Winchester 1894 Rifle

This is an early Model 1894 standard sporting lever action rifle in caliber .30 WCF with 26" octagon barrel, full magazine, and crescent rifle buttplate. Low antique serial number is in the 35,000 range which dates its production to the year 1895. By law, this is one of a small fraction of 1894 production that qualify as pre-1898 antiques. Nice early markings which include the Winchester two line barrel address located on the top flat, and three line mf'r, model, and original Browning patent date on the upper tang. Early style hammer has the decorative dipped border at the top of the checkering. Rear sight is the early smokeless style two leaf Express sight with standard blade front sight made of German silver.

Overall condition is NRA Antique Excellent Plus condition with 95% bright original blue on the receiver and 99% on the barrel, magazine tube, and forend cap. Lever shows 70% bright vivid case colors with 95% original colors on the hammer. Even the buttplate has 65% case colors remaining...even nice examples rarely show any colors left on this component. The loading shows 90% bright original fire blue. Bolt shows 98% bright blue with a few tap marks with extractor showing most of its original purple-straw colored temper. Excellent Plus walnut stocks retaining nearly all of their original varnish...still light orange red in color. Just a couple of light scrapes on right side of stock (see photos). Excellent mechanics and an Excellent+ bore. A very nice untouched example in high condition of an early Model 1894 rifle with a low antique serial number. The values on these 1894's are really going up. I was just at a show where we saw an 1894 rifle comparable to this rifle with a modern post 1899 serial number priced at $6,000. A bit too steep in my opinion but perhaps a sign of where things are headed.

Item# 1437

SOLD