Make: Winchester Repeating Arms

Model: 1894 Saddle Ring Carbine

Serial Number: 154087

Year of Manufacture: 1899

Caliber: .32-40 Winchester Center Fire (WCF)

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

Barrel Length: 20″ Round

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a Marble beaded blade pinned to a slotted base fixed to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a folding ladder-style sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel. When folded down, it presents a “V”-notch. The ladder has a “V”-notched slider and is graduated from 0-2,000 yards. The top tang is mounted with a Lyman peep sight. 

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut with a banded forend, straight grip, straight comb, saddle ring on the left side of the receiver, and steel carbine-style buttplate. There are no chips or cracks. There are scattered compression marks and nicks. The LOP measures 13 1/8″ from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. There is deep patina and heavy erosion throughout the buttplate. Overall, the stocks are in Very Good Condition.

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

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is some minor intermittent erosion toward the muzzle. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 8/10.

Overall Condition: This carbine retains about 70% of its metal finish. The balance of the finish shows operation wear. The case color remains visible on the sides of the lever and hammer, but has muted on the remainder. There is freckling on the receiver and scattered mottled oxidation about the metal. The screw heads range from sharp to tool marked. The markings are clear though a bit faded on the barrel. Overall, this carbine is in about Very Good 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 carbine. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This carbine comes with a Winchester factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum confirming this was produced as a “Carbine, 32/40 caliber, Received in warehouse on September 16, 1902, Shipped from warehouse on October 11, 1902, order number 162615”.

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 Saddle Ring Carbine was made in 1899 and is in Very Good Condition. It features a 20” barrel, 70% of its original blued finish, with some vibrant case coloring on the sides of the lever and hammer, elegant two-piece smooth walnut stocks with a banded forend, saddle ring on the left side of the receiver, and steel carbine-style buttplate (there’s deep patina and heavy erosion on the buttplate), a Lyman peep sight mounted on the tang, strong mechanics, and a bright bore with sharp rifling and only minor intermittent erosion toward the muzzle, and comes with a Winchester factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum confirming this was produced as a “Carbine, 32/40 caliber, Received in warehouse on September 16, 1902, Shipped from warehouse on October 11, 1902, order number 162615”. This is a classic Winchester Model 1894 Saddle Ring Carbine from the turn of the century.