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LOT 3017
Highly Desirable Antique Special Order Casehardened Winchester Model
1894 Deluxe Lever Action Takedown Rifle in .38-55 W.C.F. with Factory
Letter - Serial no. 9525, 38-55 cal., 26 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened
finish, deluxe walnut stock. This rifle was manufactured in 1895, the second
year of production for the ever popular Winchester Model 1894, and has
an incredibly rare combination of features, including the exceedingly rare
casehardened frame, a variation few collectors have the opportunity of seeing
let along acquiring. Robert C. Renneberg in “The Trilogy: Models 1894/94, 55, 64
(30th Anniversary Edition)” wrote that the casehardened receiver is the “most
coveted of all on a Model 1894” and noted: “As of now I have only physically
seen three verifiable case-colored examples,” two of which were takedowns.
There are 157 recorded in the factory records consisting of 155 rifles and 2
carbines (see pages 39-40). Survey data showed only 16 of those were ordered
in deluxe configuration. The casehardening as a finish option was officially
dropped by Winchester in 1901 leaving only a few years for casehardened
Model 1894s to have been made. The number surviving is unknown, and we
can go years without offering one at auction.
This incredible example has casehardened finish on the frame, hammer, and
lever and blued finish on the balance. It features a dovetailed front sight with
a German silver blade, elevation adjustable dovetailed sporting rear sight,
the two-line address ahead of the rear sight, “38-55” on top of the barrel at
the breech, a tang mounted combination peep sight, plain trigger, style H
checkered deluxe walnut forearm and pistol grip buttstock, and hard rubber
grip cap and checkered shotgun buttplate embossed with the Winchester
Repeating Arms Co.