Make: Winchester

Model: 1894

Serial Number: 786962

Year of Manufacture: 1916 (Winchester Serial Lookup pg. 9)

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

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 U-notch elevator sight dovetailed to the top rear of the barrel.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut with a capped forend, straight grip, straight comb, and steel crescent buttplate. There are areas of thinning and patches of finish loss throughout. There are scattered nicks, scratches, compressions, and light scrapes throughout. There are areas of discoloration. There are areas of weathering. There are areas of oil staining. There are scattered handling marks. The LOP measures 13″ from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The plate has lost its finish and now has scattered scratches, oxidation, and erosion. Overall, the stocks are in Very Good condition.

Type of Finish: Blue

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is gray and the rifling is well-defined. There is fouling and mild erosion in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, this bore rates a 7 or 8 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 70% of its metal finish. The balance of the finish, most notably on the receiver, has gone to a patina. 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 Good Plus 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: 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 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 Model 1894 Rifle was made in 1916 and is in Good Plus condition. It’s chambered in .30-30 WCF, and features about 75% of its original blued finish, a 26” octagonal barrel, and a very good bore with well-defined rifling. This is an elegant old Model 1894 rifle, and would be a fine addition to any Winchester collection.