Posted on 02/19/2006 5:23:09 PM PST by Lorianne
Traditional Winchester rifles, including the famous Model 94, will no longer be produced when the plant in New Haven, Conn., closes March 31.
Modern, high-end rifles bearing the Winchester name will be produced in Belgium, Japan and Portugal, according to Robert Sauvage, a spokesman for the Herstal Group, the Belgium company that owns U.S. Repeating Arms and the rights to the Winchester name.
The Model 1894 appeared on the American scene in August 1895 and changed the world of shooting almost overnight.
It was chambered for the .30-30 and .25-35 cartridges. You could get the lever action in a rifle with a 26-inch barrel or as a carbine with a 20-inch barrel. The cost was only $18. Today, the original Model 1894 in excellent condition will bring in the vicinity of $1,500, according to Stoeger’s Gun Trader’s Guide.
It’s interesting to note with Winchester rifles manufactured before 1918 that the date of manufacture was used as the model number. So Winchesters produced before 1918 would be called the Model 1894. After 1918 Winchester went to a two-digit model number and the Model 1894 became known as the Model 94.
Early Model 1894 Winchesters, those made before 1918, came in other calibers including the .32-40, .32 Special and .38-55.
Most had a seven-shot tubular magazine and some came with a 4-shot or half magazine. The gun came with round, octagon or half-octagon barrels.
While the .30-30 cartridge was not the first smokeless cartridge developed, it was the first smokeless “sporting” cartridge of its time. The 160 grain jacketed bullet left the muzzle of the Model 1894 at a speedy 1,970 feet per second. Fast for those early days.
The Winchester Model 94 is without a doubt the most recognizable rifle of all time. Various editions have been presented to dignitaries, and one with the serial number 1,000,000 was presented to President Calvin Coolidge. Another, with the serial number 1,500,000 was given to President Harry Truman.
Today serial numbers have surpassed 5,000,000.
A western movie wouldn’t be a western movie if the likes of Gary Cooper, Tex Ritter, Rex Allen, Randolph Scott, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers and the Lone Ranger didn’t carry a Model 94 in their saddle scabbard.
While John Wayne carried the Model 1892 (Model 92) in many of his early movies, he began carrying a Model 94 with the hoop finger lever in the film True Grit.
It’s no doubt the value of even the newer Model 94’s will escalate in price. The price suggested for the Winchester 94 Legacy in Shooter’s Bible is suggested at $485 for the round barrel and $882 for the octagon barrel.
If you have an older Model 94, say pre-WWII and with a serial number less than 1,300,000, it will get around $1000. A Model 94 pre-1964 with serial number below 2,700,00 will bring more than $600.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Winchester could be bought back by an American company, produced in the same plant in New Haven that once employed 19,000 during WWII? This way the “Gun the Won the West” could ride back onto the American scene like Harley-Davidson?
Does anyone know when they changed to an aluminum receiver? My 94 is old but aluminum, has no safety.
No it is not aluminum. They used some steel alloy which did not retain the bluing very well. It is very common to see model 94's made since 1964 with receivers looking almost grey.
Hmm, then that is what I have, an alloy receiver that has lost most of its bluing. It's a smooth action and sweet shooter with nice wood.
"Winchester '73" -- great old movie with Jimmy Stewart. Hope I'll be able to purchase one of these classics someday -- if their owners are willing to part with them!
I personally prefer the looks and hitting power of the Marlin Guide Gun in .45-70 or the one in Marlin's own .450 caliber.
A while back the local K-Mart ran a sale on the Model 94.
I have used a borrowed one and liked it's handyness.
The new in box one was so ugly that I passed with no regrets.
Get an older one with decent walnut not the bargain "hardwood" stocked version.
Just my opinion.
The ballistics of the 7.62 X 39 and the 30-30 are very similar, one difference being that the tube mag of the lever actions prohibits sharp nosed bullets.
I had a Savage Model 99EG, 25-35, octagonal 32 inch barrel, curly maple stock and forepiece, pawned it to buy diapers in 1965; when I told my son about it, he said that if I had asked him before I pawned it, he would have gone naked for the first 2 years instead.
If you're talking about the DVD, I think AMC bought the last copy; at least they have been showing it 36 hours a day some weekends.
Me too. I started duck hunting on the Misissippi flyway with a model twelve that belonged to an uncle. I thought it was better than candy when I was around 8 or 9.
Twenty years or so ago I found a Model 12 that was chambered for 3 inch shells and had a solid rib. Other than a rotting gun case, that was probably bought at the same time, the gun was in great condition. The action was so stiff that it was apparant that the gun had seen little use. I have turkey hunted with it a few times and duck a couple of times. I know how much harder it shoots than more modern guns, but it just fits me. It has not been fired for a few years now, and I have already promised it. The other one is 2 and 3/4 inch, and the first modified model twelve I have seen.
They cost an arm and a leg if in good condition, but probably sold new for around $50. I'm talking about in the forties and fifties. In my youth.
Foreign manufacturers don't have to pony up for employee health care. The U.S. won't be able to compete until we unburden our employers by nationlizing health care like our foreign competitors.
Yep mine was chambered for 3" shells too. Too bad I had a brain fade and sold it. The gun was too hard a hitting gun for me. A gunsmith told me that the angle of the stock to the barrel was the reason. Back then I did not fully appreciate the value of heirlooms. It was passed down to me from my father. My Grandfather bought it new.
That was a treasure. I'm sorry, as you are, that you let it go.
Where do you live. I see that you are a southerner.
I must be grateful that I no longer have the whitetail's persepctive of the end of the weapon.
Wild Boar or Wolverine? {;^)
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