Make: Winchester Repeating Arms

Model: 1894

Serial Number: 306598

Year of Manufacture: 1904

Caliber: .38-55 Winchester Center Fire (WCF)

Action Type: Lever Action Rifle with a full-length tubular magazine.

Barrel Length: 26”, Octagonal

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a dovetailed and screw set blade dovetailed to the barrel. The rear sight is a “V”-notch semi-buckhorn elevator sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel. The top tang is drilled, tapped, and filled for a tang sight (none present).

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut with a capped forend, straight grip and comb, and smooth steel crescent buttplate. There are no chips or cracks. There are a couple minor compression marks. The LOP measures 13 1/8" from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. There is some pitting on the toe and heel of the buttplate. Overall, the stocks are in Excellent Condition. 

Type of Finish: Blued, with Case-hardened lever, trigger, hammer, and buttplate. 

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is minor erosion intermittently down the length. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 8/10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 90% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at some edges, mostly on the receiver and edges of the barrel. There are some light nicks and scratches. The case colors have all but muted. The action shows light operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to tool marked with usable slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in about Fine Condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The hammer has a half-cock safety and a lever-safety. The trigger is crisp. 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: This rifle comes with a Winchester factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum confirming this was produced as a “Rifle, 38/55 caliber, Barrel Shape: Octagon, Plain trigger, Received in warehouse on May 29, 1906, Shipped from warehouse on October 25, 1906, order number 79594”. 

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 Winchester Model 1894 Lever Action Rifle was made in 1904 and is in Fine Condition. It features a 26” octagonal barrel, 90% of its original blued finish, elegant two-piece smooth walnut stocks with a smooth steel crescent buttplate, strong mechanics, and a bright bore with sharp rifling (there is minor erosion intermittently down the length), and comes with a Winchester factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum confirming this was produced as a “Rifle, 38/55 caliber, Barrel Shape: Octagon, Plain trigger, Received in warehouse on May 29, 1906, Shipped from warehouse on October 25, 1906, order number 79594”. The .38-55 round was originally developed by Ballard in 1876, and could push a 250 grain projectile at about 1,300 fps. It was used by Marlin for various single-shot target rifles and their 1893 lever action rifle, and was later offered by Winchester in their Model 1894. The .38-55 WCF cartridge is a nice round for black bear and other similar sized game, and has remained a somewhat popular cartridge, perhaps most due to the large number of Winchester rifles chambered for the round. This fairly early Model 1894 Rifle would be a fine addition to a Winchester collection, but may also still be ready for a few more trips out in the field.