. There is a small loss at the bottom corner where the left side of the wrist meets the receiver. There are a couple small hairline cracks at the rear of the top tang. There are a few areas of minor finish wear. There are a few little marks through the finish and a few light compressions. The LOP measures 13 1/8″ from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate has some scattered nicks, dings, and scratches. Overall, the stocks are in Fine condition.

Type of Finish: Blued with Case Colored Lever and Hammer

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is semi-bright and the rifling is sharp. There are some patches of light to moderate pitting. In this writer’s opinion, this bore rates a 7 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 70% of its metal finish. There is finish wear on the edges. There are some nicks and scratches in the metal. There are some scattered spots of light oxidation and discoloration from previous oxidation. There are a few small spots of minor surface erosion. Some of the case color has been lost but there are still vibrant areas. There are marks on the barrel from takedown. There are a few marks on the outer circumference of the muzzle. The screwheads range from tool marked to sharp. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Very Good condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this rifle. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: Included is a Winchester factory letter.

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 Winchester 1890s Model 1894 Extra Light Deluxe Takedown “Short Rifle” was made in 1899 and is in Very Good condition. It’s chambered in .30-30 WCF, and features a 22” half octagonal, half round barrel, 70% of its original finish, with some vibrant case colors on the lever and hammer, and a great amount of lustrous bluing on the remainder, furniture quality deluxe two-piece checkered walnut stocks with exceptional grain, an eye-pleasing “short magazine” (extending about 4” beyond the forearm), a capped semi-pistol grip, a Lyman aperture peep sight installed on the top tang, a Winchester checkered black hard rubber shotgun buttplate, and a semi-bright bore with sharp rifling. The factory letter confirms this rifle shipped with all of those features. This is the rare Model 1894 Extra Light “Short Rifle” with a 22” barrel that is “extra light” in both weight and contour. The forearm is also 1” shorter than is found on the standard model. These scarce “extra light” barrels are actually smaller in diameter at the muzzle than the magazine tube. The “extra light” barrels are also too thin to have the normal dovetailed front sight found on standard barrels, and thus the front sight on these is always placed on a small base affixed to the barrel top. From the excellent reference work “The Winchester Handbook” by George Madis, the small number of Model 1894 rifles with special order short barrel lengths is found in the following statistic: “Rifles with barrels shorter than standard - 978”. Out of over 1.3 million pre-1941 Winchester Model 1894s, this special order beauty is 1 of 978, and it’s easy to surmise those with “extra light” short barrels are even far scarcer. Madis goes on to say, “Of all guns introduced after 1890, the Model 1894 .30-30 was the most popular saddle gun and had earned the reputation of being ‘the best there was’. Short rifles like this were surprisingly popular in the Southwest.” This is a gorgeous Winchester 1890s Model 1894 Extra Light Deluxe Takedown “Short Rifle”, and would be an incredible addition to any lever action or Old West collection.