Winchester Pre-64 1894 94 .38-55 WCF 26″ Round Lever Action Rifle, 1902 C&R
SOLD FOR: $ 1332
LSB#: 210224DF09
Make: Winchester Repeating Arms
Model: 1894 Rifle
Serial Number: 254353
Year of Manufacture: 1902
Caliber: .38-55 Winchester
Action Type: This rifle has a lever action with a full-length tubular magazine.
Markings: The top of the barrel is marked “MANUFACTURED BY THE WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. / -NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A. PAT. AUG. 21. 1894.-” in front of the rear sight and “38-55” at the rear. The bottom-front of the receiver is marked “254353”, the top tang is marked “MODEL 1894 / -WINCHESTER- / TRADE MARK”.
Barrel Length: 26″, Round
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a german silver blade in a slotted base dovetailed and screw set to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a semi-buckhorn “V”-notch elevator sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel. The notch is fine-adjustable for elevation. The top tang is drilled, tapped and filled for a tang sight (none included).
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are 2-piece smooth walnut with capped forend, straight grip, straight comb, and steel crescent buttplate. The stocks have scattered nicks, dings, scuffs and scratches, more in the buttstock than the forend. There is scattered finish loss in the buttstock. There is a loss to the right of the top tang in the wrist with a few more minor losses at the top-front of the wrist on the left and around the tang of the buttplate. The wood is notably proud to the buttplate’s tang, slightly shy at the toe, which may indicate that the plate has been replaced. The LOP measures 13″ from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The plate has some case color visible in the face and tang with most surfaces worn or gone to a light patina with a few spots of solid oxidation. Overall, the stocks are in about Good-Very Good condition.
Type of Finish: Blue
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright with sharp rifling. There is infrequent minor erosion in the bore.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 75% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. The barrel and magazine tube have some scattered light nicks, scuffs scratches and spots of light surface oxidation. The receiver has scattered more notable nicks and scratches with patches of finish loss on each side at the top and handling wear at the bottom-front. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to disfigured with useable slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in about Very 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: This rifle comes with one box of Winchester cartridges and an assortment of empty .38-55 brass. The ammo and brass shows storage wear, but is in overall Fine condition.
Our Assessment: The Winchester Model 1894 rifle followed the other John Browning designed lever action rifles to become one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was the first commercial sporting rifle to sell over 7,000,000 units, making the name “Winchester” synonymous with all lever action rifles. It 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 the next year Winchester had developed a different steel composition that could handle higher pressures, and the .30-30 Win. family of cartridges was born. This is a Winchester Model 1894 rifle made in 1902 with a 26” round barrel and chambered in the original .38-55 cartridge. The gun’s original finish will interest Winchester collectors, but the bore is still shootable and this may still make for a nice hunting rifle. Please see our photos and good luck!