Make: Winchester Repeating Arms
Model: 1894 Rifle
Serial Number: 258771
Year of Manufacture: 1905 / C&R
Caliber: .32 W.S., .32 Winchester Special
Action Type: Lever Action Takedown Rifle fed by Full-Length Magazine Tube
Barrel Length: 26" Octagonal
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a D.W. King beaded blade dovetailed to the barrel. The Winchester Smokeless Rear Sight is a semi-buckhorn V-notch sight with an elevator piece that is dovetailed to the barrel. The upper tang has one drilled, tapped and filled hole for installing a tang sight, none present.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two piece smooth wood with capped forend, straight grip, straight comb, and steel crescent buttplate. There is scattered handling wear, nicks, scratches, and compressions. There are two very small cracks in the wrist at the end of the upper tang. Outside of this, 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 worn to white with light oxidation. Overall, the stocks rate in Very Good condition.
Type of Finish: Blue
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is dull and the rifling is defined though a bit rounded. There is light, even erosion throughout the bore. In this writer's opinion the bore rates 6/10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 50% of its metal finish. Most of the finish on the receiver has worn to white and taken to a dark mottled patina. The finish on the barrel and magtube is fairly strong with mottled areas of thinning and mottled patina. The case color has muted entirely. There is takedown wear. There is thinning on the leading edges. There is old dried grease on parts of the barrel, pooled at the bottom. There are scratches and handling marks and well as intermittent oxidation. The screw heads range from sharp to lightly tooled with serviceable slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in about Good condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The hammer has a half-cock safety and the lever safety functions properly. The trigger is crisp. We did not fire this rifle. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None.
Our Assessment: John M. Browning’s Winchester Model 1894 was purpose-built for the new generation of smokeless-powder sporting cartridges and became one of America’s most successful hunting rifles. Winchester’s .32 Winchester Special, introduced in 1901, offered hunters a larger-bore alternative to the .30 W.C.F., while the takedown system allowed the barrel, magazine, and forearm assembly to be separated from the receiver for compact transport and easier maintenance. This rifle’s 26" octagonal barrel, full-length magazine, straight-grip walnut stocks, crescent buttplate, and takedown configuration embody the classic early Model 1894 sporting rifle.
This rifle retains about 50% of its original finish, with stronger blue remaining on the barrel and magazine tube while the receiver has largely worn to a dark mottled patina. Its stocks remain in Very Good condition overall, with honest handling wear and two very small wrist cracks at the upper tang. The dull bore retains defined, slightly rounded rifling with even erosion and rates 6/10, while the action functions correctly with a crisp trigger and operational half-cock and lever safeties. Its takedown mechanism, octagonal-barreled rifle configuration, early .32 Winchester Special chambering, and substantial surviving originality give it considerably more collector interest than a standard carbine.
