Pre-64 Winchester Model 1894 94’ 26” Octagonal .30-30 Lever Rifle, 1910 C&R
SOLD FOR: $1,175.00
LSB#: LSB250731EK037
Make: Winchester Repeating Arms
Model: 1894 Rifle
Serial Number: 567985
Year of Manufacture: 1910 / C&R
Caliber: .30-30 Winchester Center Fire (.30-30 W.C.F.)
Action Type: This rifle has a lever action with a full-length tubular magazine.
Markings: The left shoulder of the barrel is marked “MANUFACTURED BY THE WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. / NEW HAVEN.CONN.U.S.A.PATENTED AUGUST 21.1894”, “-NICKEL STEEL BARREL- / ESPECIALLY FOR SMOKELESS POWDER”, “30 W.C.F.”. The top of the barrel and receiver are marked with WP proofs. The top tang is marked “MODEL 1894 / -WINCHESTER- / TRADE MARK REG.IN.U.S.PAT.OFF.”. The bottom of the receiver is marked “567985”.
Barrel Length: 26”, Octagonal
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a Redfield beaded blade dovetailed to the barrel. The rear sight is a v-notch elevator sight dovetailed to the barrel. The top tang is drilled, tapped, and filled for a tang sight (none present).
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are 2-piece smooth walnut with capped forend, straight grip, straight comb, and steel crescent buttplate. The stocks have some scattered light nicks, scuffs and scratches. There are no chips. There is a small crack on the right side of the wrist. The LOP measures 13” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The plate has mostly gone to patina with some scattered erosion. Overall, the stocks are in Good condition
Type of Finish: Blue
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright with sharp rifling. There is very faint erosion. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 8 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 65% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. There are scattered light nicks, scuffs and scratches. There is some scattered minor surface oxidation and mottled patina throughout. The action has operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Good condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The hammer has a half-cock safety and there is a lever safety that 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: Winchester’s Model 1894 is the benchmark American sporting lever gun, engineered by John M. Browning and optimized for smokeless powder from the start. By 1910, when this rifle was made, the “Nickel Steel Barrel—Especially for Smokeless Powder” rollmark and the long 26″ octagon profile defined the classic early configuration. This example carries correct period legends and WP proofs, retains about 65% original blue with honest edge thinning and scattered freckling, and shows the desirable crescent buttplate. The top tang is drilled and tapped for a peep—typical of the era—and the sights are a Redfield beaded blade up front with an elevator rear, a practical field combination for turn-of-the-century deer woods.
Chambered in .30-30 WCF, introduced in the mid-1890s and widely regarded as the first commercially successful American smokeless sporting cartridge, the rifle offers that familiar flat-shooting, medium-game pedigree in a pre-64 package. The bore is bright with sharp rifling (8/10, faint erosion noted), the stocks present well with scattered handling marks and a small wrist crack, and the action remains crisp with proper half-cock and lever safeties. Altogether, it’s a straight, early-production 1894 rifle in the quintessential caliber and barrel form that made the model a mainstay of North American hunting for more than a century. Please see our photos and good luck on your bid! – L.S.
