Winchester 94 and Winchester 1894Why was the Winchester 1894, later called the Winchester 94, so popular for so long? Was it the .30-30 Winchester cartridge it was commonly chambered for? Was it the sleek shape and handling characteristics? Reliability? Or just good looks? Perhaps all of the above. The .30-30 Winchester cartridge was introduced in 1895 and was the first to use smokeless powder. It had moderate recoil and was very capable for hunting deer sized game. It was originally called the .30WCF. If an old hunter talked about his .30-30 you would almost assume he was using a Winchester 94. The .30-30 Winchester is a top seller to this day. The receiver on the Winchester 1894 was similar to the model 1892 in that it was slimmer than the models 1873 and 1886. This allowed the forearm to be very thin, giving the whole rifle a nice balanced feel. At 6.8 pounds it was easy to carry and quick to shoulder. It was a great combination of high power and fast handling... one of John Browning's greatest designs. Through the years the little lever action gained a reputation as being very reliable. The internal workings were well designed. Many 94's took a lot of abuse and still functioned flawlessly.
Winchester model 1894 courtesy of Antique Military Rifles Just like automobiles and home furnishings, good looking rifles outsell plain ones. It's true. The Winchester 1894 was a great looking shooter. Nice clean lines. Sleek. It just flowed from wood to metal to wood again. Even the fact that the magazine tube is nearly the same length as the barrel just works. The receiver had smooth flat sides which were perfect for engraving. There were more than a handful dolled up this way as commemorative issues. Ok... we all have different tastes don't we! But my point really is that Winchester sold 7.5 million of these over a period of 112 years. They did a lot of things right with the Winchester 94!
Features of the Winchester 1894The most common configuration of the model 1894 was a 20" barrel chambered in .30-30 Winchester. The rifle had open sights but often was fitted with a rear peep sight. The early peep sights mounted on the tang using the tang screws to attach it. A later version was mounted to the left side of the receiver by drilling and tapping 2 screw holes.Because empty cartridges ejected out of the top, mounting a scope was a little difficult. Usually this was done by drilling and tapping the left side of the receiver for a scope base. Having the scope offset like that worked out alright but it tended to unbalance the rifle. In the early 1980's Winchester 94 rifles were redesigned with angle ejection to allow top mounted scopes. OperationThis rifle was originally available in .25-35, .32-40 and .38-55 calibers. The following year it was chambered in .30-30 Winchester. In 1902 the .32 Winchester Special was added. These all use round nosed or flat nosed bullets. A safety note... never use spire point bullets in any tubular magazine. The point could detonate the primer of the round in front of it.To load the 94 push the cartridges in through the loading gate at the receivers right side. The spring loaded gate cover will close after the cartridge enters the tubular magazine. Magazine capacity will depend on cartridge size. Usually 6 or 7 rounds. Work the lever downward to eject a spent cartdridge and cock the exposed hammer. Cycling the lever up forces a fresh round into the chamber. Keep the index finger out of the trigger guard for safety. The hammer is now at full cock and ready to fire. The hammer at half cock is the safety on the original design. On later models a crossbolt safety was added and later yet a tang safety. Winchester 1894 HistoryArriving shortly after the Winchester 1892, The Winchester 1894 had a stronger receiver intended to handle longer more potent cartridges than it's earlier brother. It was the first rifle chambered for the .30-30 Winchester cartridge. Though both models look very similar the 1892 has a notably smaller loading gate.
In 1964, Winchester, in an effort to cut production costs, redesigned the rifle. The lower quality rifles were less desirable creating a collectors market for pre-64 Winchesters. In 1978 a Big Bore 94 version was created to handle new higher pressure loads such as .307 Winchester, .356 Winchester and .375 Winchester. In 1982 improvements were made by adding angle ejection and tightening up the works to return the gun to pre-64 quality levels. A 7-30 Waters chambering was added in an attempt to extend the effective hunting range. The 7-30 Waters is a .30-30 Winchester cartridge necked down to accept a 7mm bullet with shoulder extended forward for increased powder capacity. Despite all the improvements to the Winchester 94, sales declined to a level where production had to be discontinued in 2006.
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