Make: Winchester

Model: 1894

Serial Number: 233161

Year of Manufacture: 1901 (Winchester Serial Lookup pg. 9)

Caliber: .32 Winchester Special (WS) 

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

Barrel Length: Approximately 26”, Half-Octagonal, Half-Round

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a flip-up sight with a blade (missing) in the down position and a beaded post inside a globe in the up position dovetailed to the barrel above the muzzle. The rear sight has been removed and the top rear of the barrel is installed with a dovetail blank. The upper tang is drilled, tapped and installed with a mount and fully adjustable aperture sight.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece checkered walnut with a nosecap, a capped semi-pistol grip, a straight comb, and a curved metal buttplate. The wood shows mostly light and a couple moderate nicks, scratches, and dings, as well as some minor handling and storage marks. The checkering has some of the above marks and some smoothing wear but overall remains distinct. There are no chips or cracks. The LOP measures 13” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The stocks are in Fine overall condition.

Type of Finish: Blue

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is semi-bright and the rifling is sharp. There is some stubborn fouling but no erosion in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, this bore rates a 9 or 10 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 92% of its metal finish. The balance of the finish shows areas of thinning and wear mostly in areas of frequent contact. There are some scattered nicks, scratches, and handling marks. There are a few mottled patches of light surface oxidation. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Fine 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 October 1904.

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 94 deluxe rifle in .32 Winchester Special made in 1901. The cartridge is based on the .30-30, perhaps the most popular deer cartridge in America, but necked-up to .32 caliber, giving it a little more power. This rifle features a half-octagonal barrel and half-length magazine tube as part of the original configuration confirmed in the letter. There are no Winchester proofs on the barrel or receiver, indicating that it did not undergo any refurbishment or repair at the Winchester factory in 1905 or later. This is a beautiful old Winchester Model 1894 deluxe rifle with a 26” half octagonal, half round barrel, a half length magazine, checkered walnut stocks, and a capped semi-pistol grip.