Winchester 94 - opinions on my latest addition

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RainDodger

RainDodger

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I'm trying hard to rectify some stupid mistakes I made when I was young, when I sold off some of the family firearms. One that I sold off was a Winchester M94 that is now probably worth a bit of $$. I've always wanted to replace it.

This last week I stumbled on a Model 94 in .30WCF. Manufactured in 1942 and totally unmolested by Bubba. No extra holes in it, virtually no wear to the bluing, muzzle looks clean and pristine, bore is great. There's a bit of wear on the forend and the barrel band, but nothing to worry about. The action seems smooth and it chambers and ejects just fine. Haven't shot it yet, but it does work - I fired a primed/empty case the other day to check things out.

For those knowledgeable of M94 lever rifles, did I do okay for $500? I picked it up at a gun show and I saw considerably rougher condition rifles going for more.

Here it is:

m94l.jpg

m94r.jpg
 
Darn those are expensive! I have a post 64 that I paid $299 for, it was used by a mounted police unit where I live.

That's a really nice rifle you got. And I wish my camera took pictures that nice too.
 
Get yourself a can of "Renaissance Wax" from Midway, give that ol' brush buster a fine coat of it, stock and metal, it will look as though it came out of a museum ! Thats a fine specimen, glad you're satisfied! Don't put a lot of wax on it, just rub lightly, then take a hunk of flannel and buff it off, you will be amazed at how much nicer it looks, will keep fingerprints off the blued too. I'd say its worth every bit of $500, you didn't get hurt !
 
bushmaster 1313, you finally made me smile today... :)

I was thinking of trying the steam iron and wet towel to get those marks out of the forend. They are not serious - they didn't break any of the fibers in the wood. I've had luck getting small indentations out like that before. Then maybe the wax - never tried Renaissance Wax before. Thanks for the tip, 788.
 
I have a '51 in similar shape. I paid for $375 for it last year, but jumped on it for that price. Though $500 is probably ballpark, I'd agree that as long as it's paid for and in your safe, you've come out good. Congratulations on a fine rifle. Bet she shoots as nice as she looks.
 
Excellent choice on the Model 88. I had a 4-digit 1956 Model 88 in .308 that I sold to my buddy because he had a matching 88 in .284. The only thing about the 88... you definitely feel every pound of recoil generated by a .308. :) Nice rifle though, for sure.

I'm even happier at the moment because I tried the steam iron/wet towel process and nealy all of the indentations in the forearm that you can see in the pictures above, are gone now. You can just barely see the outline of them now.

Thanks for the opinions everyone! Gonna take it shooting next Saturday.
 
Looks Great! Love the M94's

Yours is a very nice specimen, made during the war years. The bluing on that is gorgeous. You got your money's worth.

This is my Grandpa's Model 94 Winchester rifle:

W94Small_zps54f6ef03.gif
Per the serial number, this rifle was built circa 1940. At the good old age of 70+ years, she has seen a bit of use.

Nothing like guns made of wood and steel!

My 94 Winchester was "grandpas" camp gun. My grandpa and his 2 brothers were sheep herders in central Utah.

The brothers bought the rifle together in 1940, the year of manufacture, and pooled their money in order to buy it. It was a shared resource for the brothers as none of them were particularly wealthy.

I understand the rifle went with them up in the canyons when they were herding sheep to dispatch various predators and kill white tails too.

My Dad eventually inherited it and passed it down to me. It has a rich family history and is nowhere in as good of shape as yours......it still functions flawlessly though. Love these rifles and it is a shame they don't make them anymore in USA.

Enjoy!
 
I think you did great. I'm not in 30-30 country out here, but that would fetch a premium in this country. Good ones are scarce here.
 
The rifle looks very good, definitely looks like a good deal.
I'm not so sure that Bubba didn't have something to do with it. A manufacture date of 1942, the front barrel band should be square. Another thing is the fore arm, and I can't tell from the pics if the forearm is thin and straight. By that I mean where the forearm band is located there should not be a step in the wood, thickness of the fore arm is the same on either side of the band.
I don't want you to think that I am offering my observations to offend you or am I trying to say you got a bad deal. You didn't, I would have paid $500 for that gun myself. Ask some others about this, I may be wrong, and if I am then I'm wrong. If my observation are correct, its not a really big deal to find the correct parts. I know a couple individuals that deal in old gun parts.
So enjoy the rifle, learn a little more about it and shoot the hell out of it.
 
Rain Dodger, you paid fair market price for that fine example of Winchester Americana!
Fair market price is what a buyer will pay for an item, and a seller is willinig to sell it for.
1)Don't ever second guess when you purchase real goods in exchange for fake money.
2)The money really wasn't a part of this decision, you were paying for....... and to quote you. "to rectify some stupid mistakes I made when I was young," We all pay for our mistakes.
No mater what you paid for it does not matter, it is yours now. Have fun with it,

CPY 911, that is a very cool story about your Grand pa and great uncles! This rifle must have served them well, I've heard many many times how much mayhem the corrupt cattle barons with plenty of cash could put on a sheep hearder! It really shows what/who made this country great, and how soft we really have it today.
 
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toiville2feathers - funny you should bring that up about the forend because as I was walking out of the gun show, a really (really!) old guy came up to me and wanted to look at the rifle. He really knew his 94's and explained to me about the forearm and how you can tell it's an old example or not. Like what you mention about the wood and the fact that the wood extends beyond the barrel band a little further than the newer 94s. He said he thought it was all original, but of course you never really know.

Yeah, stories around old family guns are a lot of fun to hear about. CPY911, you should write yours down, just in case. I've lost a lot of stories because they haven't been written down, so I keep detailed records of all my guns on a CD that I keep with the guns in the safe.... just in case. I update it periodically as the contents get modified. :)

Thanks guys! Now go shooting!
 
Your rifle is gorgeous....I am drooling. I have a 1952 chambered in 32Winchester Special that came wearing a very nice old Redfield Model 70 sight with hunter knobs.

img_6012.jpg
 
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Very nice looking specimen! All original or not, I think you did good! You would be hard pressed to find a pre-64, that looks that good, around here for $500! Enjoy your new toy!

For the record; I'd leave the marks in the foregrip, it adds character!
 
cpy911, wonderful picture of a rifle with a story. For a 94 scratches, dings and gone bluing are like fine engraving on an Italian shotgun.
 
RainDodger,

You'd mentioned about shooting .308 in one of your rifles, you ought to shoot the Win. .375 in the .94 ! I've got a Big Bore 94 in that caliber, those 220 gr. bullets I reload really get your eyes to watering. Enjoy !
 
That is a gorgeous rifle! You stold it for $500. I actually just bought a 1956 MFG. Model 94 chambered in 32 Winchester special. It's about 85% condition. Also came with a period correct Redfield aperture sight. I would love to post a picture of it. However I still haven't figured out how to post a picture onto the forum. Any help?
 
The ol' M94 has to be one of the best-looking firearms every designed. The finish on that is beautiful! I've seen a whole lot of them, beat-up by Bubba, going for about $400 in this area. For that condition, $500 sure seems reasonable. Congrats!

Geno
 
That rifle is GREAT! 94's are just such perfect rifles. They carry well, are reasonably powerful, and accurate enough most situations. Enjoy that one!
 
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