Help with a '94

[Hatchett]

A friend has vaguely described to me a Winchester '94 carbine that he wants to sell me. I'm told that it is dated for 1940. It's in .30WCF. It has sling swivels. The wood and blueing are all in apparently excellent shape. And it has an apparently near mint "Lyman Model 38 ladder sight" that he is very fond of and thinks makes the carbine special.

I unfortunately know almost nothing about old '94s and don't know whether this is something special or not. But I am hoping to buy a '94 as a collector's piece and this sounds interesting.

Can anyone tell me anything about this, and what the value of something like this might be? Or maybe what I should look into before buying?

 

[Jim K]

.30 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) is the .30-30, the most common caliber for the '94 Winchester.

Guns made in 1940 would be in the serial number range 1169371-1197211.

The after-market sight, IMHO, actually decreases the collector value of the gun, as most collectors place a premium on factory originality.

Value varies, but guns from 1940 to 1964 are not as valuable as guns made prior to 1929. An all original 1940 carbine in 100% brings around $500-600. I have seen them priced higher, but they didn't sell.

Jim